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Dear Students, the following questions are meant to be a study guide so you can focus on
important concepts and survey the semester long material that has been presented to you. All
the concepts in these questions are covered in class. Hence, all the answers are available in
your book and in the power point notes. Please, DO NOT ask me answers of these questions.
Your task is to go through each of them, find the relevant sections, obtain the answers and
study them. Hopefully, finding answers and reading examples from the book will help you
register this information to your long term memory.
It has been a pleasure to have you in my class this semester. I thank you for your participation,
involvement and eagerness to learn. I hope you will use many of the aspects of sociology in
your future life.
GOOD LUCK in preparing you final exam!
SOC 200 Question Bank
1. What is culture? What are 5 important characteristics of culture?
• Culture is everything made, learned, or shared by the members of a society, including
values, beliefs, behaviors, and material objects. Culture is the totality of learned, socially
transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. It includes ideas,
values, and artifatcs(DVD, comic books, and birth control devices)of groups and people.
Flag of a country is a culture, tango is culture of Argentina. Culture consists of all objects
and ideas within a society, including slang. Culture is the ways of thinking, and acting
(non-material culture)
• the material objects that together form a people’s way of life (material culture, e.g.
food, houses, factories, raw materials).
• Culture is learned and socially transmitted.
• Culture is dynamic.
5 important characteristics of culture:
• Culture is shared: culture is collectively experienced.
• Culture is learned: cultures seem natural but they are learned. The process of learning
culture is socialization.
• Culture is taken for granted: unless meeting other culture’s members are not aware of
their culture.
• Culture is Symbolic: The meaning is not inherit in a symbol but meaning is given to it by
the people.
• Culture varies across time and place.
2. Explain the terms “culture lag” “culture shock” and “sub-cultures”
Culture lag- period of maladjustment when nonmaterial culture is still struggling to adapt to
new material conditions(new electro cigarettes and because of that airplanes started to
develop new technologies pg 71)
The term "cultural lag" refers to the fact that culture takes time to catch up with
technological innovations, resulting in social problems.
For example, when cars were first invented, there were not yet any laws to govern driving:
no speed limits, no guidelines for who had the right of way at intersections, no lane markers,
no stop signs, and so on. As you can imagine, the result was chaos. City streets became
incredibly dangerous. Laws soon were written to address this problem, closing the gap.
Culture shock- The feeling of surprise and disorientation that people experience when they
encounter cultural practices that are different from their own. ( going to new country pg 68)
Sub-culture- A segment of society that shares a distinctive pattern of customs, rules and
traditions that differs from the pattern of larger society (residents of a retirement community,
parkour runners pg 66)
3. What is norm? Explain the differences between formal and informal norms.
Norm is an established standard of behavior maintained by society. Norm has to be widely
shared and understood. So the formal social norms are spoken and the informal social norms
are unspoken. Both are just as strongly followed but we learn them in a different way.
Formal norms generally have been written down and specify strict punishment for violators,
informal norms are generally understood but not precisely recorded. Give examples
Formal norms often govern patterns of resource extraction and use, and therefore
clearly influence biophysical resources. In addition, formal rules govern our behaviour
relative to one another (e.g. murder and theft are illegal in most places, public execution
in many).
Informal norms are rules that govern human conduct within a society. These rules are based on a
society's cultural values, which is a majority consensus on behavior and actions that are
upstanding and important. The purpose of informal norms are to maintain order within a society.
These rules are ingrained into the members of a society as children and continue to be constantly
learned throughout life. Social etiquette is an example of an informal norm. Informal norms often
accept practices that are against the law but are not harmful to society, such as poaching.
4. What is norm? Explain what “mores” and “folkways” are.
Mores are norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society, often because
they embody the most cherished principles of a people. Mores deal with higher values
of people like honor,pride and property.
• Mores- A set of moral norms or customs derived from generally accepted practices.
Mores derive from the established practices of a society rather than its written laws.
Mores are more compulsory than folkways. Examples can be entering house without
permission, eating haram meat,
• Strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior. They are considered highly
necessary to the welfare of a society (having mores against murder, treason and child
abuse which can be institutionalized into formal norms)
• Folkways- A custom or belief common to members of a society or culture, folks are
norms governing everyday behavior. (Walking up a down escalator, it won’t result in jail
or fine) Norms governing everyday behavior.
• They shape the everyday behavior of a culture. General standards of behavior (men
wearing pants and not skirts, greeting, food preparation, decorating home).
Mores distinguish the difference between right and wrong, while folkways draw a line between
right and rude. While folkways may raise an eyebrow if violated, mores dictate morality and
come with heavy consequences.
5. What is the difference between norms and values? Give examples for norms and values.
Both terms—norms and values—are at many times used interchangeably in our day-to-day
discourse. But social scientists use them in a specific sense. Social norms are standards, rules,
guides and expectations for actual behaviour, whereas values are abstract conceptions of
what is important and worthwhile. Honesty is a general value; the expectation that students
will not cheat or use such material forbidden by the codes in the examinations is a norm.
Values are general guidelines, while norms are specific guidelines. Values are general
standards, which decide what is good and what is bad. Norms are rules and expectations
that specify how people should and should not behave in various social situations.
6. What are Mead’s three stages of explaining how Self emerges?
The Preparatory Stage- children imitate people around them, especially family members with
whom they continually interact.
The Play Stage- children develop skill in communication through symbols, they gradually be
aware of social relationship and begin to pretend to be other people such as child becomes a
doctor, hero etc.
The Game Stage- the child is about 8 ages no longer just plays role but begins to consider tasks
and relationships simultaneously. Children don’t only understand their task but aslso others like
football player understands his role and others
• The preparatory Stage: Children imitate the people around them whom they continually
interact. At this stage children begin to understand symbols (gestures, objects, words
that form the basic human interaction/culturally determined).
• The Play Stage: Children pretend to be other people (doctor, parent, ship captain,
soccer player), role playing. Role taking: process of mentally assuming the perspective of
another and responding from that imagined viewpoint.
• The Game Stage: A child (8-9 years old) begins to consider several tasks and
relationships simultaneously. They understand not only their own but others’ social
position.
7. Explain the following terms “looking-glass self”, “generalized others”’, “significant
others”.
