Deck 5: Social Control

Question 1

Movies, television, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet all fall under the umbrella term

A) the media.
B) cultural biproducts.
C) societal motivators.
D) infotainment.

Answer 1

the media.

Question 2

To influence members of a society that deviate from its norms, social groups exert two types of social control called

A) ideological and philosophical.
B) ideological and direct.
C) direct intervention and direct control.
D) direct and philosophical.

Answer 2

ideological and direct.

Question 3

Marx called religion "the opiate of the masses" because

A) opium was served during Mass in the Russian Orthodox Church.
B) people feel better after attending religious services and, therefore, have the strength to combat injustice.
C) he was both highly religious and an opium addict.
D) he said it persuades people to accept an unjust system rather than work to change it.

Answer 3

he said it persuades people to accept an unjust system rather than work to change it.

Question 4

According to the chapter, sports fans watching the Olympic Games unite behind their flag and their athletes because

A) the Olympics can be seen as a stylized world war in which nations win or lose.
B) the Olympics have replaced war as a place for nations to conquer territory.
C) people of all nations enjoy sports at every level.
D) sports are the only way to indoctrinate citizens with national pride.

Question 5

According to the chapter, the Amish believe their practice of the Meidung is the best way to get an individual to see the error of his or her ways. This practice is also known as

A) confession.
B) baptism.
C) shunning.
D) scolding

Question 6

Billy's parents are traditional and strict, while Tyler's parents are quite permissive. Which parents will be more successful in transmitting societal expectations of behavior?

A) Billy's parents
B) Tyler's parents
C) Neither. Moderate parents would be most successful.
D) All parents transmit societal expectations of behavior.

Question 7

Which of the following is the correct definition of ideological social control?

A) The attempt to manipulate the consciousness of citizens so that they accept the ruling ideology and refuse to be moved by competing ideologies
B) The attempt to punish or neutralize (render powerless) organizations or individuals who deviate from society's norms
C) The attempt to punish or neutralize (render powerless) organizations or individuals who conform to society's norms
D) The attempt to manipulate the consciousness of citizens so that they refuse to be moved by the ruling ideology or competing ideologies

Question 8

According to the chapter, schools indoctinate students in behavioral standards about

A) speech, dress, and demeanor.
B) attitudes, values, and behavior.
C) punishing obediance and obeying the status quo.
D) promoting an us-versus-them attitude.

Question 9

In 1983 the mainstream media was controlled by 50 companies. Today, how many corporations control 90% of what Americans read, watch, or listen to?

A) 6
B) 14
C) 30
D) 60

Question 10

The idea that professional sports are a way for people from the lowest classes to achieve upward mobility is clearly _____, according to the chapter.

A) a social good
B) a vehicle of patriotism
C) a myth
D) important for keeping kids in school

Question 11

_____ is a vehicle by which the values of success in competition, hard work, perseverance, discipline, and order are transmitted, as demonstrated by the existence of Little League and similar programs.

A) Children's programming
B) Indoctrination programs
C) School
D) Sport

Question 12

According to David Sadler, despite improvement over the last 40 years, bias can still be found in

A) sports rules.
B) textbooks.
C) families.
D) history.

Question 13

Regarding sports, the author makes the case that because most American homes have television sets, it is possible for everyone to _____, thus maintaining the status quo.

A) participate on sports teams at their own level
B) participate vicariously in sports and associated nationalism
C) receive the societal message of the importance of physical fitness
D) choose to watch or not watch sporting events

Question 14

Attorney and journalist Dave Saldana warned that

A) social control of members within the Amish sect is accomplished through informal mechanisms (such as gossip) and more formal techniques when offenses are deemed serious.
B) people are taught what is proper, moral, and appropriate, a process that is generally so powerful that individuals conform, not out of fear of punishment, but because they want to.
C) until the 1980s, one company could legally own no more than seven AM and seven FM radio stations, but today, Clear Channel Communications owns 1,200 radio stations.
D) when one company, motivated solely by profit, can choose what news to cover and how to cover it, you may not be getting the full story.

Question 15

The chapter points out that the public can be manipulated by the _____ by being convinced that their security is threatened, as happened when the second Bush Administration declared war on Iraq.

A) family
B) market
C) government
D) school

Question 16

According to the chapter, one way that government exerts ideological social control is by promoting the idea that _____ is good and _____ is bad.

A) capitalism; socialism
B) socialism; capitalism
C) communism; democracy
D) democracy; republicanism

Question 17

According to the chapter, what makes ideological social control more effective than more overt measures?

A) Effective rules and laws ensure the individual's desire to conform.
B) Individuals are pursuaded through logic and reason that their society's way is the only way.
C) Individuals are not forced to conform; they want to conform.
D) Individuals are forced to conform; they do not want to conform.

Question 18

Throughout U.S. history, there has been a strong tendency for _____ to accept existing government policies, whether slavery, war, or the conquest of Native Americans.

A) trade unions
B) religious groups
C) new immigrants
D) deviants

Question 19

According to Harvey Cox, in the United States the _____ is believed to have the same characteristics as God: omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.

A) family
B) market
C) government
D) school

Question 20

Because media conglomerates are profit-seeking enterprises, they tend to emphasize

A) a liberal agenda in the news.
B) infotainment over entertainment.
C) entertainment over news.
D) national politics over state-wide or local politics.

Question 21

Scarpitti and Andersen argued that labelling _____ as mentally ill made it less likely that other people in society would challenge the existing privilege characteristics of economic, social, and political institutions.

A) psychotics
B) political dissidents
C) homosexuals
D) women

Question 22

According to Piven and Cloward, the purpose of social welfare is to

A) provide for the needy.
B) segregate the rich from the poor.
C) defuse social unrest.
D) bar people from their traditional occupations.

Question 23

There is a clear mandate for the government to apprehend and punish criminals because it is the government's primary objective to

A) provide for the welfare of its citizens.
B) appease the special interests who pay for political campaigns.
C) exert direct social control over deviants.
D) exert ideological social control over citizens.

Question 24

_____ is the science of manipulating an individual's genetic makeup to alter his or her observable traits.

A) Eugenics
B) Human genetic engineering
C) Gene therapy
D) Gene doping

Question 25

The theories of Piven and Cloward appear to be borne out by the fact that social welfare programs _____ when stability is restored.

A) are seen as even more necessary
B) remain at the new level
C) are built back up
D) are contracted or abolished

Question 26

According to Piven and Cloward, what is the subtle social function of having a category of people in a society who are always on welfare?

A) Welfare receipients are looked down on, so those who accept low wages feel satisfied with their own social position.
B) Because social programs grow or contract depending on the economy, having a group always on welfare keeps the programs from disappearing completely.
C) Welfare recipients may be too lazy to hold a job, but welfare keeps them out of jail, which would have a higher cost to society.
D) Welfare provides a safety net for those who cannot find work, especially single mothers and the disabled.

Question 27

Who maintained that the "have nots" would eventually feel their common oppression and unite to overthrow the owners of capital?

A) Vladimir Putin
B) David Saldana
C) Karl Marx
D) Carl Jung

Question 28

William was born with sickle-cell anemia, a highly painful, incurable genetic condition. His parents are hopeful that with _____ (altering the genetic makeup of a fetus before birth) their next child might be spared this ordeal.

A) eugenics
B) human genetic engineering
C) gene therapy
D) gene doping

Question 29

In which country were more than 70,000 people legally sterilized for deviations such as drunkeness, criminality, sexual perversion, and feeblemindedness, over a period of about 70 years?

A) United States
B) USSR
C) Singapore
D) Nazi Germany

Question 30

The chapter identifies four types of people who are considered deviant and therefore targets of direct social control. Which of the following is NOT one of those four types?

A) The poor
B) The one percent
C) The mentally ill
D) Criminals

Question 31

The idea that the human race can be improved by controlling hereditary factors was a theory called

A) euryoky.
B) eustacy.
C) euglenics.
D) eugenics.

Question 32

Government ideological control is demonstrated by the _____ efforts of different government agencies.

A) health and safety
B) education funding
C) social security
D) public relations

Question 33

The most obvious way that government officials attempt to shape public opinion is through

A) televised speeches.
B) legislation.
C) court decisions.
D) encyclicals.

Question 34

The chapter suggests that treatment of the mentally ill, often through the use of drugs, is an attempt to

A) make the normal more abnormal.
B) validate, enforce, and reinforce the established ways of society.
C) exert ideological social control over deviants.
D) provide treatment to those who are suffering.

Question 35

Which of the following would Karl Marx NOT be likely to consider a "have not" in a capitalist society?

A) Single white mother making the minimum wage at a fast-food restaurant
B) Ivy-league educated African American man pulled over by the police for driving a flashy car
C) Man working in an automobile factory who is a recent immigrant from Ukraine
D) White, male college professor of English descent, who has just lost a book contract

Question 36

_____ social control is defined as the attempt to punish or neutralize (render powerless) organizations or individuals who deviate from society's norms?

A) Direct
B) Indirect
C) Ideological
D) Legalized

Question 37

From time to time _____ try to exert ideological social control by mandating certain course content in public schools. Texas is often cited as an extreme example of this practice.

A) the federal agencies
B) state legislatures
C) religious institutions
D) families

Question 38

By the end of 2012, _____ people in the United States were incarcerated, on probation, or on parole under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system.

A) 2.2 million
B) 7 million
C) 15.6 million
D) 2.2 billion

Question 39

The prospect of changing an individual's nature by changing his or her genes has useful medical applications but also raises some potential problems and questions. For instance, should _____ be allowed in order to develop high-performance athletes?

A) eugenics
B) human genetic engineering
C) gene therapy
D) gene doping

Question 40

Singapore is known for its very strict system of laws and punishments. The punishment for bringing _____ into the country is a year in jail and a $5,500 fine.

A) fresh fruit
B) homosexuals
C) gum
D) pornography

Question 41

Which organization sued the government under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain about 2,500 documents, resulting in the revelation of a long list of FBI intelligence abuses?

A) Intelligence Oversight Board
B) Greenpeace
C) Electronic Frontier Foundation
D) Amnesty International

Question 42

The U.S. Constitution affirms that dissent is appropriate. The chapter notes that the U.S. government _____ dissent.

A) requires
B) ignores
C) encourages
D) represses

Question 43

Who was the only U.S. Senator to vote against the Patriot Act of 2001?

A) Russ Feingold of Wisconsin
B) Hillary Clinton of New York
C) Ted Cruz of Texas
D) Bernie Sanders of Vermont

Question 44

Employers and large corporations are agents of direct social control and routinely

A) allow telecommuting for workers' convenience.
B) file lawsuits on behalf of workers against government intrusions on their privacy.
C) move jobs oversees, laying off U.S. workers.
D) violate workers' privacy.

Question 45

One danger from the loss of privacy caused by the Internet is that employers, banks, and government agencies may

A) use data to make decisions about our lives without our knowledge.
B) market to us only products in which we are most likely to be interested.
C) be unable to find the data they need in the vast stores of unfiltered information.
D) lose important data if terrorists successfully attack the grid.

Question 46

The provisions in the USA Patriot Act of 2001 allow the government to

A) legalize gay marriage.
B) collect taxes from illegal immigrants.
C) show evidence of a crime before engaging in domestic spying.
D) jail noncitizens based on suspicion, even without evidence.

Question 47

The law is employed to control behaviors that might endanger the general welfare (such as rape and murder). The chapter argues that the law also

A) promotes the point of view of some at the expense of others.
B) endangers the status quo.
C) promotes order and conflict.
D) exerts ideological social control.

Question 48

PRISM is the surveillance program operated by the NSA that collects data from such companies as Facebook, Yahoo, and Google about people's email and stored data in a process known as

A) unwaranted infiltration.
B) warrantless wiretapping.
C) domestic data processing.
D) datamining.

Question 49

During the 1970s J. Edgar Hoover said _____ "should be viewed as part of the enemy, a challenge to American values" and paid informants to infiltrate related groups.

A) socialists
B) progressive lawyers
C) feminists
D) the KKK

Question 50

Which of the following represents the view of order theorists in relation to the law?

A) The state exists to serve the ruling class.
B) The legal system is pluralistic, made of a number of interest groups of more or less equal power.
C) The law and the legal system reflect and serve the needs of the ruling class.
D) The ruling class is served by the law when domestic order prevails and challenges to changing the economic and political system are successfully thwarted.