Chapter 1 The Sociological Imagination True or False 1. Contemporary Internet trends, such as Facebook and online multiplayer gaming communities, are not able to be studied by sociologists. Answer: False 2. A society is a large group of people who live in the same area and participate in a common culture. Answer: True 3. The sociological imagination is the capacity to think systematically about how the many things that we experience as personal problems are really social issues that are widely shared by others born in a similar time and social location as us. Answer: True 4. Discrimination has been almost entirely eliminated in American society. Answer: False 5. Only specially trained individuals can utilize a sociological imagination. Answer: False 6. People watching is a common way to engage our sociological imaginations. Answer: True 7. Sociologists often ask questions that many college administrators, government officials, and other similar authority figures find disquieting. Answer: True 8. Social theories are typically poorly established and are not taken seriously by professional sociologists. Answer: False 9. Sociology is quite limited in the types of topics that sociologists can study. Answer: False 10. Some sociologists have extended the discipline so far as to study nonhuman subjects. Answer: True 11. The context in which an individual grows up has a dramatic impact on that person's life opportunities. Answer: True 12. Recent sociologically research has discovered a link between neighbourhood violence and children's school performance. Answer: True 13. Key social identities, such as race and gender, are inflexible and do not change. Answer: False 14. Social structures are always present and never disappear, even briefly. Answer: False 15. People who avoid formal social institutions, such as criminals, are able to completely avoid conforming to roles and norms. Answer: False 16. Sociology has taken a long time to develop as a discipline and continues to develop in modern times. Answer: True 17. Early in the twentieth century, influential economists held chairs in sociology departments. Answer: True 18. Sociology owes much of its philosophical basis to thinkers as diverse as Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Answer: True 19. The industrial boom of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had little to do with the development of sociology. Answer: False 20. The agricultural economies of earlier centuries were very similar to cities that developed in the United States and in Europe from the middle of the nineteenth century onward. Answer: False 21. Sociological concepts and theories cover a wider range of topics than other disciplines. Answer: True 22. Sociologists' explanations of how the external world shapes behaviours and social outcomes are narrower than those of other disciplines. Answer: False 23. The borders between what is and what is not appropriate for sociologists to study are very well defined. Answer: False 24. When sociologists and economists study the same subject, they almost always come to the same or similar conclusions. Answer: False 25. Interdisciplinary research is next to impossible for sociologists to conduct. Answer: False Multiple Choice 1. People in our society tend to think of themselves in terms of their individuality, but we are also all products of our __________, such as the time and place we live and the family we were born into. A. social contexts B. genetic makeup C. likes and dislikes D. interests and skills Answer: A 2. Why is Facebook controversial in some parts of the world? A. It allows people of different beliefs to find and communicate with each other. B. It prohibits people under the age of 12 from joining its community of users. C. It makes it difficult for older people to attend social events. D. Its terms and conditions are rarely understood by users. Answer: A 3. Facebook draws heavily on very basic sociological ideas about __________. A. cognition B. stereotypes C. string theory D. social networks Answer: D 4. Social media sites like Facebook draw on the sociological idea that people are connected not only to close friends and family but to __________. A. all people while online B. all people at all times C. hidden networks of people with whom they share common interests D. visible networks of people with whom they share common attributes Answer: C 5. Some governments around the world have attempted to curtail the use of social media because they object to the __________. A. exclusion of women from using social media B. underrepresentation of American values in social media C. anti consumerist bias of American-based factions in social media D. spread of anti-government ideas and the mobilization of social movements made possible by social media Answer: D 6. A large group of people who live in the same area and participate in a common culture is called a __________. A. society B. culture C. norm D. region Answer: A 7. Which of the following definitions best defines sociology? A. Sociology is the study of the inner workings of the human mind. B. Sociology is the application of common sense principles to our social world. C. Sociology is the study of societies and the social worlds that individuals inhabit within them. D. Sociology is the study of why people join groups. Answer: C 8. __________ is the increased flow of goods, money, ideas, and people across national borders. A. Free trade B. Globalization C. Fair trade D. Socialization Answer: B 9. Introductory courses in sociology attempt to give students the tools they need to __________. A. follow stock market trends B. find romantic partners C. analyse how and why our world is the way it is D. live peaceably with others Answer: C 10. The sociological imagination is the capacity to think systematically about how the things we experience as __________ problems are really __________ issues widely shared by others. A. personal; social B. personal; transformative C. extraordinary; ordinary D. social; aspirational Answer: A 11. Who coined the term sociological imagination? A. C. Wright Mills B. Emile Durkheim C. Karl Marx D. Auguste Comte Answer: A 12. According to C. Wright Mills, the sociological imagination enables us to grasp the relations between __________ in society. A. money and power B. biology and destiny C. history and biography D. students and teachers Answer: C 13. At each stage of our development, we are both __________ and __________. A. individuals; members of a social world B. authority figures; members of politicized bodies C. independent; and social innocents D. powerless; sole determiners of our own fate Answer: A 14. By considering the intimate relationships between adults across societies and over time, what have sociologists concluded about marriage? A. Marriage is always a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman. B. Marriage is only sometimes a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman. C. Marriage is not always a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman, but it is always monogamous. D. Marriage is not always monogamous, but it is always a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman. Answer: B 15. How do sociologists use a sociological imagination to challenge stereotypes? A. A sociological imagination challenges stereotypes by proving that stereotypes benefit no one. B. A sociological imagination challenges stereotypes by demonstrating that stereotypes have no harmful consequences. C. A sociological imagination challenges stereotypes by raising questions about where stereotypes come from, what they are based on, who stands to benefit from them, and why they are harmful. D. A sociological imagination challenges stereotypes by acting out stereotypes so that they can be adopted by others. Answer: C 16. __________ refers to any behavior, practice, or policy that harms, excludes, or disadvantages individuals based on their group membership. A. Racism B. Discrimination C. Depersonalization D. Activism Answer: B 17. Stereotypes are beliefs about members of a group that are usually __________, or at least exaggerated, but are the basis of assumptions made about individual members of a group. A. apolitical B. political C. true D. false Answer: D 18. What tools does sociology give us? A. Sociology gives us the tools to understand and think critically and creatively about our own lives, the times we are living in, and why we are the way we are. B. Sociology gives us the tools to reinforce stereotypes with concrete data. C. Sociology gives us the tools to understand evolutionary biology. D. Sociologists gives us the tools to understand economic theory. Answer: A 19. Which of the following definitions best defines social theories? A. Social theories are overarching frameworks that suggest certain assumptions about how the world works. B. Social theories are general ideas that influence the way that sociologists conduct their research. C. Social theories represent points of view. D. Social theories are undeniable laws that predict how the social world works under various experimental conditions. Answer: A 20. Sociologists have developed research methods in order to __________. A. be taken seriously as scientists B. match data to the results they expect to generate C. develop new evidence that allows new questions to be generated D. convince the public that their findings are plausible Answer: C 21. Why do the authors of The Sociology Project suggest that sociology can be dangerous? A. Sociologists often talk to dangerous people. B. Sociologists often ask hard questions of authority figures. C. Sociologists often take immoderate risks to publish unpopular findings. D. Sociologists often put themselves in dangerous situations for their research. Answer: B 22. In an ongoing study of more than 2,000 young adults as they progress through college and into their post collegiate years, sociologist Richard Arum has found that __________. A. all graduates in the study had jobs in their fields within five years of graduation B. college had little impact on the earnings of graduates in the study C. 24 percent of graduates in the study were back living with their parents two years after graduation D. sociology majors were 50 percent more likely to be employed than other students in the study Answer: C 23. Although psychologists and sociologists study similar subjects and phenomena, what is a significant difference in the types of questions they ask? A. Sociologists are interested in understanding the philosophy of the individual; psychologists are interested in understanding the ideology of the individual. B. Sociologists are interested in understanding how people think; psychologists are interested in understanding why people think. C. Sociologists are interested in understanding the intrinsic causes of behavior; psychologists are interested in understanding the motivational effects on behavior. D. Sociologists are interested in understanding broad social factors; psychologists are interested in understanding how individuals think. Answer: D 24. Why would sociologists who study academic performance be interested in the lives of college freshmen before they enter college? A. Sociologists are particularly well equipped to study individuals' intelligence quotients and the impact of intelligence on academic performance. B. Sociologists are particularly well equipped to study the influences of students' backgrounds—such as family influences—on academic performance. C. Sociologists who took sociology courses in high school are particularly well equipped to study the academic performance of students entering college for the first time. D. Students who excel academically are likely to attend schools closer to home. Answer: B 25. The scope of sociological research is __________. A. quite broad B. highly specialized C. tightly time bounded D. quite limited Answer: A 26. __________ refers to the influence of society on individuals. A. Social status B. Social context C. Social conditioning D. Social mobilization Answer: B 27. Which of the following statements about social contexts would sociologists agree is true? A. Social contexts can be easily overcome by the will of the individual. B. Social contexts are important but ultimately cannot be used to determine anything about a child's future prospects. C. Social contexts can sometimes be used to understand some types of group situations. D. Social contexts can have a huge impact on where newborn infants end up in life. Answer: D 28. Which social context is likely to have a more significant impact on a child's life experience from birth than the others? A. his or her parents' income and wealth B. his or her parents' age C. his or her parents' recycling habits D. his or her birth order Answer: A 29. Why is the family of interest to many sociologists? A. Government funding generously supports family research. B. Families are a key to understanding how individuals develop. C. Families are a new area of sociological research. D. Families, which tend to be similar, are ideal cross-cultural subjects. Answer: B 30. Living in high-crime areas has obvious risks: being a victim of physical violence, for example. What is one of the more subtle risks faced by people who live in high-crime areas that is mentioned in The Social Project? A. impaired job or school performance because of stress B. increased forgetfulness because of rampant escapism C. increased attention from politicians trying to court non-affiliated voters D. decreased access to housing that allows pets Answer: A 31. Which of the following statements about the impact of organizations on identity is true? A. Organizations are critical to how men view themselves but not to men's views of women. B. Organizations shape what identities are available to us. C. Organizations provide little opportunity for social interaction among children. D. Organizations have less impact on the identities of individuals after they reach adulthood. Answer: B 32. What can apply the sociological imagination tell us about unemployment and homelessness? A. Homelessness and unemployment are almost always the result of individual choices. B. Unemployment, but not homelessness, is always the result of individual choices. C. Anyone is just as likely as another to become either unemployed or homeless. D. Unemployment and homelessness can be due to changing social forces beyond an individual's control. Answer: D 33. What important fact about racial identity is key to understanding the social context of race? A. Racial identity is genetically determined. B. Racial identity is set in infants as early as three months. C. Racial identity can change according to the kinds of institutions with which we are connected. D. Racial identity has no significance in modern America. Answer: C 34. An African American male born in the American South in 1910 faced a very different environment than the same child growing up in Atlanta today, in terms of opportunities and aspirations. Such differences underscore the __________ contexts of our lives. A. institutional and community B. economic and institutional C. historical and institutional D. social, economic, and historical Answer: D 35. Two key components to understanding social context are __________. A. social interaction and social structure B. social space and social time C. social status and social wealth D. social power and social prestige Answer: A 36. Social interaction is governed by a set of __________. A. identities B. statuses C. norms D. laws Answer: C 37. __________ refers to the way people act together, including how they modify and alter their behavior in response to the presence of others. A. Social interaction B. Self-consciousness C. Social structure D. Presentation of self Answer: A 38. __________ are basic rules of society that help us know what is and is not appropriate to do in a given situation. A. Social contexts B. Morals C. Norms D. Thoughts Answer: C 39. Sociologists' understanding of social contexts, social interactions, and social structures teaches us that people __________. A. typically present themselves in the same way to everyone they meet B. often behave in highly unpredictable ways C. never present themselves in the same way twice D. present themselves in different ways based on the context they are in Answer: D 40. How do people learn norms? A. People learn norms through interactions with people whose opinions they value. B. People learn norms by being taught them in school. C. People learn norms through interactions with parents within the first 72 hours of life. D. People never really learn norms. Answer: A 41. Why were the rules of social interaction of special interest to first-generation artificial intelligence (AI) researchers? A. Computer scientists dreamed of building robots that could think and perform like human beings. B. Computer scientists found it easier to program the rules of human behavior than to make other types of computations. C. Computer scientists were attracted to the idea of social networks from the very beginning. D. Computer scientists recognized the importance of social interaction to daily life, making it obvious that they would quickly master the intricacies of artificial intelligence. Answer: A 42. __________ refers to external forces, notably evident in the social hierarchies and institutions of society. A. Social interaction B. Social strategy C. Social normative behavior D. Social structure Answer: D 43. When sociologists refer to the institutions of society, they are most likely referring to __________. A. marriage, family, or school B. public opinion C. social welfare programs D. corporate takeovers Answer: A 44. Social structure is composed of what two distinct components? A. church and state B. hierarchies and institutions C. norms and mores D. rules and laws Answer: B 45. Why is the power of social structures most obvious to us after natural disasters? A. Natural disasters have a distinct tendency to disrupt social structures in ways that man-made disasters do not. B. Social structures are most obvious to us when they are absent or when they break down, as in the aftermath of a hurricane or tsunami. C. People are grateful for social structures that are both limiting and enabling. D. Social structures are delicate and often break down with even the slightest strain. Answer: B 46. Roles are described as __________. A. tasks we perform throughout the day to maintain our social status B. positions within an institution or organization with specific behavioral expectations C. parts of social institutions that go beyond the external D. aspects of an individual's personality that confer social status Answer: B 47. Why do drug dealers and other criminals follow social rules regarding contracts? A. Criminals fear nothing more than legal problems, which contracts help them avoid. B. Criminals, who have extensive knowledge of the law, are obsessive about the terms of written agreements. C. Contracts ensure that criminals are treated with respect by the courts. D. Underground economies operate according to rules and values not that different from those of the regular economy. Answer: D 48. Sociology and other social sciences began to develop __________. A. when opportunities to make new discoveries in the physical sciences declined B. when people abandoned religion in mass numbers, around 1960 C. after the American Revolution, when a new politically empowered populace emerged D. when growing numbers of people began to systematically investigate how things worked in the real world Answer: D 49. The term sociology is typically credited to __________, who first used it in 1839. A. C. Wright Mills B. Auguste Comte C. Karl Marx D. Emile Durkheim Answer: B 50. Why were lines between social sciences unclear when they first developed? A. The backgrounds of early social scientists were diverse, and they often conducted work in multiple disciplines. B. Early social scientists, who were educated as physicians, were reluctant to leave their medical school posts. C. Early universities were unwilling to fund the social sciences, forcing them to share resources. D. High degrees of social cohesion among social scientists made them reluctant to split apart. Answer: A 51. _________, the social sciences began to settle down into organized bodies of knowledge and distinctive professional profiles. A. In the late Middle Ages B. Shortly after the American Revolution C. Between 1880 and 1910 D. In the 1950s and 1960s Answer: C 52. __________, who founded both the first European Sociology Department and the first major European journal of sociology, is called the "father of sociology." A. Max Weber B. Auguste Comte C. Claude Bordeaux D. Emile Durkheim Answer: D 53. Which of the following institutions of higher learning formed the first department of sociology in the United States and remains greatly influential to this day? A. Ohio State University B. University of California, Berkeley C. University of Chicago D. University of Iowa Answer: C 54. Which of the following factors pulled people away from farms and into cities during the period of rapid industrialization more so than the others? A. drought B. housing C. jobs D. urban agriculture Answer: C 55. Social changes enabled by rapid industrialization affected __________. A. individuals B. communities C. individuals and communities D. neither individuals nor communities Answer: C 56. Which of the following statements is true of urban environments that developed from the middle of the nineteenth century onward? A. Cities had high rates of poverty. B. Housing was relatively inexpensive. C. Factory wages were fair. D. Crime and violence were rare. Answer: A 57. Rapidly developing cities of the middle to late nineteen century, gave workers, who lived in close proximity to each other, opportunities to __________. A. earn higher levels of pay in competition with other workers B. fund community-based insurance programs with their above-subsistence-level wages C. unionize and organize protests D. move frequently, given the abundant supply of new housing Answer: C 58. Social movements are characterized by __________ action. A. solitary B. collective C. defensive D. impulsive Answer: B 59. Which of the following statements accurately describes the development of the social sciences in the United States? A. It took over 150 years, beginning in 1850, for a handful of the social sciences to develop. B. Public skepticism prevented the social sciences from catching on until after World War I. C. Social strife in America's large industrial cities thwarted the early efforts of the social sciences to establish themselves. D. In the span of just 20 years, a whole battery of social sciences established institutional presences. Answer: D 60. What do economics, psychology, anthropology, political science, and sociology have in common? A. Their graduates are among the highest paid in the first five years after graduation. B. In the United States, their professional associations were all founded within 20 years of each other. C. They all utilize statistical methods almost exclusively in their research. D. They are all usually categorized as humanities rather than as social sciences. Answer: B 61. Among the social sciences, sociology is the discipline most concerned with __________. A. the way the psyche develops in early childhood B. how different units of analysis—from individual to group to institution to global society—link up to and mutually influence one another C. predicting the future of humanity D. accurately assessing the failures of twentieth-century regimes Answer: B 62. Why is it sometimes difficult for sociologists to define sociology in short, simple terms? A. Unlike other social scientists, sociologists do not use mathematical models to solve problems. B. Unlike other social scientists, sociologists do not have an established set of ideas that make up their theoretical core. C. Unlike other social scientists, sociologists do not define themselves according to a specific institution or area of life. D. Unlike other social scientists, sociologists do not publish their own academic journals. Answer: C 63. What do sociological researchers mean by unit of analysis? A. The unit of analysis is the piece of a topic that a researcher bites off when she or he studies it, whether large or small, local or global. B. The unit of analysis is a reference to the metric units employed in sociological studies, which sociologists routinely use to conform to the standards of their European colleagues. C. For sociologists, the unit of analysis is the macro-level object of their studies, whether states, nations, or the world. D. For sociologists, the unit of analysis is always the individual. Answer: A 64. How is a sociological study of the family more likely to differ from a psychological study of the family? A. Psychological studies tend to focus on relationships; sociological studies tend to focus on individuals. B. Psychological studies tend to isolate the family unit; sociological studies tend to study families within their larger social contexts. C. Psychological studies tend to focus on context; sociological studies tend to focus on content. D. Psychological studies tend to be large scale; sociological studies tend to be smaller in scale. Answer: B 65. Sociology laid the groundwork for which of the following academic disciplines? A. African American studies and demography B. philology and theosophy C. history and psychology D. anthropology and computer science Answer: A Scenario Multiple Choice 1. Imagine that you are a sociology student in the early twentieth century at the University of Chicago. You are trying to come up with an idea for a research project that you can easily conduct without leaving the city. Which of the following projects best embodies the sociological imagination? A. You think the jerk in the apartment across the hall is stealing your clothes from the laundry room. You plan to hide in the laundry room to catch him in the act to figure out why he is a thief. B. You suspect your older brother has some serious mental problems. You want to show him a series of ink blots and ask him what he thinks they look like. In this way, you will try to gain new insight into his mental health needs. C. The sidewalk outside your dormitory is cracked and many people have injured themselves on it. You decide to organize volunteers so that you can repair the damage. D. You have observed that the police force is made up almost entirely of a certain immigrant group. You want to interview members of that community and police officers to find out why this group might be drawn to police work. Answer: D 2. John is taking an introductory sociology class. As a result, he is conscious of his environment and carefully thinks about what he sees rather than jumping to quick conclusions. He notices a homeless man on his way to class every day. Using his sociological imagination, what might John conclude about this man's circumstances? A. John reacts with frustration. He considers the homeless man's situation as a personal problem. The man, obviously, is lazy and chooses not work. B. John reacts with indifference. Although he would not make the same choice, the homeless man, obviously, has chosen to live off handouts rather than work. C. John reacts with sympathy. He considers the social circumstances that may have drawn the homeless man into poverty. He wonders why so many people are unemployed. He concludes that, being in a period of social change, where globalization and other factors are restructuring our economic lives, the homeless man has lost his housing along with this job. D. John is sympathetic and inclined to believe that substance abuse is a disease. The homeless man, obviously, is an alcoholic, but his particular disease—alcoholism— is a personal, not a social, issue. Answer: C 3. Karen operates a clothing store. Last summer she hired a young man to work at her store and he was frequently late and did not work particularly hard when he did show up. Karen now feels that most young men do not have the work ethic necessary to meet her demands. Her belief that young men are lazy is an example of __________. A. racism B. sexism C. discrimination D. stereotyping Answer: D 4. You are a first-year student at a major university. Which of the following describes a social context that could have a major positive impact on your academic success? A. After college, you plan on being a teacher. For this reason, you take your education very seriously. B. You went to a high school that did not offer many Advanced Placement courses. C. Your parents were not rich, but they were able hire summer tutors for you when you were in high school. D. You are a perfectionist in all things. You always study very hard and have no intention of graduating with less than a perfect 4.0. Answer: C 5. You are taking your first sociology course in the fall. About halfway through the semester, you go home for Thanksgiving. At Thanksgiving dinner, you plan to conduct an impromptu sociological experiment by violating some social norms. Which of following actions could you potentially take? A. You eat your dinner and make polite dinner conversation with your family. B. You help to make dinner and serve all the guests as well. C. You eat your dinner with your hands, even the mashed potatoes. D. You excuse yourself from the table after dessert to answer your cell phone. Answer: C 6. Thomas is a heavy smoker. Although no signs prohibiting smoking are visible in his college classroom, he chooses not to smoke and instead chews gum until the class is over. Thomas is abiding by the social __________, or rules, of the classroom. A. norms B. hierarchies C. roles D. structures Answer: A 7. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, there were reports of increased criminal activity and looting. Looters broke into electronics stores and stole merchandise, and increasing numbers of violent attacks exceeded all efforts of the police to keep the rising levels of violence in check. How would a sociologist explain these phenomena? A. In the absence of a social context, urban residents, viewing the chaos in the streets in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, altered their behaviours to conform to the norms of a new social reality. B. In the absence of social structures to put limits on their behavior, the criminal members of any society view times of crisis as opportunities to mobilize large number of people to engage in criminal behaviours unimpeded. C. In the absence of social structures, rules are unclear, and everyone has to improvise. D. People always choose to act as criminals when they know police officers are not watching them. Answer: C 8. You are a social scientist in the mid-nineteenth century. You want to study the forces in society that are driving social change. What human subjects are you most likely to study? A. farmers that live in rural Iowa B. shrimpers in Louisiana C. factory workers that live in New York City D. members of the U.S. Army Answer: C 9. It is the late nineteenth century. Robert is a young man who is fascinated by the social world. He is particularly interested in studying the problems of cities and their inhabitants, including the lives of new residents migrating to cities from farms and from abroad. He is familiar with an emerging discipline called sociology and wants to conduct field research as part of his university coursework in the city where he is being educated. What school should Robert contact to gain information about this new field of study? A. Hanover College, in Hanover, Indiana B. the University of Kansas, in Lawrence, Kansas C. the University of Chicago, in Chicago, Illinois D. the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia Answer: C 10. You, a sociology student, are approached by an anthropology student who would like to work together. How should you respond to this offer to participate in an interdisciplinary study? A. Since sociology is a broad discipline that shares much theory and many research methods with anthropology, interdisciplinary study is very much possible. Accept. B. Sociology is a very narrow field of study with very specific research methodologies. A project with an anthropologist just doesn't make sense. Decline. C. Historical contexts and the nature of modern universities prevent sociologists from interacting effectively with anthropologists. Decline. D. The project may work, but it is likely that you will come into conflict with your partner for theoretical reasons. This conflict could make the project very difficult to finish. Decline. Answer: A Short Answer 1. How do stereotypes contribute to discrimination? Answer: Stereotypes are simplified and often negative generalizations about a group that are often false or exaggerated. These generalizations are usually falsely believed to apply to all members of a group. Discrimination occurs when stereotypes lead to behaviours, practices, or policies that harm, exclude, or disadvantage individuals on the basis of their membership in a group. 2. The authors of The Social Project suggest that the questions that sociologists ask can be dangerous. How so? Answer: Sociologists study all aspects of society; this includes controversial subjects. Sometimes the subjects that sociologists study are objectionable and offensive to authority figures. Governments often do not like it when their citizens begin to ask questions about topics government officials would prefer to keep secret. Large corporations or other organizations often do not like it when workers or members start to ask questions rather than doing what they are told. School authorities often do not like it when students, parents, or outside observers raise questions about the character and quality of student learning. 3. Sociologists use a variety of research methods to study society. What are research methods? Answer: Research methods are tools sociologists use to systematically study research questions. Research methods are systematic approaches sociologists use to gather and analyze data about social phenomena. These methods include surveys, experiments, observations, and interviews. 4. What part does social context play in the development of individuals? Answer: Social contexts are the social environments, including economic and cultural conditions, that influence people's lives. Examples of social context include one's family, neighbourhood, education, organizational involvement, employment, country, and period of history. As a person grows up and moves through various stages of development, each social environment encountered and experienced plays a part in shaping the individual's attitudes, motivations, opinions, and behaviours. 5. What does it mean to state that our families shape who we are in a variety of ways? Answer: Our families give us racial, ethnic, economic, and religious identities. Additionally, they teach us the basic rules of society and how to behave in the social world. They also connect us to social networks, provide us with financial resources, and potentially help us with problems later in life. 6. How do organizations and institutions shape the identities of adults? Answer: Our sense of self is deeply tied to the institutions we are a part of, as organizations help provide us with identities, shape us based on how we value them, and help us develop those aspects of our personalities that originally drew us to join them. 7. How do norms dictate social interaction? Answer: Social interaction is governed by a set of norms, which are the basic rules of society that help us know what is and is not appropriate to do in any situation. Knowing what the norms of a situation are is important for avoiding embarrassment and acting appropriately in different contexts. 8. Why is it important to follow norms if an individual wants to fit in in society? Answer: Norms are the informal rules that tell us what is and is not acceptable in society. Violating social norms can be embarrassing and can possibly result in certain sanctions. 9. How does social hierarchy operate as a social structure? Answer: A social hierarchy is a set of important social relationships that provides individuals and groups with different kinds of statuses, in which some individuals and groups are elevated above others. It can often dictate who is able to perform particular jobs in various institutions and situations. Although hierarchies can be limiting, they give structure to human society and communicate to us what is expected of whom. 10. How do roles dictate the part that individuals play in social institutions? Answer: A role is a position within an institution or organization that comes with specific social expectations for how to behave and be treated. Roles are partly determined by our social standing, and they can impact who we are and what we can accomplish. 11. How do roles and norms differ? Answer: A role is a position within an institution or organization that comes with specific social expectations for how to behave and be treated. A norm is a basic rule of society that helps us know what is and is not appropriate to do in a situation. 12. What two societal factors greatly encouraged the development of the social sciences in the early twentieth century? Explain their particular contributions. Answer: Urbanization and industrialization are the factors that spurred the development of the social sciences during this period. Industrialization is a process of economic change characterized by the decline of farming and the growth of factories and large-scale goods production. The 1800s were a period of rapid industrialization and urbanization (the growth of cities). As urban centres grew and people shifted from agricultural to factory work, the lives of people changed dramatically. Social science as a field of research emerged during this time to study new phenomena and answer new questions about changes brought on by the growth of industry and the growth of cities. 13. How did urbanization contribute to the creation of unions and the rise of social movements? Answer: Cities were places where people could organize themselves to protest unpleasant conditions of life. Instead of tolerating misery alone on one's farm, now it was possible to meet and discuss problems with dozens or hundreds of people in close proximity. This created a new type of political challenge, especially as organized associations of workers (created in order to protect and fight for their rights) called unions began to form. Also on the rise during this period were social movements, which are marked by collective action aimed at bringing about some kind of change in society. 14. What is a unit of analysis? Give an example of a unit of analysis. Answer: The unit of analysis is the piece of a topic that a researcher bites off when she or he studies it, whether large or small, local or global. A unit of analysis is the level of a topic that a researcher focuses on. Units of analysis can encompass a wide range of levels, from the individual to a nation. 15. Why are sociologists especially suited for interdisciplinary research? Answer: Sociology integrates ideas, theories, and data from different academic fields and, consequently, is particularly well suited for interdisciplinary research. Essay 1. What does it mean to say that we are social individuals? Answer: At the beginning of Chapter 1, the authors of The Sociological Project make a distinction between the individual and the social individual. The point to be taken is this: that each person is both an independent entity and part of a larger social world. Our interactions with society involve expectations, roles, norms, and rules that others hold us to. As an object of study, sociologists are interested in the social nature of our lives. 2. How does Facebook highlight the way contemporary humans operate in social networks? Answer: The developers of Facebook unintentionally drew upon basic sociological ideas about social networks when they created the Facebook application. Social networks are the ties between people, groups, and organizations. Facebook shows us that human beings are members of larger collectives with shared interests even when members of those collectives may not personally know each other. 3. Why is the development of the sociological imagination critical for aspiring sociologists? Answer: The sociological imagination is the capacity of an individual to think systematically about how many things we experience are actually social issues, not personal problems. When we develop the ability to think about issues that impact us in this way, we are able to start seeing larger trends in the world around us. We are able to imagine the world and our place in it in ways that generate new and useful knowledge. 4. How do we exercise our sociological imaginations when we "people watch"? Answer: If we look closely enough when we observe people walking through a shopping mall or going to a concert or sporting event, it is not hard to make educated guesses about many of these people. We can identify their gender and perhaps their age, race or ethnicity, and maybe even their religion (for example, if they are wearing some kind of identifying clothing). The way they dress may also convey something about their income. The way they speak might tell us if they are well-educated or not or if they are from a particular region of the United States or from a foreign country. When we "people watch" in this way, we are, without necessarily realizing it, beginning to engage our sociological imaginations. We are using information we know about our society to make educated guesses about the individuals we encounter. 5. How does the neighbourhood we live in shape our social development? Answer: Living in a safe neighbourhood with good schools, surrounded by families who encourage their children to do well in school and to be ambitious and confident, creates a different set of pathways than that experienced by a child living in an impoverished, high-crime neighbourhood with poor schools. The latter environment can have many negative consequences, including not just obvious things like the continual risk of being a victim of crime and the lack of people who can provide positive social networks, but also more subtle things like increased stress levels that may reduce sleep and school performance. 6. How does the time and place we are born into influence us and our behavior? Give an example. Answer: Beyond specific organizations and institutions lie the social, economic, and historical contexts of our lives. The state of the world we are born into shapes the opportunities available to us, either limiting or enabling us to pursue different goals and aspirations. An African American male born in the South in 1910 faced a very different environment than the same man would today. A child growing up in a working-class family in Detroit in the 1940s would experience a different set of economic opportunities than the same child growing up in contemporary Detroit (once the centre of the automobile industry and home to a large number of high-paying working-class jobs, today the Detroit area has been hard hit by the devastating decline in the U.S. manufacturing sector). Women entering adulthood in the 1950s faced a different set of choices and cultural expectations than women currently entering adulthood. 7. In what different ways do we characterize ourselves in social settings? Answer: As we interact with others, we engage in a process of working within the rules and norms of society to try to present a pleasing version of ourselves. Examples include our Facebook and professional website profiles, our business cards, and the different ways we characterize ourselves in social settings when we meet new people or introduce ourselves to a group. 8. Why are units of analysis key to the scientific study of society? Answer: The phenomenon a sociologist wishes to study has a great impact on the unit of analysis studied. Some units of analysis are perfect for a given research question; some, clearly, do not make sense. For example, if a sociologist is interested in cross-national trade, the unit of analysis would be the nation-state. She would likely gather information about the macro economy of entire countries, their total population, and other large-scale information. In a study of cross-national trade, it would not make sense for a sociologist to invite individual people to answer research questionnaires. 9. Although there is much common ground between sociology and economics, practitioners of the two disciplines often come to very different conclusions. Explain why this occurs. Answer: The primary difference between sociologists and economists is that economists tend to rely on simplifying human behavior into crisp mathematical models, whereas sociologists prefer to search for answers to research questions across a broad range of phenomena. The mathematical models developed by economists are very clear and test simple assumptions regarding human behavior. They often narrow their field of inquiry by assuming, for instance, that humans act rationally to maximize their economic self-interest. By making these assumptions, economists are able to develop models that they feel are accurate predictors of highly complex behavior. In contrast, sociologists use models that take into consideration many aspects of human behavior. For this reason, their mathematical models, when they use them, tend to be more complex and engage a greater variety of factors. 10. What impact has sociology had on the development of other social science disciplines? What does it mean that sociology is an incubator for new areas of investigation? Answer: Sociology has given birth to a number of other disciplines, including African American studies, women's studies, industrial relations, demography, and criminology. There was a time when all the content of these disciplines was studied within sociology departments. Once these content areas grew into department-sized disciplines, new avenues of theory and research began to be to be explored. Furthermore, there is no reason to believe that sociology is done giving birth to new disciplines. There are currently a number of new areas of research within sociology that could spin off to become their own fields. For this reason sociology excites broad-minded academics and researchers interested in interdisciplinary study. Test Bank for The Sociology Project : Introducing the Sociological Imagination Jeff Manza, Richard Arum, Lynne Haney 9780205949601, 9780205093823, 9780133792249
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