Verified Test Bank Ch11 Exchange Theory

Test Bank

Chapter 11: Exchange Theory

Multiple Choice

1. George Homans’s approach to exchange theory fused ______ and ______.

a. structural functionalism and behaviorialism

b. behavioral psychology and economics

c. symbolic interactionism and behaviorialism

d. behavioral psychology and economics

2. The unavoidable punishments that can accompany a positive and desired reward are called _____.

a. losses

b. exchanges

c. costs

d. dysfunctions

3. Homans sought to explain elementary social behavior, which he defined as ______.

a. interaction in which all involved get immediate rewards or punishments from others

b. human beings acting toward things on the basis of shared meanings

c. interactions focused on long-term rewards

d. a reciprocal relationship between an interdependent self and society

4. The more often an action is followed by a reward, the more likely a person will repeat the behavior is referred to as ______.

a. the value proposition

b. the stimulus proposition

c. the success proposition

d. the deprivation-satiation proposition

5. When all participants in an exchange perceive they are paying an appropriate cost given the reward, they are experiencing ______.

a. behavioral propositions

b. elementary social behavior

c. neoclassic economics

d. distributive justice

6. According to the authors, Homans’s basic theoretical orientation falls into which quadrant?

a. individual and rational

b. individual and nonrational

c. collective and rational

d. collective and nonrational

7. Which of the following is defined as the exchange of goods reinforced by the values that actors attach to potential rewards and costs?

a. economics

b. psychology

c. interaction

d. justice

8. What does Homans argue is most important to study about behavior?

a. How behaviors are learned

b. Changes in how frequently people do a learned behavior

c. Why values are associated with some behaviors but not others

d. The relationship between behaviors and motivations

9. Extrapolating from Homans’s theory of Social Behavior as Exchange, what is the relationship between group cohesion and conformity?

a. as cohesion decreases, conformity decreases

b. as cohesion decreases, conformity increases

c. as cohesion increases, conformity decreases

d. as cohesion increases, conformity increases

10. Which scholar most influenced Blau’s work on interaction?

a. Karl Marx

b. Émile Durkheim

c. Max Weber

d. Georg Simmel

11. Blau’s emphasis on ______ distinguished his theorizing from Homans’s.

a. behavioral sociology

b. reciprocal exchange of rewards

c. power and inequality

d. redistributive justice

12. For Blau, the concept of power was based on ______.

a. an unequal exchange due to control over a desired resource

b. an ability to exercise one’s will economically

c. a discrepancy in costs and rewards

d. the ability to carry out one’s will despite resistance

13. According to Blau, what is the main motivation that shapes social relations?

a. The desire to gain more power

b. The desire to receive social approval from others

c. The determination to maximize profits

d. The determination to be attractive to others

14. Max Weber and Talcott Parsons influenced Blau’s analysis of how ______.

a. interaction shapes ambitions

b. power and norms affect social processes

c. interactions lead to the pursuit of extrinsic goals

d. imbalanced exchanges shape interactions

15. James S. Coleman heavily drew on which theory from economics?

a. game theory

b. conflict theory

c. rational choice theory

d. exchange theory

16. According to the authors, Blau’s basic theoretical orientation is ______.

a. individual and rational

b. individual and nonrational

c. collective and rational

d. collective and nonrational

17. Blau defines intrinsic rewards as those that ______.

a. we value for their own sake

b. create the opportunity to gain advantages

c. assign meaning to our interactions

d. emerge from zero-sum games

18. Someone who dates a wealthy but otherwise miserable-to-be-around person might be assumed to be pursuing ______.

a. intrinsic rewards

b. extrinsic rewards

c. social attraction

d. distributive justice

19. Which of the following represents the subtle difference between rational choice theory and exchange theory?

a. Only rational choice theory views the actor as rational.

b. Rational choice theory situates strategic decisions within group dynamics.

c. Only exchange theory views the actor as a purposeful agent.

d. Exchange theory rarely situates decision making within reward matrices.

20. Which term do we use to refer to the instances where the same individuals are both the beneficiaries and the targets of the norm?

a. proscriptive

b. disjoint

c. prescriptive

d. conjoint

21. According to Coleman, ______ refers to resources that allow people to realize their interests.

a. normative capital

b. human capital

c. social capital

d. cultural capital

22. Coleman defines ______ as a socially defined and informal right to control others’ actions.

a. trust

b. conformity

c. social capital

d. norms

23. According to Coleman, which family arrangement would predict the best chances of graduating from high school?

a. Two parents and four children

b. One parent and two children

c. Two parents and two children

d. One parent and one child

24. Extrapolating on Coleman’s argument, a free rider’s decision-making process falls into which quadrant in the authors’ metatheoretical framework?

a. individual and rational

b. individual and irrational

c. collective and rational

d. collective and irrational

25. According to Coleman, which of the following is a benefit of strong social capital?

a. lowered human capital

b. closed networks

c. potential for information

d. informal sanctions

True/False

26. Homans relied heavily on behavioral psychology for evidence for his theories.

27. One’s sense of distributive justice arises from expectations of future exchanges.

28. Homans believed social systems exist as sui generis social facts independent of individuals.

29. Maximizing rewards and minimizing costs is an example of a rational action.

30. One limitation of Homans’s theory is that he does not explain how people develop values.

31. Homans’s theory of social behavior as exchange directly challenges conflict theory.

32. According to Homans, if a person has a high salary, they should have high responsibility.

33. Homans is highly critical of economics.

34. Blau was interested in connecting everyday interactions to the structural level of society.

35. Blau shared Simmel’s interest in uncovering the basic forms of interaction.

36. Blau argues that social interactions are governed by consistent rational thought.

37. Blau theorizes that social exchange leads to social attraction.

38. Blau argues that reciprocity requires a balance of power.

39. Power can be perceived as legitimate or illegitimate.

40. The Coleman Report argued that race and social class shape academic performance.

41. Coleman argues that fewer free riders will emerge in an open social network.

42. Social capital exists among actors and at the level of the social system.

43. According to Coleman, norms govern all actions and interactions.

44. The free rider problem refers to the individual’s decision to stop participating in a group and thus to stop receiving the benefits.

45. Homans studied sociology his whole academic career.

46. According to Blau, people find all rewards to be equally salient.

47. Blau argues that even altruistic actions are motivated by a desire for others’ approval.

48. “Disjoint” refers to a situation where the beneficiary of the norm is different from the target of the norm.

49. Coleman argues that at times, the costs of compliance are lower than the costs of deviance, even for people who are treated unequally.

50. Blau contends that egoism often motivates people to do altruistic things.

Essay

51. Discuss how B. F. Skinner’s work influenced Homans.

52. Explain Homans’s assumptions regarding elementary social behavior.

53. Choose one of Homans’s behaviorist propositions and use a concrete example to illustrate it.

54. Define “distributive justice” and use a real-world example to support your definition.

55. Explain how Simmel’s distinction between the content and forms of interaction helped shape major points in Blau’s work.

56. Discuss Blau’s conception of power and how it links to the work of Max Weber.

57. Drawing on Blau’s arguments in Exchange and Power in Social Life, explain how social attraction informs interactions and exchanges.

58. Drawing on Blau’s arguments in Exchange and Power in Social Life, explain how achieving equilibrium often entails balance in some areas of society but imbalance in others.

59. Define rational choice theory and explain the similarities and differences it shares with exchange theory.

60. Define prescriptive and proscriptive norms, providing concrete examples for both.

61. Following Coleman’s theory, explain the role that trust and norms play within rational choice theory.

62. Summarize the free rider problem in your own words, and explain two steps that could be taken to minimize the risk of free riders.

63. According to Coleman, what is social capital, and what are the benefits of having social capital?

64. Contrast rational choice theory’s view on norms with those of the structural functionalists.

65. According to Coleman, how do social capital and human capital become manifest in families, and what are the outcomes?