Deck 15: Social Change

Question 1

Recognizing the impact our individual position has on who we are and how we think and act, and taking responsibility for the impacts our actions have on others is known as

A) public sociology.
B) personal sociology.
C) applied sociology.
D) practical sociology.

Answer 1

personal sociology.

Question 2

During what era did sociologists begin to reject early crowd theory?

A) the period after the 9/11 terror attacks
B) the gay rights movement of the early 1990s
C) the hippie movement of the 1970s
D) the social movements of the 1960s

Answer 2

the social movements of the 1960s

Question 3

Scientists use technology to increase food production and to make agriculture more efficient and economical through

A) genetic modification.
B) biotech supplements.
C) organic breeding.
D) techno produce.

Answer 3

genetic modification.

Question 4

Sociology teaches us that

A) we are responsible for our society whether we take action to change it or not.
B) once they escape false consciousness, the general population will recognize the flaws in society and reform it.
C) individuals are constrained by society in such a manner that they have little ability to change it.
D) society is naturally progressing toward a better future.

Question 5

Our socialization and the social positions we occupy are usually good predictors of the choices we make.

Question 6

Which of the following is not an example of modern society's efforts to measure success quantitatively?

A) the Pulitzer Prize
B) the No Child Left Behind Act
C) presidential elections
D) the Nielsen ratings for television shows

Question 7

The Marxist view of social change is appealing to some because it

A) Neither answer choice is correct.
B) promotes change as a means of eliminating social inequality.
C) permits people to seize their freedom from injustice.
D) Both answer choices are correct.

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT accurate concerning Jacques Ellul's assessments of modern technological society?

A) He argued that we need to focus more on measuring success in quantitative terms.
B) He expressed concern that we lose something human when living in a technique-focused system.
C) He argued that the key factor to consider is technique rather than technology.
D) He was concerned about our commitment to maximizing efficiency and productivity.

Question 9

For a social movement to succeed, coordinated action is essential. For this reason, social movements often

A) do not reflect the objective position of their members.
B) exclude women from positions of power and influence.
C) become bureaucratic.
D) need charismatic leadership.

Question 10

_____ culture involves our physical modification of the natural environment to suit our purpose.

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) Cognitive
C) Material
D) Normative

Question 11

Which of the following BEST illustrates relative deprivation?

A) None of the answers illustrates relative deprivation.
B) middle management workers in a corporation who are discontent because they cannot afford the luxury cars that their bosses have
C) residents of a squatter settlement in Nigeria who are incapable of affording adequate housing and plumbing
D) a group of sweatshop workers who are incapable of buying adequate food for their families

Question 12

The role of women in the family has changed dramatically in the United States during the last 50 years. Women have furthered their education and developed careers. This change in the family has necessitated adaptive changes in school systems, corporations, churches, and other facets of society to provide child care services. This situation reflects which view of social change?

A) the equilibrium model
B) the progressive model
C) the social evolution model
D) the conflict model

Question 13

The expectation that African and Latin American countries will become more complex, as Western societies have, is consistent with

A) resource mobilization theory.
B) disengagement theory.
C) world systems theory.
D) social evolution theory.

Question 14

The ways we establish, abide by, and enforce principles of conduct comprise

A) None of the answer choices are correct.
B) material culture.
C) normative culture.
D) cognitive culture.

Question 15

In what stage of Comte's Law of Three Stages does worship of concrete, active beings give way to the belief that abstract forces guide what happens in the world?

A) theological
B) metaphysical
C) theoretical
D) positive

Question 16

What are the various elements that need to be in place if social movements are to succeed? Which of these is the most indispensable, in your view? Illustrate your answer with real world examples.

Question 17

Which of the following is not a concern that sociologists have about surveillance and censorship?

A) It can impact hiring and discipline decisions at schools and sites of employment.
B) It will prevent terrorism and other threats to American citizens.
C) These techniques can be used by powerful groups to weaken other groups.
D) Surveillance and censorship can violate our privacy.

Question 18

If the United States Congress passed strict anticigarette laws that banned their sale anywhere in the country, it would create serious problems for cigarette manufacturers, retailers, tobacco growers, tobacco farm workers, truckers, and many other employees in the cigarette industry. Each of these groups would probably oppose this legislation because they are examples of

A) culture resisters.
B) vested interests.
C) culture lag.
D) nonmaterialists.

Question 19

Which of the following is True about groups such as the Luddites?

A) Their opposition to technology is completely irrational and a result of false fears.
B) All of the answer choices are correct.
C) They resist all forms of technology as being immoral.
D) They resist technology's ability to undercut familiar norms and values.

Question 20

Gustave Le Bon's theory of crowd psychology seemed logical, in part, because of the era in which it was proposed, during the time of

A) Napoleon's conquest of Europe.
B) the last days of the French Revolution.
C) the early Black Civil Rights movement in the United States.
D) Hitler's rise to power in Germany.

Question 21

The word sabotage derives from the practice of French workers attempting to destroy machines by throwing shoes into them.

Question 22

Neil Postman argues that we should

A) allow technology to shape the system in which we live.
B) avoid adopting all new technology.
C) critically examine new technology before adopting it.
D) passively adopt new technology whenever it is presented.

Question 23

Which of the following is True about Luddites?

A) They were early resisters of technology.
B) None of the answer choices are correct.
C) They were early adapters of technology.
D) They were early creators of technology.

Question 24

Sociology can help improve society by

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) diminishing our reliance on individualistic models.
C) encouraging discussion that can lead to a better future.
D) helping us to view the world from a variety of perspectives.

Question 25

Older resource mobilization models emphasize how social movements operate, while newer theories focus on why people participate and continue to engage. _____ theorists have been especially influential in this shift.

A) Functionalist
B) Conflict
C) Interactionist
D) Feminist

Question 26

Which term refers to groups of individuals and organizations collectively committed to bringing about, or resisting, fundamental social change in a systematic way?

A) social groups
B) power movements
C) social movements
D) pressure groups

Question 27

Which theory of social change holds that societies progress from simple to complex over time?

A) globalization
B) None of the answer choices are correct.
C) social evolution
D) modernization

Question 28

According to the _____, when changes occur in one part of a society, there must be adjustments in other parts.

A) social evolution model
B) equilibrium model
C) progressive model
D) conflict model

Question 29

Which concept does Talcott Parsons use to indicate the division of a singular social body into specialized subsystems?

A) expansion
B) value specialization
C) differentiation
D) adaptive upgrading

Question 30

Shifts in the way humans think and act within society that alter material, cognitive, and normative culture is called

A) social evolution.
B) social movements.
C) progress.
D) social change.

Question 31

What is the term Thorstein Veblen coined to describe people or groups who will suffer in the event of social change?

A) vested interests
B) nonmaterialists
C) false consciousness
D) culture resisters

Question 32

What made it possible to successfully organize and carry out the coordinated March for Our Lives events within weeks of the Parkland school shootings?

A) committed leadership
B) an overwhelming amount of funding
C) social networking apps
D) widespread national outrage

Question 33

Evaluate the positive and negative consequences of genetically modified food. What ethical concerns are raised by genetic manipulation?

Question 34

What element must be present before discontent will be channeled into a social movement?

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) The group must feel that its goals cannot be achieved through conventional means.
C) The group must feel that they have a right to their goals.
D) The group must feel downtrodden in comparison to an appropriate reference group.

Question 35

Most social theorists now accept that as societies evolve, they become more complex and more sophisticated.

Question 36

All social movements today embrace the efficiency that bureaucratic structures provide.

Question 37

Sociologist Anthony Oberschall argued that to sustain social protest or resistance, there must be

A) an emotional message and an empathetic response.
B) an organizational base and continuity of leadership.
C) inspirational leadership and committed followers.
D) a "meeting of minds" between leadership and membership.

Question 38

A person who experiences a sense of relative deprivation is making a subjective, rather than objective, assessment of their situation.

Question 39

According to equilibrium theory, the natural state of society is one of stability and balance.

Question 40

Why have some groups historically resisted new technologies? How do Neil Postman's five questions about technology help us to understand and better evaluate the potential consequences of adopting new technologies?

Question 41

The vast majority of Americans feel that cloning a human

A) is highly ethical.
B) is morally wrong.
C) will always be impossible.
D) will be a great accomplishment.

Question 42

Max Weber laid the foundation for the resource mobilization model with his work on social power. Which one of these is NOT a resource shaping relative social power within society?

A) gender
B) status
C) party
D) class

Question 43

Differentiation is one of the four processes of social change that Talcott Parsons viewed as inevitable. The relatively recent decision of medical schools to admit members of different social groups, such as women and African American, is a good example of differentiation in practice.

Question 44

Sociologist James Jasper highlights three categories of moral emotions. Which of the following is NOT one of those categories?

A) compassion
B) justice
C) guilt
D) pride

Question 45

The writing of Auguste Comte is an example of

A) conflict theory.
B) modernization theory.
C) world systems theory.
D) social evolution theory.

Question 46

Which of the following have scientists not yet cloned?

A) a deer
B) a mouse
C) a pig
D) a human

Question 47

Compare the social evolution theory of social change with the equilibrium model as proposed by Talcott Parsons. Evaluate the relative merits of the two approaches using real world examples of recent and significant social change.

Question 48

The process of bringing the insights gained through sociological observation and analysis into the public sphere, thereby seeking to bring about positive social change is referred to as

A) personal sociology.
B) public sociology.
C) practical sociology.
D) applied sociology.

Question 49

The more homogenous a decision-making group, the more effective outcomes the group will produce.

Question 50

What does it mean to say that, "sociology is a verb"? Compare and contrast "personal" with "public" sociology as tools for bringing about social change.

Question 51

In general, those in society who have access to the most power and wealth have a vested interest in preserving the status quo and opposing social change.

Question 52

Which of the following is NOT an example of the dramatic shifts we have witnessed as a result of human agency?

A) the collapse of Communism
B) the cloning of complex animals
C) the computer revolution
D) the rise in American patriotism

Question 53

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

A) a group that organizes to protest the absence of a product from their local supermarket
B) All of the answer choices are correct.
C) a group of parents who protest the firing of a teacher for being homosexual
D) people who organize for or against abortion rights

Question 54

In what element of culture is it especially important to consider how we choose to act?

A) normative
B) material
C) cognitive
D) None of the answer choices are correct.

Question 55

After the 1999 Columbine school shootings, the community used the slogan "We are Columbine" in an era before hashtags. That slogan is illustrative of which of James Jasper's three categories of moral emotions?

A) justice
B) compassion
C) pride
D) All of the answer choices are correct.

Question 56

Recently, medical schools have practiced ______ by admitting increasing numbers of women and African Americans.

A) differentiation
B) inclusion
C) value generalization
D) adaptation

Question 57

Which of the following is NOT an example of dramatic recent social change?

A) All of these are examples of dramatic recent social change.
B) the collapse of communism
C) the computer revolution
D) the development of nuclear weapons

Question 58

If we only expose ourselves, through social media or other interaction, to like-minded people, what may happen?

A) All of the answer choices are correct.
B) We will likely develop a more focused, sophisticated understanding of the "why" behind our beliefs.
C) We may be able to see limitations or holes in the plans and programs we propose.
D) We may find ourselves in an echo chamber, cut off from diverse opinions and information.

Question 59

What action, taken by Scottish scientists in 1997, reignited the debate on genetic engineering?

A) the cloning of a sheep.
B) Neither answer choice is correct.
C) Both answers choices are correct.
D) growing tomatoes without soil.

Question 60

Our mental and symbolic representations of reality reference

A) normative culture.
B) cognitive culture.
C) material culture.
D) All of the answer choices are correct.

Question 61

A "technique-focused" system is one that prioritizes the quantitative measurement of success.