1. Why is it important for sociologists to have a shared definition of groups?
a.
Having a definition enables sociologists to understand the behavior of people in society and how to predict people’s behavior in
groups.
b. If all sociologists cannot agree on a definition of groups, then groups cannot exist.
c. Groups are a very simple aspect of sociology; the definition makes them seem more academic
d. A shared definition allows sociologists from around the world to collaborate.
2. If a sociologist is studying groups he or she is using _____ level analysis.
a. micro
b. macro
c. universal
d. individual
3. By definition, groups must consist of at least _____ people.
a. 1
b. 2
c. 5
d. 7
4. Georg Simmel is known for his work with:
a. social networks.
b. social institutions.
c. groupthink.
d. group size effects.
5. Which of the following is an example of a dyad?
a. John’s parents and John
b. A married couple
c. Lori’s sociology class
d. All 18-year-olds
6. In a triad, when two of the people are interacting and form a dyad, the sociological term for the third person is
_____.
a. an outcast
b. an isolate
c. a third party
d. a co-participant
7. Triadic segregation refers to the:
a. tendency for triads to develop into a pair and an isolate.
b. likelihood of dyads to be stable.
c. emergence of coalitions.
d. predisposition for primary groups to be small.
8. In his study of the effect of size on group dynamics, Simmel found that
a. a dyad is basically an unstable social grouping.
b. a triad is an unstable social grouping, whereas dyads are relatively stable.
c. adding a third person to a dyad has no effect on the stability of the group.
d. the size of the group has no effect on interaction.
9. The sociologist who introduced the concept of primary groups is _____.
a. Charles Horton Cooley
b. George Herbert Mead
c. Georg Simmel
d. Charles Page
10. Which of the following is an example of a primary group?
a. Classmates
b. Neighbors
c. Family
d. Teachers
11. Cooley originally used the term primary for some groups because they are the
a. only groups that matter to individuals.
b. occupational groups without which we would not make a living.
c. first groups humans are part of as children.
d. easiest groups for sociologists to recognize.
12. Cooley’s concept of primary groups
a. refers only to the intimate groups of one’s formative years.
b. has been elaborated to include a variety of intimate relationships in groups.
c. no longer has relevance within sociology.
d. has been replaced with the concept of secondary groups.
13. Which of these statements about primary groups is true?
a. Primary groups have a powerful influence on a person’s self-identity.
b. Primary groups are not as influential for the individual as secondary groups.
c. The concept of the primary group refers only to groups in one’s childhood.
d. A sociology class is an example of a primary group.
14. are small and intimate; _____are larger and short-lived.
a. Primary groups; secondary groups
b. Secondary groups; primary groups.
c. Triads; dyads
d. Categories; secondary groups
15. Secondary groups are most likely to take on characteristics of primary groups
a. in situations where there is a clear authority and purpose to the group.
b. when family members are living at a distance.
c. in times of high stress or crisis such as natural disasters.
d. when they are extremely small.
16. In their study of groups of different sizes, sociologists have found that
a. primary groups are a major influence and an important source of social control.
b. primary groups often take on the characteristics of secondary groups.
c. primary groups are less important today as our society has become more secondary group-oriented.
d. secondary groups tend to be most significant in the emotional lives of people.
17. Sociologists have found that primary groups
a. fulfill a person’s expressive needs.
b. generally only meet a person’s instrumental needs.
c. tend to be larger than secondary groups.
d. are less significant than secondary groups
18. If Bobby joins a gang, he is joining a _________.
a. primary group
b. secondary group
c. dyad
d. triad
19. Which of the following statements is true about the differences between primary and secondary groups?
a. Secondary groups are less intimate than primary groups.
b. Primary groups are larger in membership than secondary groups.
c. Primary groups are less long-lasting than secondary groups.
d. Secondary groups include only family members.
20.
Primary groups provide for an individual’s _____needs;secondary groups provide for an individual’s _____ needs.
a. expressive; instrumental
b. instrumental; psychological
c. instrumental; expressive
d. socioemotional; expressive
21.
According to the research presented in the text, in a study of the role of small voluntary groups in society,
Robert Wuthnow and his associates found that
a. voluntary groups are not able to fill the void left by the breakdown of community and family.
b. voluntary interest groups have lost their importance within U.S. society.
c. people seek small voluntary groups for a sense of community and a spiritual connection.
d. voluntary group membership has been declining in the U.S.
22. Sociologists use the term instrumental needs to refer to the ______ of a person.
a. emotional and intimate needs
b. socio-biological needs
c. task-oriented needs
d. formative needs
23. Which of the following situations is most likely to result in a secondary group becoming a primary group?
a. Standing in line at an amusement park waiting to get on a popular ride
b. Picking over items at a large rummage sale
c. A neighborhood digging out after an earthquake.
d. Sharing an admiration for a rock star
24. Which of the following is true of reference groups?
a. Reference groups are not “groups” in the sense that they involve interaction.
b. A well-adjusted person only has one reference group at a time.
c. The influence of a given reference group can be positive or negative, but not both.
d. Reference groups only influence our behavior during childhood.
25. Research on race and reference groups indicates that
a. school desegregation is most important in raising the self-esteem of Black children.
b. positive representations of ethnic and racial groups raises the self-esteem of children of those groups.
c. reference groups have little or no effect on self-esteem.
d. how groups are presented has no impact on their effectiveness as reference groups for children.
26. Which of these statements about reference groups is false?
a. Reference groups always provide good role models.
b. One does not belong to a reference group.
c. The influence of a reference group may be positive or negative.
d. Identification with a social group can strongly influence self-esteem.
27. promote a sense of “us;” _____promote a sense of “them.“
a. Dyads; triads
b. Primary groups; secondary groups
c. In-groups; out-groups
d. Reference groups; attribution groups
28. Considering oneself as part of “people like us” is an example of being part of _____.
a. an out-group
b. an instrumental group
c. a reference group
d. an in-group
29. An out-group is all of these except:
a. created by the existence of an in-group.
b. the opposite of an in-group.
c. is an attribute of society
d. is always a secondary group.
30. According to attribution theory, when an out-group member’s behavior is unclear
a. it will be interpreted in a neutral way by in-group members.
b. it will be interpreted in a negative manner by in-group members.
c. it will be interpreted as positive by in-group members.
d. in-group members will not pay attention to it.
31. Thomas Pettigrew’s summary of research on attribution theory found that
a. individuals are accurate in their perception of the motives of other people’s acts, regardless of their in-
group or out-group membership.
b. attribution error is much less common than people think.
c. individuals commonly distort the motives and acts of people whom they see as out-group members.
d. when provided with information about out-groups that disproves negative perceptions of them, people
quickly alter their perceptions.
32. Attribution error refers to a situation in which one
a. fails to see that group membership is the cause of a person’s behavior.
b. falsely attributes a person’s behavior to membership in a particular group.
c. blames something on one person that is really the fault of another person.
d. completely misunderstands the action in a particular situation.
33. When a student joins an organization it will provide which of the following?
a. Primary needs
b. Instrumental needs
c. Secondary needs
d. Basic needs
34. If a student uses musicians as a model for behavior then musicians are his or her _____.
a. primary group
b. secondary group
c. reference group
d. attribute
35. Which of the following does not illustrate a common type of attribution error?
a. A girl who does well in science is perceived as being unusually smart
b. A white person observes a white student taking a wallet out of someone’s purse and assumes the student
was asked to do so by the owner
c. A Hispanic student is carrying a baseball bat and it is assumed he intends to vandalize something
d. All of the above are illustrations of attribution error
36. A person reads in the paper that a Black youth has been shot by a White police officer. If no other information is
available, attribution theory suggests that
a. a White person will view the shooting as an unnecessary act of violence.
b. both Black and White people will assume that youth gang activity was a problem.
c. a Black person will likely believe the shooting was unnecessary, while a White person will assume the
officer acted appropriately.
d. neither a Black nor a White person will make any assumptions about the situation until they have learned
more information.
37. The sociological term for a set of links between individuals or between other social groups is _____.
a. consortium
b. social network
c. organizational complex
d. interactive web
38. Which of the following is false about the formation of social networks?
a. Networks are must often formed in very conscious and formal ways.
b. The formation of networks can be very spontaneous.
c. Social networks may form at home, work, church, or many other places.
d. Family networks can lead to jobs and upward mobility.
39. According to research, which of the following is most likely to lead to getting a job?
a. Using a personal network
b. Applying through a job listing online
c. Answering a help wanted ad
d. Using a placement agency
40. The statement that there is “strength in weak ties” refers to the fact that
a. members of a secondary group can still be emotionally supportive.
b. even a dysfunctional family may be useful at times.
c. one doesn’t have to know a lot of people in a network in order for it to be useful.
d. sometimes the friend you are the least close to is the most helpful.
41. When women are meticulous and aggressive they often are seen as _____.
a. pushy and bitchy
b. as powerful as men
c. good leaders
d. thorough
42. Networks based on _____ are especially important in job networks.
a. age
b. skill set
c. experience and union membership
d. race, class, and gender
43. Which of these statements about occupations and networks is false?
a. Compared with Whites, Latinos and Blacks are more likely to be harmed by a lack of social contacts.
b. The “old boy network” has virtually disappeared.
c. The person who leads one to a job is likely to have a background similar to theirs.
d. Black leaders have formed a network closer than that of White leaders.
44.
Sometimes people will comment that it is a “small world“ when they coincidentally meet the friend of a
friend. Research into the “small world problem” demonstrates that
a. networks do not reach as far as was believed in the past.
b. employment agencies are more effective than networks at directing people toward jobs.
c. social networking is a thing of the past; it is now out-of-date.
d. networks make the world seem a lot smaller than many might think.
45. Which of the following is a criticism of Travers and Milgram’s research?
a. They had a small sample size.
b. Only one-third of the documents ever reached the targets.
c. They did not include any Black or Hispanic senders or targets.
d. The senders were highly incentivized for their work.
46. The reality of the expression “it’s a small world” is that
a. there is no interconnection throughout the world.
b. people are interconnected in close social networks regardless of their sex, race, and social class.
c. the world is a small place for most people in it.
d. the world is only a small place for those in one’s immediate network (those who share the same race,
class, and sex).
47. The idea of strength in weak ties refers to:
a. knowing one person in a network.
b. knowing many people in a network.
c. people with different backgrounds.
d. networks connected together.
48. A recent study by Taylor and associates, of networks among Black leaders within the U.S., found that Black
leaders
a. do not depend on networks as much as Whites.
b. feel isolated and do not know others who share their situation and background.
c. form closer networks with greater density than do Whites.
d. do not attach any importance to networks, preferring to work only through friends.
49. According to social psychologist Philip Zimbardo, how do most people respond to hearing about the overly
conforming behavior of others in groups?
a. They empathize because they know they would behave the same way.
b. They understand that for most people conformity is the norm.
c. They believe that they themselves would not succumb to group pressure.
d. They think that the conformity is the result of group members being tricked in some way.
50. In his classic study of perception and group pressure, Asch found that
a. even rather gentle pressure was sufficient to cause an astonishing rise in the number of wrong answers.
b. most people would not bend to the opinions of others without a great deal of anger and argument.
c. the majority of people make up their minds for themselves and stick to those opinions.
d. there is no real pressure to conform in most situations.
51. The results of Solomon Asch’s classic study of conformity were that
a. test subjects required a great deal of harassment before they would succumb to group pressure and give
an incorrect answer.
b. individuals are likely to conform to group pressure, even if the group is objectively incorrect.
c. the size of the group of confederates does not make any difference in the likelihood of the subject to give an
incorrect response.
d. male subjects were more likely to conform than female subjects.
52. In the now famous Milgram Obedience Studies, the results demonstrated that
a. people will not conform when they believe their behavior will harm another person.
b. women are less likely to engage in behavior that is potentially harmful for others than men are.
c. there is a significant difference between what people believe they will do and how they actually behave.
d. people only conform up to a certain point, but will not violate moral or ethical standards.
53. When asked to administer potentially harmful shocks to other people in a research setting, most people will
a. only administer very weak shocks; they refuse to give stronger shocks.
b. refuse to administer any type of shocks; they will quit the research project.
c. give whatever strength of electric shock they are asked to, regardless of the risk to another person.
d. call the authorities and report the person telling them to shock another person.
54. The implications of Milgram’s experiments on obedience to authority are that
a. it may be possible for any ordinary person to commit atrocities under the right conditions.
b. getting most people to follow orders requires a great deal of coercion.
c. only some personality types are capable of committing atrocities against other human beings.
d. we cannot hold people accountable for their actions.
55. Applying Milgram’s research on conformity to the torture of prisoners by American soldiers that took place at
Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq demonstrates that
a. the torture of prisoners by American soldiers must have been the act of a few cruel and deranged people.
b. the reasons that prisoners were tortured by soldiers lay within the social structure and the group pressure
of the situation.
c. the American soldiers are in no way responsible for their actions.
d. only PICKUP recruits with little experience would conform to authority if told to intentionally harm another
person.
56.
Applied to a situation like the torture of Iraqi prisoners in American prison Abu Ghraib, Milgram’s and
Asch’s findings would indicate that
a. there was a serious breakdown in respect for authority that caused soldiers to violate the international
standards for treatment of prisoners.
b.
the cause of the American soldiers‘ inhumane treatment of prisoners is partly the structure of the situation and group pressure.
c. American soldiers would only commit torture if following a direct order with fear of punishment for not
carrying it out.
d. soldiers are more sadistic than the average college student or American citizen.
57. What was the outcome of the classic prison simulation done by Zimbardo and his associates?
a. Without being told to do so, students playing the role of guards behaved sadistically toward the students in
the role of prisoners.
b. When upper-class students were put in the role of prisoner, they were not abused as much as the
working-class students in the same role.
c. The students acting in the roles of both prisoners and the prisoners did not take the experiment seriously
and so it was discontinued early.
d. The findings were not significant in terms of how people adapt to roles of authority.
58. According to Janis, which of the following decisions was the result of groupthink?
a. Bush’s decision to engage in the first Gulf War
b. the Iraq war after the 9/11 terrorist attacks
c. Johnson’s decision in 1967 to start the War on Poverty
d. Obama’s decision to reform health care
59. Which of the following is not a characteristic common to most cases of groupthink?
a. An illusion of unanimity
b. An illusion of invulnerability
c. Allowing in outside expert opinion
d. Discouragement of dissenting opinion