1. What is the relationship between culture and society, from a sociological perspective?
a. The members of a society share a culture to some extent.
b. A society is much larger and more widespread than culture.
c. A society involves social interaction; culture does not.
d. Culture is a subset of society.
2. Which of the following characteristics does a society not possess?
a. People think of themselves as distinct from other societies.
b. Members maintain ties of interaction.
c. Individuals have a high degree of interdependence among their members.
d. Groups resemble society, but are similar in size..
3. Which of the following describes a society according to sociologists?
a. Highly independent individuals living together.
b. Members who share common culture.
c. Members who are unaware of other societies.
d. Members who exhibit constant harmony.
4. Emile Durkheim described society as sui generis. This means that society:
a. is made up of a lot of individualized social interaction.
b. is the term for a set of groups and organizations in the same location.
c. is greater than the sum of its parts.
d. lacks order because it has such great diversity.
5. In which of the following is Durkheim most interested?
a. How society changes.
b. The ways that interaction creates innovation.
c. Power.
d. The ways society is held together.
6. The importance of Durkheim’s sui generis is that _____.
a. society is much more than the sum of the individuals in it
b. society is simpler than once thought.
c. social interaction is more important than social structure.
d. culture and society are not equivalent.
7. Sociologists who study relatively small, less-complex, and less differentiated patterns of social interaction are
using _____.
a. microanalysis
b. macroanalysis
c. structural analysis
d. organic analysis
8. Sociologists who study the large patterns of social interactions that are vast, complex, and highly differentiated
are using _____.
a. microanalysis
b. macroanalysis
c. content analysis
d. organic analysis
9. Which of these is an example of something a sociologist would consider from the microlevel analysis of social
interaction?
a. Day to day life in a sorority house
b. Poverty in the U.S.
c. The causes of homelessness
d. Rates of urban crime
10. Which of these would interest a sociologist who prefers macroanalysis of social interaction?
a. The pattern and content of cliques in a high school
b. How laws governing family leave have affected families in the U.S.
c. How members of a gang feel about the crimes they commit
d. The daily lives of people in a homeless shelter
11. Sociologists use the term ______ to describe the order established in social groups at any level.
a. social interaction
b. infrastructure
c. social design
d. social organization
12. According to the text, social organization:
a. is most common in industrial societies.
b. brings predictability to human behavior.
c. only applies to very large organizations.
d. is only apparent to researchers.
13. Which of the following is not a social institution?
a. Education
b. Family
c. Friends
d. Religion
14. According to the text, a _____ is a broad system that organizes specific functions in society.
a. social organization
b. social institution
c. social structure
d. socialization
15. According to the text, social institutions:
a. cannot be observed directly.
b. are only found in large societies.
c. do not serve any particular function in society.
d. are rare in our society.
16. According to the text, social institutions are an important concept within sociology for all of the following reasons,
except:
a. they shape life within any particular society.
b. they meet certain needs that are necessary for society to exist.
c. they exist outside of individual experience.
d. they are natural extensions of society.
17. According to the text, functionalist theorists contend that social institutions:
a. assure the stability and continuance of society.
b. provide for some segments of society at the expense of others.
c. distribute power to the various segments of society unequally.
d. shape individual identity and personality.
18. Which of the following is not a function of social institutions?
a. The socialization of new members of the society
b. Providing members with an ultimate sense of purpose
c. Replacement of societys members
d. Supporting members economically
19. From the perspective of conflict theorists, social institutions
a. exist to protect the rights of those with less power in society.
b. provide for some members of society more than for others.
c. create meaning for the people who participate in them.
d. hold society together.
20. Sociologists use the term ______ to refer to the organized pattern of social relationships and social institutions
that together comprise society.
a. cultural complex
b. social structure
c. infrastructure
d. social network
21. According to the text, social structures
a. are a part of large, but not small organization.
b. only have an influence on impersonal aspects of our lives, like education and religion.
c. are difficult to see for the untrained observer.
d. do not have any connection to each other.
22. Society is a network of:
a. roles.
b. statuses.
c. social structures.
d. divisions of labor.
23. According to Emile Durkheim, _____ gives groups social solidarity because members of a group feel they are part
of one society.
a. the social macrostructure
b. collective consciousness
c. class consciousness
d. popular culture
24. In answer to the question, “What holds society together?” Durkheim answered:
a. division of labor.
b. collective consciousness.
c. social structure.
d. social interaction.
25. In a society where mechanical solidarity exists
a. solidarity is created by individuals playing a great variety of different roles.
b. unity is based on role differentiation, not similarity.
c. individuals share the same values, hold the same things sacred, and frequently play the same roles.
d. the performance of multiple roles is necessary for the execution of societys complex and integrated
functions.
26. In a society marked by organic solidarity:
a. individuals play a great variety of different roles and unity is based on role differentiation.
b. the roles people play are very similar.
c. individuals share the same values and hold the same things sacred.
d. there is a complete lack of collective consciousness.
27. The type of social solidarity that exists in the United States and other industrialized societies is _____ solidarity.
a. communal
b. mechanical
c. organic
d. integrated
28. Durkheim argued that complex societies are held together by the systematic interrelatedness of different tasks.
He used the term ______ to refer to this interrelatedness.
a. bureaucracy
b. the division of labor
c. social superstructure
d. social infrastructure
29. According to the text, Durkheim defined division of labor as:
a. the relatedness of different tasks.
b. the integration of male tasks and female tasks.
c. unity within diversity.
d. important secondary relationships.
30. In most contemporary societies _____ create consistent patterns in the division of labor.
a. intelligence and ability
b. age, gender, race, and social class
c. interest and enthusiasm
d. religion and moral beliefs
31. According to the text, those societies that are gemeinschaft are characterized by:
a. a sense of “we” feeling.
b. extensive division of labor.
c. strong secondary relationships.
d. organic solidarity.
32. Which of the following reflects a gemeinschaft society?
a. Strangers on a street corner.
b. Individuals talking in a cubicle in a large corporation.
c. A small communitys tomato festival.
d. A large city park.
33. According to the text, _____ is characterized by less prominence of personal ties, a somewhat diminished role of
the nuclear family, and a lessened sense of personal loyalty to the total society.
a. Gemeinschaft
b. Gesellschaft
c. Verstehen
d. Sue Generis
34. Within a gemeinschaft society, how is social control achieved?
a. Through social institutions such as the legal system
b. Through a system of written laws that apply equally to members of society
c. Through an internal sense of belonging that member of society share
d. Through a strict division of labor.
35. Which of these is true about gesellschaft societies?
a. They have no social cohesion.
b. Primary relationships are dominant in society.
c. The division of labor creates organic solidarity.
d. Mechanical solidarity creates social control.
36. Ethnic conflict is most likely within ______ societies and between ______ societies.
a. gesellschaft / gemeinschaft
b. gemeinschaft / gesellschaft
c. mechanical / organic
d. traditional / contemporary
37. Sociologists distinguish six different types of societies based on
a. the complexity of their social structure and level of technology.
b. locations in the world.
c. theirpoliticalsystems–whethertheyaredemocraticortotalitarian.
d. theireconomicsystem–whethercapitalistorsocialist.
38. The key factor that distinguishes types of societies is the
a. kinship system.
b. division of labor.
c. development of technology.
d. economic system.
39. Preindustrial societies are those that
a. do not raise any crops.
b. only forage for food.
c. work directly with the land.
d. no longer manufacture; they produce information.
40. Which of these types of society has the greatest amount of social differentiation?
a. Foraging
b. Pastoral
c. Agricultural
d. Horticultural
41. Which of the following is not characteristic of foraging societies?
a. Simple technologies for harvesting food surpluses.
b. Being nomadic.
c. Society organized around the family.
d. Role differentiation based on gender.
42. Pastoral societies are based on the domestication of animals. In addition, they are characterized by
a. having no material wealth.
b. being nomadic.
c. their location in rich farmlands.
d. a lack of any division of labor.
43. In _____ societies, there is a clearer division of labor than pastoral societies, but less than in industrial societies.
a. foraging
b. horticultural
c. pastoral
d. post-industrial
44. According to the text, which type of society may include a system of slavery?
a. Foraging
b. Industrial
c. Horticultural
d. Agricultural
45. In industrial societies, social cohesion is achieved through _____.
a. organic solidarity
b. kinship systems
c. religious beliefs
d. shared ethnic heritage
46. According to the text, which of these is nota characteristic of most industrial societies?
a. Use of machines to produce goods and services
b. Increased death rates and a lowered life expectancy
c. Highly differentiated labor force
d. Social cohesion achieved through structures of social institutions
47. Postindustrial societies are characterized by
a. the production of information services.
b. an increase in manufacturing jobs.
c. a large working class of industrial laborers.
d. a strict division of labor.
48. A pastoral society is unlike a forging society because:
a. it lacks a division of labor.
b. a forging society is more complex.
c. it develops a division of labor.
d. it lacks surplus.
49. In postindustrial societies
a. the economy is dependent on the production and distribution of services and knowledge.
b. there is very little social differentiation or division of labor.
c. religion and family are the most vital social institutions.
d. social inequality is rare.
50. In light of what is said in the text about the types of societies, if my occupation involves scientific research or
management of information, then the type of society I represent is _____.
a. postindustrial
b. industrial
c. forging
d. pastoral.
51. Today, the United States would be described as
a. an agricultural society.
b. between industrial and post-industrial phases.
c. moving beyond post-industrial society.
d. no longer manufacturing any products for itself.
52. How does post-industrialism impact members of society?
a. Most have more leisure time
b. New kinds of jobs pay better so most make more money
c. Education, particularly science, takes on paramount importance
d. Full employment as new kinds of jobs are created
53. From a sociological perspective, which of these is not necessarily characteristic of a group?
a. Interaction is face-to-face.
b. Members communicate with each other.
c. Members share goals and norms.
d. Members possess an awareness of themselves as “we.”
54. Which of the following is not an example of a social group?
a. The elderly
b. Nurses
c. Veterans
d. American Idol fans
55. In light of what is said in the text about groups, if I am a member of a parent-teacher association (PTA), which of
the following am I involved in?
a. An audience
b. An informal organization
c. A formal organization
d. A private organization
56. The faithful fans of the original Coke form a(n) _____.
a. social group
b. social constituency
c. audience
d. social category
57. It is possible for members of an audience or a category to become a group, but in order to do so they must
a. meet face-to-face.
b. interact with each other.
c. be well-organized.
d. share other things in common.
58. The established position that one occupies within a social structure and that carries with it a degree of prestige is
called a(n) _____.
a. status
b. occupation
c. role
d. role set
59. When the different statuses of a person each brings with them significantly different amounts of prestige this
causes _____.
a. role strain
b. status inconsistency
c. role conflict
d. status ambivalence
60. An immigrant from Vietnam was a lawyer in his home country. In the U.S. he cannot practice law, and so he
drives a cab for a living. His experience is an example of _____.
a. role conflict
b. status inconsistency
c. role strain
d. ascribed status