Chapter 5: Practice Quiz Questions

Question 1

Which type of theorist is most concerned with the influence of group size on the interaction among members?

Answer 1

symbolic interactionists

Question 2

After conducting his research, Solomon Asch concluded that __________.

Answer 2

the degree of social cohesion felt by participants is very important regarding how individuals respond to group pressure

Question 3

Sociologist Amitai Etzioni classified formal organizations into three categories. Which of these is not one of them?

Answer 3

totalitarian

Question 4

What are the three categories for formal organization?

Answer 4

coercive
utilitarian
normative

Question 5

__________ is the term for compliance in which people follow direct orders from someone in a position of authority.

Answer 5

Obedience

Question 6

A homeless man appears at the door of a shelter 10 minutes after the deadline for intake. He is refused shelter for the night because he arrived late. Applying the terms for problems that are frequent within bureaucracy, this is an example of __________.

Answer 6

goal displacement

Question 7

Joaquin is a member of a group working on a project for his biology class. Whenever the group meets, there is conflict among several group members, and this is upsetting to the others. Joaquin is continuously trying to improve group harmony and reduce the conflict in the group. Joe would be considered the __________ leader of the group.

Answer 7

expressive

Question 8

A(n) __________ is an abstract model that describes the recurring characteristics of some phenomenon (such as bureaucracy).

Answer 8

ideal type

Question 9

We voluntarily join __________ organizations when they can provide us with a material reward we seek.

Answer 9

utilitarian

Question 10

__________ suggest that groups involve unequal power relationships so that not all members of a group are not equally likely to have their needs met.

Answer 10

Conflict theorists

Question 11

__________ size refers to the number of potential members a group has.

Answer 11

Relative

Question 12

Part of the movement to humanize bureaucracy includes________________________.

Answer 12

a greater emphasis on sharing information

Question 13

A college president need not be effective in designing promotional brochures. A corporate executive need not be able to program the department’s computer system. These examples illustrate __________ in a bureaucratic organization.

Answer 13

division of labor

Question 14

Which of these characteristics do virtual communities and face-to-face communities have in common?

Answer 14

shared interests

Question 15

Which of these sociologists applied ideal type analysis and borrowed from the field of economics to study bureaucracies?

Answer 15

Max Weber

Question 16

Cooley coined the term __________ for a larger, more specialized group in which the members engage in impersonal, goal-oriented relationships for a limited period of time.

Answer 16

secondary group

Question 17

According to sociologist George Ritzer, __________ refers to a world of no surprises.

Answer 17

predictability

Question 18

Weber’s term __________ refers to the process by which traditional informal and spontaneous methods of social organization are gradually replaced by efficiently administered formal rules and procedures.

Answer 18

rationality

Question 19

Which of these sociologists first suggested that small groups have interaction patterns that do not exist in larger groups?

Answer 19

Georg Simmel

Question 20

A dozen inexperienced backpackers are preparing to settle in for the night when they realize that someone in the group is missing. The __________ style of leadership would be most effective in this situation.

Answer 20

authoritarian

Question 21

Social psychologist __________ examined group decision making among political experts and found that major blunders in U.S. history may be attributed to pressure toward group conformity.

Answer 21

Irving Janis

Question 22

Women with blue eyes, people who wear contact lenses, people over 7 feet tall, and college men who belong to a fraternity are each an example of a(n) __________.

Answer 22

category

Question 23

__________ needs are met by opportunities of self-expression and support from family, friends, and peers.

Answer 23

Expressive

Question 24

Leaders using the __________ style of leadership are only minimally involved in decision making and encourage group members to make their own decisions.

Answer 24

laissez-faire

Question 25

Students walking to class, shoppers in a department store, and people lined up to buy tickets are examples of __________.

Answer 25

aggregates

Question 26

A group composed of three members is termed a(n) __________.

Answer 26

triad

Question 27

A(n) __________ organization is a highly structured secondary group formed for the purpose of achieving specific goals in the most efficient manner.

Answer 27

formal

Question 28

A(n) __________ is an organizational model characterized by a hierarchy of authority, a clear division of labor, explicit rules and procedures, and impersonality in personal matters.

Answer 28

bureaucracy

Question 29

__________ is the term for the process by which members of a cohesive group arrive at a decision that many individual members privately believe is unwise.

Answer 29

Groupthink

Question 30

__________ leadership is most appropriate when the group is dealing with emotional issues, and when harmony, solidarity, and high morale are needed.

Answer 30

Expressive

Question 31

__________ leadership is most appropriate when the group’s purpose is to complete a task or reach a particular goal.

Answer 31

Instrumental

Question 32

Leaders using the __________ style of leadership may be praised for their expressive, supportive behavior toward group members, but they may also be blamed for being indecisive in times of crisis.

Answer 32

democratic

Question 33

In which of these types of groups is the participation of all members crucial to the survival of the group?

Answer 33

dyad

Question 34

Latisha is a member of a group working on a research project for a class assignment. Whenever the group meets, other members are easily sidetracked and Latisha is always trying to keep the group focused on the assignment. Latisha would be considered the __________ leader of the group.

Answer 34

instrumental

Question 35

“Bureaucratic personality” refers to_____________________________.

Answer 35

an employee who is more concerned with following the rules than getting the job done

Question 36

Who among the following is most likely to be effective in times of crisis?

a. Raghu, who is authoritative and makes major decisions for his team on his own
b. Anna, who only provides inputs to her subordinates and leaves them to make their own decisions
c. Kevin, who never participates in decision making and asks his subordinates to make decisions
d. Hannah, who encourages feedback from her subordinates and gets a consensus from them before making any important decision

Answer 36

a. Raghu, who is authoritative and makes major decisions for his team on his own

Question 37

Katy is a member of the literature club in her college, but she neither accepts nor follows the values and norms of the club. She, however, follows the norms and values portrayed by the members of her college sorority because she wants to become a member of the sorority. In this scenario, Katy’s college sorority is an example of a(n) __________.

Answer 37

reference group

Question 38

Which of the following is a purpose of groups according to classical functionalist theorists?

Answer 38

To meet the instrumental and expressive needs of group members

Question 39

A major difference between aggregates and social groups is that people in aggregates

Answer 39

share a common purpose but generally do not interact with one another

Question 40

The sociologist who first defined the differences between primary and secondary groups is __________.

Answer 40

Charles H. Cooley

Question 41

impersonal conversations is to ______ group, as personal, emotion-based conversations is to _____ group.

Answer 41

secondary; primary