Deck 5: Social Structure and Interaction

Question 1

Which of the following is True about master status?

A) It is a series of social relationships linking a person directly to others and therefore indirectly to still more people.
B) It is a term used by sociologists to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large group or society.
C) It is a status that dominates others and thereby determines a person's general position in society.
D) It is a social position attained by a person largely through that individual's own efforts.

Answer 1

It is a status that dominates others and thereby determines a person's general position in society.

Question 2

Which of the following statements BEST describes the relationship between individuals and society?

A) The development of an individual is independent from the development of the society in which that individual lives.
B) Society affects the development of the individual, but the individual has no effect on the development of society.
C) None of the answer choices are correct.
D) It is interdependent, with individuals both creating society and being products of that society.

Answer 2

It is interdependent, with individuals both creating society and being products of that society.

Question 3

Summarize sociologist Gerhard Lenski's view of technology and society. How does his view differ from that of Émile Durkheim's mechanical and organic solidarity and Ferdinand Tönnies's Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft?

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

As the patterns of relationships between us become routine, alternative ways of organizing society seem less possible.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT an example of an online social network?

A) Twitter
B) Fox News
C) Facebook
D) LinkedIn

Question 6

Sociologists who use the conflict paradigm focus on

A) the consequences of difference and how institutions reinforce inequality.
B) the importance of education to the advancement of the economy.
C) how individual relationships are reflected within a particular social group.
D) how out-groups provide and maintain a sense of basic fairness.

Question 7

Planning based on the human relations approach focuses on

A) resolving workers' feelings, frustrations, and emotional need for job satisfaction.
B) satisfying workers' economic expectations.
C) the conflict perspective's critique of capitalism.
D) allowing workers to communicate and participate within small groups.

Question 8

Which of the following statements about social roles is correct?

A) Actual performance of a social role varies from individual to individual.
B) The roles that belong to a given social status are generally performed in the same manner.
C) Social roles are performed in the same manner by those holding ascribed, but not achieved, statuses.
D) Role expectations and actual role performances vary for those with ascribed, but not achieved, statuses.

Question 9

Which of the following is True about social networks?

A) They can link individuals together in ways that are not intentional or apparent.
B) They may constrain individuals by limiting the range of their interactions.
C) All of the answer choices are correct.
D) They may empower people by making vast resources available to them.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT an example of the social construction of reality?

A) adolescence
B) democracy
C) racism
D) childbirth

Question 11

Which of the following is characteristic of the emergence of industrial societies?

A) There is an increased exchange of goods and services between villages.
B) Formal educational institutions develop.
C) Families and communities cannot continue to function as self-sufficient units.
D) All of the answer choices are correct.

Question 12

Terence is an active participant in the culture surrounding the Star Wars films. He belongs to several online discussion groups and attends fan conventions and events every year. Most of his close friends are people he has met through these activities. The bond he enjoys with his friends based on their shared interest is an example of a(n)

A) coalition.
B) homophily.
C) interest group.
D) social network.

Question 13

In a small town in the Midwest, all of the children attend the same school and most of the community members attend the same church. Everyone in this community knows everyone else, and they have shared numerous experiences with one another. This community would be characterized by Ferdinand Tönnies as a

A) group with organic solidarity.
B) Gemeinschaft.
C) group with mechanical solidarity.
D) Gesellschaft.

Question 14

Implicit in the concept of social structure is the idea that we, as individuals, can define and redefine our position within society at will.

Question 15

An achieved status is a social position

A) assigned to a group without regard for unique talents or characteristics.
B) assigned to an individual at birth.
C) that is within our power to change.
D) given to a person based upon that person's age, race, or gender.

Question 16

Which of the following is True of social interaction?

A) It is reciprocal.
B) All of the answer choices are correct.
C) It determined solely by biological instincts.
D) It requires technology.

Question 17

Role conflict and role strain are closely related, and role conflict is often considered a severe form of role strain.

Question 18

Which of the following has been LEAST shaped by McDonaldization?

A) sports stadiums
B) movie theaters
C) convenience stores
D) electricians

Question 19

Which of the following is an example of an ascribed status?

A) a South African
B) a corporation president
C) a fraternity member
D) a professional athlete

Question 20

Which of the following is an example of social interaction?

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) David tweets his opinions about the latest political crisis.
C) Felipe and Mary participate in a video conference.
D) Sally and Veronica argue about a new piece of gay rights legislation.

Question 21

What is social interaction?

A) a series of relationships linking a person directly to others and therefore indirectly to still more people
B) the way in which a society is organized into predictable and stable relationships
C) the process of learning norms, values, and beliefs for effective participation in social groups
D) a reciprocal exchange in which two or more people read, react, and respond to each other

Question 22

Differentiate between the concepts of ascribed and achieved status. Over which of these does an individual have more control? Use examples drawn from your own personal experiences to illustrate your answer.

Question 23

Learning how we should think and act through our interactions with others is a key way of

A) challenging accepted norms.
B) constructing society.
C) constructing the self.
D) asserting a sense of agency.

Question 24

What term is used to refer to organized and persistent social systems centered on meeting basic societal needs?

A) secondary groups
B) social institutions
C) functional movements
D) collaboration networks

Question 25

The implication of George Herbert Mead's statement that "No hard-and-fast line can be drawn between our own selves and the selves of others" is that the term "selves" is a social or relational conception.

Question 26

Émile Durkheim suggested that as a society becomes more interdependent and as the division of labor grows, the nature of solidarity becomes more

A) institutionalized.
B) organic.
C) preservationist.
D) mechanical.

Question 27

Which of the following is present within the ideal bureaucracy?

A) promotions made on the basis of "who you know"
B) hiring based on technical qualifications
C) subjective performance standards
D) All of the answer choices are correct.

Question 28

What does it mean to say that reality is socially constructed? To what extent does this imply that individuals are free to construct their own reality by choosing the nature of their interactions with other members of society?

Question 29

According to the scientific management approach, the cares and concerns of workers are

A) not relevant to managers.
B) an important aspect of any organization.
C) only important if they are poorly paid.
D) difficult to measure accurately.

Question 30

A primary group is a small group that is characterized by

A) shared goals and a high level of independence.
B) intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation.
C) impersonality and a low level of participation.
D) impersonality, with little intimacy or mutual understanding.

Question 31

Postindustrial societies are primarily concerned with

A) Both answers are true.
B) the processing and control of information.
C) providing services rather than manufacturing goods.
D) Neither answer is true.

Question 32

Which of the following is True about bureaucratization?

A) It is an organized pattern of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs.
B) It is the process by which an organization increasingly relies on technical-rational decision making in the pursuit of efficiency.
C) It is the process through which an organization identifies an entirely new objective because its traditional goals have been either realized or denied.
D) It is an element or process of society that may disrupt a social system or lead to a decrease in stability.

Question 33

The iron law of oligarchy is the principle that

A) all organizations, even democratic ones, tend to develop into a bureaucracy ruled by an elite few.
B) organizations are established on the basis of common interests.
C) each individual in a hierarchy tends to rise to a pre-determined level of incompetence.
D) most bureaucratic organizations eventually become internally corrupt and ruled through nepotism.

Question 34

Define the terms in-groups, out-groups, and reference groups. What function does each type of group fulfill? Distinguish between groups, coalitions, and social institutions.

Question 35

Of the three main sociological perspectives, which is likely to have the most negative view of social structure and social institutions? Which is likely to view them the most positively? Use real world examples to illustrate your answer.

Question 36

Which of the following is an achieved status?

A) Texan
B) Native American
C) daughter
D) news reporter

Question 37

An abstract model of the essential characteristics of a phenomenon is called a(n)

A) ideal type.
B) questionnaire.
C) appendage.
D) coalition.

Question 38

We are more likely to be socialized by primary groups than by secondary groups.

Question 39

In The Other America, Michael Harrington is critical of what element of postindustrial societies proposed by Daniel Bell?

A) the significance of blue-collar workers
B) the emphasis on consumerism
C) the emphasis on poverty as a moral failure
D) the significance of white-collar workers

Question 40

Role exit is defined as

A) the process of disengagement from a role that is central to one's self-identity in order to establish a new role and identity.
B) a difficulty that arises when the same social status imposes conflicting demands and expectations.
C) a difficulty that occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social statuses held by the same person.
D) a set of behavioral expectations imposed on people who occupy a given social status.

Question 41

Bureaucratic norms dictate that people be judged on performance rather than personality. The goal of these norms is to

A) reward original thought.
B) eliminate goal displacement.
C) promote equal treatment.
D) perpetuate nepotism.

Question 42

Which of the following statements about an ascribed status is correct?

A) It is often biological in origin, but significant mainly because of the social meanings attached to it.
B) All of the answer choices are correct.
C) It is a naturally evolving status that is usually easy to change when an individual becomes older.
D) It has the same social meaning in every society, which makes it easy for people to move seamlessly between societies.

Question 43

Which of the following is characteristic of a postindustrial society?

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) Families function as self-sufficient units.
C) Cultural exchange is primarily local.
D) The main output is services rather than goods.

Question 44

It is easier to change your ascribed status than it is to change your achieved status.

Question 45

Which of the following institutions helps fulfill the functional prerequisites of a society?

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) families
C) government
D) education

Question 46

Which term is used by sociologists to refer to the social positions we occupy relative to others?

A) social structure
B) status
C) class
D) culture

Question 47

According to the friendship paradox, within a social network, most people have

A) more friends than half of their friends, and fewer friends than the other half of their friends.
B) more friends than their friends have.
C) fewer friends than their friends have.
D) the same number of friends as their friends.

Question 48

A triad is the largest form of social network.

Question 49

Social interaction is the underlining framework of society that consists of the positions people occupy and the relationships between them.

Question 50

A young woman walks into her women's studies class, and looks at the person sitting to her left. He is the only male in the class. He is about 20 years old, wears a wedding ring, and carries a bag with a tennis racquet. Which of his characteristics is most likely his master status in the context of this class?

A) his gender
B) his marital status
C) his interest in tennis
D) his age

Question 51

Which of the following are examples of statuses?

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) doctor
C) Californian
D) son

Question 52

Functional prerequisites are

A) organized patterns of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs.
B) attempts to reach agreement with others concerning some objective.
C) functions that a society must perform if it has to survive.
D) social relationships that link a person directly to others and therefore indirectly to still more people.

Question 53

An ascribed status is a social position

A) assigned to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics.
B) attained by a person either through that person's own efforts or through the application of wealth.
C) that is part of an honorary title given to a person by a leader in that person's specific culture.
D) that can only be learned through years of either extensive education or field experience.

Question 54

Which of the following would be an example of a social institution?

A) the members of a choral group
B) the United States government
C) All of the answer choices are correct.
D) a networking group

Question 55

In general, one's ascribed status can heavily influence one's achieved status, but one's achieved status cannot affect one's ascribed status.

Question 56

A necessary part of the definition of the term "group" is that there must be a large number of people involved.