Test Bank Docx Social Structure Ch.4

Experience Sociology, 4e (Croteau)

Chapter 4 Social Structure

1) Which best describes a social structure?

A) a recurring pattern of behavior

B) the scaffolding that supports a building

C) a strict hierarchy of power

D) a system of social stratification

2) Maria decides she will become a firefighter despite the fact that no woman in her town has ever been a firefighter. She encounters resistance from family, friends, and even the local fire chief when she tells them of her career plans. However, she takes the admissions test and is accepted into the firefighter training program. By going against what is expected, Maria's behavior illustrates which sociological concept?

A) convention

B) action

C) compliance

D) status

3) How would a sociologist define "action"?

A) going along with social norms despite desires

B) choosing to become a member of an institution

C) operating outside of social constraints

D) acting in accordance with expected social routines

4) How are action and social structure related?

A) Action is when individuals live within the mandates of social structure.

B) Action is when individuals act in ways that are not expected or even conflict with their structural position.

C) Action is when someone does what is expected of them given their structural position.

D) Action only occurs when an individual in a powerful position exhibits his or her power.

5) Which of following is an example of a student exhibiting action?

A) A student follows the teacher's instructions.

B) A student helps a teacher pass out papers.

C) A student fails a test because he did not understand the material.

D) A student calls a teacher by her first name and refuses to use the title of "Ms."

6) Why would workers fighting a plant closing be an example of action?

A) The workers would be picketing and that is an activity.

B) Workers are acting outside of their structural positions as employees by fighting their superiors.

C) Workers' desire for jobs is evidence that they are active in the economy.

D) Action simply means that the workers want to be productive.

7) How does a social institution relate to the concept of social structure?

A) A hospital is a social institution, whereas the interaction between two people is a social structure.

B) Social institutions are established patterns of behavior, whereas social structures are about random behaviors.

C) Social institutions are a type of social structure that governs major areas of social life.

D) Social structures are overarching social institutions.

8) Why did some describe the social structure of New Orleans right after Hurricane Katrina as "collapsing"?

A) Many buildings and homes were destroyed by the storm.

B) Daily routines and patterns of behavior broke down in the days following Katrina.

C) Many longtime residents refused to return.

D) Social gathering places like cafes were destroyed by the storm.

9) All of the following are examples of a social institution EXCEPT for

A) families.

B) schools.

C) businesses.

D) governments.

10) What does it mean to say that social structures are enduring?

A) People like social structures.

B) Social structures are persistent patterns of behavior.

C) It is difficult to knock down a social structure; they are quite sturdy.

D) Social structures tend to disappear as quickly as they are invented.

11) Why are gender expectations an example of social structure?

A) Gender expectations guide how men and women behave.

B) Gender expectations are rigid rules that mandate behavior.

C) Structures are about informal patterns, and gender only influences us in our social lives.

D) There is a strict power differential between men and women.

12) Social structures change through

A) an individual's action.

B) the cumulative actions of many individuals.

C) referendums and political activity only.

D) slow evolution only.

13) An increase in the number of which of the following would indicate that the role of women in our society has evolved?

A) grocery stores

B) beauty salons

C) childcare centers

D) public parks

14) How have gender expectations evolved over the last few decades?

A) Women are more likely to work outside the home today.

B) Men play a less active role in children's lives today.

C) Men are more likely to be the sole breadwinner of a family.

D) Women are less likely than men to be involved in their children's lives.

15) Positions in social systems that individuals can occupy are social

A) roles.

B) structures.

C) expectations.

D) statuses.

16) How are a police officer and a soldier similar?

A) Both are social statuses.

B) Both are roles, jobs, and social statuses.

C) Both are roles.

D) Both are only jobs, not social statuses.

17) Which of the following would be an example of a social status?

A) the economy of a given country

B) one school within a larger school system

C) parents' need to care for their children

D) a freshman student

18) A young boy is born into an Indian-American family in an urban area, and his parents save so that he can attend a top college. At the end of college, the young man decides to pursue his master's in business administration and also takes a job as a marketing consultant. Which of the following is the best an example of an achieved status?

A) marketing consultant

B) Indian-American

C) son

D) male

19) Originally, Juan went to medical school to become a surgeon. After doing rotations in various departments during his residency, Juan decided that he would rather specialize in pediatrics because he really enjoyed working with children. Which of the following is an example of ascribed status in Juan's life?

A) physician

B) male

C) surgeon

D) pediatrician

20) Edgar is an accountant who works from home so that he can care for his infant daughter. His employer expects him to call the office every morning for the department briefing, and then Edgar spends the rest of his day doing accounting, contacting clients via e-mail, and filing paperwork electronically. Which of the following is a role for Edgar?

A) being a dad

B) calling in for the morning briefing

C) being an employee

D) being an accountant

21) What are social roles?

A) the parts that actors play

B) the positions that individuals occupy in the social structure

C) the sets of expected behaviors associated with particular statuses

D) all of the dos and don'ts of social life

22) Which of the following would be an example of a role?

A) a member of the royal family

B) an airline pilot

C) the expectation that parents should take care of their children

D) the economy

23) How do social statuses and roles compare to one another?

A) Social statuses are the positions individuals hold in society; social roles are the expectations that go along with those positions.

B) Social roles are the positions individuals hold in society; social statuses are the expectations that go along with those positions.

C) They are basically the same thing; both refer to the expectations we hold of people within society.

D) They are basically the same thing; both refer to the positions individuals hold within society.

24) What best describes social roles?

A) They rigidly dictate social behavior.

B) They give us guidelines about how to act in our social worlds.

C) They limit individuals' creativity.

D) They give us the freedom to explore different personas.

25) Which of the following accurately describes how social interactions occur within a society?

A) Over time, patterns form in the ways in which people interact with one another.

B) Social interaction rarely follows set patterns, because individuals are so different.

C) Routine social interactions only occur when they are highly formalized through written rules and laws.

D) Individuals must be constantly reminded how to interact with others; interactions never become routine.

26) Which of the following was NOT identified as an example of ways in which parent roles were different fifty years ago?

A) Many mothers did not work outside of the home.

B) Two-parent families were the norm.

C) Two-career families were common.

D) Caretaking was not outsourced to day care centers or relatives.

27) Ethnomethodology examines how people

A) approach racist stereotypes.

B) seek out professional guidance.

C) engage in collective action.

D) make sense of their social worlds.

28) In which of the following scenarios would a sociologist conducting a breaching experiment be most likely to participate?

A) teaching a class by following the same routines and course schedule

B) observing children playing dodge ball during recess and noting how they learn the rules

C) going to a fast-food restaurant and asking the counter person what he would like to eat

D) spending time in a different culture and examining what cultural differences exist

29) Sociologists may conduct conversational analysis to understand

A) the evolution of accents and word usage.

B) the diction of both speakers.

C) how politicians construct campaign speeches.

D) the underlying structure of conversations.

30) For sociologist Georg Simmel, ________ interactions are the building blocks that shape a society.

A) meso-level

B) micro-level

C) macro-level

D) society-level

31) How do daily routines relate to the idea of social structure?

A) Daily routines are how we escape the monotony of social structure.

B) Daily routines illustrate how patterned and predictable our social world can be.

C) Daily routines are the way that individuals display their creativity and ingenuity.

D) Social structures deal more with important interactions among individuals than daily routines.

32) In a conversational analysis, a sociologist would be interested in studying all of the following EXCEPT for

A) how two people go back and forth in their conversation.

B) the level of intimacy used between the two participants.

C) how people switch interactive styles depending on whom they are speaking to.

D) who is ultimately right in the opinions argued over.

33) Ethnomethodologists are interested in how individuals collectively create

A) common values.

B) social structure.

C) competition.

D) power struggles.

34) How can both an organization and a conversation be social structures?

A) Both rely on routines and recurring patterns of behavior to function smoothly.

B) Each has hard and fast rules that govern how they unfold.

C) Each is very informal and relies on the creativity of the participants to function smoothly.

D) Both always rely on formalized written rules.

35) Analyzing social structures by focusing on the patterns and regularities that emerge from routine activities is on which of the following levels?

A) micro-level

B) macro-level

C) meso-level

D) society-level

36) The goal of a breaching experiment is to

A) change social norms by breaking well-known social rules.

B) adhere to social rules in order to better understand social change.

C) adhere to formal rules in order to test informal boundaries.

D) break social rules in order to better understand social routines.

37) Conversational analysis examines what level of our social world?

A) micro

B) meso

C) macro

D) societal

38) A sociologist decides to study how students go about their daily routines and how they learn what they are supposed to do. For example, how do students know to go to class when the bell rings and why do students call teachers by their last names? A sociologist from which of the following backgrounds would be interested in this study?

A) a functionalist

B) an ethnomethodologist

C) a conversational analyst

D) a gender scholar

39) A young man walks into a grocery store and puts some food in his shopping cart. He then puts a blanket on the floor near the cashiers and proceeds to eat the food from his cart rather than pay for it. Customers and employees are shocked and are not sure what to do. The young man seems to be gauging all of their responses and then runs out of the store before the manager approaches him. What type of experiment could the young man be conducting?

A) conversational

B) breaching

C) functional

D) conventional

40) A sociologist observes two students discussing their lessons and homework. The sociologist notes how the students interact and the conventions they draw on to have a smooth, back-and-forth exchange in their conversation. What type of analysis is the sociologist conducting?

A) meso

B) structural

C) conversational

D) ethnomethodological

41) All of the following are considered to be examples of conventions regarding how students are expected to behave during a high school class EXCEPT for

A) raising their hand before speaking during class.

B) using "Ms." or "Mr." to address their teachers.

C) texting friends during class about weekend plans.

D) waiting for the bell to ring before leaving class.

42) A student enters his English class and greets his teacher by saying, "Good morning, Mrs. Smith" and the teacher returns the greeting by saying, "Good morning to you, Erik." This type of exchange happens over and over again as students file into the classroom. This exchange represents which type of practice?

A) macro-level interaction

B) convention

C) norm violation

D) breaching experiment

43) At a summer barbecue, Peg approaches Ravi to discuss what they have been doing this summer. While they are talking, Mike interrupts their discussion, does not say hello to either one, and begins to talk about hot-button political issues. Afterward, Peg and Ravi discuss how rude Mike was. Which of the following did Mike fail to observe?

A) conversational analysis

B) social conventions

C) action

D) status

44) If you were interested in solidifying the social structure of a small business, which of the following would you be most likely to do?

A) Toss out the employee manuals and allow employees to do what was best for them.

B) Create many rules, procedures, and routines that mandate how employees can interact with one another.

C) Develop an employee of the month award to recognize the best innovative idea an employee creates.

D) Fire all the employees and only rehire those who would be interested in working in a laid-back work environment.

45) What level of society is a sociologist studying if he is examining the structure and routines of an organization like a school or business?

A) micro

B) macro

C) meso

D) societal

46) Which of the following would be an example of an informal element of an organizational structure like a business?

A) rules outlining employee conduct in the company handbook

B) federal laws that impact how the business can function

C) traditions that influence how those within the organization address one another

D) job descriptions

47) Which of the following is an example of a meso-level structure?

A) an organization such as a business

B) two people talking to one another

C) the economy of a given country

D) the American political system

48) How does social structure exist at the meso level?

A) Organizations are made up of individuals who have their own daily routines.

B) Organizations have organizational structure charts so that everyone knows who is in power.

C) Organizations have daily routines and patterns that shape their daily activities.

D) Organizations are housed in buildings, which have physical structures to them.

49) In her look at space shuttle tragedies, sociologist Diane Vaughan found that

A) detailed knowledge of the risks did not make their way to those responsible for authorizing the launch.

B) everyone at NASA had open lines of communication with all others at NASA.

C) no one was aware of the potential risks of the space shuttle missions she studied.

D) all NASA employees and departments were aware of the potential risks.

50) The routines that shape the daily activity of an organization constitute its

A) structure.

B) by-laws.

C) goals.

D) power.

51) The Carson & Co. trading firm is a very busy place. At 9 a.m. every day, trading begins when the national stock market opens. There are also strict rules, both governmental laws and firm rules, about how and when trading of stock can take place. On Fridays, the routine is a bit different and all employees eat lunch together in the break room along with the managers, a tradition started by the founder of the company years ago. Which of the following is an example of the informal structure of the firm?

A) governmental laws regarding trading

B) 9 a.m. start time

C) the employee handbook

D) everyone eating lunch together on Fridays

52) An employee has some important information about a company's web security. The employee has identified some security breaches that would allow a hacker to access customers' personal information. However, the employee's manager decided the issue was not important and the employee has no way of contacting the president of the company. Two weeks later, the website is hacked. The lack of communication between employee and president illustrates which of the following?

A) social integration

B) limited communication

C) social structure

D) conversational analysis

53) Which of the following would be an example of information loss at a restaurant?

A) The chef realizes that the restaurant is out of the night's special but has no way to let the wait staff know before they take customers' orders.

B) A waiter is fired for refusing to abide by the dress code.

C) The manager and the hostess argue about what the décor should look like.

D) A waitress leaves to work at another restaurant because she heard the management is nicer.

54) The idea that if part of society changes, other parts will adjust accordingly illustrates what theory?

A) social integration

B) social structure

C) equilibrium

D) social conflict

55) Which of the following would NOT illustrate social integration?

A) A social group falls apart because of disagreement over goals.

B) Community members feel a bond with others because of shared values.

C) The daily routines of a group facilitate group members getting along.

D) By sharing the same set of values and routines, a group becomes cohesive.

56) Which of the following is NOT an assumption of the functionalist perspective?

A) Structures within society meet the needs of society.

B) Change in one part of society necessitates change in another part.

C) Society is composed of interdependent social institutions.

D) Society is held together by the domination of the poor by the rich.

57) Social integration is the idea that

A) only new members of a society need to learn societal rules.

B) society is held together through shared values and social structures.

C) groups within society are always in conflict.

D) individuals engage in collective action to counter prevailing norms.

58) Which of the following concepts can shed light on why those who perpetuate school violence often escape the notice of school officials until they commit their deadly acts?

A) power

B) social organization

C) equilibrium

D) organizational structure

59) Why would functionalists care about the functions the education system fulfills in society?

A) A society's school system represents its religious morals.

B) The functions of schools aid in social stability.

C) Schools are where students learn about sociology and functionalism.

D) Schools are unique because their function within societies never changes.

60) Sociologists often draw on which perspective when focusing on how institutions are interrelated?

A) functionalist

B) conflict

C) feminist

D) symbolic interaction

61) Which of the following is an example of a macro-level structure?

A) an informal group of peers

B) a principal talking to one of her students

C) the American educational system

D) a large university

62) In which of the followings aspects of group life would Talcott Parsons be most interested?

A) the group's dietary habits

B) how a group is held together through social integration

C) the buying habits of a particular group

D) the history of a group

63) Which of the following is NOT a social function of work?

A) Jobs allow individuals to earn money.

B) Jobs reinforce societal values like self-discipline.

C) Jobs encourage people to get along with others.

D) Jobs give people a sense of responsibility.

64) Which of the following concepts is at the center of functional analysis?

A) organizational structure

B) equilibrium

C) social structure

D) power

65) The economy increasingly requires workers to have computer skills and know multiple languages because of increased technology in the workplace and the globalization of the economy. The education system, however, does not adapt but instead continues to prioritize the classics, does not integrate foreign language into its curriculum, and does not offer computer literacy courses. The education system is challenging what functional concept?

A) social structure

B) equilibrium

C) social integration

D) achieved status

66) Iana just bought her parents' restaurant because they wanted to retire. She wants to make some big changes to the restaurant, including making all the employees feel like part of a big family. In other words, she wants to increase the social integration of the group. What would NOT be a good way for her to accomplish this, according to a sociologist interested in social integration?

A) create clear work routines so new workers can become quickly integrated

B) stress common values and goals so people will feel a common sense of purpose

C) raise the job criteria tremendously and fire anyone who cannot perform at the new level

D) have weekly meetings so workers feel that they are contributing to the new direction of the restaurant

67) Ileana, a young sociologist, decides to conduct a study of the American educational system and how it relates to the economy and the political system. She spends a lot of time thinking about how these institutions fit together and complement one another, including how each contributes to society. From which sociological tradition does Ileana come?

A) symbolic interaction

B) functionalist

C) conflict

D) feminist

68) Which of the following does NOT represent how globalization has impacted the world of work?

A) Manufacturing in the United States is declining.

B) High-paying jobs have been exported to countries where labor costs are lower.

C) Jobs in the United States now require most workers to travel globally and know multiple languages.

D) Workers in the United States are less likely to find stable, long-term, well-paying employment.

69) Which of the following was NOT identified as a consequence of job migration overseas?

A) Millions of manufacturing jobs were lost.

B) Retail sales and food and beverage positions in the U.S. increased.

C) The loss of employment impacted entire communities.

D) Low-wage salaries led to an increase in two-income families.

70) Julianne dislikes going to Sunday dinner at her aunt's house because her aunt lives an hour away, her little cousins like to run around during dinner time, her aunt cooks food that she does not care for, and she has to leave work early on Sundays, so she loses an hour of pay. Julianne's family has been going to these family dinners since she was a little girl and she continues to go. Which type of action, according to Weber, is Julianne demonstrating?

A) affective

B) rational

C) competitive

D) traditional

71) How do affective and traditional forms of action compare to one another?

A) Affective action is motivated by efficiency, whereas traditional action is motivated by emotion.

B) Affective action is motivated by emotion, whereas traditional action is motivated by custom.

C) Affective action is motivated by custom, whereas traditional action is motivated by emotion.

D) Affective action is motivated by emotion, whereas traditional action is motivated by rationality.

72) Which of the following actions is motivated by custom, such as the way you celebrate a birthday?

A) effective

B) affective

C) traditional

D) rational

73) Which of the following would illustrate rational action?

A) a young woman jumping up and down on the soccer field after scoring the winning goal

B) a family going to church every holiday season as part of their family tradition

C) a student deciding whether or not to attend college by analyzing the related costs and benefits

D) a student starting to cry after finding out he flunked an exam

74) What would Max Weber think about McDonaldization?

A) He would be surprised, since he thought society would become increasingly more emotional and spiritual.

B) He would think that increased efficiency in all aspects of life would lead to moral downfall.

C) It would probably not surprise him, since he thought the complexities of modern life would increasingly lead to an increase in rationality and efficiency.

D) He would feel that McDonaldization would impede modern life because McDonald's restaurants are not efficiently managed.

75) The idea that a man calculates whether or not getting married would be beneficial in terms of his finances illustrates which dimension of McDonaldization?

A) efficiency

B) calculability

C) predictability

D) control

76) Why would sociologists be interested in McDonaldization?

A) It illustrates the "downfall" of the nuclear family.

B) It illustrates the return to old-fashioned ideals and values.

C) It shows how individual workers can fight against corporate powers.

D) It shows how individual behavior is shaped by changes in broader structural patterns.

77) How does McDonaldization illustrate structural change?

A) McDonald's is a business organization that has changed its menus to suit the times.

B) People are constantly moving in and out of the top positions within the corporation.

C) McDonaldization has altered how individuals interact with one another.

D) McDonald's has led change in the types of food and nutrition Americans consume.

78) How does mobile phone usage in the United States compare to usage in Africa?

A) There are more landlines in Africa because of limited resources.

B) There are more mobile phones in the United States because of higher incomes.

C) In Africa there are few landlines; most people use mobile phones.

D) Mobile phone usage is growing faster in the United States.

79) Which of the following best reflects the changing structure of work in the United States?

A) an increase in low-paying industrial jobs

B) a strengthening of unions

C) a decline in the availability of industrial jobs

D) higher paying and more skilled manufacturing jobs

80) Which of the following would illustrate mobile phone users displaying action?

A) They strictly adhere to the norms of phone etiquette.

B) They use their mobile phones in a way that the phone company suggests.

C) They follow their employer's policies, such as no mobile phone calls while at work.

D) They develop new uses for mobile phones, like tracking crops or conveying health-related information.

81) According to research by sociologist Eric Klinenberg, "singletons," including young urbanites and older women,

A) are likely to be socially isolated.

B) tend to lack supportive friendship networks.

C) have strong social connections with family and neighbors.

D) face threats to their health due to a lack of social solidarity.

82) The way people interact with friends has changed. As compared to the 2000s, people in the 1970s were more likely to

A) socialize with friends.

B) get together in one another's homes.

C) meet out in a restaurant or bar.

D) socialize in a shared community, school, or work-based activity.

83) According to a national survey of U.S. teenagers, what is the most common way that teens today "spend time" with their friends?

A) text messaging

B) talking on the phone

C) hanging out in one another's house

D) connecting through social media

84) Census data has revealed that individuals are now more likely to

A) socialize less.

B) life with family or friends.

C) live alone.

D) have fewer friends.

85) Which of the following statements about social connections today is most accurate?

A) There is good cause for concern that technology will create social isolation.

B) People today are less socially connected than in past generations.

C) The structure of friendship—how we connect and with whom—is changing.

D) The nature of friendship is the same as in the past, but technology creates more social disconnection.

86) Individuals are fully determined by social life; they are not capable of independent action.

87) Social structure is invisible.

88) Both a friendship and a political system are examples of social structure.

89) Social structures never change; they are constant fixtures of a society.

90) Achieved statuses are those that individuals work toward, whereas ascribed statuses are those that are assigned to someone.

91) Race is an example of an ascribed status.

92) Conversation analysis examines social interaction at the macro level.

93) Like individuals, organizations can have their own daily routines and rhythms.

94) The balance among various structures that maintain social stability is referred to as equilibrium.

95) Social integration is when group members argue over the values and goals of the group.

96) Globalization has changed the structure of work, and it has always had a positive impact on Americans.

97) As society functions and maintains social stability, individuals are never harmed.

98) Rational action is motivated by emotions.

99) Due to high costs, cell phone usage is on the decline in most parts of the world.

100) The most common way that teens today "spend time" with their friends is by talking on the phone.