Deck 16: Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies

Question 1

Ralph Linton made the point that many familiar elements in today's way of life

A) were discovered completely by accident.
B) were unknown even a few decades ago.
C) were all invented by members of our own society.
D) actually came to us from other cultures in the world.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is a common cause of social change?

A) discovery of things that already exist
B) diffusion from one cultural system to another
C) invention of new ideas and things
D) All of the above are correct.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Of the various types of social movements, which is the least threatening to the status quo?

A) alternative social movements
B) redemptive social movements
C) reformative social movements
D) revolutionary social movements

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Max Weber's thesis on the Protestant work ethic and the spirit of capitalism highlighted the importance of ___________in the process of social change.

A) cultural diffusion
B) social conflict
C) ideas
D) invention

Question 5

___________refers to social patterns brought on by the Industrial Revolution.

A) Postmodernity
B) Modernity
C) Tradition
D) Diffusion

Question 6

The concept "cultural lag" refers to the fact that

A) some societies do not change as fast as others.
B) most change involves returning to earlier patterns.
C) time often seems to stand still.
D) material culture (things) usually changes faster than nonmaterial culture (ideas and attitudes).

Question 7

"Moving on" has always been an important part of our national culture. Remembering the map in the chapter, in which part of the country do we find the largest share of households where the same people have lived for thirty years or more?

A) Florida
B) the East Coast
C) the West Coast
D) the Great Plains

Question 8

The observation that many familiar aspects of U.S. culture came from other lands was made by

A) Ralph Linton.
B) Peter Berger.
C) Margaret Mead.
D) Max Weber.

Question 9

Sociologists explain that social change

A) is always intentional.
B) is often controversial.
C) is always unplanned.
D) cannot be understood at all.

Question 10

Durkheim's concept of organic solidarity is roughly the same as Tönnies' concept of

A) blasé urbanite.
B) specialization.
C) gesellschaft.
D) gemeinschaft.

Question 11

Social movements are defined as

A) unlawful activities in the form of rioting.
B) efforts to prevent change.
C) unpredictable social outbreaks.
D) organized activities that encourage or discourage change.

Question 12

Karl Marx highlighted which of the following in the process of social change?

A) social conflict
B) ideas
C) cultural diffusion
D) invention

Question 13

The fact that the coins we use is an idea that came from the Middle East centuries ago is an example of which of the following?

A) discovery
B) invention
C) diffusion
D) cultural lag

Question 14

___________refers to changes brought on by the Information Revolution

A) Postmodernity
B) Modernity
C) Tradition
D) Diffusion

Question 15

___________is the concept used to describe changes in social patterns brought on by the Industrial Revolution.

A) Diffusion
B) Tradition
C) Modernity
D) Postmodernity

Question 16

The chapter-opening story about the inhabitants of the same New York apartment who lived a century apart shows us that

A) change is always positive.
B) New Yorkers face exactly the same problems as they did a century ago.
C) in some ways, life has clearly improved, and in some ways it has not.
D) over the last century, there has been surprisingly little change. (Applied;

Question 17

Sociologists point out that

A) social change is rarely controversial.
B) some societies change and others do not.
C) social change is inevitable.
D) social changes are always what people expect.

Question 18

Read the following statements about social change. Which statement is NOT correct?

A) People cannot always predict the full consequences of societal changes.
B) All social changes is intentional.
C) Social change is often controversial.
D) Material culture usually changes faster than nonmaterial culture.

Question 19

Sociologists explain that social change

A) cannot be predicted at all.
B) is always intentional.
C) is always unplanned.
D) is both intentional and unplanned.

Question 20

Postmodernity refers to societies that

A) have postindustrial economies.
B) continue to maintain their traditions.
C) have yet to industrialize.
D) are neither mass societies nor class societies.

Question 21

Jen has joined a social movement that seeks radical social change but only in some people. Which type of movement has she joined?

A) revolutionary social movement
B) reformative social movement
C) redemptive social movement
D) alterative social movement

Question 22

A century ago in the United States, the typical household was

A) almost twice as large as it is today.
B) about the same size as it is today.
C) slightly smaller than it is today.
D) much smaller than it is today.

Question 23

Kai Erikson explains that disasters

A) are always intentional.
B) are less damaging to people when they are caused by the intentional actions of others.
C) are less harmful when they involve some toxic substance.
D) not only harm people, they destroy human community.

Question 24

Read the following statements about changes during the last century. Three actually happened; one did not. Which statement is NOT correct?

A) The urban share of the U.S. population doubled.
B) Income increased about five-fold (in constant dollars).
C) The divorce rate fell by half.
D) Life expectancy rose from about 47 years to about 77 years.

Question 25

In what way do "new social movements" differ from those in the past?

A) They are more likely to be local.
B) They are likely to focus on quality of life issues rather than economic issues.
C) They are likely to spread through "word of mouth" rather than through the mass media.
D) They are likely to attract support from men more than women.

Question 26

Efforts by activists to get the public to recognize the danger of AIDS in the early 1980s is a good example of what process related to social movements?

A) claims making
B) formalization
C) moral panic
D) structural strain

Question 27

The concept of relative deprivation is based on the idea that

A) getting more makes people feel better about themselves.
B) people always judge their situation in absolute terms.
C) some people have more than others.
D) people evaluate themselves by making specific comparisons.

Question 28

Ferdinand Tönnies described modernity as the loss of

A) Gesellschaft.
B) Gemeinschaft.
C) personal choice.
D) social diversity.

Question 29

Of the various types of social movements, which is LEAST threatening to the status quo?

A) revolutionary social movement
B) reformative social movement
C) redemptive social movement
D) alterative social movement

Question 30

Political economy theory claims that social movements arise in capitalist societies

A) because the capitalist economic system fails to meet the needs of the majority.
B) when people feel isolated from others.
C) when life seems to be getting better rather than worse.
D) among the rich who have the money to pay the costs.

Question 31

Which of the following is the best example of an issue that defines a "new social movement"?

A) the state of the planet's natural environment
B) poverty in the United States
C) the conditions of immigrant farm workers in the Southwest
D) the strength of labor unions

Question 32

Resource mobilization theory states that social movements require

A) a sense of relative deprivation.
B) high technology.
C) a cultural symbol.
D) money and other necessary resources.

Question 33

The stage of a social movement called "bureaucratization" refers to

A) the emergence of the movement.
B) the movement defining itself and "going public."
C) developing a trained staff to keep the movement operating.
D) the decline of the movement.

Question 34

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 is one example of

A) an act of terrorism.
B) an intentional disaster.
C) a natural disaster.
D) a technological disaster.

Question 35

Alcoholics Anonymous, an organization that seeks to help alcoholics achieve a sober life, is one example of

A) an alterative social movement.
B) a redemptive social movement.
C) a reformative social movement.
D) a revolutionary social movement.

Question 36

Social movements are defined as

A) unpredictable social outbreaks.
B) organized activities that encourage or discourage change.
C) unlawful activities such as rioting.
D) people voting leaders out of office.

Question 37

___________states that social movements depend not just on material resources but on rallying around symbols and gaining a sense of unity in action.

A) Deprivation theory
B) Mass-society theory
C) Culture theory
D) Resource mobilization theory

Question 38

Modernity is the concept used for the social patterns that emerged in the wake of the

A) Industrial Revolution.
B) Information Revolution.
C) discovery of agriculture.
D) fall of Rome.

Question 39

Mass-society theory predicts that social movements will involve people who

A) feel they lack things that others appear to have.
B) mobilize around cultural symbols.
C) feel adrift in society.
D) have sufficient resources to launch and sustain the social movement.

Question 40

Peter Berger describes modernization as ALL BUT WHICH of the following?

A) the spread of many small, traditional communities
B) the expansion of personal choice
C) increasing social diversity
D) a future orientation and growing awareness of time

Question 41

Mass-society theory claims that modern society has

A) become more and more equal in terms of social standing.
B) become less and less affluent.
C) pushed minorities to the margins.
D) become both impersonal and lacking in certainty about what is really important.

Question 42

For Ferdinand Tönnies, the essence of Gesellschaft is

A) neighborhood and friendship.
B) kinship.
C) self-interest.
D) faith in established tradition.

Question 43

According to class-society theory, the single factor that shapes modern society the most is

A) anomie.
B) interdependency.
C) rationality.
D) capitalism.

Question 44

Emile Durkheim claimed that anomie exists when society fails to

A) meet people's need for excitement and change.
B) establish basic political rights to some category of people.
C) meet the material needs of the majority.
D) provide enough moral guidance to people.

Question 45

A correct criticism of Tönnies's ideas about modernity is that he

A) claimed modern people are business-like in their relationships.
B) saw modernity in terms of the breakdown of traditional community.
C) did not see the Industrial Revolution as making much difference in social patterns.
D) overlooked the fact that strong social ties still exist in modern societies.

Question 46

To say that modern society has a "mass scale" means that many people

A) have large families.
B) live in large communities and deal with many impersonal bureaucracies.
C) have a strong sense of their cultural heritage.
D) live in small communities.

Question 47

A mass society is one

A) in which change has become very slow.
B) that is becoming economically poorer.
C) in which there is little bureaucracy.
D) that has lost much of its traditional social ties.

Question 48

Mass-society theory claims that modern individuals face the problem of

A) limited choices.
B) powerlessness.
C) establishing a clear identity.
D) poverty.

Question 49

The class-society theory of modernity draws its inspiration from which of the following sociologists?

A) Karl Marx
B) Max Weber
C) Emile Durkheim
D) Ferdinand Tönnies

Question 50

Emile Durkheim claimed that the defining trait of modernity is

A) specialization that makes people interdependent.
B) common beliefs that bind people together.
C) strong kinship.
D) shared faith in established tradition.

Question 51

A number of sociologists contributed to the mass-society theory of modernity. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A) Karl Marx
B) Emile Durkheim
C) Max Weber
D) Ferdinand Tönnies

Question 52

The problem mass-society theory sees with the expansion of the bureaucratic state is that

A) it generates more and more inequality.
B) government brings about too much change.
C) people in local communities have little control over their lives.
D) the state does very little for people.

Question 53

For Max Weber, preindustrial societies are characterized by

A) a rational worldview.
B) productive specialization.
C) a traditional worldview.
D) a lot of personal choice.

Question 54

Max Weber claimed that modernization was evident in

A) the rise of many social movements.
B) the rise of science, capitalism, and bureaucracy.
C) increasing levels of inequality.
D) a more traditional view of the world.

Question 55

Durkheim's concept of organic solidarity corresponds to Tönnies's concept of

A) Gemeinschaft.
B) Gesellschaft.
C) the blasé urbanite.
D) specialization.

Question 56

Which of the following statements does NOT correctly describe modernity as mass society?

A) There is little focus on tradition.
B) People lack moral certainty about how to live.
C) There are more poor people than in the past.
D) Kinship ties are weaker than in the past.

Question 57

Max Weber's view of modernity stressed

A) an increasingly rational worldview.
B) the capitalist economy.
C) productive specialization.
D) individual self-interest.

Question 58

When describing U.S. society as a modern, class society, sociologists point to

A) increasing rationality.
B) marked social stratification.
C) productive specialization.
D) loss of traditional community.

Question 59

Durkheim's greatest concern about modern societies was what he saw as the increase in

A) productive specialization.
B) personal choice.
C) anomie.
D) personal privacy.

Question 60

Karl Marx understood the onset of modernity in terms of

A) the rise of the capitalist economic system.
B) increasing productive specialization.
C) the rise of rationality.
D) the loss of traditional community.

Question 61

Scholars who take a "postmodernist" approach claim that

A) in many respects, modernity has failed.
B) science is the key to finding the right answers.
C) there is growing optimism about the future.
D) the belief in "progress" is increasingly widespread.

Question 62

Overall, class-society theory suggests that the problem of living in modern society is

A) too much personal freedom.
B) difficulty building a clear personal identity.
C) too much rationality.
D) economic uncertainty and powerlessness.

Question 63

David Riesman described "tradition-directed" social character as

A) being highly individualistic.
B) readily shifting from one identity to another.
C) conformity to the latest fashions and fads.
D) rigid conformity to traditional ways of life.

Question 64

Karl Marx claimed that conflict between classes typically prevents social change.

Question 65

Social change is usually controversial.

Question 66

The Kaiapo people of Brazil's rain forest as well as members of the Gullah community in Georgia show us that

A) people usually understand the long-term consequences of their decisions.
B) social change is rarely controversial.
C) people do not have to change if they do not want to.
D) gaining material well-being may come at the price of losing one's cultural foundation.

Question 67

Modernity is the product of social changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution.

Question 68

Overall, mass-society theory suggests that the problem of living in modern society is

A) building a confident personal identity in a changing and morally relativistic world.
B) gaining a sense of power in a capitalist way of life.
C) dealing with persistent poverty.
D) finding any personal freedom.

Question 69

According to class-society theory, the key problem of living in a modern society is

A) too much rationality.
B) too much personal freedom.
C) economic inequality with most people feeling powerless.
D) difficulty building a clear personal identity.

Question 70

In modern mass societies, individuals experience

A) a lack of certainty about what is right or wrong.
B) little personal choice.
C) little privacy.
D) lots of poverty.

Question 71

Postmodernity refers to societies that

A) are neither mass societies nor class societies.
B) have postindustrial economies.
C) continue to maintain their traditions.
D) have yet to industrialize.

Question 72

Read the four statements below about postmodernism. One of them is not correct; which is it?

A) The future probably will not be as good as the present.
B) Science does not hold all of the answers.
C) The family and other institutions are not changing.
D) Cultural debates are intensifying.

Question 73

The communitarian movement is based on the claim that

A) the modern world has become disenchanted.
B) society should give people according to their needs.
C) you are either part of the solution or you are part of the problem.
D) with rights must come responsibilities.

Question 74

In the opinion of Herbert Marcuse, science

A) causes more problems than it solves.
B) is the most important dimension of "rationality."
C) is the key to improving living standards all around the world.
D) is not new to modern societies, having existed for centuries.

Question 75

David Riesman described "other-directed" social character as

A) not caring what others think of us.
B) conformity to the latest fashions and fads.
C) rigid conformity to traditional ways of life.
D) being highly individualistic.

Question 76

Social change can result from invention, discovery, or cultural diffusion.

Question 77

In the United States, people tend to link the concept of modernity to

A) celebrating the past.
B) tradition.
C) progress.
D) inequality.

Question 78

William Ogburn's theory of "cultural lag" states that non-material culture, such as ideas, usually changes faster than material culture, such as medical technology.

Question 79

In global perspective, some societies change; others do not.

Question 80

Herbert Marcuse challenged Max Weber by claiming that modern societies are not rational because

A) they remain very religious.
B) they do not meet the needs of so many people.
C) they have moved away from all their traditions.
D) there is little attention paid to science.