Deck 4: Social Groups and Formal Organizations

Question 1

The concept of relative deprivation suggests we tend to be discontented when we experience a gap between what we have and what we believe we should have.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Research showed that the popular adage "two's company,three's a crowd" is a myth.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A group consists of two or more people who share a feeling of unity but who do not necessarily require stable patterns of social interaction.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Although the leading cause of death for U.S.teenagers is car crashes,the death rate drops when teens travel in groups.

Question 5

The Kennedy administration's Bay of Pigs invasion illustrates Parkinson's Law.

Question 6

Recent studies confirm that democratic leadership always yields better results than authoritarian leadership.

Question 7

Instrumental ties tend to dominate secondary groups.

Question 8

Groupthink is a concept where group members share an illusion of invulnerability that leads to overconfidence and a tendency to ignore contrary evidence.

Question 9

Sociologically speaking,individuality is the wellspring of our humanness.

Question 10

Garrett J.Hardin's tragedy of the commons illustrates a social dilemma in which the consequences of personal self-interest results in social disaster.

Question 11

Expressive group ties are those social links formed to achieve a specific goal.

Question 12

John James found that emotions tend to play a greater role in larger groups than they do in dyads.

Question 13

Size,face-to-face contact,and the development of group bonds are factors affecting the likelihood that primary groups will arise.

Question 14

Primary groups are fundamental to both individuals and society because they are critical to the socialization process,to personal need satisfaction,and to social control.

Question 15

The concepts of in-group and out-group are important because they highlight the physical barriers to group membership for many different people.

Question 16

Thoreau's observation,"If a man does not keep pace with his companions,perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer," illustrates the view that we tend to evaluate and guide our behavior by our own independent standards.

Question 17

Two types of leadership roles tend to evolve in small groups: the instrumental leader and the expressive leader.

Question 18

Instrumental group ties are those social links formed when we become emotionally committed to other people.

Question 19

The old saying that "many hands make light the work" turns out to be true;each person in a group tends to do less work than if he or she were alone.

Question 20

Contrary to popular opinion,researchers found that authoritarian leadership tends to produce low levels of frustration and hostile feelings.

Question 21

Sociologist Charles Perrow claims that our world is more loosely coupled than structural theories admit.

Question 22

The U.S.government employed approximately 1 of 109 Americans in mid-2005.

Question 23

Max Weber was truly optimistic about bureaucracy.

Question 24

According to the text's discussion of group interactions and people's driving behavior,

A) the death rate is lower when teenagers travel in groups.
B) for older drivers,fatal crash rates go up significantly for drivers with passengers.
C) the highest death rate is for teenage drivers who are operating a vehicle alone.
D) None of the choices are correct.

Question 25

Two or more people who share a sense of unity and who are bound together in relatively stable patterns of social interaction are known as a

A) group.
B) social class.
C) society.
D) culture.

Question 26

The text notes that employee ownership guarantees labor peace.

Question 27

Groups are

A) constructed realities.
B) not tangible things.
C) a clear application of the Thomas Theorem.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 28

Overall,new management strategies over the past 30 years emphasized a lessening of hierarchy and authoritarianism.

Question 29

Max Weber developed a description of bureaucracy as an ideal type of organization.

Question 30

In sociology,groups formed deliberately for the achievement of specific objectives are called formal organizations.

Question 31

From the conflict perspective,organizations are neutral social structures pursuing clear goals.

Question 32

Sociologists call an association between two people characterized by relatively stable mutual expectations a(n)

A) interconnected link.
B) social tie.
C) relationship.
D) dyadic node.

Question 33

Even when bureaucracies function as they were designed to,they may produce harmful consequences

Question 34

Groups are

A) social structures that have an existence apart from the particular relationships people have with one another.
B) an example of the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
C) an example of the idea that the whole is almost never greater than the sum of its parts.
D) social structures that have an existence apart from the particular relationships people have with one another and an example of the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts are correct.

Question 35

Hierarchies of statuses and roles that are based on loosely formed rules and procedures in order to create maximum flexibility of jobs on the labor force characterize bureaucracies.

Question 36

Mental hospitals,the military,and prison are examples of what Erving Goffman's total institutions.

Question 37

Symbolic interactionists contend that human beings in organizations are spongelike,malleable organisms who passively conform to the bureaucratic requirements.

Question 38

More than a third of all deaths of 15- to 19-year-olds results from

A) drug overdoses.
B) motor vehicle crashes.
C) athletic injuries.
D) drive-by shootings.

Question 39

Ethnomethodologists argue that organizations are products of their rules.

Question 40

The Sherif and Asch experiments demonstrated that the desire to be accepted by one's group members has little impact on the conformity of the individual.

Question 41

One of the major functions of in-groups and out-groups is to

A) diminish differences that result from such social distinctions as race.
B) reduce hostility that results from competition.
C) dissolve social boundaries.
D) emphasize the significance and importance of social boundaries.

Question 42

A group with which we identify and to which we belong is called a(n)

A) instrumental group.
B) secondary group.
C) in-group.
D) out-group.

Question 43

A group of people gathered together to construct a house is an example of an

A) instrumental tie
B) expressive tie
C) interactional tie
D) extrapolative tie

Question 44

Research seems to indicate that the optimum group size for problem solving is _____ members.

A) 2
B) 15
C) 5
D) 25

Question 45

Relative deprivation refers to

A) the welfare gap.
B) the distinction made between rich and poor.
C) the gap between what we have and what we believe we should have.
D) the normative function of the reference group.

Question 46

Groups in which the relationships are primarily impersonal and instrumental are

A) primary groups.
B) secondary groups.
C) reference groups.
D) expressive groups.

Question 47

The Tajfel experiments are now referred to as the __________ paradigm.

A) minimal group
B) groupthink
C) group polarization
D) reference group

Question 48

In-groups and out-groups function to provide us with a sense of

A) "we" and "they."
B) social identity or self-concept.
C) disgust or revulsion for others that may result in conflict.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 49

Expressive ties tend to be more prevalent in

A) secondary group relationships.
B) primary group relationships.
C) impersonal groups.
D) coercive organizations.

Question 50

Family members bound together by their love for each other are experiencing an

A) instrumental tie.
B) expressive tie.
C) interactive tie.
D) extrapolative tie.

Question 51

The reference group concept helps to explain the behavior of the

A) upper-class revolutionary.
B) renegade Catholic.
C) reactionary union member.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 52

One of the principal factors that contributed to the fighting effectiveness of the German military units in World War II was

A) strong primary-group ties.
B) strong secondary-group ties.
C) fear of the Waffen SS troops.
D) the effectiveness of Nazi ideology that made them feel that they were the master race.

Question 53

We use ____________ to appraise and shape our attitudes,feelings,and actions.

A) primary groups.
B) secondary groups.
C) reference groups.
D) in-groups.

Question 54

Instrumental ties are

A) means-ends oriented to achieve some sort of goal.
B) based on strong emotional investment.
C) based primarily on sexual exploitation - a form of sexual harassment.
D) the foundation of in-groups.

Question 55

As groups become larger,

A) they become more manageable.
B) members find it easier to converse with each other.
C) they become less manageable and less stable.
D) knowledge is shared more easily and thus the group becomes more stable.

Question 56

In which setting are we more likely to find "intruders," "outsiders," or "mediators"?

A) dyads
B) triads
C) monads
D) None of the choices are correct.

Question 57

________ is one of a number of conditions that enhance the chances that primary group relationships will develop.

A) Small group size.
B) Face-to-face contact.
C) Frequent and numerous contact.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 58

Which of the following represents a secondary group?

A) a family
B) an intimate friendship group
C) a pair of lovers
D) a college class

Question 59

Compared to larger groups,dyads tend to be

A) less prevalent.
B) more emotionally strained.
C) less fragile.
D) more apathetic.

Question 60

Primary groups are fundamental to us as individuals and society at large because they

A) have little to do with the socialization process.
B) play a minimal role in the social control of group members.
C) provide the settings in which we meet most of our personal needs.
D) None of the choices are correct.

Question 61

In some social dilemmas,when one member of a group may make a contribution to the general welfare of his or her group that makes other members feel that their contribution is unnecessary,it is called the

A) easy-rider mechanism.
B) sidecar mechanism.
C) transit-rider syndrome.
D) free-rider mechanism.

Question 62

Formal organizations

A) have come into being only in recent times.
B) date back to ancient Mesopotamia,Egypt,and China.
C) have become so out of date,they are no longer considered significant.
D) emphasize the use of expressive ties.

Question 63

The person in a small-group who is devoted to appraising the task at hand is known as the

A) instrumental leader.
B) expressive leader.
C) harmony and unity specialist.
D) interpersonal leader.

Question 64

_________ are deliberately created to accomplish some specific goal.

A) Informal work groups
B) Formal organizations
C) Primary work groups
D) Expressive reference groups

Question 65

The person in a family who seems to be the member in charge of the emotional climate and interpersonal relationships might be identified as the

A) instrumental leader.
B) social-emotional specialist.
C) task leader.
D) orientation specialist.

Question 66

A decision-making process in which group members become so preoccupied with maintaining consensus that their ability to think critically is impaired is called

A) management by objectives.
B) zero-based decision-making.
C) groupthink.
D) zero-based critical thinking.

Question 67

Garrett J.Hardin's social dilemma called the tragedy of the commons illustrates

A) the issue of personal interests versus collective welfare.
B) the fact that social welfare is a parasitic system.
C) the value of authoritarian leadership.
D) how laissez-faire leadership and economics lead to the best of all possible group environments.

Question 68

Robert Axelrod found that the simplest and most effective strategy for playing the prisoner's dilemma game is one he called

A) forgiveness.
B) confession.
C) tit for tat.
D) competition.

Question 69

On college campuses,hiking and biking groups,service organizations,and intramural sports teams are prime examples of ______________ organizations.

A) utilitarian
B) mortification
C) coercive
D) voluntary

Question 70

Authoritarian leaders tend to

A) promote stability and group happiness.
B) reduce levels of hostility within groups.
C) produce high levels of frustration and hostile feelings.
D) promote high levels of productivity whether they are present or absent.

Question 71

Social loafing refers to the tendency of people to work harder

A) in occupational groups than in social groups.
B) individually than in groups.
C) in groups than they do individually.
D) None of the choices are correct.

Question 72

"Social dilemmas" in the text represent situations of conflict between

A) maximizing personal interests and maximizing collective welfare.
B) maximizing primary interests and maximizing secondary interests.
C) maximizing in-group interests and maximizing out-group interests.
D) maximizing personal interests and minimizing collective welfare.

Question 73

The studies by Muzafer Sherif (utilizing a fixed spot of light)and Solomon Asch (utilizing different line lengths)illustrate that

A) groups have minimal impact on individual conformity.
B) we are truly autonomous individuals who are not swayed by the group.
C) the group often has a significant effect on our individual judgment and behavioral conformity.
D) None of the choices are correct.

Question 74

The process that led to the NASA Challenger tragedy in 1986 involved people who

A) ignored warnings against the launch.
B) experienced considerable pressure to launch from outsiders.
C) functioned according to the principles of groupthink.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 75

The "Bay of Pigs fiasco" is an example of decision-making based on

A) relative deprivation.
B) groupthink.
C) dyadic dynamics.
D) cultural diversity.

Question 76

The social loafing effect suggests that there is

A) a direct relationship between group size and individual motivation.
B) an inverse relationship between group size and individual motivation.
C) no relationship between group size and individual motivation.
D) a one-to-one relationship between group size and individual motivation.

Question 77

New studies on leadership show that

A) democratic leadership is clearly superior to other forms of leadership.
B) authoritarian leadership is clearly superior to other forms of leadership.
C) there is probably not one leadership style that works best in all situations.
D) laissez-faire leadership is the best for high group productivity.

Question 78

Recent research on gender differences in leadership indicate that

A) female leaders exhibit more characteristics of effective leadership than male leaders do.
B) male leaders exhibit more characteristics of effective leadership than female leaders do.
C) few differences exist between male and female leadership capability.
D) older male leaders are more effective than younger female leaders.

Question 79

When a shared elusion of invulnerability leads to undue overconfidence and willingness to take risks,we are often experiencing

A) relative deprivation.
B) groupthink.
C) dyadic dynamics.
D) cultural diversity.

Question 80

The researchers involved in the BBC's "The Experiment" maintain that Zimbardo's original results

A) can be seen as a reasonable excuse for the powerful abusing the powerless.
B) prove that people do not have responsibility and choice over conditions that lead to tyranny.
C) demonstrate that extreme behaviors cannot be restrained in power situations.
D) None of the choices are correct.