Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1 – THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE AND RESEARCH
PROCESS
LEARNING OBJECTIVESKnowledge:
Remembering previously learned material / 1. Identify Auguste Comte, Harriet Martineau, and Herbert Spencer, and explain their unique contributions to early sociology.
2. Identify Robert Park, George H. Mead, and W.E. B. Du Bois and their contributions to American sociology.
3. Know the six steps in the conventional research process, which focuses on deduction and quantitative research.
Comprehension:
The ability to grasp the meaning of the material / 4. Understand the sociological imagination and explain its significance in interpreting people's actions.
5. Understand the emerging ideas embedded within postmodernism.
6. Know the ethical concerns in sociological research.
Application:
The ability to use material in new and concrete situations / 7. Discuss what C. Wright Mills meant by the sociological imagination and know the reasons why using it will help you to better understand the social world.
8. Understand problem formulation in conducting qualitative research.
Analysis: The ability to break down material into its component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood / 9. Compare and contrast the field of sociology with other social sciences.
10. Explain industrialization and urbanization as events that contributed to the development of sociological thinking.
11. Compare Max Weber’s and Karl Marx's perspectives on society and social conflict.
12. Know the major assumptions of functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism and identify the major contributors to each perspective.
13. Know the difference between quantitative and qualitative research and give examples of each.
Evaluation: The ability to judge the value of material for a given purpose / 14. Explain the major types of research methods and indicate their strengths and weaknesses.
MULTIPLE CHOICE SECTION
1. Sociology is defined as the ______.
a. systematic study of human society and social interaction
b. methodological analysis of groups and individuals
c. scientific analysis of premodern people
d. academic discipline that examines individual human behavior
Answer: a Page: 4 LO: 4
2. A ______is a large social grouping that shares the same geographical territory and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.
a. culture
b. society
c. nation
d. country
Answer: b Page: 4 LO: 4
3. ______defines a relationship in which the lives of all people are intertwined closely and any one nation's problems are part of a larger global problem.
a. Societal cohesiveness
b. Universal cooperation
c. Global interdependence
d. International interlock
Answer: c Page: 4 LO: 10
4. Environmental problems are an example of ______. People throughout the world share the same biosphere. When environmental degradation, such as removing natural resources or polluting the air and water, takes place in one region, it may have an adverse effect on people elsewhere.
a. international interlock
b. universal cooperation
c. societal cohesiveness
d. global interdependence
Answer: d Page: 4 LO: 10
5. ______are problems that affect large numbers of people and often require
solutions at the societal level.
a. Non-personal troubles
b. Non-private difficulties
c. Public issues
d. Societal woes
Answer: c Page: 5 LO: 7
6. Which statement concerning suicide is false?
a. White Americans have a higher rate of suicide than African Americans.
b. One of the warning signs of suicide is if the person talks about it.
c. People who commit suicide often fail to see the bright side of life.
d. Children can learn how to harm themselves from the mass media.
Answer: a Page: 6 LO: 4
7. Which statement concerning suicide is true?
a. The rate of suicide is higher for older men than older women.
b. Most people who attempt suicide remain suicidal throughout life.
c. Older women have a lower rate of attempted suicide as compared with older males.
d. There is no evidence that children under the age of 10 have taken their own lives.
Answer: c Page: 6 LO: 4
8. On average, a suicide occurs in the U.S. approximately every ___ minutes.
a. 5
b. 10
c. 16
d. 23
Answer: c Page: 6 LO: 4
9. What is the leading cause of death for teenagers and young adults?
a. AIDS
b. pneumonia
c. heart disease
d. suicide
Answer: d Page: 6 LO: 4
10. Which group below has the highest rate of suicide?
a. white males
b. white females
c. black males
d. black females
Answer: b Page: 6 LO: 4
11. In 2004, the average suicide rate in the U.S. was ____ per 100,000 population.
a. 3
b. 11
c. 18
d. 25
Answer: b Page: 6 LO: 4
12. According to sociologist C. Wright Mills, the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society is referred to as the ______.
a. conflict perception
b. sociological imagination
c. reality perception
d. symbolic interaction approach
Answer: b Page: 5 LO: 7
13. Becky is taking a course at a university in Bombay, India as a part of a student exchange program. She is having difficulty accepting many of the local customs including the status of cows, the caste system, and the apparent lack of respect women receive. Becky is making a sincere effort, however, to understand the Indian customs and to place this behavior within a broader social context. In view of this, Becky is engaging the ______.
a. self-fulfilling prophecy
b. bystander paradigm
c. sociological imagination
d. reality principle
Answer: c Page: 5 LO: 7
14. ______are private problems that affect individuals and the networks of people with which they associate regularly; these problems must be solved by individuals within their immediate social setting.
a. Personal troubles
b. Public issues
c. Non-public issues
d. Psychological difficulties
Answer: a Page: 5 LO: 7
15. One person being unemployed may be an example of ______, whereas widespread unemployment as a result of economic changes such as plant closings is an example of ______.
a. non-public issues; psychological difficulties
b. personal troubles; public issues
c. psychological difficulties; non-public issues
d. public issues; personal troubles
Answer: b Page: 5 LO: 7
16. The world’s ______countries are nations with highly industrialized economies; technologically advanced industrial, administrative, and service occupations; and relatively high levels of national and personal income.
a. high-income
b. middle-income
c. low-income
d. superior-income
Answer: a Page: 8 LO: 10
17. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan are classified as ______.
a. middle-income countries
b. superior-income countries
c. high-income countries
d. low-income countries
Answer: c Page: 8 LO: 10
18. The world’s ______countries are nations with industrializing economies, particularly in urban areas, and reasonable levels of national and personal income.
a. high-income
b. middle-income
c. low-income
d. subordinate-income
Answer: b Page: 8 LO: 10
19. The world’s ______countries are primarily agrarian nations with little industrialization and impoverished levels of national and personal income.
a. high-income
b. middle-income
c. subordinate-income
d. low-income
Answer: d Page: 8 LO: 10
20. ______is a term used by many people to specify groups of people distinguished by physical characteristics such as skin color.
a. Ethnicity
b. Creed
c. Race
d. Color line
Answer: c Page: 9 LO: 7
21. ______refers to the cultural heritage or identity of a group and is based on factors such as language or country of origin.
a. Ethnicity
b. Creed
c. Race
d. Genealogy
Answer: a Page: 9 LO: 7
22. ______is the relative location of a person or group within the larger society, based on wealth, power, prestige, or other valued resources.
a. Caste
b. Class
c. Economic position
d. Social location
Answer: b Page: 9 LO: 7
23. ______refers to the biological and anatomical differences between females and males.
a. Sex
b. Biology
c. Gender
d. Sociobiology
Answer: a Page: 9 LO: 7
24. ______refers to the meanings, beliefs, and practices associated with sex differences, referred to as femininity and masculinity.
a. Sex
b. Biology
c. Gender
d. Sociobiology
Answer: c Page: 9 LO: 7
25. Barbara is a female, which refers to her ______, and she acts very feminine, which is her ______.
a. gender; sex
b. biology; sociobiology
c. sex; gender
d. sociobiology; biology
Answer: c Page: 9 LO: 7
26. ______is the process by which societies are transformed from dependence on agriculture and handmade products to an emphasis on manufacturing and related industries.
a. Ruralization
b. Urbanization
c. Suburbanization
d. Industrialization
Answer: d Page: 9 LO: 10
27. During the ______, massive economic, technological, and social changes occurred as machine technology and the factory system shifted the economic base of nations from agriculture to manufacturing.
a. Ruralization Revolution
b. Industrial Revolution
c. Suburbanization Revolution
d. Urbanization Revolution
Answer: b Page: 9 LO: 10
28. ______is the process by which an increasing proportion of a population lives in cities rather than in rural areas.
a. Urbanization
b. Suburbanization
c. Industrialization
d. Ruralization
Answer: a Page: 9 LO: 10
29. French philosopher Auguste Comte’s philosophy became known as ______, a belief that the world can best be understood through scientific inquiry.
a. absolutism
b. positivism
c. functionalism
d. specific methodology
Answer: b Page: 11 LO: 1
30. British sociologist ______translated and condensed Comte’s work and was noted for her study of social customs in Great Britain and the United States.
a. Harriet Nelson
b. Jane Addams
c. Harriet Martineau
d. Sarah Spencer
Answer: c Page: 11 LO: 1
31. Based on British social theorist Herbert Spencer’s theory, ______is the belief that those species of animals, including human beings, best adapted to their environment survive and prosper, whereas those poorly adapted die out.
a. social Darwinism
b. social eugenics
c. social statics
d. social facts
Answer: a Page: 12 LO: 1
32. According to French sociologist Emile Durkheim, ______are patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one individual but that exert social control over each person.
a. group behaviors
b. social facts
c. essential characteristics
d. sociological generalizations
Answer: b Page: 12 LO: 1
33. French sociologist Emile Durkheim observed that rapid social change and a more specialized division of labor produce strain in society; these strains lead to a breakdown in traditional organization, values, and authority and to a dramatic increase in ______.
a. anomie
b. social disorganization
c. social solidarity
d. cultural conflict
Answer: a Page: 13 LO: 1
34. French sociologist Emile Durkheim referred to ______as a condition in which social control becomes ineffective as a result of the loss of shared values and a sense of purpose in society.
a. social disorganization
b. social dysfunctionalism
c. cultural breakdown
d. anomie
Answer: d Page: 13 LO: 1
35. In the Marxian framework, the ______comprises those who own and control the means of production.
a. bourgeoisie class
b. upper-tier class
c. proletariat class
d. laissez-faire class
Answer: a Page: 14 LO: 11
36. The ______are the tools, land, factories, and money for investment that form the economic basis of a society.
a. means of production
b. instruments of capitalism
c. trappings of the bourgeoisie
d. factory system
Answer: a Page: 14 LO: 11
37. From the Marxian viewpoint, the ______is composed of those who must sell their labor because they have no other means to earn a livelihood.
a. bourgeoisie class
b. lower-tier class
c. proletariat class
d. laissez-faire class
Answer: c Page: 14 LO: 11
38. Tom works on the assembly line at the local Ford automobile factory. Based on the Marxian framework, Tom would be considered a member of the ______because he does not own the means of production.
a. laissez-faire class
b. lower-tier class
c. bourgeoisie class
d. proletariat class
Answer: d Page: 14 LO: 11
39. According to German economist and philosopher Karl Marx, ______is a feeling of powerlessness and estrangement from other people and from oneself.
a. class conflict
b. alienation
c. anomie
d. the bourgeoisie syndrome
Answer: b Page: 14 LO: 11
40. Unlike many early analysts, who believed that values could not be separated from the research process, German social scientist ______emphasized that sociology should be value free—research should be conducted in a scientific manner and should exclude the researcher’s personal values and economic interests.
a. Emile Durkheim
b. Max Weber
c. Karl Marx
d. Herbert Spencer
Answer: b Page: 15 LO: 11
41. German social scientist Max Weber stressed that sociologists should employ ______(understanding or insight) to gain the ability to see the world as others see it.
a. verstehen
b. positivism
c. social facts
d. social dynamics
Answer: a Page: 15 LO: 11
42. German sociologist Georg Simmel analyzed how social interactions vary depending on the ______. He concluded that interaction patterns differed between a dyad and a triad.
a. sex of the social group
b. size of the social group
c. social class of the social group
d. race of the social group
Answer: b Page: 16 LO: 11
43. Sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois observed that a dual heritage creates conflict for people of color: an identity conflict of being black and American. Du Bois referred to this duality as ______.
a. double-consciousness
b. the dual-labor market
c. the double bind
d. functional conflict
Answer: a Page: 17 LO: 2
44. A ______is defined as a set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to describe, explain, and (occasionally) predict social events.
a. hypothesis
b. law
c. theory
d. generalization
Answer: c Page: 17 LO: 12
45. ______perspectives are based on the assumption that society is a stable, orderly system.
a. Functionalist
b. Conflict
c. Interactionist
d. Developmental
Answer: a Page: 18 LO: 12
46. Based on the ______perspective, a society is composed of interrelated parts, each of which (ideally) contributes to the overall stability of the society.
a. conflict
b. postmodern
c. functionalist
d. symbolic interactionist
Answer: c Page: 18 LO: 12
47. The ______states that societies develop social structures, or institutions that persist because they play a part in helping society survive. These institutions include the family, education, government, religion, and the economy.