Deck 14: The Sociology of the Body: Health, Illness, and Sexuality

Question 1

A young woman is morbidly obese. She regularly has problems interacting with her family, friends, and strangers due to the stereotypes regarding her illness. She even lost a job once because she could no longer accept the degrading comments made by her coworkers. As something that is devalued and labeled by society as undesirable, what term would sociologists apply to her obesity?

A) a disadvantage
B) a stigma
C) a dogma
D) a sick role

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Todd suffers from chronic back pain. Mostly he just tries to grin and bear it, but at times the pain is so debilitating that he takes strong painkillers just to be able to get out of bed in the morning. What type of work, as defined by Corbin and Strauss, is Todd incorporating?

A) illness work
B) coping work
C) everyday work
D) adapting work

Answer 2

A

Question 3

How do sociologists know that the causes of eating disorders (such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia) and obesity reflect social factors more than physical or biological factors?

A) Max Weber clearly showed that their origins lie in the cult of beauty present in the Roman republic.
B) If physical or biological factors were responsible, physicians would have found a cure for such important health issues.
C) Only women suffer from these conditions.
D) They are very recent health problems.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

According to the textbook, which assumption would probably follow from Talcott Parsons's notion of the sick role?

A) A sick person should not be personally blamed for being ill.
B) A sick person should be isolated from society.
C) A sick person should always tend to his or her work responsibilities while sick.
D) A sick person should avoid modern medicine.

Question 5

Barbara and her children live in a community that has no nearby grocery stores. Farmers' markets and fresh fruit and vegetable stands are completely absent as well. The term scholars use to refer to communities like Barbara's is:

A) impoverished.
B) nutritionally challenged.
C) nutritionally isolated.
D) food deserts.

Question 6

What term refers to the process by which we control phenomena regarded as natural, such as reproduction?

A) the socialization of reproduction
B) the socialization of the body
C) the socialization of health
D) the socialization of nature

Question 7

Priyanka is a sociologist who thinks that society usually operates in a smooth and consensual manner. What school of sociology mentioned in the textbook does she probably belong to?

A) symbolic interactionist
B) structuralist
C) functionalist
D) postmodernist

Question 8

Some argue that because individuals have more control over their own health and lifestyle, they are largely responsible for their own well-being. This contradicts:

A) Corbin and Strauss's illness work.
B) Erving Goffman's stigma.
C) Talcott Parsons's sick role.
D) complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Question 9

Paul has an enlarged prostate and is thus forced to go to the bathroom frequently. He is embarrassed by his condition and avoids telling others about his illness. When he goes out with his friends to dine and is asked why he leaves the table so often, he tells others that he is calling home to check on the children. What type of work, as defined by Corbin and Strauss, is Paul incorporating?

A) illness work
B) coping work
C) everyday work
D) biographical work

Question 10

Most public health experts believe that obesity is a very real problem caused by:

A) obese individuals having more children than non-obese individuals.
B) living in an obesogenic environment.
C) the increase of eating disorders among small children.
D) genetic problems leading to a person's inability to lose weight.

Question 11

Miguel is a researcher who studies the ways people interpret the social world and the meanings they ascribe to it. He applies this approach to health and illness as a corrective to some of Talcott Parsons's work. What school of sociology mentioned in the textbook does he probably belong to?

A) symbolic interactionist
B) structuralist
C) functionalist
D) postmodernist

Question 12

Rene was recently diagnosed with cancer. She feels extremely run-down after chemotherapy sessions but manages to keep up with her housework by dividing it into small tasks that she can do without becoming overwhelmed. She tries to rest between tasks around the house. What type of work, as defined by Corbin and Strauss, is Rene incorporating?

A) illness work
B) coping work
C) everyday work
D) adapting work

Question 13

According to the textbook, the communities that are most likely to be food deserts are:

A) mostly rural areas.
B) both rural areas and inner-city neighborhoods.
C) mostly suburban areas.
D) mostly inner-city neighborhoods and suburban areas.

Question 14

Why have some sociologists criticized Talcott Parsons's notion of the sick role?

A) Sociologists have done away with the theoretical use of the term role in analysis.
B) The sick role cannot be applied across all contexts, cultures, and historical periods.
C) Functionalist approaches are no longer studied in sociology.
D) They believe that all sick people should be held personally responsible for his or her poor health.

Question 15

Because we have so much more control over our bodies compared to earlier times, we have seen the rise of the socialization of nature. This term is meant to describe:

A) the way that we are socialized to prefer natural remedies.
B) the fact that phenomena that used to be "natural" have become social.
C) the way that nature and the environment both shape our socialization processes.
D) the way that social attitudes about health are shaped by biological factors.

Question 16

Bernard is studying an indigenous society where large body sizes are considered a sign of good health and lean bodies are considered a sign of weakness and poor health. Bernard is focusing his research on the way members of this society define health rather than focusing on a standardized medical measurement of health. Which sociological perspective is Bernard using?

A) the functionalist perspective.
B) the conflict perspective.
C) complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
D) the symbolic interactionist perspective.

Question 17

Kevin is a ten-year-old American boy who lives in a poor neighborhood and suffers from childhood obesity. Which of the following factors is most likely to be a component causing his condition?

A) failure to take a daily vitamin
B) a dislike of healthful foods
C) a lack of healthful food choices at school and home
D) living in an impoverished society where food is scarce

Question 18

Elvira studies the processes by which humans control phenomena regarded as natural, such as reproduction. She is especially intrigued by the fact that phenomena that used to be natural now depend on our social decisions. What term do sociologists use to refer to this process?

A) phenomenology
B) the socialization of nature
C) biological determinism
D) rational choice

Question 19

Pat suffers from anorexia nervosa. Which of the following statements is true?

A) Pat is more likely to be a man than a woman.
B) Pat is more likely to be over the age of sixty-five than all other ages combined.
C) Pat cannot also suffer from bulimia because bulimia involves bingeing and purging.
D) Pat suffers from the psychological disorder that has the highest mortality rate.

Question 20

Which of Corbin and Strauss's types of work involves the process of incorporating an illness into one's life, making sense of it, and developing ways of explaining it to others?

A) illness work
B) biographical work
C) everyday work
D) adapting work

Question 21

Most sociologists accept that most of what we currently recognize as medicine is a consequence of developments in Western society over the past three centuries. Sociologists would include which of the following items among these developments?

A) a trend toward seeing the origins and treatments of disease as physical and explicable in scientific terms
B) the rejection of the hospital as the setting within which to treat serious illnesses
C) the rapid increase in malpractice suits that question the expertise of the medical profession
D) the inclusion of self-taught healers

Question 22

April is a woman, and Jack is a man. Which of the following statements is true?

A) April is more likely to live longer than Jack is.
B) Jack is more likely to suffer from acute conditions than April is.
C) Jack is more likely to suffer from nonfatal chronic conditions than April is.
D) Jack is more likely to spend any given day sick in bed than April is.

Question 23

According to the textbook, a reversal in life expectancy has become a reality in recent years for:

A) women with less education.
B) men with more education.
C) men and women with more education.
D) women with more education.

Question 24

According to the textbook, why are some men less likely to seek annual checkups?

A) They are socialized to believe that men should be strong and self-sufficient.
B) Because of their work, men generally have more responsibilities than women and thus have less time for regular medical checkups.
C) Men are more likely to feel physically threatened by health-care personnel than women.
D) Men become ill less often and therefore believe that they do not need checkups as often as women.

Question 25

According to the textbook, why did diseases such as smallpox and measles produce epidemics that ravaged or completely wiped out native populations in the Americas after contact with Europeans in the late fifteenth century?

A) Europeans refused to share their medicines with the native peoples.
B) The native peoples lacked resistance to these diseases.
C) Europeans forced the native peoples to relocate to massive urban centers, where the bacteria easily spread.
D) Europeans forced the native peoples to abandon their traditional medicines, which had kept the diseases largely at bay before contact.

Question 26

According to the textbook, why might differences in occupational status lead to inequalities in health and illness even when medical care is evenly distributed?

A) Hospitals are located closer to professionals and white-collar workers.
B) Manual laborers often come from immigrant backgrounds and bring many health problems with them from their places of origin.
C) Government health programs offer a wider variety of solutions to people from professional backgrounds.
D) Those who work in offices or in domestic settings have less risk of injury or exposure to hazardous materials than some manual workers.

Question 27

If a researcher uses a few standardized survey questions to assess depression symptoms and finds that women score higher on these symptoms than men, the gender gap in these observations might be attributable to:

A) issues in how the depression symptoms were measured.
B) men being under more strain than women.
C) men and women being equally strained.
D) the fact that depression cannot be described by any type of survey question.

Question 28

Sonia learned many techniques from a healer in her home country of Peru. After moving to the United States, Sonia decides to offer herbal remedies to cancer patients to combat the side effects of the chemotherapy treatments they are receiving from their doctors. What term do sociologists use to describe what Sonia offers?

A) alternative medicine
B) faith healing
C) complementary medicine
D) natural medicine

Question 29

What term refers to the set of principles-underpinning Western medical systems and practices-that defines diseases objectively, in accordance with the presence of recognized symptoms, and holds that the healthy body can be restored through scientifically based medical treatment?

A) the Western health-care model
B) the scientific method of health
C) the biomedical model of health
D) the scientific health-care method

Question 30

According to the textbook, why are large areas of east Africa devoid of cattle today?

A) Changes introduced by European intruders caused the spread of the tsetse fly, which carries illnesses that are fatal to both humans and livestock.
B) The natives of the region practiced a scorched earth policy of defense against European intruders in which they slaughtered their own herds and burned down their own villages.
C) European cattle farmers resented the cheap imports that flowed into the continent after colonization, and colonial administrators were pressured to destroy millions of animals owned by natives.
D) African cattle transmitted diseases to Europeans that the native peoples had resistance to, and the subsequent substitution of European cattle breeds for African breeds proved unsuccessful.

Question 31

The process in which the problems of social life become defined and treated like medical conditions is called:

A) medicalization.
B) illness work.
C) socialization of nature.
D) professionalization of medicine.

Question 32

The most important example of a disease that has almost disappeared from the world in the past half century or so is:

A) malaria.
B) measles.
C) influenza.
D) smallpox.

Question 33

How do some sociologists explain the fact that although Hispanics in the United States have fewer socioeconomic resources than whites, studies have shown that their health-and especially the health of their infants-is just as good as, if not better than, that of whites?

A) Hispanics have more genetic resistance to many diseases than whites.
B) Whites are more socially cohesive than Hispanics.
C) Studies of the health of Hispanics in the United States focus on those who successfully migrated and who may be in better health than those did not migrate.
D) For cultural reasons, Hispanics are more devoted to healthy activities, such as playing sports, than whites.

Question 34

The twentieth century witnessed which of the following trends in industrialized societies?

A) a significant increase in life expectancy
B) a rise in infant mortality rates
C) a decrease in standards of health and well-being
D) the virtual elimination of health inequalities

Question 35

Which of the following questions would a symbolic interactionist most likely ask?

A) Why do some humans become ill whereas others do not?
B) How do people put themselves at risk of contracting illness?
C) How does illness become lucrative business for pharmaceutical companies?
D) What does the way we define illness tell us about healthy practices?

Question 36

Vanessa recently lost her father and also had a tough time finding work in the months prior to her father's death. She has been feeling very sad and is having a hard time accepting invitations or enjoying social activities. Her general practitioner referred her to a psychiatrist who suggested that Vanessa begin taking antidepressants. According to the textbook, Vanessa's situation is an example of:

A) the socialization of nature.
B) medicalization.
C) stigma.
D) illness work.

Question 37

Most people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS):

A) live outside of Africa.
B) are heterosexual.
C) are intravenous drug users.
D) are hemophiliacs.

Question 38

Which of the following people would most likely practice alternative medicine?

A) an oncologist
B) a chiropractor
C) a pediatrician
D) a cardiologist

Question 39

Gaia is interested in her health. She often consults health-related web pages for advice about diet, disease prevention, and treatment. What trend are her activities an example of?

A) a trend characterized by doctors who, lacking quality health-care training, must rely on the Internet for practical knowledge
B) a trend characterized by young, uninsured individuals who must utilize the Internet in place of going to see physicians due to their economic circumstances
C) a trend that sees individuals increasingly becoming health consumers and adopting an active stance toward their own health and well-being
D) the Internet health-care shopper trend

Question 40

Yu spends most of his time in the countryside picking herbs to use in his place of work. He dries the herbs and makes teas for his customers, who are ill people who distrust doctors and Western medicine in general. What term do sociologists use to describe Yu's practices?

A) alternative medicine
B) faith healing
C) complementary medicine
D) herbal remedy cures

Question 41

According to the textbook, traditional attitudes toward sex currently exist alongside much more permissive attitudes, which developed widely and became openly public:

A) in the eighteenth century.
B) in the nineteenth century.
C) in the early twentieth century.
D) in the 1960s.

Question 42

According to the textbook, U.S. attitudes toward sexual behavior have followed which of the following patterns over time?

A) increased acceptance of premarital sex but continued low acceptance of extramarital sex
B) increased acceptance of premarital sex and extramarital sex
C) decreased acceptance of premarital and extramarital sex
D) increased acceptance of premarital sex, followed by a decrease, with acceptance of extramarital sex remaining high

Question 43

Tiffany was assigned male at birth and now identifies as a woman. According to the textbook, Tiffany is:

A) a bisexual.
B) a transvestite man.
C) a transvestite woman.
D) a transsexual woman.

Question 44

One of the major barriers to the treatment of the HIV and AIDS epidemic worldwide is:

A) the increasing number of intravenous drug users.
B) the increasing percentage of homosexuals who practice unsafe sex.
C) the increasing percentage of heterosexuals who practice unsafe sex.
D) discrimination against people living with these infections.

Question 45

Western attitudes toward sexual behavior:

A) were molded primarily by Christianity for nearly two thousand years, and the dominant view was that all sexual behavior was suspect.
B) have rarely included the idea that sexual fulfillment can and should be sought through marriage.
C) have remained surprisingly constant throughout the past two or three centuries.
D) have reflected similar assumptions about the sexual activities of men and women.

Question 46

The direction of one's sexual or romantic attraction is referred to as:

A) sexual orientation.
B) sexual preference.
C) sexual identity.
D) sexual status.

Question 47

Jules is a man who regularly dresses as a woman. According to the textbook, Jules is:

A) a bisexual.
B) a transvestite man.
C) a transvestite woman.
D) a transsexual man.

Question 48

What is the term that sociologists use to refer to an aversion to or hatred of homosexuals?

A) hate crime
B) homosexual aversion
C) sexual orientation discrimination
D) homophobia

Question 49

Max's sexual orientation is homosexual. Most sociologists would claim that:

A) if Max has an identical twin, it is overwhelmingly probable that the twin is also homosexual.
B) Max's sexual orientation is the result of both biological and social influences.
C) Max's sexual orientation is a result of biological influences.
D) Max's sexual orientation is a result of social influences.

Question 50

According to the textbook, Paula England's study of the sexual behavior of college students revealed that:

A) hookups are actually a myth.
B) hookups are relatively rare for most college students.
C) hookups are even more frequent and common than media images suggest.
D) of college students who had hooked up, the majority reported at least ten partners.

Question 51

Chris is a woman who regularly dresses as a man. According to the textbook, Chris is:

A) a bisexual.
B) a transvestite man.
C) a transvestite woman.
D) a transsexual man.

Question 52

According to the textbook, which of the following terms is incorrectly used, is misleading, and should be avoided?

A) sexual desire
B) sexual orientation
C) sexual preference
D) sexual partner

Question 53

Juliana is an American sociologist whose research centers on why some people are homosexual and others are not. According to the textbook, why do investigators like Juliana devote such considerable time to research focused on this question?

A) Heterosexuality is considered the norm for most people in U.S. culture.
B) Increasing numbers of people are becoming homosexual.
C) It has only recently been learned that people are born homosexual.
D) Various religious organizations funded such research to try to counter trends that they viewed as wrong.

Question 54

Clellan Ford and Frank Beach, using anthropological evidence from more than two hundred societies, found that:

A) although only slight variations existed among societies regarding natural sexual behavior, norms of sexual attractiveness varied greatly.
B) only slight variations existed among societies regarding natural sexual behavior, but norms of sexual attractiveness were largely universal.
C) striking variations existed among societies in what was regarded as natural sexual behavior, but norms of sexual attractiveness were largely universal.
D) striking variations existed among societies in what were regarded as natural sexual behavior and norms of sexual attractiveness.

Question 55

Alfred Kinsey's research, which began in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, was surprising because it revealed:

A) the extent to which assumptions about the sexual activities of men and women had come to resemble each other.
B) a tremendous discrepancy between prevailing public expectations of sexual behavior and actual sexual conduct.
C) the homogeneity of sexual experience in the United States.
D) a strong correlation between income and sexual attitudes.

Question 56

Sigmund Freud argued that:

A) humans are born without concrete sexual tastes and society teaches them what to like through the socialization process.
B) human sexuality is usually determined at birth, although the socialization process does have a limited role in influencing people by adulthood.
C) female and male sexual tastes are similar at birth but increasingly vary as adulthood approaches, largely due to hormonal differences between males and females.
D) human sexual tastes vary widely at birth, and although they are curbed by society through socialization, they still remain significantly diverse through adulthood.

Question 57

Akiki is a sixteen-year-old orphan girl from Uganda. What can be inferred from the textbook about her situation?

A) She was probably orphaned because her parents died of AIDS.
B) She will likely be placed into a state institution for orphaned children.
C) Her parents were probably killed by government troops.
D) Her parents were likely murdered by members of a gang.

Question 58

Vanessa recently told her family and friends that she is homosexual. Now she no longer hides the fact that her best friend, Margaret, is also her partner. According to the textbook, which of the following is the result of people like Vanessa coming out?

A) New York City, San Francisco, London, and other large metropolitan areas worldwide have large gay and lesbian communities.
B) Society embraces openly homosexual individuals such as Vanessa, and homosexuals no longer face any backlash for coming out.
C) The government keeps a registry of all the individuals who come out, which now includes Vanessa.
D) Coming out has resulted in increased rejection of the homosexual lifestyle, because homophobes who were willing to ignore the presence of homosexuals when they were hidden are no longer willing to do so.

Question 59

According to the textbook, what is generally regarded as the beginning of the battle for gay rights in the United States?

A) the Stonewall Inn nightclub raid
B) California Proposition 8
C) Lawrence v. Texas
D) the Texas sniper shootings

Question 60

According to the influential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, homosexuality:

A) was never considered a disorder.
B) was considered a disorder until 1920.
C) was considered a disorder until 1950.
D) was considered a disorder until 1980.

Question 61

Why are infectious diseases more common in developing nations than in the United States today? Please explain your answer in a short paragraph.

Question 62

What are some important findings about sexual behavior discovered since Alfred Kinsey's research? Please explain your answer in a short paragraph.

Question 63

In a short paragraph, discuss obesity as both a private trouble and a public issue, making sure to briefly distinguish between private trouble and public issue. What are at least two strategies identified in the textbook as possible approaches to treating obesity as a public issue? Illustrate how these are good examples of treating obesity as a public health issue.

Question 64

How do functionalist theorists and symbolic interactionists differ in their perspectives on health and illness? Please explain your answer in a short paragraph.

Question 65

What were the social processes involved in the creation of homosexuality as a sexual orientation and identity? Please explain your answer in a short paragraph.

Question 66

In three to five sentences, compare complementary and alternative medicine.

Question 67

What are some of the important contributions of Alfred Kinsey's research on sexuality? Please explain your answer in a short paragraph.

Question 68

How do social class and race affect health? Please explain your answer in a short paragraph.

Question 69

In three to five sentences, explain what sexual orientation is.

Question 70

In a short paragraph, provide at least two explanations for the gender gap in health.

Question 71

What are some social consequences of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in developing nations? Please explain your answer in a short paragraph.

Question 72

In a short paragraph, describe changes in sexual practices over the past two centuries.

Question 73

What is the biomedical model of health? Please explain your answer in three to five sentences.