Deck 4: Interaction, Groups, and Organizations

Question 1

__________ can take the form of spoken words, subtle gestures, visual images, or electronically transmitted digits.

A) Exchange
B) Social interaction
C) Cooperation
D) Competition

Answer 1

Social interaction

Question 2

If you hold open the door for someone and he or she replies "thank you," it is an example of __________.

A) exchange
B) conflict
C) cooperation
D) competition

Answer 2

exchange

Question 3

Team members working together to achieve a common goal is an example of __________.

A) exchange
B) conflict
C) cooperation
D) coercion

Answer 3

cooperation

Question 4

If a professor announces that only five A's will be awarded for final grades, students are likely to work diligently to earn an A. This is an example of what kind of social interaction?

A) dispute
B) coercion
C) exchange
D) conflict

Question 5

What type of social interaction is it when a police officer compels a citizen to take a field sobriety test?

A) conflict
B) cooperation
C) coercion
D) dispute

Question 6

A social position in society is called a(n) __________.

A) role
B) status
C) category
D) norm

Question 7

Which of the following best describes "master status"?

A) a social position that a person acquires by birth
B) the collection of social positions that a person occupies at any one time
C) an expectation of how a person should behave in a situation
D) a social position that is especially important for a person and serves as a focal point of the person's social identity

Question 8

Even though Michelle Obama is a daughter, wife, mother, and attorney, her __________ will always be considered First Lady of the United States.

A) norm
B) master status
C) role
D) ascribed status

Question 9

Being born into a wealthy family is a(n) __________ status, but becoming an engineer is a(n) __________.

A) ascribed; achieved status
B) ascribed; status set
C) achieved; ascribed status
D) master; achieved status

Question 10

Medical doctors are expected to know how to treat medical conditions and to treat patients compassionately. This is known as their __________.

A) status
B) role
C) norm
D) ascribed status

Question 11

The __________ of student has the __________ of going to class and studying.

A) role; status
B) norm; status
C) status; role
D) role; ascribed status

Question 12

Role conflict occurs when __________.

A) there is incompatibility of different roles played by a single person
B) there is anxiety due to the inability to meet all the role requirements at the same time
C) the expectations within a single role are incompatible
D) the role a person plays challenges the significant people in the person's life

Question 13

Byron is unable to go to work because his daughter is sick. He is experiencing __________.

A) role strain
B) role conflict
C) role stress
D) coercion

Question 14

A single mother is concerned about taking care of her children, as well as having enough money to allow them to attend summer camp. This is an example of __________.

A) role strain
B) exchange
C) role conflict
D) coercion

Question 15

Which of the following is true about networks?

A) Women are able to network more than men.
B) Working-class people are likely to have more networking opportunities than their upper-class counterparts.
C) There is no correlation between networking opportunities and race/ethnicity.
D) Race, class, and gender play important roles in how a person is able to network.

Question 16

Dramaturgy is related to the __________ perspective.

A) functional
B) conflict
C) symbolic interaction
D) feminist

Question 17

If you are giving a class presentation and start stuttering because you are nervous, your classmates are likely to pretend not to notice, thereby allowing you to carry on without much embarrassment. This is an example of __________.

A) body language
B) role strain
C) role stress
D) studied nonobservance

Question 18

It is your first day of college classes and you have your textbooks, backpack, and laptop. According to dramaturgical analysis, you are presenting an image to other people. This is known as __________.

A) front stage - backstage
B) impression management
C) body language
D) networking

Question 19

__________ that communicates meaning is an important part of impression management.

A) Body language
B) Front stage - backstage behavior
C) Studied nonobservance
D) Competition

Question 20

__________ is an explanation of social interaction from the viewpoint of how individuals make sense of everyday life.

A) Dramaturgy
B) Ethnomethodology
C) Exchange theory
D) Networking

Question 21

Imagine you are one of the only people sitting in a Starbucks. As you sit at your table with your earphones in, laptop out, drinking your coffee, a random person comes in and sits at the table with you, even though there are plenty of other tables available. This person starts talking to you as if you were long-lost friends. In this scenario, social norms have been breached. This exemplifies __________.

A) dramaturgy
B) ethnomethodology
C) exchange theory
D) "push button" events

Question 22

If Ayanna lets Ricki borrow her chemistry notes when he is absent, Ayanna can expect that if she is absent from class in the future, Ricki will share his notes with her. This is an example of __________.

A) dramaturgy
B) ethnomethodology
C) exchange theory
D) situational context

Question 23

Eli steps on his son Jaden's toy for the fourth time. In an outburst, he tells Jaden to throw the toy in the garbage. This reaction is disproportionate to the event and signals the frustration felt by Eli. This is also known as __________.

A) ethnomethodology
B) exchange theory
C) impression management
D) a "push button" event

Question 24

Strangers standing in line at the supermarket and complaining about the lack of available cashiers is an example of a __________.

A) category
B) collection
C) group
D) primary group

Question 25

People who share a similar status, such as all being employees, would best be described as a __________.

A) group
B) category
C) collection
D) network

Question 26

Which kind of group has the following characteristics: small in size, concerned about one another's well-being, and sharing a sense of "we-ness"?

A) collection
B) category
C) primary group
D) secondary group

Question 27

Which of the following is an example of a primary group?

A) a high school basketball team
B) employees at a retail store
C) a local Girl Scouts organization
D) four friends who have known each other for almost 20 years

Question 28

Which statement about secondary groups is true?

A) Members of secondary groups share close, personal ties.
B) Secondary groups tend to be small in size.
C) Secondary groups are used to accomplish explicit goals.
D) Secondary groups are always long-term groups.

Question 29

A __________ is a group that has values, norms, and beliefs that serve as standards for a person's own behavior.

A) collection
B) primary group
C) secondary group
D) reference group

Question 30

Jamar belongs to his university's Future Leaders of America group, where current events and political issues are discussed. He believes membership in the group will assist him in getting an internship with influential leaders in his city. For Jamar, the group serves as a __________.

A) reference group
B) primary group
C) oligarchy
D) collection

Question 31

Which of the following is true of group leaders?

A) They must always be formally designated.
B) They can consistently influence the behavior of group members.
C) They are only effective if they emerge informally out of group interaction.
D) They never influence the outcomes of the group.

Question 32

A(n) ________ focuses on group solidarity, cohesion, and morale.

A) reference group
B) instrumental leader
C) expressive leader
D) authoritarian leader

Question 33

Kameko is the manager of a local retail store. She closely watches sales projections, attends district meetings, and makes sure the store runs smoothly to maximize profits. According to sociologists, she is a(n) __________.

A) instrumental leader
B) expressive leader
C) oligarch
D) laissez-faire leader

Question 34

Every morning before students arrive at the elementary school, an administrator rallies the teachers together for a group huddle to boost enthusiasm. In this scenario, the administrator is a(n) __________.

A) authoritarian leader
B) oligarch
C) expressive leader
D) instrumental leader

Question 35

__________ leadership is characterized by a leader who has full control of policies, practices, goals, and activities and leaves little control or autonomy to others in the group.

A) Authoritarian
B) Democratic
C) Expressive
D) Laissez-faire

Question 36

Work organizations such as fast-food restaurants that rely on a continual stream of new workers have little room for worker participation or group decision making. The most effective type of leadership for these types of organizations is __________ leadership.

A) authoritarian
B) democratic
C) expressive
D) laissez-faire

Question 37

__________ leadership is a participative style of leadership that works best in situations that require participation and commitment to group goals.

A) Authoritarian
B) Democratic
C) Expressive
D) Laissez-faire

Question 38

__________ leadership is relatively rare because it applies to few work environments, but it can be found in the academic departments of universities, where group members are concerned with producing new ideas and original research.

A) Authoritarian
B) Democratic
C) Expressive
D) Laissez-faire

Question 39

Groups in which everyone is given an opportunity to participate and contribute to decision making, such as boards of directors of professional associations, are most often characterized by __________ leadership.

A) authoritarian
B) democratic
C) expressive
D) laissez-faire

Question 40

American billionaire and philanthropist Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway avoids micro-managing his team and instead surrounds himself with people who can perform their jobs confidently and creatively without intervention. His approach best exemplifies which type of leadership style?

A) democratic leadership
B) laissez-faire leadership
C) authoritarian leadership
D) instrumental leadership

Question 41

__________ refers to the degree to which a group is attractive to its members and the tightness of the bonds that connects members to each other.

A) Group cohesiveness
B) Group dynamics
C) Bureaucracy
D) Groupthink

Question 42

Similarity of members, continuity of membership, shared and attainable goals, and amount of interaction are factors that can impact a group's __________.

A) leadership style
B) groupthink
C) cohesiveness
D) ideal type

Question 43

__________ refers to a situation in which the sanctity of the group takes precedence over the quality of the decision the group is charged with making.

A) Bureaucracy
B) Groupthink
C) Dramaturgy
D) Role conflict

Question 44

A deliberately constructed group that is bound by explicit rules and aimed at achieving goals is a(n) __________.

A) collection
B) category
C) bureaucracy
D) organization

Question 45

During the planning of the Bay of Pigs invasion in the 1960s, the drive for consensus among President Kennedy's advisors prohibited discussions that may have prevented a disastrous mission. This situation best exemplifies which sociological concept?

A) bureaucracy
B) laissez-faire leadership
C) groupthink
D) group cohesiveness

Question 46

The term "ideal type" refers to __________.

A) the best (or ideal) practices for running an organization
B) the amount of social cohesiveness within a group
C) a model of how real-life organizations operate based on many specific examples
D) the appropriate style of leadership based on the goals of an organization

Question 47

Which of the following is one of Weber's five criteria for an ideal type of bureaucracy?

A) a focus on non-human technology
B) an emphasis on quantity over quality
C) the importance of predictability
D) explicit rules

Question 48

What is the Iron Law of Oligarchy?

A) the implicit rule that employees will find busywork to do to fill their day
B) the theory that a small clique of people controls an organization for their own benefit
C) the observation that people tend to "rise to the level of their incompetence" in bureaucracies
D) the process whereby the principles of the fast-food industry are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society

Question 49

Which of the following statements is true about bureaucracies?

A) It is not possible for bureaucracies to develop internal cultures.
B) Contemporary society would not be possible without the organizing structure of bureaucracies.
C) There is a tendency for leniency in rules in bureaucracies.
D) The "red tape" of bureaucracies is seen as beneficial because it helps combat dehumanization.

Question 50

An important feature of corporations is that __________.

A) officers of a corporation are legally responsible for the acts of the corporation
B) officers of a corporation may not be held responsible for the acts of the corporation
C) officers of a corporation are financially responsible for the debts of the corporation
D) any benefits of a corporation, such as monetary funds, must be distributed equally among all officers in the upper hierarchy of the corporation

Question 51

Define social interaction. List the five types of social interaction discussed in the text and describe the characteristics of each.

Question 52

Explain the concepts of role, role conflict, role stress, and role strain, and provide an example of each.

Question 53

How do sociologists explain social interaction conceptually? Tell which theoretical perspectives help us to understand social interaction and discuss their theories of this interaction.

Question 54

Define group cohesiveness. What contributes to group cohesiveness? Why is this concept important to sociologists?

Question 55

Discuss bureaucracy and its features, and describe Max Weber's analysis of bureaucracy.