Sociological Approaches and Culture Flashcards
In a study that spanned more than ten years, sociologists aimed to monitor the activities chosen by primary-school boys at recess. The original cohort of experimental-group participants was told from a young age that they could participate in any activities that they would like, and efforts were made to limit their exposure to ideas regarding “proper behavior” for boys and girls. The control group consisted of a random assortment of public-school boys who were left to their own devices. When the boys were in fifth grade, they were allowed three specific options during recess: playing sports, coloring, or playing hide-and-go-seek. Their preferences are depicted in table form below.
How can one evaluate the results of this study through the lens of social constructionism?
A. Since the test group chose to color more than the control group, coloring is likely a social construct.
B. Since the test group spent less time playing sports but colored more than the control group, gender roles with regard to activities are likely a social construct.
C. Since the control group heavily preferred to play sports, it is likely that they were told to do so.
D. None of the above; the described study only relates to functionalism, not social constructionism.
B. Since the test group spent less time playing sports but colored more than the control group, gender roles with regard to activities are likely a social construct.
In a study that spanned more than ten years, sociologists aimed to monitor the activities chosen by primary-school boys at recess. The original cohort of experimental-group participants was told from a young age that they could participate in any activities that they would like, and efforts were made to limit their exposure to ideas regarding “proper behavior” for boys and girls. The control group consisted of a random assortment of public-school boys who were left to their own devices. When the boys were in fifth grade, they were allowed three specific options during recess: playing sports, coloring, or playing hide-and-go-seek. Their preferences are depicted in table form below.
One might view the results of the control group from a functionalist perspective by stating that:
A. gender roles are a social construct with the latent dysfunction of creating bias and stigma towards certain activities.
B. gender roles are a social construct with the latent function of creating bias and stigma towards certain activities.
C. gender roles are a social construct with the manifest function of creating bias and stigma towards certain activities.
D. gender roles are a social construct with the manifest function of generating prejudice towards coloring and hide-and-go-seek.
A. gender roles are a social construct with the latent dysfunction of creating bias and stigma towards certain activities.
Anthropologists are studying a newly-discovered desert culture that is thought to have worshipped rain. It appears that, instead of praying to a human-like deity, these people chose to dedicate themselves to the rain as a form of recurring miracle. This rain-worshipping behavior exemplifies:
A. symbolic interactionism.
B. exchange-rational choice.
C. social constructionism.
D. functionalism.
C. social constructionism.
After some uncertainty, a restaurant manager decides to hire more experienced waiters to work on Friday and Saturday evenings, despite the protests of current workers who want to claim these busier, more lucrative shifts. Exchange-rational choice theory explains that she does this because:
A. she thinks the punishment of neglecting the existing workers outweighs the reward of having experienced employees.
B. she is unable to conclude that one choice is rationally correct, so she instead weighs the benefits and punishments of each option.
C. she thinks the reward of having experienced employees outweighs the punishment of neglecting the existing workers.
D. money, value, and business management are social constructs.
C. she thinks the reward of having experienced employees outweighs the punishment of neglecting the existing workers.
All of the following are latent functions of professional sports leagues EXCEPT:
A. to act as profitable companies that create organized, rule-guided competition.
B. to provide employment to individuals that work for the teams, leagues, venues, and television networks.
C. to boost television ratings.
D. to provide role models for young athletes.
A. to act as profitable companies that create organized, rule-guided competition.
Jeannie, a child, is adopted by two married parents. When Jeannie is four, her father dies, leaving her mother to raise her. Her mom, who works often, is pleased to let Jeannie’s father’s family babysit and spend hours each day with the child during her younger years. As the little girl grows older, she forms close bonds with her father’s family while her mother continues to work long hours. After graduating from high school, Jeannie moves out of state; when she returns home, it is mostly with the intent of visiting her father’s family. This type of kinship is best described as:
A. patrilineal descent.
B. matrilineal descent.
C. bilateral descent.
D. hybrid descent.
A. patrilineal descent.
During art class, a teacher asks her third-grade students to choose three of their favorite colored pencils to draw with. She scolds a girl who has picked blue, red, and green, saying that these colors are too “boyish.” To what aspect of education does this teacher’s response best relate?
A. Social learning
B. Bystander apathy
C. Hidden curriculum
D. Social constructionism
C. Hidden curriculum
Which of these societies most clearly represents a matriarchy?
A. Society A, where typical women pay for most or all household expenses but allow their husbands to determine what those expenses should be
B. Society B, where women often receive large monetary gifts from male relatives, which they use to support their children
C. Society C, where women are expected to work hard and perform most roles, including holding leadership positions and controlling family finances
D. Society D, where mothers and especially grandmothers are revered and trusted for their advice, although they cannot own property or hold political positions
C. Society C, where women are expected to work hard and perform most roles, including holding leadership positions and controlling family finances
All of the following statements regarding sects are true EXCEPT:
A. they may result from a split from a larger religion.
B. members must practice their beliefs in controlled, isolated settings.
C. they are not integrated into society.
D. they can exist in both rural and urban environments.
B. members must practice their beliefs in controlled, isolated settings.
A child is born to religious parents. During his childhood, he attends “Sunday school” seminary meetings, where he learns that his religion sprang from one that is currently endorsed by his nation’s government. Eventually, he and his parents move to a small rural community in which all residents adhere to this religion. It is explained that, although their beliefs are not dangerous or even frowned upon by society, residents will be better off living in a community in which they will fit in. This child’s religion is most likely a:
A. cult.
B. state religion.
C. sect.
D. sub-cult.
C. sect.
Which of the following demographic characteristics of a population would be most useful in determining its risk for various diseases?
A. Age
B. Household income
C. Urban vs. rural status
D. Ethnic background
A. Age
A researcher is interested in discovering how patients’ varying access to social and material resources affects their decisions about healthcare. Furthermore, she wishes to examine how these choices result in positive or negative outcomes for groups of patients with similar resources. This study’s approach seems most closely related to:
A. conflict theory.
B. structural functionalism.
C. symbolic interactionism.
D. game theory.
A. conflict theory.
A sociology professor tells her lecture students that substance abuse has recently undergone significant medicalization. In making this statement, the professor most likely means:
A. that new treatments have been developed that are more effective than those of past decades.
B. that this condition is now being viewed as physiological in origin, rather than being based on personality and choice.
C. that substance abuse is now attributed to low willpower and poor self-control, rather than to physiological factors.
D. none of the above; substance abuse cannot undergo medicalization.
B. that this condition is now being viewed as physiological in origin, rather than being based on personality and choice.
Recent studies have discovered significant changes to bacterial flora in the gut that correlate with severe obesity. These changes affect the processing of nutrients in the intestines and may partially prevent obese individuals from losing weight. This discovery, if widely accepted, might have what implications on society’s view of obesity?
A. Obesity might become increasingly deindividuated.
B. People might give fewer external attributions to the cause of their obesity.
C. Obesity might become increasingly medicalized.
D. Obesity would become entirely destigmatized.
C. Obesity might become increasingly medicalized.
A doctor in an ER ward is preparing to operate on several patients who have been in a car accident. However, he then realizes that one of them is his daughter. Handling this patient’s issues ethically would be most challenging because of the need to respect which principle of medical ethics?
A. Beneficence
B. Nonmaleficence
C. Respect for autonomy
D. Equitable treatment
D. Equitable treatment
Of the following, which would be categorized as parts of material, rather than symbolic, culture?
A. A loaf of bread cooked with a traditional recipe and eaten during holidays
B. A song that mothers often sing to their young children
C. A building that sits in a plaza that holds great religious significance
D. Both A and C are correct.
D. Both A and C are correct.
Which of these activities could serve as part of the study of symbolic culture?
I. Analyzing the shared and contrasting values held by members of different communities
II. Comparing the social value of a college education held by members of various nations
III. Studying the meaning behind gift-giving in distinct societies
IV. Searching for semantic similarities in unrelated languages that developed in different parts of the world
A. I and II only
B. II and IV only
C. I, II, and III only
D. I, II, III, and IV
D. I, II, III, and IV
All of the following are examples of cultural transmission EXCEPT:
A. third-generation immigrants cooking the same meals that their grandparents brought from their native country.
B. a Russian style of dance becoming very popular in European countries.
C. the descendants of German immigrants continuing to cook bratwurst and make sauerkraut.
D. a Parsi religious ritual that has been maintained through several generations.
B. a Russian style of dance becoming very popular in European countries.
Sociologists are examining the maintenance of cultural traditions among different generations of German immigrants living in central Oklahoma. To assess this complex topic, they first choose three German or American traditions, then survey a number of German-Americans to gain their opinions of each. The table below shows the percentage of participants in each group who celebrate or strongly identify with each concept.
The trend displayed for beer-brewing from the first to the third generation best relates to:
A. cultural reproduction.
B. cultural diffusion.
C. cultural transmission.
D. cultural assimilation.
C. cultural transmission.
Sociologists are examining the maintenance of cultural traditions among different generations of German immigrants living in central Oklahoma. To assess this complex topic, they first choose three German or American traditions, then survey a number of German-Americans to gain their opinions of each. The table below shows the percentage of participants in each group who celebrate or strongly identify with each concept.
For members of the second generation, participation levels in German dance and the tendency to follow American sports represent, respectively:
A. cultural transmission and cultural diffusion.
B. cultural transmission and cultural assimilation.
C. cultural assimilation and cultural assimilation.
D. cultural assimilation and cultural transmission.
C. cultural assimilation and cultural assimilation.
Role strain is defined as:
A. difficulty satisfying the demands of multiple distinct roles.
B. the act of leaving a role due to major changes or conflict with other social responsibilities.
C. difficulty satisfying multiple different aspects of the same role at once.
D. pressure from group members of similar ages and social status that leads an individual to conform.
C. difficulty satisfying multiple different aspects of the same role at once.
Of the pairings shown below, which properly matches the type of formal organization with an example of that type?
A. A normative organization – workers at a warehouse who make minimum wage
B. A coercive organization – employees at a factory
C. A utilitarian organization – students who must stay after school each Friday for detention
D. A normative organization – volunteers who build homes for underprivileged residents
D. A normative organization – volunteers who build homes for underprivileged residents
Group polarization is best described as:
A. the tendency for members of a group to make riskier decisions as a whole than they would have individually.
B. the tendency for members of a group to make more cautious decisions as a whole than they would have individually.
C. the tendency for group discussion to intensify members’ original stances, toward either one extreme or the other.
D. the tendency for group discussion to result in less extreme viewpoints than those of the individuals involved.
C. the tendency for group discussion to intensify members’ original stances, toward either one extreme or the other.
Kitty Genovese, a young woman from New York City, was stabbed in front of a number of witnesses, none of whom called the authorities. While this event has been largely studied and its accounts questioned, it still serves as a classic example of:
A. bystander deindividuation.
B. bystander apathy.
C. groupthink.
D. social facilitation.
B. bystander apathy.
In which of the following situations is group polarization most likely to occur?
A. A man who identifies as a moderate conservative is made to listen to an extremely conservative political speech.
B. A man who identifies as a moderate conservative is made to listen to a liberal political speech, then quizzed on his opinions afterward.
C. A woman who feels unbelievably excited about a new business idea spends an hour with one hundred individuals who feel neutral about it.
D. One hundred individuals who are moderately excited about a new business idea spend three hours in discussion in a room together.
D. One hundred individuals who are moderately excited about a new business idea spend three hours in discussion in a room together.
