SOC 185 EXAM NEWEST 2024 ACTUAL EXAM
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH
RATIONALES (VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY GRADED
A+
Sociology
systematic and scientific study of human society, social structure/institutions/interactions
> social structure and change = social processes and interactions
> building blocks = interactions and behaviors of individuals
Sociological Problems
1. social order
2. social change
3. indviduals and society
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
the phenomenon whereby a person's or a group's expectation for the behavior of
another person or group serves actually to bring about the prophesied or expected
behavior
> prediction that comes true at least in part as a result of a person's belief or
expectation that said prediction would come true
Face-Saving Behavior
Erving Goffman's term for the strategies we use to rescue our performance when we
experience a potential or actual loss of face
Social Imagination: C. Wright Mills
ability to see one's society in the context of history and culture/understand their roles in
shaping the individuals
> one cannot separate history from culture or society
Social Imagination: Peter Berger
,1. view the general in the particular; discovering each new layer changes perception of
the whole
2. view the strange in the familiar; detach self from the "familiar" interpretation of human
behavior and accept "strange" notions that behavior is a production of social forces
Social Imagination: Overall
individuals bear responsibility of their own behavior, but it can impact families to political
structures
Social Imagination: Helps
avoid applying simple answers to complex issues; encourage critical thinking to see
broader picture
Theory
a set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to describe, explain, and
(occasionally) predict social events.
> provides a framework in which observations may be logically ordered (= overall
perspective)
Sociology as Social Science
> observer and observed
> unique perspective/insight
> world = laboratory
> studies = matter of interference as humans as the actors (can infer causality, but
event needs to occur)
> ensures maximum objectivity/consistency in researching problems
Sociology as Social Science: Method
1. problem (stated to be researched)
2. background (review relevant-previous research to see what has been said)
3. testable hypothesis (unverified relationship among variables)
4. research design (methodology; collection/analyzation of data)
5. data collection (laying out data)
6. conclusion (report findings and offer suggestions for additional search)
Method: Additional Terms
,> empirical data = information verified through senses and subject to observation,
measurement, and replication
> variables = conditions are subject to change in response to other variables
(independent vs dependent)
General Designs
> surveys (questioners based on a scale or range)
> existing sources (secondary analysis)
> participant observation (ethnography or field search)
Limited Experimental Design
variables too unpredictable since society/culture is not fixed
Sociological Theories
maintain research focus and develop analytical framework needed in order to draw
conclusions from data
Sociological Theories: Structural Functional Theory
view society as system of interrelated parts to maintain system as a whole (must
contribute as a whole or won't move on); emphasize moving through states of
equilibrium (focus on widespread consensus/stability)
> social solidarity/stability = variables that bind societies together
Manifest vs Latent Functions: Robert K. Merton
intended and/or overtly recognized by the participants in a social unit
vs
unintended functions that are hidden and remain unacknowledged by participants
Sociological Theories: Social Conflict Theory
[macro] agree with system of interrelated parts (structural functional theory), but argue
we can understand social relationships through problems and tension; variables of
competition/inequality shape/maintain society
> view society as dynamic process generating social change = competition/inequality
Sociological Theories: Symbolic Interaction Theory
, [micro] generalize interactions as humans live in a world of meaningful objects (actions,
relationships, symbols); examine member's ways of developing and sharing meaning of
symbols
Study of Suicide: Emile Durkheim
"The bond attaching [people] to life slackens because the bond which attaches [them] to
society is itself slack." = societal strains
> intensified job anxiety, higher expectations, and more pressure for individual
achievement
> Social bonds have been weakened or dissolved as people move away from their
families and their community
> newer technologies = contributed to the breakdown of traditional family units as
communication has become more impersonal and fragmented.
Anomie
a condition in which social control becomes ineffective as a result of the loss of shared
values and purpose in society
> Durkheim = most likely to occur during a period of rapid social change
Industrialization vs Urbanization
process by which societies go from depending on agriculture/handmade products to
manufacturing and related industries (Industrial Revolution in Britain between 1760 and
1850 and soon throughout Western Europe)
vs
process by which an increasing proportion of a population lives in cities rather than in
rural areas; influenced from development factories/factory systems (more producers
than consumers)
Karl Marx
German economist and philosopher who believed that society should not just be studied
but should also be changed (status quo = the oppression of the population by a small
group of wealthy people)
Class Conflict
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH
RATIONALES (VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY GRADED
A+
Sociology
systematic and scientific study of human society, social structure/institutions/interactions
> social structure and change = social processes and interactions
> building blocks = interactions and behaviors of individuals
Sociological Problems
1. social order
2. social change
3. indviduals and society
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
the phenomenon whereby a person's or a group's expectation for the behavior of
another person or group serves actually to bring about the prophesied or expected
behavior
> prediction that comes true at least in part as a result of a person's belief or
expectation that said prediction would come true
Face-Saving Behavior
Erving Goffman's term for the strategies we use to rescue our performance when we
experience a potential or actual loss of face
Social Imagination: C. Wright Mills
ability to see one's society in the context of history and culture/understand their roles in
shaping the individuals
> one cannot separate history from culture or society
Social Imagination: Peter Berger
,1. view the general in the particular; discovering each new layer changes perception of
the whole
2. view the strange in the familiar; detach self from the "familiar" interpretation of human
behavior and accept "strange" notions that behavior is a production of social forces
Social Imagination: Overall
individuals bear responsibility of their own behavior, but it can impact families to political
structures
Social Imagination: Helps
avoid applying simple answers to complex issues; encourage critical thinking to see
broader picture
Theory
a set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to describe, explain, and
(occasionally) predict social events.
> provides a framework in which observations may be logically ordered (= overall
perspective)
Sociology as Social Science
> observer and observed
> unique perspective/insight
> world = laboratory
> studies = matter of interference as humans as the actors (can infer causality, but
event needs to occur)
> ensures maximum objectivity/consistency in researching problems
Sociology as Social Science: Method
1. problem (stated to be researched)
2. background (review relevant-previous research to see what has been said)
3. testable hypothesis (unverified relationship among variables)
4. research design (methodology; collection/analyzation of data)
5. data collection (laying out data)
6. conclusion (report findings and offer suggestions for additional search)
Method: Additional Terms
,> empirical data = information verified through senses and subject to observation,
measurement, and replication
> variables = conditions are subject to change in response to other variables
(independent vs dependent)
General Designs
> surveys (questioners based on a scale or range)
> existing sources (secondary analysis)
> participant observation (ethnography or field search)
Limited Experimental Design
variables too unpredictable since society/culture is not fixed
Sociological Theories
maintain research focus and develop analytical framework needed in order to draw
conclusions from data
Sociological Theories: Structural Functional Theory
view society as system of interrelated parts to maintain system as a whole (must
contribute as a whole or won't move on); emphasize moving through states of
equilibrium (focus on widespread consensus/stability)
> social solidarity/stability = variables that bind societies together
Manifest vs Latent Functions: Robert K. Merton
intended and/or overtly recognized by the participants in a social unit
vs
unintended functions that are hidden and remain unacknowledged by participants
Sociological Theories: Social Conflict Theory
[macro] agree with system of interrelated parts (structural functional theory), but argue
we can understand social relationships through problems and tension; variables of
competition/inequality shape/maintain society
> view society as dynamic process generating social change = competition/inequality
Sociological Theories: Symbolic Interaction Theory
, [micro] generalize interactions as humans live in a world of meaningful objects (actions,
relationships, symbols); examine member's ways of developing and sharing meaning of
symbols
Study of Suicide: Emile Durkheim
"The bond attaching [people] to life slackens because the bond which attaches [them] to
society is itself slack." = societal strains
> intensified job anxiety, higher expectations, and more pressure for individual
achievement
> Social bonds have been weakened or dissolved as people move away from their
families and their community
> newer technologies = contributed to the breakdown of traditional family units as
communication has become more impersonal and fragmented.
Anomie
a condition in which social control becomes ineffective as a result of the loss of shared
values and purpose in society
> Durkheim = most likely to occur during a period of rapid social change
Industrialization vs Urbanization
process by which societies go from depending on agriculture/handmade products to
manufacturing and related industries (Industrial Revolution in Britain between 1760 and
1850 and soon throughout Western Europe)
vs
process by which an increasing proportion of a population lives in cities rather than in
rural areas; influenced from development factories/factory systems (more producers
than consumers)
Karl Marx
German economist and philosopher who believed that society should not just be studied
but should also be changed (status quo = the oppression of the population by a small
group of wealthy people)
Class Conflict
