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Sociology and the Real WorldI. What Does Society Look Like?

II. How Does Sociology Work?A. What Is Sociology?

i. Social Scienceii. Levels of Analysis

a) Microsociologyb) Macrosociology

iii. Methods of Studya) Quantitative Methodsb) Qualitative Methods

B. The Sociological Perspectivei. The Sociological Imaginationii. Culture Shockiii. Beginner’s Mindiv. Changing the World

III. Starting Your Sociological JourneyA. Sociology and Everyday Life

i. Reciped/Practical Knowledgeii. Systematic/Comprehensive Knowledgeiii. Historical Perspectiveiv. Global Perspective

B. Contemporary American Societyi. America as a Place and an Ideal

a) BaudrillardC. The United States in Global Perspective

i. Cyber Communitiesii. The Mass Media and Popular Culture

TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS

1. Humans are essentially social beings.

ANS: TREF: Page 9

2. According to C. Wright Mills, most people think about their problems as issues of social structure, rather than as matters of character, psychology, or chance.

ANS: FREF: 6

3. C. Wright Mills described a process by which biography (individual lives) and history (larger social forces) are related. He argued that this process works in two ways: individual lives influence society while society also influences individuals.

ANS: TREF: Page 16

4. It is the responsibility of a sociologist to question everything that the everyday person would take for granted.

ANS: TREF: Page 8

OBJ: Social Science (II.A.i)

5. Like many foreign observers, Alexis de Tocqueville was intrigued by the American way of life and uncritically celebrated it for the way it practiced the ideals of freedom and democracy.

ANS: FREF: 3

OBJ: America as a Place and an Ideal (III.B.i)

6. America is so powerful that it doesn’t need the support of other nations.

ANS: FREF: Page 25

(III.C)

7.Unlike other aspects of society, like the economy, the media have not become truly global in nature.

ANS: FREF: Page 25

OBJ: The Mass Media and Popular Culture (III.C.ii)

8. Marshall McLuhan’s optimistic vision of a “global village,” where conflict would decrease as we came to feel increasingly connected worldwide, has not been totally realized.

ANS: TREF: Page 25

(III.C)

9. Taking the sociological perspective means thinking sociologically about a problem.

ANS: TREF: Page 16

10. We cannot necessarily see society as a whole; we have to look at its component parts.

ANS: TREF: Page 7

OBJ: What Does Society Look Like? (I)

11. We tend to think of ourselves as experts regarding life in our own society, but at best this is only true on a small scale.

ANS: TREF: Page 8


12. The most widely accepted definitions of sociology as a discipline are those that are narrow and focused.

ANS: FREF: Page 10

13. Sociologists who work with qualitative data usually reduce that data to numbers, which can be analyzed and summarized succinctly.

ANS: FREF: Page 15

OBJ: Quantitative Methods (II.A.iii.a)

14. Bernard McGrane explains how the “beginner’s mind,” a concept borrowed from the Zen Buddhist tradition, is the opposite of the sociological perspective.

ANS: FREF: Page 20

OBJ: Beginner’s Mind (II.B.iii)

15. When the French government provides special subsidies to the French film industry to help make sure that indigenous films can compete with Hollywood pictures, it is an example of what Marshall McLuhan called the “global village.”

ANS: FREF: Page 25

(III.C)

16. When Americans worry about the amount of lead in toys made in China, it is proof that America is part of a global community.

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(III.C)

17. When terrorist groups use the internet to recruit new members and encourage violence, it demonstrates that Marshal McLuhan may have been too optimistic when he assumed that mass media would bring people together.

ANS: TREF: Page 25

(III.C)

18. One thing that can be learned from the work of the Swiss sociologist Norbert Elias is that even the most mundane aspects of everyday life can be connected to larger social structures.

ANS: TREF: Pages 22–23

OBJ: Sociology and Everyday Life (III.A)

19. When we ask psychologists to help us understand the behavior of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who murdered 13 people and injured 24 more at Columbine High School in 1999, we are using our sociological imaginations.

ANS: FREF: Pages 16–17

20. If a sociologist attempts to study whether men are really less emotional than women, she is taking the role of the social analyst, rather than the everyday actor.

ANS: TREF: Page 22

OBJ: Systematic/Comprehensive Knowledge (III.A.ii)

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Sociologists observe society:a. by studying the various parts of a society and the ways they interact and influence each

otherb. by studying the shape and boundaries of society as a wholec. by studying society as if it were a concrete object, in the same way that a geologist studies

rocksd. by utilizing the preconceptions, assumptions, and beliefs that come from living in a societye. through the use of special scientific tools that allow unmediated access to the very heart of

society

ANS: AREF: Page 7

OBJ: What Does Society Look Like? (I)

2. Even though a small number of people have been academically trained as sociologists, we all can be described as “natural sociologists” because:a. we are born with certain skills that naturally allow us to think sociologicallyb. society is a part of nature, so everyone has to be a natural sociologistc. our parents taught us to be sociologists even before they sent us to schoold. we are all members of society and so have a great deal of background knowledge about

how society workse. sociologists are really just observers of conventional wisdom

ANS: DREF: Page 8


3. Unlike sociologists, most people base their knowledge of the world on:a. expert knowledge based on surveys and interviewsb. journals and other publications that summarize the conclusions of professional researchersc. conventional wisdom, background knowledge, and personal experienced. the opinions of their parents and other family memberse. the opinions of political leaders and other influential public figures

ANS: CREF: Page 8


4. Why can doing sociology be described as a radical undertaking?a. All sociologists are political radicals and activists.b. Sociology comes with a built-in political bias toward radical political causes.c. There is a large amount of material that must be mastered in order to be a sociologist.d. Sociology requires people to suspend their preconceptions, assumptions, and beliefs about

the world.e. Sociology is about change and creating new social structures.

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5. Sociology can be defined as the systematic and scientific study of human society and social behavior. Given this definition, what level of social structure might sociologists examine?a. only small groupsb. almost any level—from interactions between two people to large-scale institutionsc. mass culture and large institutionsd. relations between individualse. large-scale social structures that involve significant numbers of people

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6. Howard Becker said that sociology can be best understood as the study of people “doing things together.” This definition reminds us that:a. neither society nor the individual exists in isolation; each is dependent on the otherb. sociology is only interested in the way people act, not in the way they thinkc. only large-scale interactions that involve many people can be understood by sociologistsd. people must have some knowledge of each other before they can really do anything

togethere. individuals exist independently of society and can be understood without considering

social influence

ANS: ADIF: Hard REF: Page 9

7. The social sciences are all those disciplines that study:a. the human, or social, worldb. the natural world

c. the physical universed. communicatione. the relationship of people to places

ANS: AREF: Pages 10–11

8. The primary difference between sociology and anthropology is that:a. unlike sociology, anthropology is interested in the relationship of people to placesb. unlike anthropology, sociology is interested in primitive or traditional culturesc. sociology is very narrowly focused, whereas anthropology is interested in a broad range of

social institutionsd. unlike anthropology, sociology is interested in societies at all levels of developmente. anthropology is interested in the relationship between individuals and the external forces

that shape them, while sociology tends to study internal states of mind

ANS: DREF: Page 11

9. Sociology can be approached from either a microsociological or a macrosociological perspective. Which is more useful?a. Macrosociological—it explains how large-scale social institutions influence individuals.b. Microsociological—it explains how individuals shape and create large-scale social

institutions.c. Macrosociological—it helps to understand how face-to-face interactions shape society.d. Both are useful in different ways, because any study that uses only one or the other will be

unable to explain anything useful about society.e. Both are useful in different ways, because they each provide different types of information

about the same object of study.

ANS: EDIF: Hard REF: Page 12

10. Which of the following best characterizes microsociology?a. It is an approach that examines large-scale social structures in order to see how they affect

individual lives.b. It is an approach that examines interactions between individuals and the ways those

interactions reflect larger patterns within a society.c. It is an approach that examines interactions that occur over time.d. It is an approach that quantifies data on the social world so that it can be analyzed

statistically.e. It is an approach that exclusively focuses on gender and power as they are enacted socially.

ANS: BDIF: Hard REF: Page 12OBJ: Microsociology (II.A.ii.a)

11. Pam Fishman studied conversations between heterosexual couples to determine how power is created and maintained through face-to-face interactions on an everyday basis. Given this information, how would you describe her approach?a. macrosociologicalb. historicalc. microsociologicald. comparativee. global

ANS: CDIF: Hard REF: Page 12OBJ: Microsociology (II.A.ii.a)

12. Sociologists assert that there is a close relationship between the individual and society. How does Pam Fishman’s research on gender and power in heterosexual couples characterize this relationship?a. Fishman’s data shows how macro-level phenomena like gender and power manifest

themselves in everyday interactions.b. It doesn’t—Fishman’s data only shows how individuals act.c. It doesn’t—this research only shows macro-level phenomena.d. Fishman’s data shows that micro-level phenomena have almost no relationship to macro-

level phenomena, and seem to be largely independent.e. Fishman’s research shows that there is no relationship between the individual and society.

ANS: ADIF: Hard REF: Page 14OBJ: Microsociology (II.A.ii.a)

13. Which of the following statements best describes the approach taken by macrosociologists?a. Macrosociology concentrates on the way that large social institutions are created through

individual interactions.b. Macrosociology directly examines large-scale social structures in order to see how they

affect individual lives.c. Macrosociology focuses on nonnumerical data like texts, images, and recordings.d. Macrosociology focuses on creating a “beginner’s mind,” in contrast to microsociology,

which uses an “expert’s mind.”e. Unlike microsociology, macrosociology focuses on creating scientific knowledge of the

world rather than practical knowledge.

ANS: BDIF: Hard REF: Page 14OBJ: Macrosociology (II.A.ii.b)

14. Christine Williams looked at patterns of occupational sex segregation, examining the ways that large-scale social structures created the constraints within which individuals lived their lives. Based on this information, her work would be characterized as what kind of sociology?a. microsociologyb. transnational sociologyc. comparative-historical sociologyd. macrosociologye. the sociology of popular culture

ANS: DDIF: Hard REF: Page 14OBJ: Macrosociology (II.A.ii.b)

15. Macrosociology and microsociology seem to make very different assumptions about how society works. How does sociology, as a discipline, deal with these two very different perspectives?a. Most sociologists are macrosociologists, making microsociologists a small minority.b. Most sociologists think of these two perspectives as being on a continuum with each other,

adopting whatever perspective seems most useful for a particular problem.c. Most sociologists are microsociologists, and only a small minority still find

macrosociology a satisfying approach.d. Although the field is fairly evenly split between perspectives, almost all sociologists feel

strongly that their perspective is the correct one.e. Microsociology used to dominate the field, but more recently macrosociology has become

the dominant perspective.

ANS: BDIF: Hard REF: Page 12

16. Most sociologists specialize in one particular method of study. The first distinction is usually made between qualitative and quantitative methodologies. What do quantitative sociologists do differently from qualitative sociologists?

a. Quantitative sociologists preserve the detail and diversity of their data so that each individual piece of information can be analyzed to determine its meaning.

b. Quantitative sociologists look for signs of social conflict and tension in their data.c. Quantitative sociologists translate their data into numbers so that it can be analyzed

mathematically or statistically.d. Quantitative sociologists look for data exclusively in traditional cultures.e. Quantitative sociologists only do interviews.

ANS: CREF: Page 15

OBJ: Method of Study (II.A.iii)

17. What is the particular advantage of a quantitative approach?a. It preserves the detail of the data so it can be interpreted.b. It helps to explain how people create meaning through the use of symbols.c. It helps to explain the role that the United States plays in global affairs.d. It uses the sociological imagination much better than any other methodology.e. It reduces large amounts of information into numbers that are much more easily

communicated to others.

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18. Sociologists who do qualitative work are different from quantitative sociologists because:a. rather than reducing the details of the cases they study to numbers, they preserve and

interpret details to determine their meaningb. they reduce their data to numbers so it can be analyzed statisticallyc. they only use data gathered from mass media, like television shows and advertisingd. they explain the connection between individuals and society, which is left unexplored in

quantitative sociologye. they only use certain theories to support their work

ANS: AREF: Page 15

OBJ: Qualitative Methods (II.A.iii.b)

19. Regardless of which methodology they use, what are all sociologists trying to do?a. explain why social change happensb. illuminate the connection between the individual and societyc. explain why poverty and inequality still existd. compare the present with the paste. understand how our society is different from other cultures and other times

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OBJ: Methods of Study (II.A.iii)

20. C. Wright Mills argued that the one quality of mind that all great sociologists possess is:a. stoicismb. sociological imaginationc. romanticismd. biographical imaginatione. attention to detail

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21. What is the sociological imagination?a. a property of society that ensures that people remain ignorant of the connections between

their lives and social changeb. a particular way of understanding the criminal mind, such as that of a serial killerc. the sociological approach that assumes that large-scale social institutions structure

individual interactions

d. the ability to understand the connections between biography and history, or the interplay of the self and the world

e. the sociological approach that assumes that individual decisions and interactions create larger social institutions

ANS: DREF: Page 16

22. Why does C. Wright Mills think that it’s important for everyone, even people who will never take a sociology class, to develop a sociological imagination?a. It will help generate more jobs for sociologists.b. It makes sociology classes more interesting.c. Many people remain unaware of the intricate connections between the patterns of their

own lives and the larger course of history.d. It’s innately understood by nearly everyone, but rarely acknowledged.e. It will encourage growth in the field of microsociology.

ANS: CREF: Page 16

23. In order to find links between the macro and the micro levels of analysis, a sociologist is most in need of:a. an immense amount of datab. a sociological imaginationc. good fundingd. lots of research assistantse. a strong understanding of human psychology

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24. When we use the sociological perspective to examine events like the shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007 by Seung-Hui Cho, what are we trying to do?a. deny individual responsibility and explain everything in terms of larger social forcesb. assign blame to authority figures who could have prevented the crimesc. understand the psychology of people who commit terrible crimesd. gain a broader context for understanding people in terms of their situationse. generate sympathy for the criminals

ANS: DREF: Pages 16–17

25. According to Peter Berger, in Invitation to Sociology, what sort of people should NOT study sociology?a. people with a passionate interest in the worldb. people who are daring in the pursuit of knowledgec. people who are very curiousd. people who dislike shocking discoveriese. people who care about the most mundane occurrences of everyday life

ANS: DREF: Page 17

OBJ: Culture Shock (II.B.ii)

26. Why would culture shock be a useful state of mind for a sociologist?a. It makes us doubt our ability to function even in simple, everyday ways.b. It requires us to travel, which helps us grow as human beings.c. It scares us, and a sense of fear is a healthy thing for sociologists to have.d. Shock is always good for thinking, as it sharpens the mind.e. It makes us realize we lack an understanding of our surroundings, so we are able to truly

perceive what is right in front of us.

ANS: EREF: Page 17


27. Bernard McGrane suggests we should practice using a beginner’s mind, the opposite of an expert’s mind. Usually it’s good to be an expert. Why should we try to think like beginners instead?a. An expert’s mind is so full of facts and assumptions that it has difficulty learning anything

new.b. To better understand the world, we need to defamiliarize ourselves with it.c. We need to unlearn what we already know in order to become better sociologists.d. A beginner’s mind allows us to approach the world without knowing in advance what we

will find.e. The approach of a beginner’s mind is more readily accepted by whoever is being studied.

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28. What does Bernard McGrane, the “Zen sociologist” who recommends the beginner’s mind as a way to develop a sociological perspective, say about discovery?a. Discovery finds some new fact that no one has ever known before.b. Discovery is limited to finding places where no one has ever gone.c. Discovery is a new way of seeing things.d. Discovery is no longer possible; all we can do is contrast different things and ideas that

other people discovered.e. Discovery is not a part of the sociological agenda.

ANS: CREF: Page 20


29. The everyday actor approaches the social world with a “recipe,” or practical knowledge, which allows him to do everyday things. What are the limitations of this sort of practical knowledge?a. It overemphasizes technical and scientific knowledge that may be interesting, but isn’t

particularly practical.b. It leaves us unable to carry out simple everyday activities because they require us to know

more about technology.c. It can’t help in the workplace or in other situations were there are a number of everyday

actors.d. It is easily confused with other perspectives and so is as difficult to explain as it is to apply.e. It is not necessarily as clear, coherent, or consistent as it could be.

ANS: EREF: Page 22

OBJ: Reciped/Practical Knowledge (III.A.i)

30. In order to verify what the everyday actor might just accept or assume to be true, the social analyst must take which perspective?a. the social workerb. the nativec. the strangerd. the fly on the walle. the insider

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31. Which of the following is a weakness of the sociological approach to everyday life?a. It accepts many things as true that it cannot verify or confirm.b. It labors to grasp things that everyday actors understand implicitly.

c. It cannot achieve coherence or be systematic.d. It is a practical, rather than a scientific, approach.e. It requires that you act like a local even when you really feel like an outsider.

ANS: BREF: Page 22

OBJ: Sociology and Everyday Life (III.A)

32. What are the weaknesses of the everyday actor when it comes to everyday life?a. The everyday actor is forced to see everything from the perspective of a stranger.b. The everyday actor must labor to grasp even simple, common occurrences.c. The everyday actor is forced to learn how things work in a technical or scientific way.d. The everyday actor can only see things from a historical perspective.e. The everyday actor makes assumptions and glosses over many things that the social

analyst strives to understand systematically.

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33. The Swiss sociologist Norbert Elias studied everyday life from a historical perspective, noting how etiquette and manners had changed over time. Why do sociologists care about something as minor as table manners in the distant past?a. Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.b. The past is inherently interesting and always worth study for the intellectual development

that comes with understanding other people and other times.c. Very little has changed in terms of manners and etiquette since the Middle Ages, so what

was important then remains important now.d. Many people would like contemporary society to be more like the past, so it’s important to

remember what things were really like.e. By linking changes in everyday life with changes in larger social structures, we can

understand better how our own lives are influenced by larger social processes.

ANS: EREF: Pages 21–23

OBJ: Historical Perspective (III.A.iii)

34. What does it mean to say that America is both a nation and an ideal?a. All Americans have strong beliefs and ideals that are important to them.b. America is both a geographic location and also an ideal concept that situates its citizens

within a meaningful context.c. America has standards, but it doesn’t always live up to them.d. As a geographic place, America has certain principles of law that govern how government

is organized.e. Everyone in the United States has a different understanding of what it means to be

American.

ANS: BREF: Page 23


35. Which of the following is NOT a reason that the United States continues to be studied by sociologists from all over the world?a. It has a higher standard of living than anywhere else in the world.b. It’s a world power, and many other nations seek guidance from its example.c. It has created social problems that have never existed before.d. It is astonishingly multicultural.e. It is a place where old ideas and ways are discarded and innovation takes hold particularly

quickly.

ANS: AREF: Pages 23–24


36. How is the United States connected to the rest of the world?

a. international diplomacyb. transnational corporationsc. increasing exposure to other culturesd. shared reliance on natural resourcese. all of the above

ANS: EREF: Page 25

(III.C)

37. Marshall McLuhan coined the term “global village” because he felt that people around the world were increasingly coming together as if they belonged to the same tribe. Why did he think this was happening?a. Information and communication technologies were connecting the far reaches of the globe

in unprecedented ways.b. The global economy was connecting workers

and consumers in very different parts of the world.c. A desire for exotic goods and experiences was expanding tourism to the far corners of the

earth.d. International diplomacy and the United Nations were creating pressures to learn more

about other cultures and to be more tolerant.e. War and international conflict were forcing us to be more aware of the global ramifications

of our behavior.

ANS: AREF: Page 25

(III.C)

38. In the past, it was assumed that people could share a sense of togetherness only when they shared a common geography. Why do we have to reconsider this assumption today?a. The global war on terror has united people in many different countries through a common

sense of danger.b. Capital and labor are now global, as people and goods migrate great distances to

participate in the global economy.c. An increasing sense of the sociological imagination helps reveal otherwise hidden

connections.d. New media and computer networks can let us stay in constant and instantaneous contact

with people regardless of their physical location.e. Environmental catastrophes are bringing people together through a shared sense that the

earth is small and that we all belong to the same “place” regardless of where we live.

ANS: DREF: Page 25

OBJ: Cyber Communities (III.C.i)

39. How are new forms of technology blurring the lines between mass media and personal communication?a. Many new forms of media are interactive, like the Internet.b. Media are now narrowly aimed at a tiny niche of consumers.c. New technologies are more dangerous than older ones, so we learn more about how they

work on a technical level.d. We’re constantly surrounded by mass media.e. Most of us are now regular users of media technology, like e-mail.

ANS: AREF: Page 28

OBJ: The Mass Media and Popular Culture (II.C.ii)

40. The information revolution has made it much easier to access all kinds of data and information, no matter where you are. What effect has this had on mass media overall?a. It has made mass media less important, as now we can all create our own entertainment.b. It may make media the central feature of postmodern society.

c. It will make mass media more important in those parts of the world that have less technology, but less important in the United States.

d. It will make mass media more important, but only to society’s elites.e. It will make mass media the most important feature of a society, but it will only affect the

lower classes.

ANS: BREF: Page 28

OBJ: The Mass Media and Popular Culture (II.C.ii)

41. Most people are interested in the lives of others, but usually we express this only through daytime talk shows and tabloid media. Although this sort of interest is completely understandable, sociologists would say that it is sensationalistic and very selective. How does a sociological perspective help to solve this problem?a. It decreases our interest in daytime talk shows.b. It helps us understand the people who appear on such shows in terms of individual

pathology.c. It allows us to see connections between individual experience and larger social patterns.d. It increases the prurient value of such programs and makes them more appealing.e. all of the above

ANS: CREF: Pages 28–29

OBJ: The Sociological Perspective (II.B)

42. Although everyday cultural practices, such as greeting a friend, giving flowers, or using the thumbs-up sign, seem like natural ways of acting, an awareness of how they vary across cultures demonstrates a healthy sociological imagination because:a. it ensures that we don’t accidentally make a

faux pasb. it reminds us that everyday interactions are connected to larger social structuresc. it helps us economically when we do business in different countriesd. it lets us understand how immigrants perceive America when they move heree. all of the above

ANS: BREF: Page 16

43. If we cannot see the whole of society, what can we see?a. people interactingb. different culturesc. racial groupsd. the economye. socioeconomic classes

ANS: ADIF: Hard REF: Page 7OBJ: What Does Society Look Like? (I)

44. Together and in groups people organize their lives and their social interactions to produce a real and meaningful world. Sociologists can study this because:a. they are interested in all aspects of human psychologyb. doing sociology is a radical undertakingc. such organization is done in patterned waysd. sociology understands the importance of human psychologye. we often assign characteristics to an entire group of people based on experience with a

single member of that group

ANS: CDIF: Hard REF: Page 7

45. Why are there disagreements within sociology about how to define the discipline?a. Society is always changing.b. Sociologists are trained to be contentious.c. There is actually very little disagreement about how to define the discipline.d. Sociology encompasses a wide range of potential subject matters.e. There are so many different societies to study.

ANS: DREF: Page 10

46. Metaphorically, what part of sociology would a zoom lens on a camera be most like?a. qualitative researchb. microsociologyc. quantitative researchd. macrosociologye. globalization

ANS: BREF: Page 12

OBJ: Microsociology (II.A.ii.a)

47. Pam Fishman noticed that, within couples, women are more likely than men to use questions in conversation. Why is this sociologically important?a. Questions are more likely to be used by the partner with less power, so Fishman’s research

demonstrates connections between general social trends and individual behaviors.b. Conversational styles are inherent, so Fishman’s research shows a biological basis for

larger social structures.c. It proves that there really are gender differences, something many people don’t believe.d. It demonstrates the importance of conversation to maintaining a healthy relationship.e. It shows that individuals have no real free will or agency and are controlled by the dictates

of social structure.

ANS: ADIF: Hard REF: Page 14OBJ: Microsociology (II.A.ii.a)

48. Most of the time people use psychological rather than sociological arguments to explain why the world is the way it is and why things happen to us. Why?a. We don’t have enough information or data for complete sociological explanations.b. We can benefit materially from a psychological approach.c. We have insufficiently developed our sociological imagination.d. We only ever examine problems from a macro perspective.e. We don’t use enough quantitative research in sociology.

ANS: CREF: Page 16


49. Anthropologists often develop culture shock when visiting a new culture that is very different from what they are used to. They temporarily find themselves unable to understand their surroundings, and everything seems strange. Sociologists attempt to create this same feeling, but with one key difference. What is it?a. Sociologists never let everything seem strange, only the things they want to study.b. Sociologists never attempt to create this feeling; it’s useless in their research.c. Sociologists try to create this effect without necessarily moving to a new place or

geographic location.d. Sociologists can profit from this feeling much more than anthropologists.e. Sociologists do this all the time without even thinking about it.

ANS: CREF: Pages 17–18


50. It is expected that you will forget many or even most of the facts that you learn in an introductory sociology class. What is the most important element of the course to not forget?a. a new way of looking at and thinking about the social worldb. those facts that apply to you personallyc. all the facts and figures that are truly shockingd. information about race and classe. those things that really interest you

ANS: AREF: Page 21


51. Which of the following is NOT a feature of scientific knowledge?a. It is completely coherent.b. It is excruciatingly clear.c. It is consistent.d. It is complete.e. It is nontechnical and recipelike.

ANS: EREF: Page 22


52. The work of the French sociologist Jean Baudrillard, which inspired the movie The Matrix, is fairly pessimistic about contemporary society. What is Baudrillard especially worried about?a. that there are rising levels of inequality between the industrialized world and more

traditional societiesb. that we’ve lost the ability to distinguish between reality and illusionc. that racial hostility will ruin any chances for a meaningful democracyd. that globalization will dilute the unique French identity as McDonald’s and Disney World

take over everywheree. that rising levels of crime will make fear and apprehension the most common experiences

of life in cities in the twenty-first century

ANS: BREF: Pages 23–24


53. Which of the following is a reason that studies of American cities may serve as a model for the study of almost every conceivable realm of social life?a. In even the smallest towns, diverse cultural influences are coming together.b. American towns are very similar to towns in other countries.c. American urban areas are more important than urban areas in other parts of the world.d. American cities are very easy to access.e. Every town in America follows a very similar model, making it easy to generalize from a

small sample.

ANS: ADIF: Hard REF: Page 24OBJ: America as a Place and an Ideal (III.B.i)

54. There are online groups organized around activities like making wine or beer at home, but there are also cyber communities organized around beverages that really don’t take much work to make, like Kool-Aid. Why is this sociologically interesting?a. It shows that people are obsessive.b. It shows how communities can form through technology without being geographically

connected.c. It shows that people spend too much time on the Internet.d. It shows that we all share the same interests now.e. It indicates that conflict will decrease as the Internet creates a “global village.”

ANS: BREF: Page 25

OBJ: Cyber Communities (III.C.i)

55. Why might the average person not pay much attention to the rapidly growing influence of mass media?a. Mass media have very little effect on most people.b. Most mass media today are driven by ads, and so are not worth noticing.c. We have more important forms of technology, like e-mail, that need our attention.d. If you organize your life correctly, you aren’t exposed to a lot of media on a daily basis.e. Like fish in water, we don’t notice mass media because of its ubiquity.

ANS: EREF: Page 28


56. What levels of society do mass media intersect with?a. only the personal and small-group levelsb. only the level of large institutionsc. every leveld. every level except those that involve race and classe. only the global level

ANS: CREF: Page 28


57. Sociology allows you to see the world in a new light. Does this mean you have to reevaluate old opinions?a. nob. only on certain subjectsc. sometimes, but only if you got most of your information from mass mediad. only those opinions about your place in the world, but not about other peoplee. yes

ANS: EREF: Page 29

58. What aspect of food and eating is NOT socially constructed?a. the ingredients we desireb. who we eat withc. the need to eatd. how we prepare our foode. which foods we use to celebrate holidays

ANS: CREF: Page 8

59. If you think of the producers of a reality television show as sociologists, how would you describe their research methods?a. macrosociologicalb. historicalc. qualitatived. quantitativee. reciped

ANS: CDIF: Hard REF: OBJ: Method of Study (II.A.iii)

60. How is the Grameen Bank, founded by Muhammad Yunus in 1983, different from traditional banks?a. It’s designed specifically to lend money to the poor.

b. It has offices only in rural areas.c. It’s a bank designed exclusively for farmers.d. It charges higher interest rates and uses more coercive methods to ensure repayment.e. It’s much more exclusive, reserving loans for those who have large amounts of capital to

guarantee repayment.

ANS: AREF: Page 18

OBJ: Changing the World (II.B.iv)

61. What distinguishes Kiva, the microlending organization founded by Matthew and Jessica Flannery, from the many other institutions and charities designed to allow Americans to help people in the developing world?a. Kiva lenders are rarely paid back the money they invest.b. Kiva borrows from local banks in order to generate the capital it needs to loan money.c. Kiva has a long waiting list of qualified borrowers who cannot find anyone to loan them

money.d. Kiva mostly benefits people who live in inner-city areas within the United States.e. Kiva is a person-to-person microlending website, allowing donors to select a particular

project to invest in and to follow its progress online.

ANS: EREF: Page 18


62. The microlending organization Kiva, a striking success since it was founded in 2005, has helped to create large-scale social change. What feature of contemporary society has helped make Kiva’s unique approach possible and encouraged its success?a. multinational corporations, which have made the people in developing nations much more

prosperous and therefore able to take out loansb. the way that modern media have increasingly focused on local issues and concerns,

making such loans more importantc. increasing levels of wealth, which have made it easy for people to give large sums of

moneyd. the internet, which has allowed Kiva to organize its microlending like a social networking

website or a cyber communitye. the mass media’s creation of dangerous illusions about the nature of contemporary society

ANS: DREF: Page 18


63. Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a French lawyer, gourmet, and food writer, famously said, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” This is literally true of course; the human body is built out of the raw materials we take in from food. But Savarin was making a much more sociological point as well, arguing that, although our food preferences seem idiosyncratic and personal, all food has a socially constructed meaning that is not personal. Which basic principle helps explain why Savarin says that we are what we eat?a. the social sciences, which use the scientific method to examine the social worldb. the sociological imagination, which says that even the most personal of things need to be

understood in a larger social contextc. the mass media and popular culture, which control most Americans like helpless puppetsd. the beginner’s mind, which argues that we need to approach the world without

preconceptionse. the everyday actor, which explains how we gain and use practical knowledge

ANS: BDIF: Hard REF:

64. Anorexia and bulimia became much more common in the twentieth century. How can the sociological imagination help to explain the increase of these diseases?a. by helping us understand how food is produced and distributedb. by allowing us to connect personal issues with changes in larger social structures

c. because any imagination can help you to better understand how disease works inside the body

d. the sociological imagination can only help understand social issues, not diseasee. by giving us greater insight into how the human body processes nutrients

ANS: BDIF: Hard REF: Page 16

65. The reality television show Wife Swap exchanges the matriarchs from two very different families and films the result, as the participants are exposed to radically different ways of life. Although the television network is simply trying to be entertaining, which principle is being demonstrated?a. the sociological imaginationb. globalizationc. macrosociologyd. quantitative methodse. culture shock

ANS: EREF:


66. Karl Marx said that “Men make their own history” but only “under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.” How is this similar to the definition of sociology given by Howard Becker?a. Both feel that economics and productive forces are the ultimate cause of all social events.b. Neither is interested in the individual, only in larger social structures.c. Neither is interested in larger social structures, only in individual human agency.d. Both emphasize that neither society nor the individual exists in isolation, but that each is

dependent on the other.e. Both focus exclusively on history and the past.

ANS: DDIF: Hard REF: Page 9OBJ: What Is Sociology (II.A)

67. In Sidewalk, the sociologist Mitch Duneier spent a great deal of time interviewing and hanging out with street vendors in New York City. He was especially interested in how power associated with race and class was produced and reproduced in this setting. What sort of sociology was Duneier doing?a. quantitative sociologyb. cyber sociologyc. mass sociologyd. microsociologye. macrosociology

ANS: DREF: Page 12


68. Some sociologists use a macrosociological approach, while others take a micro approach. How does this affect the ultimate goal of their research?a. Microsociologists care about only local concerns.b. Macrosociologists are much more likely to be worried about globalization.c. No matter what approach is taken, all sociologists attempt to illuminate the connection

between the individual and society.d. Regardless of their method, all sociologists tend to believe that individuals are ultimately

in control of their own destiny.e. Most sociologists do not actually have an ultimate goal.


69. Many Marxist sociologists assume that large-scale economic structures are the most important factors in people’s lives. Given this, what sort of sociology would these sociologists tend to prefer?a. sociology of genderb. microsociologyc. macrosociologyd. qualitative sociologye. conservative sociology


70. When the federal government researches the risks of driving while talking on a cell phone, its main goal is to convince people to stop talking on the phone when they’re behind the wheel. As such, the government wants to express its results in terms that are simple and easily communicated. Given this, what sort of research should it do?a. economic researchb. research utilizing a beginner’s mindc. qualitative researchd. quantitative researche. microsociological research

ANS: DREF: Page 15


71. Sociologists who study gender report that the “women’s wage,” the amount that women make compared to men doing the same job, is around 78 cents on the dollar. Finding this figure required researchers to gather data from a large number of men and women and compare average salaries. What sort of research is this?a. everydayb. quantitativec. comparative historicald. qualitativee. journalistic

ANS: BREF: Page 15


72. Some sociologists include lengthy direct quotes from their research subjects. They often do this in order to better present the complex detail and nuance of the social worlds they have studied. If you know that a research project uses such quotes, what sort of research can you be sure is being done?a. psychologicalb. qualitativec. macrosociologicald. quantitativee. zen

ANS: BREF: Page 15

OBJ: Qualitative Methods (II.A.iii.b)

73. If you possess a sociological imagination and someone asks you to study unemployment rates in a city of 50 million people where 15 million are unemployed, what would you conclude?a. that we should consider the economic and political structures of the societyb. that we should consider the work ethic of the average citizenc. that we should worry about the intelligence level of the workers who have lost their jobsd. that we should ask those who are unemployed how much they want to worke. that we should teach people how to take better advantage of their opportunities

ANS: A

REF: Pages 16–17

74. C. Wright Mills argued that not only do “people often feel that their private lives are a series of traps” but also “they are often quite correct” in this feeling. However, he does not feel that we are ultimately helpless. Why not?a. Religion offers solace and comfort even when we feel trapped.b. He wrote this during the Great Depression, and since then the fundamental nature of our

society has changed.c. While larger social forces influence individual lives, there are many ways in which we can

affect society as well.d. If you have enough money, you can buy your way out of the traps that Mills describes.e. Since Mills wrote, credit cards have become more widely available, giving people options

in an emergency.

ANS: CREF: Page 16

75. Galileo was responsible for one of the most extreme paradigm shifts in history, when his empirical observations of the sky led him to conclude that the earth revolved around the sun, rather than vice versa. Galileo did not simply use a new technology, the telescope, to see new things; he saw them differently than anyone else. Which concept describes this process of “seeing differently”?a. quantificationb. beginner’s mindc. popular cultured. global perspectivee. the sociological imagination

ANS: BDIF: Hard REF: Page 20OBJ: Beginner’s Mind (II.B.iii)

76. A graduate student in a sociology department is taking a course on the sociology of the economy. In this class, she learns that, even though she always thought of her family as middle class, her parents’ income compared to that of the rest of the country actually qualifies them as upper class. What just happened?a. The student discovered the importance of microsociology.b. The student gained a beginner’s mind.c. The student moved from being an everyday actor to being a social analyst.d. The student became a professional sociologist.e. The student spent some time “doing nothing,” as Bernard McGrane suggested.

ANS: CDIF: Hard REF: Page 22OBJ: Reciped/Practical Knowledge (III.A.i)

77. According to William J. Mitchell, in The Reconfigured Eye: Visual Truth in the Post-Photographic Era, TV Guide once took a picture of Oprah and grafted her head onto the body of Ann-Margret. Although this is an extreme example, Mitchell’s larger point is that almost every photo Americans now look at in the media has been digitally altered, leading many to worry that:a. we have lost the ability to distinguish between reality and special effectsb. Americans are spending too much time watching televisionc. we are becoming a global village, all consuming the same media and becoming like one

tribed. urban centers are becoming increasingly diverse, and some are important to a postmodern

worlde. the United States is becoming part of a global community

ANS: ADIF: Hard REF: Pages 23–24OBJ: Contemporary American Society (III.B)

78. If a sociologist wanted to study the social meaning of pizza, he would be hampered by a lifetime of preconceptions and assumptions about pizza. It would be hard for him to think about it objectively because it is so familiar. Which concept describes a process that might help?a. quantitative methodsb. popular culturec. culture shockd. qualitative methodse. microsociology

ANS: CREF: Page 17


79. One of the key challenges sociologists face is studying something they are intimately familiar with. Like fish in water, sociologists often find it hard to see what is right in front of their faces. To overcome this, you might try:a. moving to another countryb. asking people from other societies to help youc. studying an unfamiliar religiond. doing nothinge. using quantitative methods

ANS: DDIF: Hard REF: Pages 20–21OBJ: Beginner’s Mind (II.B.iii)

80. For many years, poor people, especially in the developing world, had a very hard time getting credit. Large-scale social structures and economic institutions were unwilling or unable to loan money on a small scale, which greatly impoverished the lives of those without access to credit. Kiva was founded to help solve this problem, by connecting individuals who wanted to loan small amounts of money to those who needed to borrow small amounts. What basic sociological principle can be deduced from the founding of Kiva?a. Sociological methods are more usefully thought of as a continuum than as polarized

options.b. Macrosociology understands society in terms of the ways in which large-scale intuitions

affect the lives of individuals.c. Macro-level phenomena are manifested in everyday interactions.d. Microsociology is more effective in addressing the problems of communities.e. While social structures influence individual lives, there are many ways in which our

individual actions can change the world.



81. The divorce rate has steadily increased over time, and now more than a quarter of all marriages end within the first four years. What sort of factors would C. Wright Mills suggest investigating to explain this increase?a. religious issuesb. C. Wright Mills wouldn’t be concerned with marriage because he’s a sociologist.c. personal issuesd. structural issuese. psychological issues

ANS: DREF: Pages 16–17

82. You are looking over the courses being offered at your school and you see a class called “The Sociology of Media and Popular Culture.” You don’t think you need this course because you listen to lots of music, watch a wide variety of television, and often go to the movies. A sociologist would tell you that:a. you are a specialist in mass mediab. you should try to watch media from other cultures if you really want to understand popular

culturec. you should take classes in Film Studies insteadd. you only have reciped knowledgee. you are correct, you don’t need to take the

course

ANS: DREF: Page 22


83. In recent years there have been many websites, and several books, devoted to e-mail etiquette. Older style manuals, written before e-mail, tend to discourage the overuse of exclamation marks. New guides, written with e-mail in mind, encourage their use. Why might a sociologist be interested in studying this?a. Sociologists have to write large numbers of

e-mails.b. It proves that society is learning to communicate better.c. Changes in etiquette can be linked to larger changes in society.d. Sociologists are also writers, and expressing themselves properly is very important.e. E-mail is far and away the most important form of writing today.

ANS: CDIF: Hard REF: Pages 22–23OBJ: Historical Perspective (III.A.iii)

84. Figure 1.1 shows the close relationship between sociology and the other social sciences. Given how much overlap there is, why does sociology still exist as a discipline?a. All the other departments specialize in something, but sociology is a general field, bringing

together the theories and findings from those other disciplines to produce a broad synthesis.

b. Only sociology worries about what will happen in the future.c. Despite significant overlap, there is still a good deal of unique territory that only

sociologists study.d. Sociology departments exist as an academic tradition and would be difficult to disband.e. Political science and economics departments are much more politically conservative, so

sociology remains to provide a liberal counterbalance.

ANS: CREF: Page 7

OBJ: How Does Sociology Work? (II)

Figure 1.1

85. If you didn’t know anything about Pam Fishman but that Figure 1.2 features data from her research, what could you logically determine about her?a. that she is a conflict theoristb. that she is a macrosociologistc. that she is a structural functionalistd. that she is very interested in inequalitye. that she is a microsociologist



Figure 1.2source: Fishman 1978

Figure 1.3 The Macro-Micro Continuum

86. In Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, Pierre Bourdieu explored the ways in which individual tastes or aesthetic preferences are determined by class status. Given this fact alone, in which step of the macro-micro continuum (figure 1.3) would you put Bourdieu?a. socialization

b. social institutionsc. selfd. groupse. roles

ANS: BREF: Page 14

ESSAY QUESTIONS

1. The need for food is biological, not social, but society still shapes the way we eat and the meaning we give to food. Using your sociological imagination, pick out a particular food that you enjoy, and analyze it in terms of its social meaning. How are the ingredients and the preparation style connected to larger social structures?

ANS: Any answer would have to be specific in identifying features of a food that can be related to a larger social issue, like the speed with which microwave burritos can be made and how that relates to our economic need for speed.OBJ: The Sociological Imagination (II.B.i)

2. The sociological perspective, as a way of thinking about the world, includes the sociological imagination from C. Wright Mills, the beginner’s mind from Bernard McGrane, and the idea of culture shock from anthropology. What do all three of these concepts have in common?

ANS: They all advocate ways of thinking that help us clear away preconceptions that may be blocking us from seeing and understanding things that are directly in front of us. Mills tells us to look for connections between the personal and the social; McGrane tells us to try and ignore old knowledge in order to find new ways of seeing things; and culture shock is a way of seeing things as if we had never seen them before. All help to achieve a sociological perspective.OBJ: The Sociological Perspective (II.B)

3. Chapter 1 focuses on contemporary American society, saying that America is both a place and an ideal. What does the text mean by this?

ANS: America is not merely a geographic location or a demographic category. America is both a real place and an ideal concept that serves to situate us within a meaningful cultural and historical context and can evoke a kind of mythical quality that represents our deepest hopes, fears, and dreams. As a nation and an ideal, America has long occupied our collective imaginations. Sociologists and social thinkers of all types—from here and abroad, from the past to the present—have looked at America and the American way of life with great fascination.OBJ: America as a Place and an Ideal (III.B.i)

4. Marshall McLuhan believed that radio and television would act like a campfire that everyone on earth could huddle around, creating a “global village,” or a sense of community across great distances. More recently the Internet has greatly accelerated this phenomenon. Do you believe that online communities are really the same as those that share a common geographic location?

ANS: Any answer would have to identify features of old, geographically centered communities that do not arise in online communities (material support, physical contact) and contrast them with new features of online communities (increased diversity, freedom to be whoever you want, and perhaps even increased danger, as you never know who you are dealing with).(III.C)

5. Chapter 1 contrasts practical knowledge with scientific knowledge. Describe some activity of which you have practical knowledge, and list the steps that you would have to take to develop scientific knowledge of it. Describe how your knowledge would change as you developed scientific knowledge of the subject and demonstrate that you understand the difference between the two types of knowledge.

ANS: Any answer should demonstrate knowledge of some everyday activity that the student can use in a functional way, but about which she does not have completely coherent, excruciatingly clear, consistent, or complete knowledge. Suggestions for how to develop scientific knowledge probably involve either schools, bookstores, libraries, or some other source of learning.OBJ: Sociology and Everyday Life (III.A)

6. The French sociologist Jean Baudrillard argues that our current social arrangements are built on dangerous illusions. He believes that we are losing the ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy, as represented in the movie The Matrix. Describe and analyze some feature of contemporary society where you think this is true.

ANS: Answers should focus on parts of society like advertising and media that “keep us spinning in an endless cycle of material consumption and media hysteria” (people injuring themselves imitating cartoon characters, urban myths, etc.).OBJ: America as a Place and an Ideal (III.B.i)

7. America’s geographic boundaries are not walls that keep the rest of the world out. Instead, we live in an increasingly globalized world, where our actions affect and are affected by people all over the world. Describe how America is linked to people in different cultures and societies around the world.

ANS: Answers should mention some combination of diplomacy, transnational corporations, natural resources, tourism, exposure to cultural elements, and especially the increasingly globalized mass media.(III.C)

8. Sociologists often have to decide if they are going to adopt a microsociological or a macrosociological approach in any given project. Explain how these perspectives differ, paying special attention to the different assumptions about how society works that are contained within each perspective.

ANS: Microsociology focuses on the interactions between individuals, while macrosociology approaches large-scale social structure. Microsociology tends to see individual-level interactions as constitutive of the larger patterns, processes, and institutions of society, while macrosociologists tend to assume that large social structures create the context and conditions within which individuals act.

9. Sociology as a discipline is commonly divided between those who use qualitative methods and those who use quantitative ones. Describe the differences between the two approaches and explain the one goal they always have in common.

ANS: Quantitative methods condense data into numbers, which allows it to be analyzed statistically and summarized concisely. Qualitative methods work with nonnumerical data such as texts, written field notes, interview transcripts, photographs, and tape recordings. Rather than condensing lived experience into a number, chart, or graph, qualitative researchers use methods that preserve the details of the cases they study so they can be interpreted. Regardless of method, all sociologists seek to illuminate the connection between the individual and society.OBJ: Methods of Study (II.A.iii)

10. Chapter 1 attempts to use a sociological perspective to better understand school shootings, like the one carried out at Virginia Tech by 23-year-old English major Seung-Hui Cho or the more recent shooting at Northern Illinois University committed by Steven Kazmierczak.

The sociological perspective suggests that we think about the perpetrators of such crimes both as individuals who made horribly wrong personal decisions and as individuals who were shaped by their social circumstances. How were they shaped by and their actions made possible by the social context they lived in?

ANS: Although school shootings are always followed by a desperate search for answers, most of the time we focus on psychological explanations. However, both school shooters were living in a specific cultural and historical context, which helped to create an environment in which they carried out their crimes. They were products of common family structures and child-rearing practices. They had trouble during adolescence, felt shy and awkward, were alienated and ostracized, and were bullied at school. They were exposed to a great deal of violence in the media, and guns were readily available to them, as were manuals for making explosives. Regardless of the psychological issues present, the particular way in which these individuals became violent is culturally and historically specific.OBJ: The Sociological Imagination (II.B.i)

11. Marshall McLuhan believed that new media technologies would create a “global village,” where people from all over the world would be brought together by a shared interest in the same media. Many new media technologies have been introduced since the 1960s, when McLuhan was writing. Cite specific examples to show both the places where the media have made a global village and those places where they have not.

ANS: While good answers should point out the ways that television and movies have indeed become global, they should also point out the ways that other media technologies, like the internet, have allowed people to splinter into smaller and smaller groups, the opposite of what McLuhan predicted.

(III.C)

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