Deck 11: Cultures, Social Change, and Crowds

Question 1

Which of the following statements is the most appropriate description of a culture?

A) A collection of a large number of individuals who come together in a common place for a common purpose.
B) A group of individuals who share a common social identity.
C) A large group of individuals in geographic proximity and who share a common set of social norms.
D) A large social group that exists to produce products or provide services.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following best describes the relationship between nationality and culture?

A) Culture can in some cases be the same as nationality, but may in other cases be smaller than or larger than nationality.
B) Generally, there is a one-to-one relationship between nationality and culture.
C) There is more than one culture within a single nation.
D) There is more than one nation within a single culture.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Independence is to ____ culture as interdependence is to _____ culture.

A) Western; Eastern
B) Eastern; Western
C) southern; northern
D) female; male

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In comparison to individuals from Western cultures, individuals from Eastern cultures are more likely to feel proud for

A) their own individual achievements.
B) their own individual failures.
C) their in-group's achievements.
D) out-group achievements.

Question 5

Children who attempt to develop harmonious, positive relationships with others even at the cost of personal benefits are most likely to come from which of the following?

A) Western culture.
B) Romanian culture.
C) Eastern culture.
D) French culture.

Question 6

The characteristic of a culture that has the most powerful impact on individual behavior is

A) how old and well kept the culture is.
B) the language spoken within the culture.
C) the social norms of the culture.
D) the religion of the culture.

Question 7

The norm of independence characteristic of Western culture refers to

A) conformity and obedience to one's group norms.
B) duty and responsibility to one's family.
C) maintaining one's honor in the face of threat by actively defending it.
D) valuing one's personal self and promoting one's individual success in comparison to others.

Question 8

In Korea, a person's address might be listed as Korea, Seoul, 814 Sunrise Street, Kim. What does such listing indicate about the Korean culture in comparison to US culture?

A) People in Korea are generally more nationalistic than people in the U.S.
B) People in Korea have a collectivistic or interdependent orientation.
C) Nothing; this is just a way of listing addresses and it does not have any cultural connotation.
D) Koreans have political strategies to make their people to identify strongly with their country.

Question 9

The outcomes of independence and interdependence norms are best illustrated by the research showing that

A) smaller groups of individuals with unique beliefs do persist within larger groups.
B) individuals who feel that they are treated with respect and admired by the other group members have a more positive social identity.
C) individuals from Eastern cultures respond more cooperatively toward other in-group members in comparison to participants from Western cultures.
D) within the U.S., men from southern states respond more negatively and with greater emotion when they are insulted in comparison to individuals from northern states.

Question 10

Which of the following best illustrates the principle of optimal distinctiveness?

A) All members of Western societies have independent orientations.
B) Individuals in all cultures will prefer to maintain both their independent and their dependent orientations such that they create a balance between their individual and their social identities.
C) Some cultures have many norms, accompanied by strong sanctions for violating those norms, whereas other cultures have fewer norms and are more tolerant of deviant behavior.
D) The cultural differences of independence and interdependence are decreasing in today's globalized society.

Question 11

Which of the following best demonstrates that it is reasonable to think of organizations as a type of culture?

A) Organizations exist to produce products or to provide services.
B) Individuals in organizations frequently try to improve their status by contributing to meeting the organization's goals.
C) An organization is made up of a network of connected individuals who share important values and have a common social identity.
D) Organizations have a well-established group structure with high group cohesion.

Question 12

A pattern of beliefs, values, norms and practices that are shared by the members of a culture and that provide meaning for the culture is

A) a stereotype.
B) a social category.
C) a social representation.
D) an individual representation.

Question 13

Dynamic social impact theory predicts that

A) over time, within a nation, differences among cultures will become less pronounced, and the nation will become more culturally homogeneous.
B) if the cultures in two organizations are compatible or "fit" together well, they could merge smoothly, whereas if the two cultures have different underlying values, then inter-group conflicts are likely.
C) clusters of individuals who hold different beliefs from those in other clusters will develop within the larger culture, and thus that there will be cultural diversity.
D) individuals who belong to a low-status group will attempt to leave that group and move to a higher-status group.

Question 14

Whether or not individuals accept their low-status positions or attempt to change them depends upon

A) family norms.
B) perception of both a need and an opportunity to produce change.
C) the status system of the group.
D) interdependent values.

Question 15

The acceptance of one's own low status as part of the proper and normal functioning of society is known as

A) the norm of interdependence.
B) false consciousness.
C) self-consciousness.
D) self-monitoring.

Question 16

Which of the following is an individual level process that people may use to create positive social identity when they find themselves to be a member of a group that does not provide a positive social identity for them?

A) Deindividuation.
B) Social creativity.
C) Collective action.
D) False consciousness.

Question 17

Members of low-status group are most likely to use social creativity strategies to change their status when

A) group boundaries are perceived as permeable.
B) group boundaries are seen as impermeable.
C) they are not constrained by physical appearance or cultural norms.
D) they have the support of out-group members.

Question 18

Social creativity refers to

A) attempts on the part of one group to change the social status hierarchy by improving the status of their own group relative to others.
B) the use of strategies that allow members of low-status groups to perceive their group as better than other groups.
C) developing a positive social identity.
D) joining different movements at the same time in order to maintain and increase one's group identity.

Question 19

Which of the following is an example of fraternalistic relative deprivation?

A) The students at a college that does not have a particularly good academic standing look to the superior performance of their sports teams as a way of creating positive self-perception and social identity.
B) Women's perception of their abilities and of the potential they have to change the existing status system and become managers.
C) The perception of African-Americans in the U.S. that they have lower status than European Americans.
D) Members of an association who perceive that the members in the association's board are trustworthy and respectful.

Question 20

If members of a low-status group perceive that existing group differences are unstable, and thus may change over time,

A) they will be motivated to attempt to change the status relationships through collective action.
B) they will be motivated to find characteristics by which their group excels.
C) they will accept their own group status as part of the proper and normal functioning of the society.
D) they will attempt to leave the low-status group and move to a higher-status group.

Question 21

Deindividuation occurs in a mob because the group members

A) have a common purpose or goal.
B) have strong social norms.
C) become anonymous and stop thinking of themselves as individuals.
D) become frustrated.

Question 22

Which of the following would be predicted from the concept of deindividuation?

A) Larger crowds produce more aggressive and harmful behavior due to increased likelihood of breaking norms.
B) Larger crowds produce less aggressive behavior due to decreased social identity.
C) Larger crowds produce less aggressive behavior due to increased disorganization.
D) Larger crowds do not behave in any way differently than smaller crowds.

Question 23

The results showing that research participants dressed in Ku Klux Klan uniforms shocked significantly more than those dressed in nurse uniforms when given the opportunity to administer shock to other individuals as part of a learning experiment support the idea that

A) people obey the authority of the experimenter regardless of what their personal beliefs are.
B) deindividuated individuals do not necessarily become more anti-social, but they rather conform to what is perceived as the current norm.
C) people are more aggressive when they are deindividuated.
D) the tendency to adopt in-group norms will be greater when there is more than one group present in that situation.

Question 24

Which of the following concepts has been used to explain mob behavior?

A) Deindividuation.
B) Group polarization.
C) Cognitive dissonance.
D) Social categorization.

Question 25

What is the critical difference between the deindividuation and the norm approaches to mob behavior?

A) The deindividuation approach focuses on frustration whereas norm theories focus on conformity.
B) The deindividuation approach focuses on in-group processes whereas norm theories focus on inter-group processes.
C) The deindividuation approach focuses on the loss of social norms in the mob whereas norm theories focus on the development of new social norms.
D) The deindividuation approach is a cognitive approach to mob behavior whereas norm theory is a sociological approach to mob behavior.

Question 26

Explain the concept of culture and how it influences the beliefs and behaviors of individuals.

Question 27

Describe the characteristics of individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Consider research that has shown the difference between the two orientations. What other cultural differences have been demonstrated?

Question 28

What is a social representation? Give an example of one. Consider how Latané's dynamic social influence model explains the spread of ideas through large social groups. What research has supported his model?

Question 29

How do individuals react when they find themselves to be a member of a group that does not provide a positive social identity for them?

Question 30

Compare and contrast the deindividuation and the social norm theories of mob behavior. Which do you find most useful, and why?