Studying other societies is a good way to learn about our own way of life
True
Both Karl Marx and W.E.B. Du Bois carried out their work following the structural-functional approach.
False
The focus of the symbolic-interaction approach is how society is divided by class, race, and gender.
False
Societies around the world are more interconnected than ever before.
True
Gender blindness is the problem of failing to consider the importance of gender in sociological research.
True
Validity refers to actually measuring what you want to measure.
True
Sociologists focus only on unusual patterns of behavior.
False
Sociology is useful training for any job that involves working with people.
True
In the United States, men have a higher suicide rate than women.
True
The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that society reflected the basic goodness of human nature.
False
Market research is probably one of the most common uses of sociological research methods for nonacademic purposes.
True
A university decides to conduct a survey to learn if students like the lasagna and garlic bread in the cafeteria. It distributes questionnaires in three English classes and two sociology classes. This will produce a simple random sample of the student body.
False
Even if you pick your method carefully, you will still have to sacrifice some types of information in order to acquire others.
True
Marxists are among the strongest supporters of value-free sociology.
False
Ethnographic research projects can be designed to completely exclude outside interference.
False
Survey data is often less valid than that produced by other methods because respondents are not always honest when answering questionnaires.
True
The order in which a questionnaire asks about different issues cannot affect the way people
False
Some "facts" sociologists once believed to be unambiguously true are now treated as opinions, biases, or speculation.
True
Thomas Kuhn, a philosopher of science, argues that truth is relative, in that it is dependent on the paradigm through which one understands the world.
True
Polls and surveys do not just reflect popular opinion; they can also be used to shape and change attitudes and beliefs.
True
"Culture wars" is a term used to refer to the extreme clashes in values that occur when there are efforts to change core values in society.
True
Mainstream values can change, or fall out of favor.
True
Negative sanctions can only be imposed by an authoritative body or formal institution.
False
Gestures, language, values, norms, sanctions, folkways, and mores are all examples of symbolic culture.
True
Conflict about the values and norms of a society always comes from the margins of society.
False
Although languages differ considerably from one culture to another, the meanings of gestures are commonly understood in the same way by people throughout the world.
False
Cultural relativism and ethnocentrism are interchangeable terms for the same concept.
False
Values and norms are symbolic culture in action.
True
Sociologists claim that culture is the lens through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on around us.
True
Culture is the total way of life of a group of people.
True
According to the symbolic interactionist George Herbert Mead, a distinct sense of self is developed in play through a process of "role-taking," where young children learn the guidelines and expectations associated with a variety of roles.
True
Television is both a powerful and a covert agent of socialization.
True
Unlike expressions given, expressions given off cannot be manipulated.
False
Colleges are examples of total institutions.
False
Agents of socialization are mutually exclusive and do not overlap.
False
In the nature vs. nurture debate, both sides are partially right.
True
The individual's sense of self is largely created through social processes.
True
Most of the time, individuals can count on those around them to support the version of the self that they project.
True
Sociology has developed a single comprehensive theory about how the self develops.
False
Socialization generally ends by the beginning of adulthood.
False
Secondary groups cannot be geographically dispersed.
False
Sociologists have shown that even the likelihood that an individual will commit rape can be related to social influence.
True
Researchers who have replicated Solomon Asch's experiment in recent years have found almost exactly the same results.
True
A triad is more stable than a dyad.
True
Strong identification with and loyalty to the in-group often results in discrimination against members of the out-group.
True
According to Emile Durkheim, all of the social groups to which an individual is connected impose norms, which place limits on the individual's actions.
True
Our social networks consist of just our closest friends and family. Correct!
False
The statement "I am stardust, I am golden, I am billion-year-old carbon" would be an A-mode response on the Twenty Statements Test, in that the statement describes a person's physical appearance.
False
Proscriptions are norms about what we are supposed to do, whereas prescriptions are norms about what we are not supposed to do.
False
There are many members of social groups who are not influenced by peer pressure.
False
Throughout history, prison has been the most common means of punishment for criminals and deviants.
False
Deviance is always defined in the same way, regardless of the historical, cultural, or situational context in which it occurs.
False
According to labeling theory, deviance is defined as an act or attribute that is inherently wrong, bad, or abnormal.
False
As societies change and different groups gain access to power, the definitions of crime and deviance will remain the same.
False
Sociologists can say that deviance is relative because whether a behavior is considered deviant depends upon the historical, cultural, and/or situational context in which it occurs.
True
Men and women are about equally likely to commit crimes.
False
Sociologists argue that no behavior, not even one designed to kill a great number of people, is inherently deviant.
True
According to structural functionalist theory, some functions of deviance help clarify moral boundaries and affirm social norms
True
According to the sociologist Howard Becker, there are no inherently deviant acts, only societal reactions to acts that make them deviant.
True
According to sociologists, most people have never engaged in any acts of deviance.
False