Deck 4: Social Interaction and Everyday Life in the Age of the Internet

Question 1

According to Erving Goffman, reality is neither fixed nor static but created through:

A) mass media.
B) human ideas.
C) human interactions.
D) human mistakes.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

If a CEO wears a suit and tie to a board meeting and later in the day changes into jeans and a T-shirt to attend a football event with friends, he is engaging in:

A) social engineering.
B) impression management.
C) social positioning.
D) false impressions.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Wearing a new dress on a first date is an example of:

A) gender nonspecific norms.
B) social position.
C) impression management.
D) social exclusion.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to Erving Goffman, social interaction is like:

A) playing basketball in a gym.
B) playing baseball in a stadium.
C) swimming in a pool.
D) performing a play in a theater.

Question 5

Socially defined expectations of a person in a given social position are referred to as:

A) status positions.
B) social roles.
C) markers of inequality.
D) prejudices.

Question 6

Another term for social status is:

A) social impression.
B) social class.
C) social marker.
D) social position.

Question 7

Arrive to class on time, raise your hand before speaking, turn in assignments on time-these expectations are part of the ________ of students.

A) status marker
B) social role
C) stereotype
D) identity

Question 8

Maria's friend posted an unflattering and unprofessional picture of her on Facebook. Maria was embarrassed and quickly took it down because she is friends with many of her coworkers on Facebook. This is an example of:

A) impression management.
B) social role management.
C) controlled alertness.
D) interactional vandalism.

Question 9

The exchange of information about human emotion through facial expressions, gestures, and movements of the body is called:

A) nonverbal communication.
B) harassment.
C) asensory communication.
D) backchanneling.

Question 10

Gestures and body postures that are an important part of nonverbal communication are:

A) universal and the same in all cultures.
B) neither universal nor the same in all cultures.
C) unique to each person.
D) embedded in our DNA.

Question 11

According to the research by Paul Ekman and W. V. Friesen, who developed the Facial Action Coding System, the modes of human emotional expression:

A) vary across cultures.
B) change as we grow older.
C) are the same among all human beings.
D) are very similar to other mammals.

Question 12

The sociologist who developed the field of microsociology and emphasized the importance of understanding the seemingly trivial aspects of everyday social behavior was:

A) Erving Goffman.
B) Elijah Anderson.
C) Émile Durkheim.
D) Karl Marx.

Question 13

You may be a sibling, a spouse, a student, an employee, and a parent. These are called:

A) social mobilities.
B) stereotypes.
C) occupations.
D) social positions.

Question 14

Katrina, who is sixteen years old, would consider it rude for someone to read a book during a conversation. However, she thinks that someone reading and responding to messages on his or her phone is socially acceptable. One reason that young people may find nothing wrong with answering texts during a conversation is that:

A) they believe online interaction can enhance face-to-face interaction, especially if one is looking up information relevant to the conversation.
B) they believe online communication is more important than face-to-face communication.
C) people can use nonverbal communication in face-to-face interactions.
D) there is an expectation to keep up with the latest technology and applications.

Question 15

Two people are standing together in an elevator, but they do not speak to each other or look each other in the eye. Erving Goffman called this type of interaction:

A) sociological interaction.
B) social attention.
C) civil inattention.
D) uncivil behavior.

Question 16

What do sociologists call the social honor or prestige that society accords to a group of people?

A) status
B) agency
C) race
D) expectation

Question 17

Civil inattention is defined as:

A) acknowledging the presence of others but avoiding interaction.
B) totally ignoring the presence of others.
C) acting rude and inappropriate.
D) pretending you do not know someone whom you have met before.

Question 18

Jane sent her boss an e-mail suggesting that they have a performance review to see whether Jane was ready for a raise. Her boss replied in an e-mail that Jane was out of line and that she would give her a performance review at the same time as other employees. Face-to-face communication may have helped Jane avoid upsetting her boss by:

A) allowing her to pressure her boss by looking her straight in the eye.
B) allowing her to respond to her boss's anger in real time.
C) allowing Jane to claim gender discrimination without putting it in writing.
D) allowing her to evaluate her boss's body language before suggesting she was ready for a raise.

Question 19

According to Erving Goffman, one of the reasons it is important to study subtle day-to-day interactions is because:

A) they reveal how humans are like other primates.
B) they can be used to measure a person's intelligence.
C) we can learn a great deal about ourselves as social beings.
D) they can inform us about political and military strategy.

Question 20

According to Charles Darwin, basic human emotional expressions:

A) are exactly the same as the basic emotional expressions of other primates.
B) are the same in all human beings.
C) vary widely, depending on the culture one is in.
D) are learned and vary among cultures.

Question 21

Ethnomethodology is the study of:

A) how people sustain meaningful interactions with each other.
B) how people learn language.
C) the methods sociologists use.
D) extraordinary social events that occur over space and time.

Question 22

Encounters always need ________, which indicates that civil inattention is being discarded and focused interaction will begin.

A) impression management
B) a pre-opening
C) an opening
D) controlled alertness

Question 23

Interactional vandalism is defined as:

A) a subordinate person breaking the tacit rules of interaction.
B) a high-status person refusing to interact.
C) two people having a miscommunication.
D) social avoidance.

Question 24

Social positions can be both general and specific. Which of the following is an example of a specific social position in American society?

A) race
B) doctor
C) gender
D) sexual orientation

Question 25

People engage in ________ to reconcile their role in one part of life with their role in another part of their social world.

A) space-time separation
B) audience segregation
C) social engineering
D) role swapping

Question 26

Suppose an employee of a large corporation feels that she is being treated unfairly by the firm but needs the income and does not want her supervisors to be angry with her. To draw negative attention to the firm without risking her own job, she writes a weekly blog harshly criticizing her employers and revealing unflattering information about the firm. This is an example of:

A) response cries.
B) interactional vandalism.
C) audience segregation.
D) impression management.

Question 27

The technique used to examine the organizational principles of talk is called:

A) survey analysis.
B) language studies.
C) conversation analysis.
D) talk analysis.

Question 28

An example of interactional vandalism in an online setting can be:

A) users who rely on profanity to get their message across.
B) users who intentionally post inappropriate comments to provoke an emotional response.
C) bosses who prohibit their employees from posting on social media.
D) employees who post pictures of themselves on social media enjoying their day off.

Question 29

According to the textbook, interactional vandalism is likely to have the effect of:

A) challenging status positions.
B) encouraging violence.
C) supporting status positions.
D) breaking down audience segregation.

Question 30

According to Harold Garfinkel, people use ________ to organize everyday conversations.

A) formal grammar
B) background expectancies
C) deceptive tactics
D) facial expressions

Question 31

When Jane arrived at the party, her friend Alyssa came over immediately to say hello. According to Erving Goffman, this is an example of:

A) controlled alertness.
B) focused interaction.
C) unfocused interaction.
D) interactional vandalism.

Question 32

Unfocused interaction is when people:

A) ignore each other completely in a small space.
B) exhibit mutual awareness but do not engage in face-to-face interaction.
C) demonstrate how they perceive others through body language.
D) communicate over e-mail or text message.

Question 33

How does our current age of Internet communication complicate Goffman's concepts of focused and unfocused interaction?

A) In online interactions, people generally have more control over how they are perceived than people engaging in face-to-face interactions.
B) In online interactions, people are constantly sharing their feelings and have less control over how they are perceived than those engaging in face-to-face interactions.
C) Online interactions allow for more focused interactions than face-to-face social encounters.
D) The clever and funny use of emojis makes it much easier to express one's feelings online than in face-to-face interactions.

Question 34

As a medical doctor, Enrique has the privilege of being called Dr. Chavez. This is because our society gives high ________ to medical doctors.

A) rates of disapproval
B) wages
C) status
D) expectations

Question 35

To understand a conversation, we need to understand ________, which is why electronic communication, such as e-mail or text messaging, can lead to miscommunication.

A) the social context
B) the language
C) what the participants look like
D) the emoticons

Question 36

While grocery shopping, you run into your sociology professor. This creates an awkward interaction because you are not used to seeing her outside of class and you are not sure how to behave. The interaction is awkward because it violated your:

A) audience segregation.
B) status position.
C) sense of self.
D) stress-free space.

Question 37

Social positions can be both general and specific. Which of the following is an example of a general social position in American society?

A) politician
B) doctor
C) gender
D) basketball player

Question 38

Trevor takes the subway to and from work. He usually wears his headphones and listens to his music on the subway. He is careful not to bump shoulders with the passengers next to him when he is standing on the crowded train. Trevor engages in ________ on the subway.

A) social positioning
B) focused interaction
C) impression management
D) unfocused interaction

Question 39

The social positions that a person occupies determine that person's:

A) social roles.
B) ideas.
C) gender identity.
D) racial identity.

Question 40

An example of audience segregation is:

A) being openly gay at home but pretending to be straight at work for fear of discrimination.
B) inviting both spouses' families over for a holiday, even though they are uncomfortable around each other.
C) a woman texting with her friend while sitting with her family.
D) taking a friend to a concert to introduce her to music she has never heard before.

Question 41

Before the Internet and smartphones became standard features of most people's lives in the United States, people mainly relied on phone calls or letters to exchange information with friends, dating partners, and business associates. This earlier context of communication lacked:

A) time-space.
B) clock time.
C) instantaneousness.
D) proximity.

Question 42

According to Edward T. Hall, which zone of personal space is most acceptable during an encounter with your spouse or romantic partner?

A) touching distance
B) public distance
C) social distance
D) intimate distance

Question 43

Define civil inattention. Using the example of a crowded public bus, explain how individuals on the bus might engage in civil inattention.

Question 44

Erving Goffman noted that people can present themselves as more tidy and formal by keeping front and guest-accessible rooms clean and nicely furnished. Today, people can use privacy settings on social media sites to limit who can see their posted content. People may also use social media to maintain close friendships with people in other parts of the world. All three of these are examples of:

A) regionalization.
B) personal space.
C) civil inattention.
D) nonverbal communication.

Question 45

Elijah Anderson observed and described places where people from different backgrounds got along, as opposed to places where they experienced tense or uncomfortable interactions. As a result of these observations, Anderson coined the term:

A) cosmopolitan canopy.
B) focused interaction.
C) regionalization.
D) unfocused interaction.

Question 46

According to Elijah Anderson, Reading Terminal is a place where diverse groups can come together peacefully because the people who go there are "cosmos" (shorthand for cosmopolitan). According to his observations and interpretations, the dynamic that is largely missing from Reading Terminal is:

A) social status.
B) regionalization.
C) ethnocentrism.
D) audience segregation.

Question 47

Dr. Williams studies police and community relations in New York City. She concludes that negative police interactions with black youth are an expression of institutional and structural racism. Which type of analysis did Dr. Williams use?

A) macro-level institutional analysis
B) micro-level and macro-level analysis
C) micro-level institutional analysis
D) social media coverage of police brutality

Question 48

Our actions throughout the day are generally organized according to both the time of day and:

A) information.
B) other people.
C) mood.
D) space.

Question 49

Social life is divided into different settings or zones. These social zones, such as a kitchen and a bedroom, are separated physically but also by:

A) time.
B) income.
C) modern architectural design.
D) interior design principles.

Question 50

Edward T. Hall identifies how many zones for personal space?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four

Question 51

Which of the following is an example of the compulsion of proximity?

A) John and Irma went to high school together and reconnected on Facebook.
B) Maria and Thomas met online and communicated using e-mail, text messages, and the phone regularly, but they did not feel a real connection until they met in person for the first time over coffee.
C) Trevor and Alyssa broke up, and now they dislike having to see each other in their sociology class.
D) Travis and Alma do not know each other, but the bus they are on is very crowded, which forces them to rub shoulders.

Question 52

Sociologist Carol Brooks Gardner linked the face-to-face interactions of women being harassed by men to the larger social system of male privilege in public spaces, women's physical vulnerability, and the omnipresent threat of rape. Her analysis of these interactions shows the importance of linking ________ and ________ to understand social interaction.

A) gender; class
B) harassment; violence
C) norms; actions
D) microsociology; macrosociology

Question 53

Throughout our day we alternate our activities and where they take place according to what sociologists call:

A) time-space.
B) space continuum.
C) time-mood.
D) social expectations.

Question 54

Lenhart's 2015 study showed that the majority of teens had made new friends through online communication. This ability to establish new relationships without the benefit of face-to-face interaction challenges what Boden and Molotch (1994) called:

A) the importance of nonverbal communication.
B) the compulsion of proximity.
C) unfocused interaction.
D) focused interaction.

Question 55

A young woman sleeps from midnight to 5 a.m. in her apartment bedroom, eats breakfast in her kitchen from 6 to 6:30 a.m., works in her law office from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., has dinner with her friends from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and then returns to her apartment to watch TV. This scenario illustrates the sociological concept of

A) work-time.
B) regionalization.
C) time maximization.
D) spatial-social movement.

Question 56

In modern societies large-scale social institutions are organized by ________, which allows for the precise timing of activities.

A) clock-time
B) managers
C) time maximization
D) time-rules

Question 57

During a dinner at a fancy restaurant, a young woman knocks over a glass of water as she reaches for the salt. As the water soaks the tablecloth she exclaims, "Oops, sorry!" This is an example of a:

A) response cry.
B) reflex cry.
C) status marker.
D) social cover-up.

Question 58

In the book Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (1990), Elijah Anderson noted that studying everyday life sheds light on how social order is created by the building blocks of:

A) macro-level institutions.
B) prejudice and racism.
C) impression management.
D) micro-level interactions.

Question 59

One difficulty with applying Edward T. Hall's theories of nonverbal communication, including his definition of personal space, is:

A) that the theory was written so long ago it is no longer applicable to our current moment.
B) that most nonverbal communication now takes place in an online setting.
C) that cultural differences play a major role in defining nonverbal communication like personal space.
D) that the theory was written from a male perspective and does not take into account women's experiences.

Question 60

Sociologists Deirdre Boden and Harvey Molotch argue that even with the growth of electronic communication, such as text messaging and e-mail, people have a strong need to interact in each other's presence. They call this concept:

A) focused interaction.
B) compulsion of proximity.
C) impression management.
D) social status.

Question 61

What is impression management? Give an example of how a college student engages in impression management when interacting with professors.

Question 62

Define compulsion of proximity. Explain how the increase in electronic communication affects the compulsion of proximity. Use examples.

Question 63

Define interactional vandalism and give an example. Why does interactional vandalism create problems in everyday interaction and conversation?

Question 64

Describe a set of hypothetical interactions between two people in a dating relationship, comparing and contrasting the likely interactional components of: a) a face-to-face conversation; b) a phone call; c) a text message exchange. Be sure your answer addresses the role of nonverbal communication, the expression of emotions, and the length and complexity of each interaction.

Question 65

In three to five sentences, explain how technology has altered some of the ways in which individuals communicate their emotions to each other.

Question 66

Using the example of fans watching a football game at your college stadium, explain how individuals would be engaged in both unfocused and focused interaction with others. Please discuss the appropriate terms Erving Goffman and other sociologists used to analyze such situations.

Question 67

Using the concept of regionalization, explain how time and space have shaped your social activities and interactions in the past twenty-four hours.

Question 68

Using an example from your own experience, please explain how our day-to-day social interactions are shaped by gender and racial hierarchies and reinforce those same hierarchies.