Deck 5: Groups and Organizations

Question 1

Reference groups can be primary groups, but they can never be secondary groups.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The sociologist who explored the primary group was Charles Horton Cooley.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

One person's in-group can be another person's out-group.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Asch's experiment in group conformity showed that most people would not compromise their personal judgment in order to avoid being seen as different.

Question 5

People riding together on a subway are called a social group.

Question 6

In general, people in secondary groups are more likely than people in primary groups to "keep score" in terms of who owes what to whom.

Question 7

Milgram's experiment showed that people are easily influenced by both "ordinary people" and legitimate authority figures.

Question 8

As the number of members in a group goes up, the number of possible relationships that connect them goes up much more quickly.

Question 9

The number of people in a group does not affect how the members interact with one another.

Question 10

Expressive leadership emphasizes the completion of tasks.

Question 11

The boundary that distinguishes members from nonmembers is clearer in secondary groups than in primary groups.

Question 12

Expressive leaders are more likely than instrumental leaders to enjoy more personal affection from group members.

Question 13

"Groupthink" is a form of social conformity in groups.

Question 14

In addition to keeping their individuality, members of a social group also think of themselves as a special "we."

Question 15

Simmel referred to a group of three as a dyad.

Question 16

As groups grow larger, they become less stable.

Question 17

In the process of anticipatory socialization, people use social groups they wish to join as reference groups.

Question 18

The leadership style that allows group members the most autonomy is "laissez-faire."

Question 19

Generally, people in secondary relationships think of others as being a means to some end.

Question 20

Irving Janis demonstrated how discussion always improves decision making in a social group.

Question 21

What do sociologists call two or more people who identify and interact with one another?

A) a dyad
B) a social group
C) a network
D) a crowd

Question 22

Compared to U.S.organizations, many formal organizations in Japan have had more qualities of primary groups.

Question 23

Max Weber believed the spread of bureaucracy would greatly improve the quality of life for modern people.

Question 24

Typically, the people with the largest social networks are young, well educated, and live in big cities.

Question 25

Scientific management was an effort to humanize the workplace.

Question 26

Frederick Taylor, the creator of "scientific management," would have favored a flatter organizational shape with more organizational flexibility.

Question 27

In today's information age, more competitive organizations have a more hierarchical, pyramid shape.

Question 28

A psychiatric hospital can be a coercive organization for a patient, a utilitarian organization for a psychiatrist, and a normative organization for a part-time volunteer.

Question 29

Formal organizations are designed to meet the personal needs of the participants.

Question 30

The development of social media has resulted in social networks becoming smaller.

Question 31

The success story of the McDonald's organization explains

A) that "fast food" is really not served very efficiently.
B) that the McDonald's idea never caught on abroad.
C) why so many small businesses do not succeed.
D) that the organizational principles of McDonald's have come to dominate our social life.

Question 32

Rosabeth Moss Kanter's research shows that clear rules, firmly and uniformly applied, increase a business's profitability.

Question 33

Oligarchy refers to the rule of the many by the few.

Question 34

As groups increase in size, interaction between members becomes more intense and personal.

Question 35

Internet sites such as Facebook help people create large social networks.

Question 36

The "McDonaldization" of society thesis echoes Weber's belief that rational systems are efficient, but also dehumanizing.

Question 37

Today's business organizations make greater use of competitive work teams.

Question 38

A social network is really a web of weak social ties.

Question 39

Bureaucracy places more importance on personal ties than on technical competence.

Question 40

As large organizations have expanded in the United States, privacy has increased.

Question 41

Imagine you are watching several dozen passengers sitting in an airport gate area waiting to board a plane.These people are an example of a

A) crowd.
B) group.
C) category.
D) network.

Question 42

You are part of a task force with a group leader who has a distant relationship with the group members and who is concerned with getting the job done.Which type of leader does your task force have?

A) a laissez-fair group leader
B) a democratic leader
C) an expressive leader
D) an instrumental leader

Question 43

A secondary group is a social group that

A) we experience late in life.
B) is impersonal and engages in some specific activity.
C) engages in many very important activities.
D) is generally much smaller than a primary group.

Question 44

Charles Cooley referred to a small social group whose members share personal and enduring relationships as

A) an instrumental group.
B) an expressive group.
C) a primary group.
D) a secondary group.

Question 45

One characteristic of secondary groups is

A) their small size.
B) weak emotional ties between members.
C) strong emotional ties between members.
D) their long-term duration.

Question 46

A temporary, loosely formed collection of people who may or may not interact is a

A) crowd.
B) group.
C) category.
D) population.

Question 47

In your group, the leader is skilled at using humor to reduce tension and lighten serious moments.Which type of leader does your group have?

A) a democratic leader
B) a laissez-faire leader
C) an expressive leader
D) an instrumental leader

Question 48

Which type of leadership style takes charge of making decisions and makes sure people do what they are told?

A) authoritarian leadership
B) democratic leadership
C) laissez-faire leadership
D) expressive leadership

Question 49

An example of a primary group is

A) a family that has gathered to celebrate a religious holiday.
B) carpenters gathering at a work site.
C) a student government meeting.
D) a reunion of the graduating class of 1977.

Question 50

Assume you are one of many people assembled at a university graduation ceremony.The term that best describes this gathering is a

A) peer group.
B) category.
C) primary group.
D) secondary group.

Question 51

Why did Cooley refer to some groups as "primary groups"?

A) They are among the first groups we experience in life.
B) They include more members than secondary groups.
C) They sometimes only exist for a short period of time.
D) Their members often consider group membership as a means to a goal.

Question 52

What is the correct sociological term for all people with a common status, such as "college students"?

A) a crowd
B) a group
C) a category
D) a network

Question 53

An example of a secondary group is

A) a fraternity chapter meeting on campus.
B) a Microsoft Corporation awards banquet.
C) parents meeting with their daughter and her coach.
D) girl scouts at a cookout.

Question 54

What is the term for group leadership that emphasizes the completion of tasks?

A) democratic leadership
B) authoritarian leadership
C) expressive leadership
D) instrumental leadership

Question 55

In general, we see a(n) _______ as a means to an end we see a(n) _____ as an end in itself.

A) expressive group instrumental group
B) crowd category
C) secondary group primary group
D) primary group secondary group

Question 56

_________ _______refers to group leadership that emphasizes collective well-being.

A) Democratic leadership
B) Authoritarian leadership
C) Expressive leadership
D) Instrumental leadership

Question 57

Which of the following is every society's most important primary group?

A) the peer group
B) the work group
C) the family
D) the play group

Question 58

Solomon Asch's research, in which subjects were asked to match lines, showed that

A) people seek out friends with whom they tend to agree.
B) people defined as "leaders" have great power over their subjects.
C) people tend to see most things differently.
D) group membership has the power to generate conformity.

Question 59

Which type of leader encourages everyone in a group to have a say in what happens?

A) authoritarian leader
B) democratic leader
C) laissez-faire leader
D) expressive leader

Question 60

What type of leaders downplay their own power, letting group members function more or less on their own?

A) authoritarian leaders
B) democratic leaders
C) laissez-faire leaders
D) instrumental leaders

Question 61

Formal organizations are

A) small groups with elected leaders.
B) large secondary groups with a goal orientation.
C) networks that have many members.
D) only agencies that are part of the government.

Question 62

The development of social media means that

A) fewer people in the United States participate in social networks.
B) it is no longer important for people in our society to be "well connected."
C) in the computer age, typical social networks now link more people.
D) our population is increasingly isolated socially with smaller social networks.

Question 63

If you want your social group to be open to any and all people as new members, you would encourage a

A) socially diverse membership.
B) large group size.
C) group that is physically segregated.
D) small group size.

Question 64

A social group that people use as a point of reference in making evaluations or decisions is called a

A) peer group.
B) reference group.
C) out-group.
D) dyad.

Question 65

Simmel interpreted the dyad as

A) less stable than groups with many members.
B) involving less intense interaction.
C) less meaningful than the triad.
D) more stable than groups with many members.

Question 66

A social group toward which a person feels competition or opposition is

A) an in-group.
B) an out-group.
C) a reference group.
D) a social network.

Question 67

Samuel Stouffer's study of soldier morale during World War II led to what conclusion?

A) The greater the chances of getting ahead, the happier people are.
B) Happiness is a matter of personal values and standards.
C) Whatever their situation in absolute terms, people evaluate themselves and make comparisons to others in specific reference groups.
D) The less chance for promotion, the higher soldiers' morale.

Question 68

In general, the largest social networks include people who are

A) young and living in cities.
B) older and working class.
C) living in rural areas.
D) unfamiliar with formal organizations.

Question 69

Which sociological concept refers to a number of weak social ties among people who have little common identity and little interaction?

A) primary group
B) triad
C) network
D) dyad

Question 70

During "groupthink"

A) a group shares information widely and makes an effective policy decision.
B) a group leader makes a decision without consulting anyone and the decision turns out to be a bad one.
C) group members seek consensus, discouraging people from speaking freely and end up making a decision based on limited information.
D) a group gets different ideas from everyone and is unable to come up with any decision at all.

Question 71

Which type of social group commands a member's esteem and loyalty?

A) an in-group
B) an out-group
C) a reference group
D) a social network

Question 72

According to the findings of Solomon Asch,

A) many people are willing to compromise their own judgment to avoid being seen as different by others.
B) many people have weak self-images and seek social approval.
C) ordinary people are often not truthful to people who are in power.
D)many people are unwilling to compromise their own judgment to please authority figures.

Question 73

Stanley Milgram's research, in which subjects used a "shock generator," showed

A) people become angry when others disagree with them.
B) the ability to withstand pain varies with cultural background.
C) people are surprisingly likely to follow the orders of not only real authority figures but also groups of ordinary individuals.
D) that ordinary people are surprisingly independent in their judgments.

Question 74

A prisoner would consider a maximum-security prison

A) a normative organization.
B) a coercive organization.
C) a utilitarian organization.
D) a voluntary organization.

Question 75

What is the sociological term coined by Irving Janis for a limited understanding of some issue resulting from group conformity?

A) reference group consciousness
B) groupthink
C) in-group thinking
D) tunnel vision

Question 76

A "triad" is

A) any pyramid-shaped organization.
B) a trial marriage.
C) a social group with three members.
D) a temporary social group.

Question 77

Which type of formal organization is sometimes called a "voluntary association"?

A) normative organizations
B) coercive organizations
C) utilitarian organizations
D) All of these are correct.

Question 78

During the process of groupthink

A) group members quickly settle on a position and then they treat other possibilities as oppositional.
B) group members encourage each other to see the issue from multiple points of view.
C) group members treat reaching consensus as less important than encouraging everyone to speak up openly.
D) The group seeks diverse members and ends up being unable to reach a consensus.

Question 79

Social networks are typically

A) built on primary relationships.
B) "fuzzy" groups made up of people we "know of" rather than those we know well.
C) characterized by a strong sense of membership.
D) characterized by boundaries defining membership.

Question 80

A social group with only two members is called a

A) primary group.
B) dyad.
C) triad.
D) bond.