CHAPTER 4: Social Interaction and Everyday Life in the Age of the Internet
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Studying what appears to be trivial everyday social behavior is:
a. microsociology
b. macrosociology
c. functionalism
d. conflict theory
Answer: A
2. Social interaction is the:
a. process by which we act and react to those around us
b. process of socialization beginning at birth
c. expected behavior of a person occupying a particular social position
d. social identity one has in a society
Answer: A
3. If a man stares at a woman, his attitude is likely perceived as innocent. If a woman stares at
a man, she is seen as inviting. The difference for the same action is seen as:
a. natural
b. different socialization processes
c. imaginary
d. one-way gender inequality being enforced
Answer: D
4. As a form of social interaction, the exchange of information and meaning through facial
expressions, gestures, and body movements is:
a. nonverbal communication
b. the compulsion of proximity
c. saving face
d. ethnomethodology
Answer: A
5. Nonverbal communication is:
a. the same as ethnomethodology
b. not really communication because all communication requires words
c. an encounter
d. exchanging information and meaning through facial expressions, gestures, and body
movement
Answer: D
6. Communicating through plain, everyday language requires:
a. knowing the people involved in the conversation
b. knowing and paying attention to the formal rules of grammar
c. an array of complex, shared background understandings
d. simply stating what you think
Answer: C
7. In the United States, holding the direct gaze of another person may indicate:
a. romantic interest
b. hostility
c. mistrust
d. all of the above
Answer: D
8. Charles Darwin claimed that basic modes of emotional expression are:
a. based on the individual’s culture
b. different in men and women
c. the same in all human beings
d. different in humans
Answer: C
9. A man wears a suit and tie to work. After work he changes to a Celtics shirt and goes to a
Celtics game. This is an example of:
a. showing he is a sports fan
b. relaxing after work
c. impression management
d. fitting in with other Celtics fans
Answer: C
10. Impression management is:
a. focused attention
b. displaying one’s personality
c. an encounter
d. preparing for the presentation of one’s social role
Answer: D
11. Combing your hair in the bathroom is an example of:
a. backstage behavior preparing for your on-stage role
b. seeking approval and respect from others
c. accepted social behavior
d. the civilized thing to do
Answer: A
12. A woman who is well liked by her coworkers walks out of the ladies room with the back
of her dress and slip tucked in her pantyhose. When she gets back to the office her coworkers
tell her what she has done, and then share with her embarrassing moments they have had.
This is an example of:
a. saving face
b. interactional vandalism
c. ethnomethodology
d. response cries
Answer: A
13. According to Erving Goffman:
a. every human being possesses a self that is forever fragile and vulnerable to embarrassment
b. people want to save face
c. people collaborate with others to help them save face
d. all of the above
Answer: D
14. You are at a party and someone you do not want to see approaches you. You make small
talk for a minute and then say, “Excuse me. I see someone I really need to talk to,” and then
leave the person. What you are really doing is:
a. segregating your audience
b. helping the person save face
c. displaying a response cry
d. displaying a lapse in socialization
Answer: B
15. Front stage role behavior for a student consists of:
a. bringing books, note pad, and pen and pencil to class
b. participating in class
c. taking notes in class
d. all of the above
Answer: D
16. Which age group uses e-mail the most?
a. children in grade school
b. teenagers
c. people older than 20 years of age
d. age has no bearing
Answer: C
17. Which age group is most likely to visit Internet social networking sites?
a. people 20 years of age and younger
b. people 21 to 30 years of age
c. people 31 years of age and older
d. age has no bearing
Answer: A
18. A social role is the:
a. prestige a group is given by other members of a society
b. expected behavior of a person occupying a particular social position
c. social identity one has in a society
d. process by which we act and react to those around us
Answer: B
19. Status is:
a. the same thing as your social role
b. your social position
c. how you play your social role
d. the prestige a group is given by other members of a society
Answer: D
20. People use impression management because they:
a. want to fit in
b. want to protect personal space
c. are sensitive to how others see them
d. are afraid of being shunned
Answer: C
21. Social position is:
a. the prestige a group is given by other members of a society
b. the expected behavior of a person occupying a particular social position
c. the social identity one has in a group or society
d. a status symbol
Answer: C
22. You go to a club Friday night and look at the crowd to check out the people. You meet
someone and begin a conversation with him or her. You have moved from:
a. unfocused interaction to focused interaction
b. focused interaction to unfocused interaction
c. following social norms to deviant behavior
d. expanding your network
Answer: A
23. A person drives up to a tollbooth, smiles at the attendant, and says “Hi.” The driver is
engaging in:
a. unfocused interaction
b. focused interaction
c. response cries
d. impression management
Answer: B
24. Focused interaction is:
a. interaction occurring among people present in a particular setting but not engaged in direct
face-to-face communication
b. interaction between individuals engaged in a common activity with one another
c. preparing for the presentation of one’s social role
d. ethnomethodology
Answer: B
25. A card game such as Texas Hold’em is an example of:
a. focused interaction
b. unfocused interaction
c. audience segregation
d. civil inattention
Answer: A
26. Sometimes a person smiles, but an observer notices that the person’s eyes look sad.
Erving Goffman would say the sad eyes are part of the expression the person:
a. gives off
b. gives
c. manages
d. uses to confuse observers
Answer: A
27. Facebook, instant messaging, Web sites, and Twitter allow people to have:
a. more control over their images
b. less control over their images
c. no control over their images
d. the same amount of control as face-to-face encounters
Answer: A
28. You are at a large party and look at someone, but do not engage in conversation with him
or her. This is:
a. focused interaction
b. audience segregation
c. unfocused interaction
d. ethnomethodology
Answer: C
29. You are at a baseball game and not conversing with anyone. You are still communicating
with others through:
a. dress
b. posture
c. gestures
d. all of the above
Answer: D
30. Unfocused interaction is:
a. interaction but not direct face-to-face communication
b. interaction between individuals engaged in a common activity with one another
c. an encounter
d. audience segregation
Answer: A
31. You go to a club Friday night and look at the crowd to check out the people. Sociologists
would say you are engaging in:
a. deviant behavior
b. an encounter
c. unfocused interaction
d. focused interaction
Answer: C
32. An encounter is:
a. two or more people in face-to-face interaction
b. two people conversing in a chat room
c. avoiding someone at a party you do not want to speak with
d. a romantic event
Answer: A
33. Civil inattention ends when two strangers begin a conversation. According to Erving
Goffman, this is known as:
a. a developing friendship
b. an opening
c. an encounter
d. audience segregation
Answer: B
34. You go to a club Friday night and look at the crowd to check out the people. You meet
someone and begin a conversation with him or her. Erving Goffman would say you are
having a(n):
a. lapse of judgment
b. encounter
c. response cry
d. problem with your personal space being violated
Answer: B
35. Erving Goffman calls the instant of focused interaction:
a. an encounter
b. a response cry
c. violating a folkway
d. violating a more
Answer: A
36. Your friend’s mother cooks a big Italian meal and invites you to dinner. She asks you how
you like the meal while glancing at your plate. Erving Goffman would analyze the situation
by saying:
a. her expressions are “give” and “give off”
b. she is displaying her status
c. there is nothing sociologically to analyze
d. she is managing her impression
Answer: A
37. Keeping your many roles separate is an example of:
a. W.I. Thomas’s theorem
b. self-fulfilling prophecy
c. audience segregation
d. ethnocentrism
Answer: C
38. During the day, Mary is a very good, serious college student. At night, she parties hard
and engages in binge drinking. Sociologically, what Mary is doing can be defined as:
a. risky behavior
b. audience segregation
c. self-fulfilling prophecy
d. self-fulfilling stereotype
Answer: B
39. Harry gets drunk and passes out at a frat party. His frat brothers take pictures of him and
post them on the Internet. Harry applies to law school and his application is rejected. Harry
finds out the reason he was rejected was because the admissions committee saw the pictures
on the Internet. Sociologically, this is an example of:
a. audience segregation failure
b. poor judgment on Harry’s part
c. the generalized other
d. status inconsistency
Answer: A
40. Jason had a rough day at work and that night wrote on his blog that his boss was a jerk
and other derogatory things. The boss read Jason’s blog and fired him. Sociologically, this is
an example of Jason’s failure to:
a. use good judgment
b. segregate his audience
c. network
d. socialize with his peer group
Answer: B
41. People act differently in different situations. This is:
a. not sociological
b. audience segregation
c. role conflict
d. status inconsistency
Answer: B
42. Jake is an assistant manager in a major retail chain. He was caught in the back office
visiting pornographic Web sites. A sociological analysis of this situation would be that:
a. he did not segregate his audience
b. his family did not do its job in the socialization process
c. he was experiencing role conflict
d. this is a case of status inconsistency
Answer: A
43. A woman hears the expression “laundering money.” She goes to the laundromat, puts
detergent and money in the washing machine. She
a. is interpreting the phrase literally
b. is from another culture
c. does not know the shared understanding of the phrase
d. all of the above
Answer: D
44. The meaning of expressions in a conversation depends on:
a. the words
b. the social context
c. the sentences
d. all of the above
Answer: D
45. Words and their meanings:
a. are always precise in their meanings
b. can be translated directly from language to language and have the same meaning
c. are not precise in meaning without background assumptions
d. are difficult to learn
Answer: C
46. A computer is programmed in English to translate the phrase “out of sight, out of mind”
from English to Russian and then to English again. The translation comes back “blind idiot.”
This happened because:
a. the computer had a glitch
b. words are not precise and the background assumptions are not shared
c. the phrase is not logical
d. of interactional vandalism
Answer: B
47. Frank Perdue’s advertising slogan, “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken,” was
translated word-for-word into Chinese. The phrase became “It takes an aroused man to make
a tender chicken.” What happened?
a. Words are not precise and the background assumptions are not shared.
b. The advertising agency made a mistake.
c. In China, people publicly display affection and display sexual symbols such as fertility
gods and goddesses.
d. In Chinese, a “tough man” is someone who tenderizes meat and chicken.
Answer: A
48. A woman from Russia is having a group interview for a job in America. The lead
interviewer says to her, “You are in the hot seat.” The interviewee begins to squirm as if the
chair were really hot. This is an example of the Russian woman:
a. being nervous at the encounter and not knowing who in the group to focus on
b. not knowing that the background assumption of the phrase has nothing to do with
temperature
c. not knowing what to expect at the interview because, in Russia, people are assigned jobs
d. taking a moment to prepare for her front stage performance
Answer: B
49. Ethnomethodology is:
a. the process by which we act and react to those around us
b. the study of human behavior in the context of face-to-face interactions
c. communication between individuals based on facial expressions
d. the study of how people make sense of what others say and do in the course of day-to-day
social interaction
Answer: D
50. Ethnomethodology was created by:
a. Harold Garfinkel
b. Erving Goffman
c. Margaret Mead
d. Charles Horton Cooley
Answer: A
51. Interactional vandalism is:
a. the deliberate subversion of the tacit rules of communication
b. the accidental subversion of the tacit rules of communication
c. has nothing to do with the subversion of the tacit rules of communication
d. a verbal argument
Answer: A
52. Interactional vandalism:
a. is closely tied to race, class, and gender
b. is part of a self-reinforcing system of mutual suspicion and incivility
c. can create fear and anxiety
d. all of the above
Answer: D
53. Which of the following is an example of interactional vandalism?
a. A group attacks a store owner for filing a false arrest report on a local resident.
b. A student shouts, “Hey, teach, lookin’ good today!”
c. Police repeatedly hit a driver who has a broken taillight.
d. Students vandalize the campus after their team wins the finals.
Answer: B
54. Interactional vandalism can be considered:
a. rude behavior
b. evasive behavior
c. a violation of social norms
d. all of the above
Answer: D
55. Jane is walking her dog in a park. A man sitting on a park bench holding a brown paper
bag with a bottle inside starts to talk to her. Jane ignores him and hurries on. This is an
example of:
a. focused interaction
b. unfocused interaction
c. interactional vandalism
d. response cries
Answer: C
56. Sarah speaks out loud to a friend while her professor is lecturing. Sarah’s behavior is:
a. interactional vandalism
b. unfocused interaction
c. audience segregation
d. response cry
Answer: A
57. Tom’s boss sends an e-mail detailing a new procedure. Tom makes a snide comment
about his boss in the e-mail and sends it to his co-workers. What Tom has done is considered:
a. focused interaction
b. status inconsistency
c. interactional vandalism via e-mail
d. role strain
Answer: C
58. Conversational analysis is:
a. a psychological concept
b. the empirical study of conversations
c. the study of human behavior in the context of face-to-face interactions
d. the empirical study of e-mail communications
Answer: B
59. Conversational analysis draws on techniques from:
a. impression management
b. interactional vandalism
c. dramaturgy
d. ethnomethodology
Answer: D
60. Conversational analysis is a(n):
a. method
b. theory
c. subjective idea
d. objective idea
Answer: A
61. Conversational analysis focuses:
a. on all facets of a conversation for meaning
b. only on the major gist of the conversation
c. only on body language
d. on the eyes
Answer: A
62. In conversational analysis, the smallest filler words, such as “um” and “ah,” and the
precise timing of pauses, interruptions, and overlaps are:
a. not important
b. not studied
c. important
d. considered body language
Answer: C
63. A response cry is:
a. the sound a person makes when frustrated
b. an involuntary response someone makes when taken by surprise
c. the sound a baby makes when his or her diaper needs to be changed
d. an expression of anger
Answer: B
64. Jane and Shelly are drinking iced tea. Jane drops her glass and exclaims, “Oops!” She
asks Shelly, “Did I get you?” Jane’s actions are:
a. a response cry
b. proper manners
c. concern for Shelly
d. revenge
Answer: A
65. Response cries demonstrate:
a. socialization in your society
b. competence in the routines of daily life
c. the generalized other
d. the looking-glass self
Answer: B
66. Personal space is:
a. universally the same
b. the psychological space individuals maintain between themselves and others
c. the physical space individuals maintain between themselves and others
d. the same thing as social distance
Answer: C
67. According to Edward T. Hall, very close, private distance between individuals is the:
a. public distance zone
b. social distance zone
c. personal distance zone
d. intimate distance zone
Answer: D
68. According to Edward T. Hall, spacing for encounters with friends and close acquaintances
is the:
a. public distance zone
b. social distance zone
c. personal distance zone
d. intimate distance zone
Answer: C
69. According to Edward T. Hall, spacing for formal encounters, such as interviews, is the:
a. public distance zone
b. social distance zone
c. personal distance zone
d. intimate distance zone
Answer: B
70. According to Edward T. Hall, spacing for those performing for an audience is the:
a. public distance zone
b. social distance zone
c. personal distance zone
d. intimate distance zone
Answer: A
71. Janice is studying abroad in Ghana for a semester. She gets on a Mercedes bus and
discovers that there are no seats. In addition, people are sitting three on top of each other. She
finds a place to sit, then a woman with a large bundle and an infant enters the bus. The
woman hands her baby to Janice. Janice refuses to take the child until she feels the crowd
pressuring her. What is going on?
a. In Ghana, child abduction rates are extremely low so there is no fear of a stranger near a
child.
b. In Ghana, personal space requirements are very different than in the United States.
c. The woman does not want her child.
d. The woman is testing Janice to see if she is prejudiced.
Answer: B
72. A man is standing in line at a bank. He feels someone’s breath on his neck and becomes
upset because:
a. he is tired of standing in line
b. his personal space is violated
c. he does not know the person behind him
d. all of the above
Answer: B
73. Jim is studying at a table in the library. Mike pulls up a chair next to Jim’s and sits down.
Jim moves his books partially in front of Mike. Jim is:
a. deep in his studies and unaware of Mike’s presence
b. mad at Jim and not speaking with him
c. reclaiming the personal space he feels has been violated
d. antisocial
Answer: C
74. Which of the following influences the amount of acceptable personal space?
a. the context of the encounter
b. the cultural differences
c. whether the relationship is formal or informal
d. all of the above
Answer: D
75. Two people walking on a city sidewalk quickly glance at each other and then look away
as they pass. Erving Goffman would call this type of interaction:
a. uncivil behavior
b. the glance
c. civil inattention
d. the look
Answer: C
76. Time-space is:
a. a physics concept referring to outer space
b. arriving on time at a location
c. a metaphysical term referring to an out-of-body experience
d. when and where events occur
Answer: D
77. Peter gets up at 8:00 A.M., eats breakfast, showers and shaves, dresses for work, catches
the 9:00 A.M. bus to his office, works from 9:30 A.M. until 5:30 P.M., and catches the 6:00
P.M. bus home. This is an example of:
a. a boring life
b. being in a rut
c. the time-space concept
d. rationalization
Answer: C
78. The sociological definition of regionalization is:
a. the division of social life into different regional settings and time zones
b. how the world is divided into regions
c. how countries are divided by the economy: first world, second world, third world
d. sociologists do not really have a special definition of regionalization
Answer: A
79. In our postindustrial society, clock time is critical because of:
a. Internet communication
b. international business interests
c. international financial markets
d. all of the above
Answer: D
80. With the introduction of the Internet in many homes, we can interact with anyone without
moving from our chair. This alters our experience of:
a. space
b. reality
c. living quarters
d. status
Answer: A
81. Because some of our interactions on the Internet are immediate, such as instant
messaging, this alters our traditional experience of:
a. space
b. reality
c. time
d. status
Answer: C
82. Our experience of time and space was altered when:
a. the telephone was invented
b. the computer was invented
c. both of the above
d. none of the above
Answer: C
83. Some people are concerned that interacting with strangers on the Internet leads to
problems such as:
a. child molestation
b. cyber bullying
c. identity theft
d. all of the above
Answer: D
84. A national assessment center study found that Internet use increases:
a. face-to-face interactions
b. mental illness
c. writing skills
d. none of the above
Answer: D
85. A national assessment center study found that Internet use decreases:
a. TV watching
b. sleep
c. both of the above
d. none of the above
Answer: C
86. Some sociologists view cyber bullying as:
a. the modern way to resolve conflict between groups and individuals
b. the Internet weakening social ties and disrupting techniques used in face-to-face
communication for avoiding conflict
c. the same as face-to-face bullying; the Internet is just a newer form of bullying
d. all of the above
Answer: B
87. Mary e-mails her professor asking to be registered for a hybrid Blackboard course the
professor is teaching. The professor, who receives many e-mails, registers Mary and e-mails
her a one-line response: “You are now registered.” Mary’s response to the e-mail was “Well, I
guess God has spoken.” After Mary met the professor, she changed her opinion of the
professor to a more favorable view. This is an example of:
a. words not being precise and e-mail communications being void of emotions
b. Mary’s conversational needs are not being met through e-mail
c. Mary perceiving a display of unequal statuses because the professor’s e-mail was so brief
and to the point
d. all of the above
Answer: D
88. Internet use can:
a. lessen discrimination
b. increase discrimination
c. neither lessen nor increase discrimination
d. leave discrimination untouched
Answer: A
89. Some theorists claim that working from home is good for:
a. people with handicaps
b. the environment
c. the economy
d. all of the above
Answer: D
90. Compulsion of proximity is:
a. people’s need to interact with others in their presence
b. another term for intimate distance
c. the desire to avoid people
d. personal space violations
Answer: A
91. An example of compulsion of proximity is:
a. attending face-to-face classes
b. attending online courses
c. studying alone
d. having conversations with yourself
Answer: A
92. When walking down a city street, the way you interact with others depends on your:
a. self-confidence
b. ego
c. race and gender
d. reason for walking down the street
Answer: C
93. A group of men on a street corner make sexual comments every time a woman walks by.
If we apply the study of gender hierarchy to this situation, we are analyzing it from the
perspective of:
a. microanalysis and macroanalysis
b. microanalysis
c. macroanalysis
d. impression management
Answer: A
94. Women are more careful when walking city streets because they:
a. are considered physically weaker
b. are afraid of rape
c. are aware that men have more privilege in public places
d. all of the above
Answer: D
95. Joan, from a very small town in Iowa, visits Manhattan for the first time. She is terrified
to walk down Broadway. Sociologist Elijah Anderson would say the primary reason for this is
that Joan:
a. is not streetwise
b. is overwhelmed by all the people
c. is overwhelmed by the skyscrapers
d. does not know anyone in New York
Answer: A
96. Julia, a middle-class woman, is walking down Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. She notices that all the men and women are dressed in business attire. She
feels comfortable. Farther on down the avenue she walks by a construction site and begins to
feel uncomfortable. Why?
a. she feels physically vulnerable
b. her stereotype of construction workers is that they are lower class and do not behave
properly
c. traditionally men have more privilege in public
d. all of the above
Answer: D
97. Jenny is driving through a “rough” part of town at night. She sees a group of teenagers
hanging out on a street corner. Jenny rolls up the windows, turns off the radio, grips the
steering wheel, and stares straight ahead. From previous interactions with friends, Jenny has
learned that the teenagers pose a risk to her. This is an example of Jenny analyzing the
situation with:
a. microsociological analysis
b. macrosociological analysis
c. a paranoid personality
d. common sense
Answer: A
98. According to sociologist Elijah Anderson, streetwise is:
a. knowing rap
b. getting tattoos
c. teenagers wearing their pants halfway down their buttocks
d. the art of avoiding situations where you might feel vulnerable to violence and crime
Answer: D
99. Of the commonly accepted stereotypes in American society, which group is considered
the most dangerous?
a. black teenagers and men
b. white teenagers and men
c. Hispanic teenagers and men
d. Asian teenagers and men
Answer: A
100. Which is a technique a streetwise person would use to avoid a dangerous situation while
walking on a street?
a. alter his or her pace
b. stop and let the people following him or her pass
c. cross the street
d. all of the above
Answer: D
TRUE/FALSE
1. Microsociology consists of studying large-scale social interactions.
Answer: False
2. When a stranger makes eye contact and then quickly looks away, sociologists would say he
or she is embarrassed.
Answer: False
3. According to Paul Ekman, emotional facial expressions are universal.
Answer: True
4. Gestures are universal, but the meaning of gestures is not.
Answer: True
5. All cultures use the same gestures.
Answer: False
6. According to Paul Ekman, facial expression of emotion and its interpretation are innate in
humans.
Answer: True
7. It is impossible to show emotions through e-mail and chat room conversations.
Answer: False
8. It is easy to show emotions through text messaging.
Answer: False
9. Erving Goffman saw social life as though played out by actors on a stage.
Answer: True
10. Friends in close conversation need to be careful about how they look at each other.
Answer: True
11. Many of our daily encounters are with strangers.
Answer: True
12. According to the sociological definition of encounters, all of our encounters are face-toface.
Answer: True
13. Since e-mail communication is not face-to-face, people do not need to be concerned with
impression management.
Answer: False
14. Language requires shared understandings to be effective.
Answer: True
15. Ethnomethodology is a research method.
Answer: True
16. According to Harold Garfinkel, to make sense of the world, background expectancies
need to be studied.
Answer: True
17. Saying “Oops” when a minor accident happens is an example of interactional vandalism.
Answer: False
18. All cultures have the same personal space requirements.
Answer: False
19. Civil inattention consists of ignoring other people.
Answer: False
20. Some researchers claim that Internet use reduces face-to-face socializing, TV watching,
and sleep.
Answer: True
Test Bank for Essentials of Sociology
Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P Appelbaum, Deborah Carr
9780393932379, 9780393674088, 9780393937459, 9780393918830
