Chapter 1: An Introduction to Sociology in the Global Age

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Twitter allows individuals to communicate globally. This communication has been responsible for large-scale social upheaval. This individual impact on large scale structures is called which of these?

a. the butterfly effect

b. sociology

c. commodification

d. globalization

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: A Sociology of Revolutions and Counterrevolutions

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Sociology is the systematic study of which of these?

a. the way people are influenced by history

b. the way people are influenced by mental illness

c. the way people interpret and create language

d. the way people are affected and affect social structures and processes

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Sociology of Revolutions and Counterrevolutions

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Which of these garnered the attention of 18th- and 19th-century sociologists?

a. industrial revolution

b. consumption

c. nuclear families

d. religious decline

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Changing Nature of the Social World—and Sociology

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. The postindustrial age began around the middle of the 20th century but transitioned into the ______ at the beginning of the 21st century.

a. Industrial Age

b. Cyber Age

c. Space Age

d. Information Age

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Changing Nature of the Social World—and Sociology

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. The growth of the service sector and white-collar work in the mid-20th century gave rise to what age?

a. the consumer age

b. the digital age

c. the postindustrial age

d. the information age

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Changing Nature of the Social World—and Sociology

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. In the U.S., manufacturing has ______ since the middle of the 20th century, signaling a move out of the ______ age.

a. decreased; industrial

b. decreased; preindustrial

c. increased; preindustrial

d. increased; agrarian

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Changing Nature of the Social World—and Sociology

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. The 21st century is associated with which of these?

a. agrarian stage

b. industrial stage

c. post-industrial stage

d. information stage

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Changing Nature of the Social World—and Sociology

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Traditionally, which of these was the largest unit of analysis in sociology?

a. inequality

b. gender

c. society

d. globalization

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. According to the chapter text, no social change is as important today as which of these?

a. radicalization

b. globalization

c. climate change

d. the growth of inequality

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. As globalization takes place, what happens to the movement of products and people?

a. They become more monitored.

b. They become more regulated.

c. The become more unequal.

d. They become more fluid.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. As globalization increases, social structures have which effect on the flow of products and information?

a. They enable better global flows.

b. They impede global flows.

c. They both increase and limit global flows.

d. They have little effect on the flow of products and information.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. What is the term associated with increased negative global flows, such as diseases or pollution?

a. terrorism

b. deviant globalization

c. hyper capitalism

d. anti-globalization

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. McDonald's, blue jeans, and Pizza Hut are now found in countries all over the world. Which concept is exemplified by this phenomenon?

a. cultural lag

b. globalization

c. cultural relativity

d. McDonaldization

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Starting in the 1950s, developed countries with capitalist economies began to shift from ______ to ______.

a. production; consumption

b. manufacturing; providing services

c. working class; middle class

d. affluence; recession

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consumption

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. What trend is evidenced by the rise in credit card debt from 1969 to now?

a. the increased globalization of the economy

b. the increase of economic technology in the postindustrial age

c. the dramatic increase in personal consumption among people in the U.S.

d. the increasing divide between income and living expenses

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Consumption

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. The process by which people obtain and use goods and services is known as which of these?

a. globalization

b. consumption

c. society

d. flows

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Consumption

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. McDonaldization is a concept that describes which of these?

a. the processes of globalization

b. the creation of rational systems that can guide mass production

c. the way that cultural diffusion happens

d. the creation of an unskilled and low-paid underclass of workers

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: McDonaldization

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. One of the four defining characteristics of McDonaldization is predictability. What does predictability refer to?

a. the ability to predict the future growth of the company

b. the ability to predict one’s experience across different settings

c. the ability to predict where the product will spread

d. the ability to predict who will buy the product

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: McDonaldization

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Jane works at a company that emphasizes that people should do tasks as quickly and cheaply as possible. Which characteristic of McDonaldization does this exemplify?

a. calculability

b. control

c. efficiency

d. predictability

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: McDonaldization

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. At Tommy’s job, customers fill out satisfaction surveys to rate employees to ensure to the company that they are doing their job. Which characteristic of McDonaldization does this exemplify?

a. calculability

b. control

c. efficiency

d. predictability

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: McDonaldization

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Which of these is associated with McDonaldization?

a. excessive humanization

b. excessive consumption

c. excessive community

d. excessive individualism

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: McDonaldization

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Societal changes in the aftermath of the Great Recession suggest that we are moving into an age in which people are more likely to do which of these?

a. rely on credit more than ever before

b. spend their money on more high-end goods and entertainment

c. spend money reluctantly

d. prefer more do-it-yourself products to store-bought products

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Critiquing Consumption

Difficulty Level: Hard

23. Which of these is associated with shopping online and reviewing products and services?

a. globalization

b. consumption

c. digital world

d. McDonaldization

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization, Consumption, the Digital World and You

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. ______ is the ability to look at the social world from different perspectives.

a. Sociological imagination

b. Mediated interaction

c. Social constructionism

d. Public sociology

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. The Power Elite was written by ______.

a. Auguste Comte

b. C. Wright Mills

c. Karl Marx

d. Émile Durkheim

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Easy

26. Who applied sociology to politics, arguing that the U.S. was developing a “military industrial complex” that favored war?

a. Auguste Comte

b. Karl Marx

c. C. Wright Mills

d. Émile Durkheim

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Easy

27. Which of these is an example of a modern military-industrial complex?

a. the United Nations

b. the Great Recession

c. the War on Terror

d. the World Bank

Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Medium

28. Which sociologist argued that a money economy is significant because it speeds up consumption and allows people to consume more than they otherwise would?

a. C. Wright Mills

b. Auguste Comte

c. Georg Simmel

d. Karl Marx

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Easy

29. Bullfighting is a popular sport in Spain but many people in the U.S. think negatively of it because of its brutality. If people in the U.S. looked at bullfighting from Spaniards’ perspectives, they would understand it as a cultural tradition. People in the U.S. who could do so would be exhibiting which of these?

a. globalization

b. ethnocentrism

c. sociological imagination

d. mediated interaction

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. Many people believe that when they get laid off from their job, they are alone, but many soon come to realize that this is a result of the current recession. They can connect their ______ troubles to ______ issues.

a. public; private

b. individualistic; common

c. secret; overt

d. private; public

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Private Troubles and Public Issues

Difficulty Level: Medium

31. Randall Collins’s theory of violence includes individuals who can carry out violent interactions and the resources with which an organization must equip themselves to carry out violence. His theory includes both ______ and ______ components.

a. public; private

b. global; local

c. agency; structural

d. micro; macro

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Micro–Macro Relationship

Difficulty Level: Medium

32. A researcher studying a local school district realizes that its problems are also occurring in the majority of public-school districts within the U.S. This researcher is connecting ______ to ______ social phenomena.

a. local; global

b. micro; macro

c. private; public

d. agency; structure

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Micro–Macro Relationship

Difficulty Level: Hard

33. Which analytical approach would a researcher be using if they interview neighborhood residents to gain some insight into experiences of local crime?

a. micro

b. macro

c. dangerous giant

d. social construction

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Micro–Macro Relationship

Difficulty Level: Medium

34. Lona, a researcher who studies poverty in a major city, focuses on the relationship between social class and level of poverty. Which analytical approach is Lona using?

a. micro

b. macro

c. dangerous giant

d. social construction

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Micro–Macro Relationship

Difficulty Level: Medium

35. According to Erving Goffman, the Vietnam War protestors would be considered ______ as they realized their power to create change and affect the entire society.

a. dangerous giants

b. the power elite

c. social constructionists

d. communists

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Agency–Structure Relationship

Difficulty Level: Medium

36. Agency, as used in sociology, refers to power of which of these?

a. structures

b. organizations

c. laws

d. individuals

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Agency–Structure Relationship

Difficulty Level: Medium

37. Which of these is TRUE of the agency-structure relationship?

a. It shows that agency is a macro phenomenon.

b. It shows that individuals are powerless to make changes.

c. It is much more likely to be used by European sociologists than U.S. sociologists to analyze society.

d. It shows how individual action is enabled and constrained by social structures.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Agency–Structure Relationship

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. Clothing designers can influence the fashions women wear and how they view their own bodies. This is an example of which of these?

a. the link between agency and structure

b. the social construction of reality

c. the sociological imagination

d. social reform

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Social Construction of Reality

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. What is the name for the fact that individuals create social reality through their thoughts and actions?

a. agency–structure relationship

b. social construction of reality

c. micro–macro relationship

d. social structure

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Social Construction of Reality

Difficulty Level: Medium

40. Every society has a certain ______ that dictates how that society's institutions are organized and which roles need to be filled within those organizations.

a. organizational structure

b. social structure

c. governing body

d. social construction

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Structures and Processes

Difficulty Level: Medium

41. Which theorist invented the term sociology and developed it as a field of thought?

a. Émile Durkheim

b. Auguste Comte

c. Jane Addams

d. Friedrich Engels

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social Structures and Processes

Difficulty Level: Easy

42. Sports teams and governmental hierarchies are examples of ______.

a. social classes

b. social structures

c. social systems

d. social organizations

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Structures and Processes

Difficulty Level: Medium

43. Which types of sociologists argue that the task of the sociologist is to better understand common forms of social behavior by understanding everyday life?

a. Marxists

b. feminists

c. functionalists

d. ethnomethodologists

Learning Objective: 1.4: Differentiate between sociology’s two possible purposes, science and social reform.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sociology’s Purpose: Science or Social Reform?

Difficulty Level: Medium

44. Sociology is divided between those who advocate for a ______ approach to social problems and those who advocate for a ______ approach.

a. public; private

b. pure science; social reform

c. statistical; narrative

d. personal; community

Learning Objective: 1.4: Differentiate between sociology’s two possible purposes, science and social reform.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sociology’s Purpose: Science or Social Reform?

Difficulty Level: Medium

45. The goal of sociologists who see sociology as a science is primarily ______.

a. knowledge-gathering

b. social change

c. myth-busting

d. advocacy

Learning Objective: 1.4: Differentiate between sociology’s two possible purposes, science and social reform.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sociology’s Purpose: Science or Social Reform?

Difficulty Level: Easy

46. The goal of sociologists who see sociology as a tool for social reform is primarily ______.

a. data-analyzing

b. advocacy-informing

c. data-gathering

d. theory-informing

Learning Objective: 1.4: Differentiate between sociology’s two possible purposes, science and social reform.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sociology’s Purpose: Science or Social Reform?

Difficulty Level: Medium

47. Which discipline might study a society’s cultural aspects in details, such as looking at a specific tribe and its practices—what they eat, how they organize families, and how they use resources?

a. psychology

b. anthropology

c. geography

d. communication studies

Learning Objective: 1.5: Evaluate how sociology relates to other social sciences and how sociological knowledge differs from common sense.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sociology, the Other Social Sciences, and Common Sense

Difficulty Level: Medium

48. Which discipline would be particularly interested in how the Internet has shaped global information flows?

a. psychology

b. anthropology

c. geography

d. communication studies

Learning Objective: 1.5: Evaluate how sociology relates to other social sciences and how sociological knowledge differs from common sense.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sociology, the Other Social Sciences, and Common Sense

Difficulty Level: Medium

49. Which discipline is the least specialized of the social sciences?

a. psychology

b. anthropology

c. geography

d. sociology

Learning Objective: 1.5: Evaluate how sociology relates to other social sciences and how sociological knowledge differs from common sense.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sociology, the Other Social Sciences, and Common Sense

Difficulty Level: Medium

50. How is sociology different from commonsense understandings of the social world?

a. Sociology is intentional; common sense is not.

b. Sociology is systematic and rigorous; common sense is not.

c. Sociology requires sampling large portions of the population.

d. Sociology focuses only on questions of scientific relevance.

Learning Objective: 1.5: Evaluate how sociology relates to other social sciences and how sociological knowledge differs from common sense.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sociology, the Other Social Sciences, and Common Sense

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. In the transition to an information economy, more people perform labor for free.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Changing Nature of the Social World—and Sociology

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Sociology focuses on the ways in which the social world is continually changing.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: A Sociology of Revolutions and Counterrevolutions

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Because of widespread global change, sociologists no longer focus on the traditional concerns around which sociology was created.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Central Concerns for Twenty-First-Century Sociology

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. The most important change today is deglobalization.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. A society can be defined as a complex pattern of social relationships bounded in space and persisting over time.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. In the global age, societies are increasing in importance.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. The global age is marked by fluidity of people and products.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. In the global age, borders between European countries have increased, while borders between countries in other parts of the world have relaxed.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Human trafficking is illegal but widely practiced worldwide.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization: Sex Trafficking

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Globalization is decreasing.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Globalization’s impact has been predominantly negative.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Consumption has been made possible by the growing affluence of consumers.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consumption

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. Consumption is solely an economic phenomenon.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consumption

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. McDonaldization is the process by which the principles of a fast-food restaurant come to dominate societal sectors.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: McDonaldization

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. Amir must repeat the same script to customers who come through a fast-food drive-through, regardless of what time of day or year it is. This is an example of the calculability dimension of McDonaldization.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: McDonaldization

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. An example of mediated interaction would be communicating over the Internet in a chat room.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Digital World

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. The sociological imagination can help people make the connection between public issues and private troubles.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Easy

18. A sociological imagination is the ability to look at the social world critically, using data and sociological insights.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. The gendered wage gap is a private issue because society is not benefiting from the many contributions women could be making.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Private Troubles and Public Issues

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Erving Goffman called people dangerous giants because he believed that human nature is inherently violent.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Agency-Structure Relationship

Difficulty Level: Easy

21. U.S. sociologists are more likely to analyze society in terms of agency-structure relationships than are European sociologists.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Agency-Structure Relationship

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Contemporary sociologists no longer use concepts from classical sociologists, because the social world has changed so much in the past three centuries.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Structures and Processes

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. Macro analysis involves focusing on the influence of groups and organizations.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Structures and Processes

Difficulty Level: Easy

24. Sociologists who engage in pure science believe sociology should be studied to change society for the better.

Learning Objective: 1.4: Differentiate between sociology’s two possible purposes, science and social reform.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sociology’s Purpose: Science or Social Reform?

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. Sociologists should only engage in “pure science” research.

Learning Objective: 1.4: Differentiate between sociology’s two possible purposes, science and social reform.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sociology’s Purpose: Science or Social Reform?

Difficulty Level: Medium

26. As a political scientist, Mary is likely to focus on nation-states and how they interact globally.

Learning Objective: 1.5: Evaluate how sociology relates to other social sciences and how sociological knowledge differs from common sense.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sociology, the Other Social Sciences, and Common Sense

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. As an anthropologist, Ellen is most likely to focus on how nation-states relate to each other.

Learning Objective: 1.5: Evaluate how sociology relates to other social sciences and how sociological knowledge differs from common sense.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Sociology, the Other Social Sciences, and Common Sense

Difficulty Level: Medium

28. Sociology has a much broader focus than other disciplines in the social sciences.

Learning Objective: 1.5: Evaluate how sociology relates to other social sciences and how sociological knowledge differs from common sense.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sociology, the Other Social Sciences, and Common Sense

Difficulty Level: Easy

29. Sociology is considered part of the humanities.

Learning Objective: 1.5: Evaluate how sociology relates to other social sciences and how sociological knowledge differs from common sense.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sociology, the Other Social Sciences, and Common Sense

Difficulty Level: Easy

30. Basing facts on informal observations is an example of sociological knowledge.

Learning Objective: 1.5: Evaluate how sociology relates to other social sciences and how sociological knowledge differs from common sense.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Changing Nature of the Social World—and Sociology

Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. In the chapter text, George Ritzer defines globalization as an increased flow of people, products, and processes around the world. Consider the way globalization affects your experience of college education. Describe how one product or process has changed the experience of college education for you through the effects of globalization. Give concrete details describing why the product or process you describe is part of globalization.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Globalization

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. U.S. consumption greatly increased at the end of the 20th century, but since the recession, there are some indications that we may be entering a post-consumption age. Define a post-consumption society and explain the benefits and problems it might entail. Offer at least one specific example of something that would improve or decline because of lowered consumption.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis and application

Answer Location: Consumption

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Explain the concept of McDonaldization. Why is it called “McDonaldization”? What are the four characteristics that define this process? Describe concretely how each of the four characteristics has worked in fast food.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: McDonaldization

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Consider the issue of student debt in the current educational environment in the lens of the sociological imagination. How might you use the sociological imagination to understand different aspects of the increase in student loan debt in the 21st century? First, describe what it means to use a sociological imagination, then apply this to the student debt crisis.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Describe the differences and similarities between the two purposes of sociology: pure science and social reform. Do you believe that sociology should focus more on pure science or social reform? Explain your stance.

Learning Objective: 1.4: Differentiate between sociology’s two possible purposes, science and social reform.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sociology’s Purpose: Science or Social Reform?

Difficulty Level: Medium