Methods
Shameika wanted to conduct a study on the role of peers in adolescent risk-taking. She decided to collect numerical data using a survey. Which of the two major methodological approaches did she choose?
quantitative
Everything in our constructed, physical environment, including technology, buildings, furniture, clothing, and books, is part of our
a. counterculture.
b. material culture.
c. nonmaterial culture.
d. subculture.
b. material culture.
When Laila is at day care, her caretaker expects her to play with dolls with the other girls while the boys play with toy cars and action figures. This expectation is an example of a(n)
a. ascribed status.
b. gender role.
c. role conflict.
d. role strain.
b. gender role.
__________ refers to the degree to which you relate to your social group or community.
a. Anomie
b. Collective conscience
c. Social cohesion
d. Social regulation
c. Social cohesion
Social deviance is a breach of __________; crime is a breach of __________.
norms; law
Interpretive sociologists examine meanings attached to behaviors. They most commonly use __________ research methods.
a. deductive
b. qualitative
c. quantitative
d. scientific
b. qualitative
Some research questions analyze media content, such as, “Why do fairy tales often begin with a mother’s death?” This kind of research is referred to as _________.
a. cultural script
b. ideology
c. subculture
d. textual analysis
d. textual analysis
Sociologists believe that socialization begins when a child
a. can distinguish the “I “from the “me.”
b. is born.
c. is still in the womb.
d. can describe the norms and values of society.
b. is born.
When a study group grows from a triad to a group of four, the complexity of studying the ties in this group
a. decreases because the power dynamics are more intricate in triads compared to larger groups.
b. decreases because the relationships in larger groups tend to be less intimate.
c. increases because the number of possible relationships in that group doubles.
d. does not change significantly because the purpose of the group has not changed.
c. increases because the number of possible relationships in that group doubles.
When opioid use was disproportionately associated with Black Americans, it was viewed as crime, but when it increased sharply among White people, it was viewed as a health issue and called an “epidemic.” The act of attaching different meanings to opioid use is called __________.
a. deviance
b. labeling
c. rehabilitation
d. strain
b. labeling
Ash begins their research with a theory, then forms hypotheses, and finally makes some observations. Ash is using a(n) __________ research approach.
inductive or deductive?
deductive
Harry is at the park. He gets annoyed at a family nearby because they are cooking an unfamiliar, aromatic food and speaking a language he doesn’t understand. Harry thinks the family would be better off if they were eating his kind of food and speaking his language. Harry is engaging in
a. code switching.
b. cultivation.
c. cultural relativism.
d. ethnocentrism.
d. ethnocentrism.
Diwa was an ER nurse working in a busy city hospital. During a COVID surge, Diwa was responsible for providing professional, high-quality care to her patients throughout her shift. Privately, she was worried about getting sick and possibly spreading COVID to her friends and family. Which best describes what Diwa was experiencing?
a. role conflict
b. role strain
c. saving face
d. status set
a. role conflict
The most important difference between primary and secondary groups has to do with
a. size, because size influences the flow of power through the group.
b. the degree of intimacy that people experience in these groups.
c. whether the people in the group trust each other.
d. the level of competition for scarce resources within the group.
b. the degree of intimacy that people experience in these groups.
What is anomie as defined by Émile Durkheim?
a. a sense of aimlessness or despair that arises when we can no longer expect life to be predictable
b. behavioral scripts, which minorities use to navigate through the social world
c. a system of stratification based on social prestige
d. modes of behavior and understanding that are not universal or natural
a. a sense of aimlessness or despair that arises when we can no longer expect life to be predictable
Two key types of ethnographic research methods include:
a. structured interviews & cultural analysis
b. structured interviews & participant observation
c. unstructured interviews & participant observation
d. unstructured interviews & experiments
c. unstructured interviews & participant observation
Amy, an American college student, is studying abroad in France. She immediately notices a range of cultural differences, such as the language that is spoken, when and what people eat, how people greet one another, and the expected dress code in different social settings. What can the sociological perspective of symbolic interactionism teach Amy?
a. The meanings attached to social actions and symbols are socially constructed and contextually situated.
b. There are no predictable patterns in social behavior.
c. We engage in similar activities across cultures, even if they are not identical in their characteristics.
d. Because symbols and meanings constantly change and evolve, certain cultures are more advanced than others.
a. The meanings attached to social actions and symbols are socially constructed and contextually situated.
Hector grew up in New York City, where his entire family also lived. His parents always told their kids that they were “city people.” As Hector got older, his friends and siblings all settled down in New York City and other major cities around the world. He, on the other hand, ended up living in a small town in Montana where he can pursue his passions—hiking and white-water rafting. What does Hector’s story help illustrate?
a. Some children are born to the wrong families.
b. Even if socialization is a powerful process, human beings still have agency to behave differently from what is expected.
c. Scholars have discarded the theory of socialization in favor of an interest-based explanation.
d. Although socialization matters, biology (nature) has a stronger impact on our behavior.
b. Even if socialization is a powerful process, human beings still have agency to behave differently from what is expected.
Jimena is hoping to secure an internship with a law firm this summer. She’s talked with friends and family, but they have not been able to provide her with any useful contacts. She runs into her former swim instructor, whom she hasn’t seen in many years, and her instructor offers to put Jimena in contact with a friend of hers who works in law. This scenario helps to illustrate the concept of
a. narratives.
b. reference groups.
c. strengths of weak ties.
d. tertius gaudens.
c. strengths of weak ties.
Barrett spent time in prison for drug possession. When he was released, everyone in his small town saw him as a criminal; none of his friends or family believed he was sober. He had trouble reconnecting with his community and couldn’t find work. Feeling lonely and dejected, Barrett relapsed and started using even more heavily than before he was in prison. Labeling theory would interpret his continued use of drugs as __________.
a. innovation
b. primary deviance
c. rebellion
d. secondary deviance
d. secondary deviance
Positivism, or “social physics,” is best defined as the
a. approach to sociology that emphasizes the scientific method and studying objectively observable behavior.
b. study of human behavior as governed by natural instincts.
c. study of the symbolic interactions between social institutions and the individuals within them.
d. relationship between scientific and religious social institutions in both premodern and modern societies.
a. approach to sociology that emphasizes the scientific method and studying objectively observable behavior.
The technology for autonomous (self-driving) cars is already available, and a few models have been built. However, when an autonomous vehicle hits another car, it is unclear who should be liable. Should it be the owner of the autonomous vehicle who was riding in the car? The manufacturer? The person who created the software? Sociologists are considering the concept of __________ when exploring these questions.
a. cultural lag
b. cultural relativism
c. material culture
d. nonmaterial culture
a. cultural lag
Kyle is dressed for a day at the beach. On his drive there, he remembers that his great-aunt’s funeral is today. He doesn’t have time to go back home, so he attends the funeral in a colorful Hawaiian shirt and swim trunks. Nobody has explicitly told Kyle not to wear this to a funeral, but he can tell by the negative reactions he gets from the other attendees that it is an unwritten rule. In this situation, Kyle is experiencing
a. formal social sanctions.
b. informal social sanctions.
c. restitution.
d. social strain.
b. informal social sanctions.
Joyce has recently become friends with Holly and Anne. Holly and Anne have known each other for a few years and are close friends; Joyce is jealous of their friendship. When an argument arises between Holly and Anne, Joyce purposefully stokes the resentments Holly and Anne hold toward each other, in order to damage their friendship. In this example, Joyce is taking the position of
a. tertius gaudens.
b. divide et impera.
c. weak tie.
d. spanning tree.
b. divide et impera.
Sati (or suttee) was a historical practice in which Hindu widows would sacrifice themselves by sitting on their husbands’ funeral pyres. This act represented their devotion to their deceased husbands and the importance of their social role as wives. According to Émile Durkheim, this would be an example of __________ suicide.
a. altruistic
b. anomic
c. egoistic
d. fatalistic
a. altruistic