Deck 4: Social Interaction in Everyday Life

Question 1

Sociologists use which of the following concepts to refer to the behavior people expect of someone who holds a particular status?

A) master status
B) role
C) role exit
D) status set

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following concepts refers to conflict among roles corresponding to two or more statuses?

A) Role exit
B) Role ambiguity
C) Role strain
D) Role conflict

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The process by which people act and react in relation to others is called

A) social status.
B) social interaction.
C) social reaction.
D) social exchange.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Julie is a police officer who finds that wherever she goes in her small town, people seem to think of her as a cop. This is an example of which of the following concepts?

A) role exit
B) ascribed status
C) status conflict
D) master status

Question 5

Akbar is an honors student. In sociological terms, being an honor student is an example of which of the following?

A) status set.
B) master status.
C) achieved status.
D) ascribed status.

Question 6

Both statuses and roles in the United States

A) are the same as those found around the world.
B) can vary from those found in other societies.
C) are exactly the same for men and women.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 7

Which of the following concepts defines who and what we are in relation to others?

A) ideal culture
B) role set
C) status
D) role

Question 8

Family roles are generally more central to a person's identity

A) for men than for women in the United States.
B) for people living in lower-income nations.
C) for people living in higher-income nations.
D) than working roles everywhere around the world.

Question 9

In general, an important foundation of humor is

A) incongruity or ambiguity-differences in meaning.
B) differences in social standing.
C) gender differences.
D) seeing things in only one way.

Question 10

Which of the following is an important element of non-verbal communication?

A) hand gestures
B) eye contact
C) body language
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 11

A role set refers to a number of roles

A) attached to a single status.
B) found in a specific society.
C) a person holds within a particular group or organization.
D) that have the same basic function.

Question 12

Which of the following concepts refers to a social position that is received at birth or involuntarily taken on later in life?

A) master status
B) status set
C) achieved status
D) ascribed status

Question 13

Which concept refers to the process by which people creatively shape their world as they interact?

A) social construction of reality
B) role exit
C) taking the role of the other
D) role set

Question 14

Which of the following concepts refers to a social position that is assumed voluntarily and that reflects a lot of personal ability and effort?

A) achieved status
B) ascribed status
C) master status
D) status set

Question 15

At a given time, you occupy a number of statuses. Together, these statuses form your

A) occupational range.
B) social range.
C) status set.
D) mores.

Question 16

Which of the following concepts refers to a status that has very great importance for social identity, often shaping a person's entire life?

A) status set
B) master status
C) ascribed status
D) achieved status

Question 17

Harold and Sybil are lost, and despite Sybil's insistence, Harold refuses to stop and ask for directions. This chapter-opening story shows that

A) men avoid asking for directions because asking for help makes them dependent on others.
B) men and women always attach the same meaning to everyday experiences.
C) men do not mind getting lost.
D) men are more interested in "connectedness" than women are.

Question 18

The English language often treats as_____ whatever has greater value, power, or significance.

A) gender-free
B) masculine
C) feminine
D) humorous

Question 19

Which of the following phrases was used by Goffman to refer to being embarrassed in a social situation?

A) "breaking" a role
B) "idealizing" a performance
C) "losing face"
D) "exiting" a role

Question 20

Which sociologist developed the approach called dramaturgical analysis?

A) George Herbert Mead
B) Harold Garfinkel
C) Erving Goffman
D) W. I. Thomas

Question 21

What is the term for the tension among roles connected to a single status?

A) role strain
B) role conflict
C) role exit
D) role ambiguity

Question 22

Which of the following is likely to play a part in the reality we construct through social interaction?

A) social class background
B) the country we live in
C) our culture
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 23

The "Seeing Sociology in the News" article in Chapter 4 ("Social Interaction in Everyday Life") deals with the social meaning people of different ages attach to

A) art.
B) pets.
C) jobs.
D) hugs.

Question 24

The careful observer can notice clues that someone is being deceptive. People give off these clues because

A) our culture defines specific gestures to convey dishonesty.
B) nonverbal communication is hard for most people to control.
C) few people ever intend to lie.
D) research shows most criminals really want to be caught.

Question 25

Tanya is an excellent artist and enjoys her work, but feels she cannot devote enough time to her family. She is experiencing

A) role ambiguity.
B) role exit.
C) role conflict.
D) role strain.

Question 26

Rebuilding relationships with people who knew you in an earlier period of life is a challenge for someone who has experienced

A) role conflict.
B) role strain.
C) role ambiguity.
D) role exit.

Question 27

Harold Garfinkel's research, called "ethnomethodology," involves

A) tracking people's roles over the life course.
B) studying the way people make sense of their everyday surroundings.
C) studying unfamiliar cultural systems.
D) the study of interaction in terms of theatrical performance.

Question 28

The Thomas theorem states that

A) people rise to their level of incompetence.
B) a role is as a role does.
C) people know the world only through the roles they perform.
D) situations defined as real are real in their consequences.

Question 29

According to Erving Goffman, we engage in a _____ when we use of costumes, props, tone of voice, and gestures to convey information to others.

A) self
B) master status
C) performance
D) role

Question 30

Flirting is a way of seeing if someone is interested in you without risking rejection. From this perspective, flirting illustrates

A) the social construction of reality.
B) the process of role exit.
C) a role set.
D) role interaction.

Question 31

The concept "presentation of self" refers to

A) helping another "save face."
B) efforts to create impressions in the minds of others.
C) trying to draw attention away from others.
D) deciding how to resolve tension between family and workplace roles.

Question 32

A more common term for nonverbal communication is

A) face talk.
B) deceit.
C) body language.
D) master status.

Question 33

In what way do men and women typically differ in their use of space?

A) Men commonly try to control more space than women.
B) Women commonly try to control more space than men.
C) There is no difference; men and women use space in the same way.
D) Men typically allow women more personal space.

Question 34

Which concept is used to refer to the process by which people creatively shape their world as they interact?

A) role set
B) role exit
C) social construction of reality
D) taking the role of the other

Question 35

"Nonverbal communication" refers to

A) beliefs that everyone assumes to be true.
B) written language.
C) printed material.
D) body movements, gestures, and facial expressions.

Question 36

Many surgeons choose not to operate on their own children because the personal involvement of being a parent could interfere with the professional objectivity needed by a physician. This example involves

A) role strain.
B) role conflict.
C) role exit.
D) role ambiguity.

Question 37

The power relationship between physician and patient is immediately evident when the patient enters the doctor's office because

A) it is up to patients to decide when they will see the doctor.
B) the physician is there to greet the patient.
C) patients must wait until a gatekeeper admits them to see the doctor in the office's "back region".
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 38

What is the term for the process by which people disengage from important social roles?

A) role exit
B) loss of face
C) role reversal
D) role rejection

Question 39

Which of the following is involved when a plant supervisor wishes to be a good friend and hang out with the workers, but must also keep a personal distance to remain objective in order to assess the workers' performance?

A) role exit
B) role ambiguity
C) role strain
D) role conflict

Question 40

Who is the sociologist who developed the approach called "dramaturgical analysis"?

A) Erving Goffman
B) W. I. Thomas
C) George Herbert Mead
D) Harold Garfinkel

Question 41

The English language often treats as_____ whatever has greater value, greater power, or greater significance.

A) masculine
B) feminine
C) humorous
D) gender-free

Question 42

The idea of "getting" a joke, according to the text, depends on

A) understanding the two realities presented in the joke and appreciating their difference.
B) understanding why someone is telling a joke.
C) knowing the joke teller well.
D) having a different social background than the joke teller.

Question 43

Women often take the family name of the man they marry. In sociological terms, this is an example of how language can be used to convey

A) personal independence.
B) personal knowledge of others.
C) power over others
D) deep affection shared by two people.

Question 44

Humor is created when humans

A) set up double meanings that are conventional and unconventional
B) say things that have no meaning at all.
C) speak with great clarity.
D) say things that offend others.

Question 45

Looking at humor from a structural-functional viewpoint, jokes

A) are often used to safely express potentially disruptive ideas.
B) are often used to relieve tension----"lightening" a situation.
C) can often be used as a form of tact, stating "Hey, it was only a joke!"
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 46

Which of the following best describes a "well-told" joke?

A) The unconventional social definition of a reality is given first, followed by the conventional definition of the reality.
B) The conventional and unconventional definitions of a reality are exactly the same.
C) There is a very sharp contrast between the conventional and unconventional definitions of a reality.
D) The joke is told in a way that listeners do not understand the meanings involved.

Question 47

Which of the following concepts was used by Erving Goffman to refer to being embarrassed in a social situation?

A) "breaking" a role
B) "exiting" a role
C) "losing face"
D) "idealizing" a performance

Question 48

Cross-cultural research on human emotions shows that

A) there are no universal emotions.
B) people everywhere display emotions in exactly the same way.
C) what triggers an emotion differs from society to society.
D) people everywhere cope with emotions in the same way.

Question 49

What did Jennifer Keys learn in her study of women's abortion experiences?

A) Most women had little or no emotional response to abortion.
B) Emotional scripts or "feeling rules" guide the emotional response of women to abortion.
C) Men guide the sexual feelings of almost all women.
D) Every woman has a unique emotional response to abortion.

Question 50

"Personal space" refers to

A) owned property, such as a house or private land.
B) un-owned space in a public place, such as in a park or beach.
C) a feeling of needed isolation from others.
D) the surrounding area in which an individual makes some claim to privacy.

Question 51

According to Erving Goffman, people usually make efforts to _____ their intentions.

A) honestly reveal
B) idealize
C) play down
D) hide all of

Question 52

In general, an important foundation of humor is

A) differences in social standing between people.
B) incongruity or ambiguity-that is, differences in meaning.
C) being a conventional type of person.
D) gender differences between people.

Question 53

Deborah Tannen's research on gender and language shows that

A) men and women typically view situations in the same way.
B) what one person hears is usually what the speaker intends.
C) men and women use language in the same way.
D) communication between the two sexes is sometimes difficult.

Question 54

Arlie Hochschild's research shows that many companies

A) try to regulate and control both the behavior and emotions of employees.
B) care little about the emotional life of workers.
C) encourage the free expression of emotions at work.
D) forbid workers from expressing any emotion at all.

Question 55

Tact is a common response in potentially embarrassing situations because

A) we like most people we interact with.
B) everyone feels discomfort when everyday social reality breaks down.
C) our cultural norms demand that we always look out for others.
D) most people are kind at heart.

Question 56

Which of the following are documented as emotions found all over the world?

A) confusion, surprise, greed, and shame
B) jealousy, surprise, joy, and empathy
C) greed, lust, envy, and joy
D) happiness, sadness, anger, and fear

Question 57

In the United States, people stand further away from one another when speaking than do people in Middle East countries. This pattern reveals differences in meaning attached to

A) personal space.
B) personal hygiene.
C) facial gestures.
D) the rights of women compared to men.

Question 58

Paul Ekman claims that a major function of emotions is to

A) let us be "ourselves".
B) support group life by forging connections with others.
C) limit the power of society over us.
D) give people a feeling of independence from others.

Question 59

Smiling and making polite remarks to people we do not like is an example of

A) making another feel embarrassment.
B) exercising power over another.
C) losing face.
D) idealizing a personal performance.

Question 60

When interacting with people whose cultural background differs from our own, we find that

A) telling jokes is the best way to "break the ice."
B) people everywhere enjoy the same jokes.
C) humor can bridge cultural differences.
D) what is funny to people in one society is often lost on those from another society.

Question 61

Having a physical disability may operate as a master status to the extent that people react to the physical condition as much as to the person.

Question 62

People generate reality in their social interaction.

Question 63

Sociologists use the term "status" to mean someone is important.

Question 64

Role strain refers to the conflict or incompatibility among the roles linked to two or more statuses.

Question 65

People usually have more roles than they have statuses.

Question 66

From a social-conflict point of view, jokes

A) are often used to make one category of people feel good at the expense of another.
B) relieve tension in uncomfortable situations.
C) reduce conflict in society.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 67

The process by which people disengage from important social roles is called "role exit."

Question 68

A father who wants to be both a friend and an authority figure for his son might experience role strain.

Question 69

Being male or female, or being black or white, is an ascribed status.

Question 70

Typically, each status is linked to only one role.

Question 71

The Thomas theorem states that situations that are defined as real become real in their consequences.

Question 72

For most people, only one status figures into social identity.

Question 73

Role conflict refers to differences between the same roles when they are performed by two different people.

Question 74

A role set refers to all the roles attached to a single social position.

Question 75

Being an elected political official is mostly an achieved status.

Question 76

Social structure, including status and role, provides a guide for everyday living.

Question 77

People who formally leave a role (such as an ex-convict) often find that their earlier identity stays with them.

Question 78

A status set refers to all the social positions a person holds at any given time.

Question 79

The idea that reality is socially constructed means that nothing is real to most people at all.

Question 80

The concept "master status" refers to being the best in one's occupational field.