Deck 3: Emile Durkheim

Question 1

According to Durkheim, which of the following describes a social fact? Select all, but only those that apply.

A) is external to individuals
B) is best studied empirically
C) coerces individuals
D) changes because of other social facts, not individual actions

Answer 1

A, B, C, D

Question 2

Which of the following did Durkheim see as the root cause behind the transition from mechanical to organic society?

A) solidarity
B) morality
C) religion
D) dynamic density

Answer 2

D

Question 3

According to Durkheim, which of the following accompanies expanding division of labor that comes with dynamic density? Select all, but only those that apply.

A) less solidarity
B) less competition
C) less efficiency
D) greater resources

Answer 3

B, D

Question 4

What was the primary way Durkheim differentiated sociology from philosophy?

A) Gave the social prominence over the individual.
B) Focused on empirical study and research done with measurements and observations.
C) Incorporated evolution into his theory.
D) Rejected social realism.

Question 5

Material social facts ______.

A) are directly observable
B) cannot be directly observed
C) are internal to people's bodies
D) cannot be empirically studied

Question 6

What two academic disciplines gave Durkheim the most resistance in his efforts to deem sociology a science? Mark both that apply.

A) economics
B) history
C) philosophy
D) psychology

Question 7

Anthony Giddens further refined Durkheim's conceptualization of mechanical and organic societies by noting how the ______ or how deeply people feel about the collective conscious is reduced in societies with a division of labor.

A) volume
B) intensity
C) rigidity
D) content

Question 8

According to Durkheim, which type of nonmaterial social facts refers to the organizations and institutions within which people interact in an ongoing basis?

A) social currents
B) collective representations
C) collective consciousness
D) morality

Question 9

Anthony Giddens further refined Durkheim's concept of mechanical and organic societies by noting how the ______ or the proportion of people swathed in the collective conscious is reduced in societies with a division of labor.

A) volume
B) intensity
C) rigidity
D) content

Question 10

According to Durkheim, which of the following is a social fact? Select all, but only those that apply.

A) legal rules
B) moral obligations
C) social conventions
D) language

Question 11

According to Durkheim, the problems associated with dynamic density are resolved by ______. Select all, but only those that apply.

A) a shift from organic to mechanical to solidarity
B) differentiation, especially in the division of labor
C) increasing rigidity and intensity of the collective conscious
D) the emergence of new forms of social organization

Question 12

Anthony Giddens further refined Durkheim's conceptualization of mechanical and organic societies by noting how the ______ or how definition of the collective conscious is more ambiguous in societies with a division of labor.

A) volume
B) intensity
C) rigidity
D) content

Question 13

Nonmaterial social facts ______.

A) are directly observable
B) cannot be directly observed
C) are internal to people's bodies
D) cannot be empirically studied

Question 14

According to Durkheim, dynamic density refers or relates to ______. Select all, but only those that apply.

A) the volume and intensity of the collective conscious
B) the number of people in society
C) the rigidity and content of the collective conscious
D) the amount of interaction that occurs with people in society

Question 15

According to Durkheim, which type of nonmaterial social facts provides the foundation for sociological study?

A) social currents
B) collective representations
C) collective consciousness
D) morality

Question 16

According to Durkheim, which type of nonmaterial social facts manifests in the material realm as religion, symbols, and rituals?

A) social currents
B) collective representations
C) collective consciousness
D) morality

Question 17

According to Durkheim, which of the following describes why language is a social fact? Select all, but only those that apply.

A) Language is external to any one individual.
B) Language is best studied through empirical observations.
C) Language is coercive to individuals.
D) No one person can change language; it only changes via the influence of other social facts.

Question 18

What was the primary way Durkheim differentiated his sociology from psychology?

A) Gave the social prominence over the individual.
B) Focused on empirical study and research done with measurements and observations.
C) Incorporated evolution into his theory.
D) Rejected social realism.

Question 19

Anthony Giddens further refined Durkheim's conceptualization of mechanical and organic societies by noting how the ______ or the moral precepts of the collective conscious are reduced in societies with a division of labor.

A) volume
B) intensity
C) rigidity
D) content

Question 20

According to Durkheim, which type of nonmaterial social facts is part of a structure created by the summation of people's beliefs and sentiments?

A) social currents
B) collective representations
C) collective consciousness
D) morality

Question 21

Societies with more diversity are more likely be held together with mechanical as opposed to organic solidarity.

Question 22

Which of the following characterizes repressive law? Select all, but only those that apply.

A) severe punishment for even minor offense because any deviance violates a strongly held, common morality
B) organic solidarity
C) crime victimizes other individuals, not society as a whole
D) mechanical solidarity

Question 23

Societies with mechanical solidarity have a stronger collective conscious than those held together with organic solidarity.

Question 24

Social Facts are internal to individuals.

Question 25

Which of the following describes a forced division of labor common to pathological societies?

A) A celebration of the individual and lack of sufficient moral restraint.
B) An overregulated economic where people lose control of their economic activities.
C) An evolution toward isolated as opposed to interdependent occupations.
D) A shift from organic to mechanical economies.

Question 26

Societies with less diversity are more likely be held together with mechanical as opposed to organic solidarity.

Question 27

What did Durkheim believe causes suicide?

A) Depression and/or mental illness
B) Drugs and/or alcohol addiction
C) Social facts and/or social currents
D) Imitation

Question 28

Durkheim philosophizes about the grammatical rules of language.

Question 29

Which of the following describes an anomic division of labor common to pathological societies?

A) A celebration of the individual and lack of sufficient moral restraint.
B) An overregulated economic where people lose control of their economic activities.
C) An evolution toward isolated as opposed to interdependent occupations.
D) A shift from organic to mechanical economies.

Question 30

Which of the following characterizes repressive law? Select all, but only those that apply.

A) severe punishment for even minor offense because any deviance violates a strongly held, common morality
B) organic solidarity
C) crime victimizes other individuals, not society as a whole
D) mechanical solidarity

Question 31

In order to put his theory into practice, what method(s) did Durkheim use to study suicide? Select all, but only those that apply.

A) comparing the suicide rates of different societies
B) comparing the suicide rates of different social collectives
C) comparing suicides rates within societies and other social collectives across time
D) analyzing suicide notes

Question 32

______ suicides occur when individuals are not well integrated into society.

A) Anomic
B) Altruistic
C) Fatalistic
D) Egoistic

Question 33

Which of the following does Durkheim consider essential to religion? Select all, but only those that apply.

A) church
B) beliefs
C) rituals
D) God

Question 34

In the shift or evolution from mechanical to organic solidarity, morality ______.

A) disappeared
B) appeared
C) stayed constant
D) changed

Question 35

______ suicides occur when morality fails to properly regulate and solidify individuals into society.

A) Anomic
B) Altruistic
C) Fatalistic
D) Egoistic

Question 36

Durkheim gave the individual precedence over the social in his sociology.

Question 37

______ suicides occur when moral regulation is excessive and oppressive.

A) Anomic
B) Altruistic
C) Fatalistic
D) Egoistic

Question 38

______ suicides occur when individuals are overly integrated into society.

A) Anomic
B) Altruistic
C) Fatalistic
D) Egoistic

Question 39

Which of the following describes a poorly coordinated division of labor common to pathological societies?

A) A celebration of the individual and lack of sufficient moral restraint.
B) An overregulated economic where people lose control of their economic activities.
C) An evolution toward isolated as opposed to interdependent occupations.
D) A shift from organic to mechanical economies.

Question 40

Which of the following social collectives does Durkheim think could reduce suicides by better regulating and integrating people into society?

A) churches
B) schools
C) families
D) labor unions

Question 41

Durkheim argues social facts are best explained by other social facts.

Question 42

Durkheim exemplified his theory via his study of suicide.

Question 43

According to Emile Durkheim, moral justice is independent of economics and the division of labor.

Question 44

According to Durkheim, psychologists' efforts to combat suicide will fail because these doctors do not recognize the social nature of self-inflicted violence.

Question 45

According to Durkheim's concept of dynamic density, there is less competition in societies with organic as opposed to mechanical solidarity.

Question 46

Organic solidarity is enforced with repressive law.

Question 47

The profane refers to the ideals and morals that are beyond reproach, or more important than "everyday" aspects of life.

Question 48

Compare and contrast what Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim said about the effects on conflict and cooperation from/with (?) an increasingly efficient division of labor.

Question 49

2. Consult the obituaries or local newspaper stories to locate the most recent suicide. Then using this recent tragedy as an example, detail why you cannot use Durkheim's theory to explain what this individual did because egoistic, anomic, fatalistic, and altruistic explanations are only inherent in rates.

Question 50

Nonmaterial social facts can be studied by looking at social change.

Question 51

Durkheim thought suicide was a very private, personal act.

Question 52

Some theorists have put forth the argument that sports in the contemporary United States now fill many of the same functions that religion once did. Apply this logic to the sport or a sporting event of your choosing, being certain to include beliefs (or sentiments), rituals, totems, the sacred, and the profane in your answer.