SOC 101: PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY Instructor: Dr B.

Gaist Fall Semester 2011 Friday, 9th December 2011

MID-TERM EXAM
STUDENT NAME: _____________________________________ STUDENT NO.: _____________________________________

Please answer ALL questions

SECTION A: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS Please circle the correct answer (2 marks each) 1. Which of the following statements is true of sociology? a. Sociology has been used to study social interaction for over 700 years. b. Sociology is the scientific study of social interaction and organization. c. Sociology is the scientific study of public policy. d. Sociology is an abstract - as opposed to practical - study of society. 2. The sociological imagination is a. The ability to study society scientifically b. The small-scale study of social interaction c. The ability to see connections between our personal biography and the larger historical and cultural processes affecting the structure of society d. The study of large-scale social processes

SOC 101: PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY Instructor: Dr B. Gaist Fall Semester 2011 Friday, 9th December 2011

3. The 18th century positivist founder of sociology is a. Karl Marx b. Emile Durkheim c. Auguste Comte d. Harriet Martineau 4. Sociologists who argue that we act toward people, objects and events on the basis of the meanings we impart to them are a. Functionalists b. Conflict theorists c. Symbolic interactionists d. All of the above 5. Marx argued that a. Society is divided into those who own the means of production and those who do not. b. Society may be compared to a biological organism c. Society is composed of individuals who construct social reality in interaction with each other d. Society is based on a consensus of beliefs and values 6. The procedure which permits the researcher to test the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable is known as a. Hypothesis b. Data Collection c. Observation d. Experiment 7. Social rules which specify appropriate and inappropriate behaviour are knows as a. Laws b. Mores c. Folkways d. All of the above

SOC 101: PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY Instructor: Dr B. Gaist Fall Semester 2011 Friday, 9th December 2011

8. The tendency of cultures to form consistent and integrated wholes is known as a. Ethnocentrism b. Cultural Universals c. Cultural Integration d. Cultural Relativism 9. A social institution is a. A social structure which organizes, directs and executes an essential task of living b. The interweaving of peoples relationships in recurrent and stable patterns c. A group of people who participate in the main social culture but also share some unique characteristics and values d. A building or organization 10. Role strain occurs when a. Multiple roles are associated with a single social status b. A role involves a lot of pressure c. Expectations within a single role are incompatible d. Conflict occurs as a result of having two roles 11. The earliest form of organized social life involved a. Hunting and gathering in small groups of around 50 people b. Cultivating plants c. Use of the plow d. Machine technology 12. Socialization occurs through a. Nature b. Nurture c. Social interaction d. Parents

SOC 101: PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY Instructor: Dr B. Gaist Fall Semester 2011 Friday, 9th December 2011

13. Functionalists adopt a ___________ view of socialization a. Negative b. Positive c. Strong d. Weak 14. Psychologist Albert Bandura developed the theory that a. Socialization is the result of cognitive development b. Socialization occurs through reflexive behaviour c. People may learn through the process of imitating responses they observe in others d. All of the above 15. The looking glass self is a term coined by a. Erving Goffman b. Charles Wright Mills c. Charles Horton Cooley d. George Herbert Mead 16. According to G.H. Mead, children develop a full sense of selfhood when they have internalized the attitude of the larger community, a developmental stage known as a. Play b. Game c. Generalised Other d. None of the above 17. Self-conception is a. Our sense of self through time, the real me b. A temporary mental picture of ourselves c. A phenomenon which changes every time we meet someone d. Not a result of layers of self-images building up

SOC 101: PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY Instructor: Dr B. Gaist Fall Semester 2011 Friday, 9th December 2011

18. Bar Mizvahs and confirmation ceremonies are examples of a. Social norms b. Puberty rites c. Other religions d. None of the above 19. Socialization is a. As important in old age as in other stages of adult development b. Only really important in the early stages of life c. Important for children and adolescents d. Important in later life 20. The last stage of Piagets theory, when abstract reasoning is achieved, is known as the a. Sensorimotor stage b. Preoperational stage c. Concrete operational stage d. Formal Operations stage 21. The Thomas Theorem derives from a. Conflict theory b. Functionalism c. Positivism d. Symbolic interactionism 22. The reference group is a. A social group which acts as a model for us, but to which we may or may not belong b. A group with which we identify and to which we belong c. A group with which we do not identify and to which we do not belong d. A group to which we are assigned for a specific purpose

SOC 101: PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY Instructor: Dr B. Gaist Fall Semester 2011 Friday, 9th December 2011

23. Social loafing may occur because a. A standard is provided by which group performance is measured b. A conflict between personal and collective interests arises c. Group members become overconfident d. Group members do not feel they are receiving their fair share of credit 24. When a leader is democratic, he/she a. Allows group members to help make decisions b. Gives directions c. Helps only when requested d. All of the above 25. Bureaucracy was studied very carefully by a. Karl Marx b. Herbert Spencer c. W.E.B. DuBois d. Max Weber 26. The iron law of oligarchy states that a. Whoever says organization, says oligarchy b. Oligarchy is a problem in bureaucracy c. Oligarchy is the concentration of power in the hands of a few individuals d. Organizations function best when they are run by a powerful few 27. When interpersonal networks and ties arise in a formal organization, but they are not prescribed by it, this is called a. Informal Organization b. Clique c. Organized Crime d. Primary Group

SOC 101: PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY Instructor: Dr B. Gaist Fall Semester 2011 Friday, 9th December 2011

28. When a behaviour is viewed as being reprehensible and beyond the limits of tolerance by a considerable number of people, it is known as a. Crime b. Deviance c. Anomie d. Recidivism 29. The concept of anomie was introduced by a. Robert K. Merton b. Max Weber c. Emile Durkheim d. Edwin H. Sutherland 30. According to structural strain theory, when people accept a cultural goal and the institutionalized means to achieve it are available, this results in a. Conformity b. Innovation c. Ritualism d. Retreatism SECTION B: TRUE OR FALSE Please state whether a statement is true (T) or false (F) by writing T or F next to it (2 marks each) 1. Marx focused on class conflict. _________

2. Durkheim defined social facts as being external to our biological or mental characteristics. _________ 3. The detailed study of what people do and say in everyday circumstances is known as macrosociology. _________ 4. Social statics are those aspects of social life that have to do with order and stability. _________

SOC 101: PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY Instructor: Dr B. Gaist Fall Semester 2011 Friday, 9th December 2011

5. Social Darwinism is not the same as the application of evolutionary notions and the concept of the survival of the fittest to society. _________ 6. Symbols may include acts like gestures and language, or objects like clothes or jewellery. _________ 7. Biology changes faster than culture does._________ 8. The status which carries primary weight in our own and other peoples minds is known as a master status. _________ 9. Symbolic interactionism suggests that images from television must be defined and interpreted before they can influence behaviour. _________ 10. Erving Goffman suggested that we use concealment and strategic revelation to present a favourable picture of ourselves to others. _________ SECTION C: BRIEF ESSAY QUESTIONS (10 marks each) 1. Briefly outline the difference between (a) ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, and (b) subculture and counterculture, giving examples of each from your own experience or reading. 2. Briefly explain each of the following, giving examples wherever possible: (a) experiments, (b) surveys, (c) observation, (d) archival research, and (e) feminist research methods