Introduction to Sociology

Introduction to Sociology
Study Questions
 
The study guide is a useful tool for preparing for the Pre-Assessment and the Objective Assessment.  We recommend that you answer the study guide questions for each topic as you read the corresponding chapter and complete the CourseConnect exercises.
 
You have taken the pre-assessment. What’s next?
Use these study questions along with your Coaching Report to help you prepare for the assessment. You will want to give your low-scoring topics the most attention, however, be sure to pay attention to all of the topics.
 
These study questions are not a substitute for reading your text thoroughly and engaging with your learning resources, such as the CourseConnect lessons.
 
What is a low-scoring topic?
Check your Coaching Report (Click on the blue link near your score) for any topic with a score below 4/6, 4/5, or 3/4 or 2/3.
 
How do I use this document?
Use the navigation below to jump to competencies and topics. This section contains study questions you can use to prepare for the assessment.
 
Note: The three Theoretical Perspectives, which are introduced in the first section of the course, are key for sociological understanding and are woven throughout the course. These are introduced in the first topic, Origins: Sociology vs. Philosophy/History. It is recommended that you answer the study questions in the first section even if you performed quite well on the Topic “Origins: Sociology vs. Philosophy/History” in the pre-assessment.
 
 
Study Guide Navigation

• Competency 133.1.1: Foundations of Sociology
  • Origins: Sociology vs. Philosophy/History
  • Sociological Research
• Competency 133.1.2: Culture and Socialization
  • Analysis of Culture
  • Gender Roles
  • Socialization
• Competency 133.1.3: Groups and Deviance
  • Deviance
  • Social Groups and Formal Organizations
• Competency 133.1.4: Social Inequality
  • Global Stratification
  • Social Class
  • Race and Ethnicity
  • Gender and Age
• Competency 133.1.5: Social Institutions
  • Marriage and Families
  • Education and Religion
  • Population and Urbanization

 
Competency 133.1.1: Foundations of Sociology
The graduate explains the approach of those who observed society in the past including European and American thinkers.
Topic: Origins: Sociology vs. Philosophy/History (Chapter 1)

• Explain the primary contributions of key thought leaders in the field of sociology.
• Differentiate between sociological perspectives

 
Study questions:
Discuss the contributions of the following early sociologists in 1-2 sentences:

• Auguste Comte (1797-1867)
• Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
• Karl Marx (1818-1883)
• Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
• Max Weber (1864-1920)
• Jane Addams (1860-1935)
• W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963)

 
Summarize each of these primary sociological perspectives. Provide the key terms for each perspective:

• Symbolic interactionism
• Functional analysis
• Conflict theory

 
Apply these perspectives:

• How would a sociologist explain rising U.S. divorce rates using each of these perspectives?

 
Topic: Sociological Research (Chapter 1)

• Explain the primary sociological research methods
• Explain ethical issues involved in sociological research.

 
Study questions:
What are “research methods?” (Define this term.)
 
List the primary ways in which sociologists do research.
 
Compare and contrast: Surveys and Participant Observation.
 
What are the primary advantages of experiments over other research methods?
 
Provide an example of unethical research from your book.
 
What are the ethical guidelines that sociologists follow?
 
Competency 133.1.2: Culture and Socialization
The graduate evaluates the social forces that produce one’s identity.
 
Topic: Analysis of Culture (Chapter 2)

• Explain key elements of culture.
• Differentiate between cultures, subcultures, and countercultures.
• Explain the role of culture in a variety of social interactions.

 
Study questions:
Define:

• Culture

• Material culture
• Nonmaterial culture

 
Provide an example of material culture and nonmaterial culture.
 
Define:

• Ethnocentrism

 
Provide an example of ethnocentrism (or a time when you have been ethnocentric).
 
Define

• Cultural relativism.

 
How would that situation have been different if you had practiced cultural relativism?
 
 
Why would sociologists want to practice cultural relativism?
 
What are norms?
 
Provide an example of a folkway and a more.
 
Define:
Subculture

• Counterculture

 
Compare and contrast subculture and counterculture.
 
Provide an example of a subculture and an example of a counterculture.
 
 
Topic: Gender Roles (Chapter 3)

• Compare and contrast differences in socialization based on gender.
• Explain the influence of media on identity and behavior.

 
Study questions:
Provide two examples of learning gender roles from through childhood socialization, one for boys and one for girls.
 
What are the different messages that boys and girls receive about appropriate attitudes and behaviors?
 
Define:

• Mass media.

 
Discuss the effects of media on girls and body image.
 
Discuss the effects of media on teenagers. Use video games as an example.
 
Topic: Socialization (Chapter 3)

• Identify social structures and interactions.
• Identify the different agents of socialization.
• Identify factors that affect sociological interactions in everyday life.
• Differentiate sociological and psychological approaches to the study of the “self.”

 
Study questions:
Define socialization.
 
List the agents of socialization.
 
Describe the theories of social development by the following theorists:

• George Herbert Mead (sociologist)
• Charles Horton Cooley (sociologist)
• Jean Piaget (psychologist)

 
What makes a sociological theory different from a psychological theory of social development?
 
Competency 133.1.3: Groups and Deviance
The graduate analyzes the impact of conformity and resistance to society’s norms.
 
Topic: Deviance (Chapter 6)

• Differentiate between perspectives on deviance.
• Explain the reasons for deviant behaviors from various scientific perspectives.
• Explain the reasons for crime from various scientific perspectives.

 
Study questions:
Define norms and define deviance.
 
Compare and contrast these three perspectives on deviance:

• Biosocial
• Psychological
• Sociological

 
Describe the following theories:

• Differential association theory
• Control theory
• Labeling theory
• Strain theory

 
 
Consider teens who engage in the crime of writing graffiti. Explain their crime using differential association theory and labeling theory.
 
Explain the conflict perspective on crime by discussing inequalities in the criminal justice system.
 
Topic: Social Groups and Formal Organizations (Chapter 5)

• Explain types of groups and organizations.
• Recognize characteristics of bureaucracies.
• Explain the role of social structures in a group or organization.
• Identify the effects of group dynamics on social interactions.

 
Study questions:
Define:

• Primary groups
• Secondary groups.

 
List the five characteristics of a bureaucracy. Provide an example of a bureaucracy.
 
Define voluntary association. Provide an example.
 
Define in-groups and out-groups. Provide an example of each.
 
What is a dyad? A triad? How does group size affect group interaction?
 
Competency 133.1.4: Social Inequality
The graduate assesses where one resides within the broader context of a stratified society.
 
Topic: Global Stratification (Chapter 7)

• Explain global stratification.
• Interpret trends of social stratification in the world.
• Differentiate universal from country-specific social stratification

 
 
Study questions:
Define social stratification.
 
Explain the following stratification systems:

• Caste
• Bonded labor
• Slavery
• Estate
• Class

 
Define:

• Meritocracy

 
Compare and contrast the functionalist vs. the conflict perspective on why social stratification is universal/global.
 
Describe each of these groups of nations and provide an example:

• Most Industrialized
• Industrializing
• Least Industrialized

 
Define colonialism.
 
List the 4 groups of nations in World Systems Theory.
 
Provide an example for each group.
 
Define Multinational Corporation.
 
Define globalization of capitalism.
 
Topic: Social Class (Chapter 8)

• Describe social class.
• Explain the global consequences for individuals of dividing society into classes.
• Explain the determinants of social class.
• Identify the effects of social class on lifestyle.
• Explain the concept of poverty.

 
Study questions:
What are the determinants/components of social class?
 
What is status inconsistency? Provide an example.
 
List and describe the social classes. Explain how each class differs in education, income, and occupational prestige.
 
What are the consequences of social class for health, family life, religion and crime/criminal justice?
 
Explain poverty. What are the differences between the working poor and the underclass?
 
What is the “culture of poverty” thesis? What are the some critiques of the culture of poverty approach?
 
Define:

• Intergenerational mobility
• Structural mobility
• Exchange mobility

 
 
Topic: Race and Ethnicity (Chapter 9)

• Explain the difference between race and ethnicity.
• Explain the effects of historical instances of racial discrimination on societies.
• Explain the impact of discrimination on daily social interactions.
• Explain the theories of prejudice.

 
Study questions:
Define

• Race.

 
Provide an example of a race.
 
Define

• Ethnicity.

 
Provide an example of an ethnicity.
 
What is the difference between race and ethnicity?
 
Define

• Ethnic work

 
Provide an example of discrimination towards a minority group from the history of the United States.
 
Provide an example of contemporary discrimination towards a minority group.
 
What is a minority group? Provide an example.
 
What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?
 
What is the difference between individual discrimination and institutional discrimination?
 
Provide an example of individual discrimination.
 
Provide an example of institutional discrimination.
 
Provide a few examples of the taken-for-granted privileges that come with whiteness (i.e., white privilege) and the everyday burden of racism for minorities.
 
Describe the following theories of prejudice:

• Scapegoat
• Split labor market

 
Topic: Gender and Age (Chapter 10)

• Identify gender inequalities across cultures.
• Distinguish conditions in social organizations that are a result of gender.
• Identify the demographics of aging in different countries.
• Differentiate between various theoretical perspectives on aging.

 
Study questions:
Explain why women are considered a minority group.
 
Define patriarchy.
 
Provide an example of gender inequality in a country other than the U.S.
 
Provide an example of gender inequality in health care in the U.S.
 
Define the following key terms related to gender inequality in the workplace:

• Gender pay gap
• Glass ceiling
• Sexual harassment

 
Describe the trends in the demographics of aging around the world.
 
Which countries have the largest aging population? Which have the smallest?
 
Describe the symbolic interactionist perspective on aging. (Review these perspectives in Ch. 1).
 
Describe the functionalist perspective on aging.
 
Describe the conflict theory perspective on aging.
 
Describe the Abkhasians and the social factors that account for their long lives.
 
 
Competency 133.1.5: Social Institutions
The graduate differentiates the impact of major social institutions on society.
Topic: Marriage and Families (Chapter 12)

• Explain the cross-cultural themes and theoretical perspectives on marriage and family.
• Outline the family life cycle.
• Analyze the impact family structure and class has on the raising of a child.
• Identify key aspects of diversity in U.S. families and marriages.
• Identify trends in divorce and remarriage in the United States.

 
Study questions:
Define:

• Family
• Romantic love
• Homogamy

 
Discuss some of the cultural characteristics of marriage in traditional societies, including the structure of the marriage, how spouses are selected, who holds authority, and how decent is figured.
 
Discuss some of the cultural characteristics of marriage in industrial/post-industrial societies, including the structure of the marriage, how spouses are selected, who holds authority, and how decent is figured.
 
List the stages in the family life cycle.
 
What did sociologist Melvin Kohn find out social class (and the type of work parents do) and how this affects child-rearing practices?
 
Describe how family structure, especially single motherhood, affect child-rearing practices.
 
Consider the diversity in families in the U.S. by answering the following questions:

• What is a blended family?
• How is a “childfree family” different from a childless family?
• What are the current trends in childfree families? Are they increasing or decreasing?
• What are the special challenges of one-parent families?
• What are the challenges faced by gay and lesbian families? Are any of these challenges unique?

 
Describe trends in age at first marriage over time.
 
Describe trends in cohabitation.
 
Describe the trends in divorce rates in the U.S. since 1970.
 
List the demographic characteristics, which increase the risk of divorce.
 
Topic: Education and Religion (Chapter 13)

• Distinguish between various perspectives on education.
• Identify strategies to alleviate problems in education in the United States.
• Explain the relationship between religion, core values, and the educational system in the United States.
• Identify norms and values encouraged or discouraged by the U.S. educational system.
• Identify the different types of religious groups in the world.

 
Study questions:
Describe the functionalist approach to education in a few sentences. Use the terms social placement and tracking in your discussion. (Review Chapter 1 for information on theoretical perspectives, if needed.)
Define:

• Latent functions
• Manifest functions

 
List some of the norms and values taught by the U.S. educational system.
Explain whether the cultural transmission of values is a latent function or a manifest function of schools.
 
Describe the conflict theory perspective on education in a few sentences.
Define hidden curriculum. Explain how schools reproduce the class structure.
 
Discuss how IQ tests have inherent class biases. How does this affect inequality?
 
Discuss how schools are funded. How does this affect inequality?
 
 
Describe the symbolic interactionist perspective on education.
 
Define Robert Merton’s self-fulling prophecy and explain how it works in the classroom.
 
Describe these three problems in schools:

• Mediocrity
• Cheating by teachers and school officials
• School violence

 
What are some solutions to each of these problems in schools:

• Mediocrity
• Cheating by teachers and school officials
• School violence

 
 
 
Define the following types of religious groups:

• Cult
• Sect
• Church
• Ecclesia

 
 
Topic: Population and Urbanization (Chapter 14)

• Identify problems resulting from population growth.
• Identify common problems caused by urban expansion.
• Compare the evolution of various cities and populations.
• Compare and contrast the new and anti-Malthusian perspectives on population growth.

 
Study questions:
Define:

• Urbanization.
• Alienation
• Gentrification
• Suburbanization

 
Discuss the pattern of urbanization in the U.S., including noting a few of the currently fastest growing cities.
 
Define:

• Metropolis
• Megacity
• Metropolitan statistical area (msa)

 
Discuss the global pattern of global population growth. Why are least industrialized nations experiencing high levels of population growth?
 
Compare and contrast the new Malthusian perspective with the anti-Malthusian perspective.