Deck 2: Understanding Theory

Question 1

A ______ in sociology is a way to explain different social patterns.

A) hypothesis
B) theory
C) variable
D) perspective

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What are the three main theoretical perspectives of sociology?

A) structural functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interaction
B) research method, correlation, and hypothesis
C) social embeddedness, sociological eye, and sociological imagination
D) divergence, functionalism, and causation

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Groups of theories that share certain aspects are ______.

A) biased research
B) popular opinions
C) parallel theories
D) theoretical perspectives

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Structural functionalism is a theory that ______.

A) demonstrates that society is comprised of disjointed beliefs and rituals
B) suggests individuals work to promote their interests instead of society's
C) was developed by Max Weber to explain inequalities
D) sees society as a complex system whose parts are interdependent

Question 5

Juan obeys all traffic laws for the good of society; therefore, he is participating in ______.

A) true consciousness
B) organic solidarity
C) false consciousness
D) social solidarity

Question 6

An organization creates rules and policies designed to encourage followers to learn about the organization and recognize their purpose within it. What is being encouraged?

A) social solidarity
B) social change
C) social actors
D) social harmony

Question 7

What is a goal of structural functionalism?

A) social cooperation
B) social inequality
C) societal conflict
D) societal disconnection

Question 8

Structural functionalism focuses on ______, such as the family, religion, or education.

A) social structures
B) belief systems
C) institutions
D) culture

Question 9

Emile Durkheim defined mechanical solidarity as individuals doing similar types of jobs. Organic solidarity differs in that these societies include members who ______.

A) remain largely independent from one another
B) are interdependent on one another
C) have similar beliefs
D) complete the same tasks

Question 10

When using the structural functionalist theoretical perspective, sociologists focus on ______.

A) social behavior and social status
B) gender and race
C) social harmony and social order
D) functions and dysfunctions

Question 11

How would structural functionalists use organic solidarity to explain the role of education?

A) Education serves to convey the norms, values, beliefs, and ultimately, the stability of society.
B) Education serves to maintain the existing social classes.
C) Education serves to keep people united through similar types of roles, purpose, and income.
D) Education serves to reinforce the doctrine of the ruling class.

Question 12

What would be a micro-level of analysis of education as a social institution?

A) a study about grading procedures nationwide
B) a federal government study about how aid affects attendance policies
C) a study about after how detention deters antisocial behavior in one school
D) a study about state mandatory testing

Question 13

Zach is a student, a son, and a member of his school's basketball team. These are examples of different ______.

A) roles
B) characteristics
C) status positions
D) personality traits

Question 14

Which of these is a characteristic of social institutions?

A) status positions
B) relationships
C) norms
D) latent functions

Question 15

When sociologists research a ______ level of analysis, they are interested in individuals or small groups.

A) quantitative
B) macro
C) qualitative
D) micro

Question 16

A social status consists of ______, which are defined by tasks and behaviors that are elements of the occupied status.

A) functions
B) roles
C) structures
D) ideas

Question 17

Which level of analysis focuses on large-scale structural and societal forces?

A) quantitative
B) micro
C) qualitative
D) macro

Question 18

Which of these is a primary social institution?

A) family
B) geographic location
C) occupation
D) committee membership

Question 19

Parents teaching their children to say "please" and "thank you" is an example of a ______.

A) primary role
B) secondary role
C) manifest function
D) latent function

Question 20

What is an example of a manifest function of the family?

A) owning property
B) socializing children
C) upholding marriage as a social institution
D) promoting religious values

Question 21

What are latent functions?

A) useful things a social institution does but that are not the institution's sole purpose
B) functions that serve to fulfill necessary tasks
C) a theory of how individuals function in opposition to social institutions
D) a theory of how individuals function within social institutions

Question 22

Urban development in the 1960s was an attempt to revitalize American cities, but it separated traditional neighborhoods with highways. This unintended consequence is an example of ______.

A) a dysfunction
B) a latent function
C) mechanical solidarity
D) organic solidarity

Question 23

What is a latent function of schools?

A) teaching children to read
B) training children to obey authority
C) giving children social skills
D) providing children daytime supervision

Question 24

What is a dysfunction of religion?

A) acting as an agent of social control
B) bringing about social cohesion
C) promoting exclusion
D) providing socialization

Question 25

When Elias was 17, he robbed a bank and went to prison for 10 years. A structural functionalist would say that Elias ______.

A) was a victim of his social status
B) was a product of his peer interactions
C) put society's needs ahead of his own
D) violated social norms

Question 26

According to structural functionalist theory, if you violate society's norms by breaking the law, your punishment will serve to ______.

A) keep your bad behavior from spreading in the community
B) make you resentful and more likely to break the law again in the future
C) substitute for restitution to the party harmed
D) result in overcrowded prisons

Question 27

According to social functionalists, social change ______.

A) is simply a by-product of technology
B) should be done slowly to maintain equilibrium
C) is always a good thing
D) impacts all institutions simultaneously

Question 28

By focusing on social order and harmony, structural functionalism can often overlook ______.

A) the manifest function
B) the instability of latent function
C) the benefit of social change
D) the social norms

Question 29

What is the conflict perspective?

A) A view of society in which people compete for social and economic resources
B) A view of society that consists of interdependent parts that work together to promote common good
C) A focus on the interactions between individuals
D) A focus on the social institutions that are embedded in society

Question 30

Two sociologists are working in the marketing department of a large company. John happened to mention that he had just gotten a raise, for which he was eternally grateful to the company because he hadn't had a raise in five years. Melinda said that was disgraceful; the company was totally taking advantage of him and profiting off his work, and they should have given him a raise and a promotion years ago. Melinda most likely subscribes to the ______ perspective.

A) structural functionalist
B) conflict
C) capitalist
D) symbolic interactionist

Question 31

What major sociological perspective is Karl Marx associated with?

A) Symbolic interactionism
B) Conflict
C) Social constructionism
D) Structural functionalism

Question 32

In Marx's view of capitalism, he labeled the factory workers as the ______.

A) proletariat
B) bourgeoisie
C) lumpenproletariat
D) means of production

Question 33

Which statement exemplifies false consciousness?

A) The bourgeois class believing that they are the superior class
B) The bourgeois class not recognizing the social and economic status of the proletariat class
C) The proletariat class believing that they are the superior class
D) The proletariat class not recognizing the permanence of their social and economic status

Question 34

How would Karl Marx explain alienation?

A) as a means of preventing workers from reaching their full potential
B) as a means of separating workers into different classes
C) as a means of removing unproductive workers
D) as a means of encouraging independence and creativity

Question 35

According to Karl Marx, when a working-class person understands the upper class's use of exploitation, they can achieve ______.

A) false consciousness
B) true consciousness
C) species being
D) alienation

Question 36

Karl Marx argued that there were ten stages of ______.

A) societal development
B) true consciousness
C) economic production
D) value coercion

Question 37

Marx envisioned a(n) ______society where all citizens would be equal, but this vision has never become a reality.

A) communist
B) capitalist
C) anarchist
D) fascist

Question 38

Structural functionalist theorists view society as harmonious, whereas conflict theorists view society as ______.

A) ordered
B) equal
C) oppressive
D) traditional

Question 39

Symbolic interactionism falls under which theoretical perspective?

A) Macro
B) Micro
C) Mechanical
D) Organic

Question 40

What is the symbolic interactionist perspective?

A) It studies the social construction of reality through the use of shared symbols.
B) It studies the conflict that occurs with inequality.
C) It studies the way components of society work to everyone's mutual benefit.
D) It studies the way status levels separate groups from one another.

Question 41

According to symbolic interactionists, how is culture created?

A) Society creates laws for people to follow, which leads to culture.
B) Those in power create culture based on what they want.
C) Culture is created from the class structure and functions of society.
D) Groups of individuals create culture through shared symbols.

Question 42

A child learns how to communicate using both verbal and nonverbal methods. The channels that provide these methods of communication create meaning for society. Which sociological perspective would propose this?

A) Structural functionalism
B) Conflict
C) Symbolic interactionism
D) Social constructionism

Question 43

A child begins to wear clothes that he believes his friends will find appealing. Which sociological theory would see this action as a means of socialization?

A) Dramaturgical theory
B) Looking glass self theory
C) Conflict theory
D) Social construction theory

Question 44

A child sees a homeless person on a park bench and grimaces, as he has seen his mother do many times. The mother sees this reaction and smiles at the child. According to Cooley, this type of parental feedback is important because the child is ______.

A) learning to obey the parent
B) engaging in the correct behavior
C) responding to what he feels the feedback means
D) realizing that the parent is rewarding negative behavior

Question 45

Considering the looking glass self theory, how would an individual starting a new job be most likely to react to praise during the first week of work?

A) The individual will disregard the praise and work harder.
B) The individual will accept the praise and work less.
C) The individual will consider the praise unearned.
D) The individual will integrate that feedback into a sense of who they are as a worker.

Question 46

A college professor is collecting assignments from the students. One student did not complete the assignment and fails to turn it in. According to Goffman, this is an example of ______.

A) a violation of a social script
B) an inaccurate use of props
C) ignoring social actors
D) avoiding front stage

Question 47

According to Goffman, when an individual uses a credit card to buy an expensive smartphone, the ______.

A) credit card is a prop used to demonstrate the wealth of the actor.
B) purchase violates the social script.
C) expense of the purchase highlights the message of the social actor.
D) smartphone is part of the interaction between the social actors.

Question 48

A woman buys a designer dress to wear to her high school reunion and talks to others about her successful career and new house. Which of these is considered a prop that the woman is using in the front stage of the reunion?

A) talking about her successful career
B) talking about her new house
C) attending the high school reunion
D) the designer dress

Question 49

A couple attends a formal event with another couple with whom they would like to become friends. The couple makes a point to wear nice clothes and choose topics of conversation carefully. This couple is engaging in ______ management.

A) back stage
B) impression
C) team
D) front stage

Question 50

Which is a subject that could be studied through the symbolic interactionist perspective?

A) racial bias in federally assisted housing
B) gender inequality in professional workplaces
C) a girl competing on her high school's debate team
D) hazing rituals of sororities and fraternities in American colleges

Question 51

A symbolic interactionist would most likely study a corporation's decision to hire a White applicant over a better qualified racial minority by studying the ______.

A) overall hiring process of the corporation
B) general experiences of both applicants
C) racial makeup of the corporation's employees
D) hiring practices of several other major corporations

Question 52

Which perspective is a combination of symbolic interactionism and conflict theory?

A) dramaturgical
B) the looking glass self
C) social constructionism
D) functionalism

Question 53

An immigrant family works hard and builds a lucrative business over the years. Yet, their success is restricted due to several anti-immigrant policies. Which perspective would find it most important to study this issue by focusing on immigration policy development, not the specific case of the immigrant family?

A) conflict perspective
B) symbolic interactionism
C) structural functionalism
D) social constructionism

Question 54

According to the ______ perspective, stratification is ultimately created and sustained through social systems, which must be made more just.

A) conflict
B) symbolic interactionism
C) structural functionalism
D) social constructionism

Question 55

When we say that society determines what is "reasonable," we mean that it is ______.

A) always in conflict
B) socially constructed
C) based on social interaction
D) out of our control

Question 56

Theoretical perspectives are groups of theories that explain how sociologists see the world.

Question 57

When individuals work for the good of their society, they are participating in social solidarity.

Question 58

Emilie Durkheim focused on social solidarity, which is based on order in society.

Question 59

Structural functionalists agree that rapid social change is a benefit to social equilibrium.

Question 60

Conflict theorists do NOT see societal problems as a result of individual bad behavior.

Question 61

Karl Marx's idea of alienation refers to people who lack culture.

Question 62

Conflict theorists note that oppression is typically economic.

Question 63

According to symbolic interactionists, society is a social construction.

Question 64

Culture includes language, numbers, and gestures.

Question 65

At six years old, Bobby is being socialized every day, even though he doesn't know it. This is called elementary socialization.

Question 66

When the American West was being discovered, groups of people banded together to cross the country and build new towns. They adopted a way of life that suited them and a shared purpose. In other words, they created a culture.

Question 67

When children worry about what other children think of them, and base their own feelings about themselves on those interpretations, this demonstrates the looking glass self.

Question 68

Nikki's parents are hard-working and always show her how much they love her. When Nikki grew up, she mirrored their work ethic and affectionate behaviors. Nikki's parents are a primary group for her.

Question 69

Cooley believed that socialization continues until a person is an adult, at which point it becomes fixed.

Question 70

In dramaturgical theory, when you are texting with friends, you are on the back stage.

Question 71

Explain the function of theoretical perspectives in the field of sociology and list the three main sociological theoretical perspectives.

Question 72

Explain the structural functionalist perspective and how it relates to society.

Question 73

According to Durkheim and the structural functionalist perspective, why is punishment necessary for a society?

Question 74

Discuss Marx's ideas of advanced capitalism and the three categories of people within it.

Question 75

Discuss how symbolic interactionists explain the development of culture.

Question 76

Define Marx's theory of false consciousness. Apply it to a contemporary problem.

Question 77

How does the looking glass self theory explain the development of self?

Question 78

Explain and illustrate the components of the dramaturgical theory through your own example of a social interaction.

Question 79

Explain the interaction of symbolic interactionism and conflict theory in social constructionism.

Question 80

How do the three main sociological perspectives operate together to provide a more complete view of reality?