Test #1 Flashcards
1
Q
People decide what to do next on the basis of what they think is going on now.
A
Thomas Theorem
2
Q
The scientific study of human social behavior
A
sociology
3
Q
The ability to see the connections between private troubles and public issues
A
key to the sociological imagination
4
Q
Refers to biological differences between men and women
A
sex
5
Q
Refers to the social meanings and expectations associated with the biological differences between men and women
A
gender
6
Q
Whose lives have changed more in the past 50 years? Men or women?
A
Women
7
Q
Trying to reduce … is a major concern for individuals and for corporate actors. Many social institutions serve at least in part to reduce …
A
Uncertainty
8
Q
What time period featured a strong belief in the idea of progress (feeling that progress in all things was here to stay)
A
The Enlightenment
9
Q
Do sociologists believe that some people, like prisoners, do not deserve to be studied?
A
No
10
Q
Give an example of two social phenomena that co-vary with each other.
A
Income and education
11
Q
According to Schuman, the size of a sample needed to accurately estimate a value for a population depends very little on …
A
the size of the population
12
Q
What are the four themes that Backman stated will run throughout this course?
A
Thomas Theorem
Uncertainty Principle
Creaming Principle
Why do people follow rules?
13
Q
What are the two fundamental questions facing every individual?
A
Whats going on? and What do I do next?
14
Q
The ability to understand a situation from the point of view of the actor
A
Verstehen
15
Q
What is the most important element in the symbolic dimension of culture?
A
Language
16
Q
An expectation shared by members of a group which specifies behavior considered appropriate in a given situation
A
Norm (Backman definition)
17
Q
The belief that your culture’s ways of doing things are the best possible and that the appropriate way to evaluate other cultures is to compare them to your culture, considering other cultures relatively good or bad by the extent to which they are like or unlike your culture
A
Ethnocentrism
18
Q
The belief that cultures should not be compared with each other and that cultural features should be evaluated based on the basis of how they contribute to the success of the society
A
Cultural relativism
19
Q
How are ethnocentrism and cultural relativism alike?
A
They are both approaches to the evaluation of cultures and cultural features.
20
Q
How are ethnocentrism and cultural relativism different?
A
Cultural relativism rejects comparisons with other cultures, while ethnocentrism is all about comparisons and even offers one standard for comparison, the evaluator’s.
21
Q
According to American sociologist W.E.B. DuBois in 1903, the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of …
A
the color line
22
Q
Which sociologist had the greatest impact on the world?
A
Karl Marx
23
Q
In his classical sociological study on suicide, Durkheim observed that high suicide rates were associated with …
A
Weak social integration
24
Q
What concept poses the question of “How is society possible?”
A
The Hobbesian problem of order
25
The way of organizing social life in Europe, especially France, in the periods leading up to the French Revolution
The ancien régime
26
Emotions and feelings are most important for which type of leadership?
Charismatic
27
A case where something becomes true because someone said it was true
Self-fulfilling prophecy
28
Relates to a focus on general laws
nomothetic
29
An analysis of the East Alabama Medical Center bureaucracy would most likely be what kind of study?
mesosociological
30
Beliefs about members of a group that are usually false, or at least exaggerated, but are the basis of assumptions made about individual members of the group
stereotypes
31
The study of the biological bases of social behavior
sociobiology
32
What are the 4 requirements for a social movement to succeed?
1. It must achieve an effective mobilization of people and resources
2. It must withstand or overcome external opposition
3. It must be able to enlist external allies from other major groups, or at least neutralize them
4. It must be able to overcome conflict within the movement
33
In his orphanage and nursery study, what difference did Spitz find between babies who received interaction from their caregivers and whose cribs allowed the babies to see what was going on around them and those who were effectively in solitary confinement?
Those children who received less social interaction tended to be more withdrawn and susceptible to physical illness.
34
A set of social relationships that provide individuals and groups with different kinds of status in which some individuals and groups are elevated above others
Social hierarchy
35
A doctor taking a test tube of blood for diagnostic purposes or a chef testing the soup by tasting a spoonful would exemplify which term related to sociological research?
Sampling
36
What is the relationship between independent and dependent variables?
Independent variables produce effects on dependent variables.
37
A group that reviews researchers' proposals before work begins in order to assess potential harm and possible benefits to participants
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
38
What part do pauses play in conversation?
Pauses convey information that enhances conversation.
39
Refers to the way in which strangers ignore each other to an appropriate degree when their paths cross in public (for instance, so they don't collide with one another)
Civil inattention
40
When we update our profiles on Facebook, we are also …
managing our presentation of self
41
In the U.S., a majority of the country's politicians are men. Since men have traditionally held higher-level positions in politics, the economy, and the family, the gender system of the U.S. is best described as a ...
patriarchy
42
Today women's median annual earnings for full time work are roughly … of men's median annual earnings for full time work.
75 percent
43
What are the reasons for the rise in women's employment in the US between 1960 and 1990?
1. The overall growth in wages in the 60's and 70's provided greater incentive for women to work for pay
2. The growth in the service sector led to increased demand for female workers.
3. Laws against sex discrimination made it more possible for well-educated women to achieve high-level careers
44
In the 1960's, it was more possible than ever before for young adults to have sex and delay marriage until after college without fear of pregnancy thanks to ...
the availability of the birth control pill
45
What are the three types of questions Mills argues the best social analysts have consistently asked?
1. What is the structure of this particular society as a whole?
2. Where does this society stand in human history?
3. What varieties of men and women now prevail in this society and in this period?
46
What level of analysis would seem best associated with Mill's terms biography and personal trouble?
Microsociology
47
What two human propensities does Schuman identify as important to study?
1. Our inclination to learn about our environment by examining a small part of it
2. Our inclination to gather information by asking questions
48
What happened in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study of people in Macon County, AL?
Black men with pre-existing cases of syphilis were recruited for a study of syphilis with the promise that they would be treated for the disease. Instead they were not treated, neither with the reasonably effective cures available at the time the study started nor with the more effective treatments that were developed while the study was in progress. They were observed to see what the course of untreated syphilis was.
49
According to Durkheim, what are the two key characteristics of social facts?
They are outside of us and they can constrain our behavior.
50
According to the syllabus, quizzes …
are used for grading purposes only for students whose course average ends in .5
51
True or False: In order to increase social integration, it is necessary to reduce social differentiation.
False
52
True or False: the idea that the social world could be studied with rigor and scientific methods like those used to study the physical and biological worlds was first developed by Alexander the Great around 320 BCE and was put on a firm footing by the Bishop of Hippo in the later days of the Roman Empire. The Bishop of Hippo gave us the word "sociology".
False
53
True or False: Zimbardo's prison experiment at Stanford illustrated the importance of group size in determining who will help someone in distress.
False
54
True or False: What put an end to the Tuskegee Syphilis study was a meeting of scientists and physicians at which it was determined that there were so few survivors that it no longer made sense to continue the study.
False
55
True or False: According to the syllabus, you can get extra credit by writing a short paper.
False
56
Level of social behavior concerned with individuals and face to face interaction
microsociology
57
level of social behavior concerned with collections of potentially face to face groups (mostly organizations)
mesosociology
58
level of social behavior concerned with large scale social phenomena like social movements, war, population growth
macrosociology
59
This level of social behavior deals with the development of the self and self-concept.
microsociology
60
The self and self-concept emerge through interaction with other people. (What is this known as?)
key sociological insight (microsociology)
61
Which level of social behavior is mostly concerned with organizational behavior?
mesosociology
62
Organizations try to control uncertainty. (What is this known as?)
Mesosociological principle
63
Much of what goes on in social life has as its end reducing uncertainty. (What is this known as?)
General Sociological Principle
64
Which level of social behavior is concerned with societies and parts of societies?
macrosociology
65
What was one of the earliest analyses of globalization?
The Communist Manifesto
66
The key to … is the ability to see the connection between the life of the individual (micro) and the larger social context (macro).
The Sociological Imagination (Mills)
67
Limited understanding of how the world does or could operate due to actor's limited experience in the world
parochialism
68
Limited in understanding due to a narrow range of social experiences
parochial
69
What two things does critical thinking entail?
1. Being skeptical about your ideas and others' ideas.
| 2. Knowing what kinds of evidence are likely to be believable.
70
Uncertainty is a powerful factor in social behavior and social structure
uncertainty principle
71
most of the time, most people do what they are supposed to do
why do people follow rules?
72
people with greater appropriate resources are better able to take advantage of opportunities
creaming principle
73
the science that studies the distribution and use of power
political science
74
science that studies the distribution and destruction of scarce resources
economics
75
the area of overlap between political science and economics
political economy
76
the science of human behavior (the mind)
psychology
77
the science of humankind (used to be the science of mankind) concerned with all human behavior
anthropology
78
Differences between cultural anthropology and sociology
anth more holistic, study smaller groups, less likely to generalize n to 1
79
science concerned with the biological basis of social behavior (also called behavioral genetics)
sociobiology
80
why sociologists ignore bio
hard enough to learn socy, if bio were destiny all societies would be the same and they aren't
81
gender is a … construction
social
82
chemical messengers
hormones
83
hormone action deals with … how the body does what it does
physiology
84
Historians more … interested in specifics of specific cases. Sociologists more … interested in general laws
idiographic
| nomothetic
85
Great 19th and 20th century thinkers (big 3) responding to 18th and 19th century events (conventional story)
first origin myth
86
statistically oriented 19th century analysts interpreting contemporary data from government and other sources (not conventional story)
second origin myth
87
three general events/trends in European history that developed sociology
French revolution and aftermath
Urbanization
Rise of industry and capitalism
88
the old way of organizing social life, esp. of governing, esp. europe pre-1789
ancien regime
89
Era in European intellectual history from Glorious revolution in england to french revolution; emphasis on powers of human mind; great belief in power of progress
enlightenment
90
french rev. marked uneasy end to … of enlightenment
optimism
91
every day, in every way, things are getting better because we are getting smarter
the law of progress
92
traditional rural society; community
Gemeinschaft
93
modern urban society; lacking sense of community
Gesellschaft
94
Industrial revolution largely responsible for ...
urbanization
95
when did capitalism take over
19th century
96
who are the founders of modern sociology? what kind of sociologists were they?
Karl Marx, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim
| macrosociologists
97
which fourth person is sometimes added as a founder of modern socy? what kind of sociologist is he?
George Mead
| microsociologist
98
two ideas that marx had theories about
capitalism and revolution
99
marx did not separate his … from his ...
science … activism
100
What was the fundamental question asked by weber?
how did germany get to be the way it is (pre-WWI)?
101
argued increasing rationality in social life was key to development of europe in the centuries after fall of rome
Weber
102
weber's 3 forms of rationality
knowledge of how to achieve desired ends; predictability and regularity in complex systems, esp. the market and govt; active efforts to master or change the world
103
argued that you can't eliminate emotional behavior
weber
104
better ways of organizing large scale efforts than any previous way; minimize individuality and emotional behavior
bureaucracies
105
we follow leader because we always have
traditional leadership
106
we follow leader because rules or laws tell us to
rational-legal leadership
107
we follow leader because we like leader and want to please him or her
charismatic leadership
108
argued that sociology is the study of social facts; being external to the individual, social facts exist regardless of whether any particular person lives or dies; social facts are not properties of the subject matter of psych so new science needed
Durkheim
109
things outside individual with power to shape individual's behavior regardless of his or her will
social facts
110
argued that the social cause of diff in suicide rates is diff in levels of social integration
Durkheim
111
bringing things together
integration
112
making things different or seperate
differentiation
113
a collection of separate people who hang together
society
114
answers the q how is society possible
hobbesian prob of order
115
bringing individuals and groups together, also keeping them together (also called social solidarity)
social integration
116
two sources or types of social integration
sentiment
| interdependence
117
feelings of belonging together
sentiment
118
needing each other
interdependence
119
situation when there are no rules, the rules are unclear, or the rules aren't enforced
anomie
120
two forms of social differentiation
division of labor
| gender
121
Distribution of tasks among members of a society
division of labor
122
diff in treatment, behavior, and lives of men and women
gender
123
What two qs does culture answer?
how do people know what is going on? how do people know what to do?
124
the established ways of thinking, believing, feeling, and acting that are widely understood and followed by members of a society
culture
125
4 key characteristics of culture
shared
learned and taught
changes over time
usually not monolithic
126
3 dimensions of culture
material
normative
symbolic
127
concerned with rules that society uses to evaluate bhr and other things
normative dimension of culture
128
two components of normative dimension of culture
cultural values
| norms
129
beliefs or feelings that are widely shared by members of a society about what is important to the society's identity or well being
cultural values
130
expectations shared by members of a group that specify bhr that is considered appropriate for a given situation
norms
131
it is desirable to shape your world through intense effort
activism
132
everyone should have an equal chance to succeed
egalitarianism
133
it is desirable to have and accomplish personal goals
achievement
134
it is good to have stuff
materialism
135
it is desirable to help people who are having troubles
humanitarianism
136
complex value systems routinely have apparent conflict between values
value conflict
137
it is desirable to evaluate each behavior for whether it is moral or not and to choose only moral bhr
morality
138
desired outcomes, often culturally valued
ends
139
bhr directed towards achieving ends
means
140
individuals feelings about what is important to his or her identity or well being
personal values
141
Norms tell actor ...
what they should do in a situation
142
2 qs individuals constantly ask themselves
whats going on? what to do next?
143
answers to 2 qs individuals constantly ask themselves
answer to first q is actor's def of situation; answer to second q is bhr
144
behavior depends on def of ...
situation
145
what links 2 fundamental qs
norms
146
Norms are often … reflections of … values
specific … abstract
147
norms can tell how to handle … values
conflicting
148
norms that have no direct link to values and/or reflect value of having standards
technical norms
149
responses to bhr, responses that enforce or reenforce social norms
social sanctions
150
sanctions based on written rules administered by persons recognized to have authority
formal sanctions
151
sanctions that are not formal
informal sanctions
152
most of the sanctions we receive are ...
informal
153
the system of meanings a group has for interpreting and making sense of the world around them and for communicating meaning
symbolic dimension of culture
154
most important medium for learning culture
language
155
language allows … learning
vicarious
156
learning through the exp. of others
vicarious learning
157
categories our minds use to process info are given by our language
worf-sapir hypothesis (aka linguistic relativity hypothesis)
158
language can maintain and create ….
boundaries
159
refers to ways of society
culture
160
what people and institutions should do, according to cultural norms and values
ideal culture
161
what people and institutions actually do
real culture
162
what happens when successful churches over time tend to get involved in non-spiritual issues
secularization
163
what happens when there is a loss of spiritual focus in churches in an attempt to restore spiritual focus
revival
164
Culture helps make social world ...
predictable
165
the more we follow norms, the more …. our world
predictable
166
an outcome that is necessary for the continued existence of society
functional prerequisite
167
list the 5 functional prerequisites
```
meet biological needs of members
obtain new members (recruitment)
train members (socialization)
resist environmental threats
maintain social integration
```
168
… establishes mechanisms for meeting functional prerequisites (also provides motivations to participate)
culture
169
relatively permeant patterns or clusters of specialized roles, groups, organizations, customs, and activities devoted to meeting fundamental social needs
social institutions
170
social problems often revolve around difficulties institutions are having in producing ...
expected outcomes
171
set of cultural products, mainly in the arts, held in the highest esteem by a culture
high culture
172
a situation when one institution has not adapted to changes in another
cultural lag
173
patterns found in all known societies
cultural universals
174
What are the three different ideas about what is most important (perspectives)?
1. Creation and maintenance of social integration (functionalist perspective)
2. Individuals and groups trying to maximize interests (conflict perspective)
3. Active individuals trying to make since of a situation and give it meaning (symbolic interactionism)
175
The most important elements of social life are those that foster social integration; Interested in how parts of society (structure) work together; Hobbesian problem of order
functionalist perspective
176
Social life is a constant battle between individuals or groups, each seeking to maximize their interests
conflict perspective
177
outcomes that benefit the actor
interests
178
The Zero Sum Game is a form of ...
conflict
179
situation in which the total amount of something is fixed. The only way one actor can get more is for one or more others to get less.
zero sum game
180
the most important aspect of social life is the active individual trying to make sense out of a situation and give it meaning
symbolic intractionism
181
Focus on interaction makes symbolic interactionism ...
microsociology
182
The fact that many symbols are shared in symbolic interactionism brings in ...
macrosociology
183
what an actor thinks is real
subjective reality
184
what is really real
objective reality
185
to understand the situation from an actor's point of view
verstehem
186
What is a practical use of the Thomas Theorem?
to understand or predict behavior of others
187
Perspectives are sometimes called ...
Paradigms
188
In what 2 ways do paradigms help working scientists?
1. Help specify what problems are important
| 2. Help specify how to go about solving problems
189
Common sense is a poor guide to ...
truth
190
based on actual observations of the world
empirical
191
When surveys are done right, they are a form of ...
systematic empirical observation
192
Sociology is sometimes called the … science
debunking
