Question 1

Guiliana, a second generation Italian-Canadian, is a respected contemporary composer. She is also visually impaired, having lost her sight due to scarlet fever as a child. Which of the following is an achieved status attached to Guiliana?

Accepted Answer

An achieved status is a social position that a person earns or chooses, reflecting personal skills, abilities, and efforts. Being a respected contemporary composer is an achieved status because it is a result of Guiliana's personal accomplishments and efforts.

Question 2

Define the differences between ascribed and achieved statuses, and give
 examples to support your answer.

Accepted Answer

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Question 3

Define the concepts of in-groups, out-groups, and reference groups, and describe  the role of each type of group. Give examples to illustrate your answer.

Accepted Answer

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Question 4

Describe sociologist Gerhard Lenski's view of technology and society and explain how his view differs from that of Émile Durkheim's mechanical and organic solidarity and Ferdinand Tönnies's Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft.

Accepted Answer

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Question 5

Describe the various components of a bureaucracy as suggested by Max Weber. How did Weber perceive the efficiency of bureaucracies?

Accepted Answer

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Question 6

Describe a postmodern society. Is Canada a postmodern society? If so, is it
 postmodern for everyone? If not, what characteristics does it lack?

Accepted Answer

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Question 7

Edwin Sutherland coined the term stigma to describe the labels society uses to devalue members of certain social groups.

Accepted Answer

Edwin Sutherland is known for coining the term "white-collar crime," not "stigma." The concept of stigma was developed by sociologist Erving Goffman.

Question 8

Aboriginal Canadians are incarcerated a nine times the rate of non-Aboriginal Canadians.

Accepted Answer

Aboriginal Canadians are disproportionately represented in the Canadian criminal justice system, with incarceration rates significantly higher than those of non-Aboriginal Canadians, often cited as being around nine times higher.

Question 9

Read carefully through the statement below, and decide which of the following options is correct. An important aspect of labelling theory is the recognition that some individuals or groups have the power to define labels and apply them to others. This view ties into the functionalist perspective's emphasis on the social significance of power.

Accepted Answer

Labelling theory is more closely associated with the conflict perspective, which emphasizes power dynamics and inequalities in society, rather than the functionalist perspective.

Question 10

A man with a wife and two children loses $50,000 in an unlicensed gambling den. What type of crime has he committed?

Accepted Answer

Gambling in an unlicensed den is considered a victimless crime as it involves consensual activities without a direct victim.

Question 11

Being arrested for murder would be an example of which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Being arrested for murder is a formal sanction because it involves official legal consequences imposed by the legal system.

Question 12

Which theory of deviance suggests that members of a society may conform or deviate
 from the culturally prescribed goals and the means of attaining those goals?

Accepted Answer

Anomie theory, developed by Robert K. Merton, suggests that deviance occurs when there is a disjunction between culturally prescribed goals and the socially approved means of achieving them. This can lead individuals to conform or deviate based on their access to these means.

Question 13

When individuals experience a loss of direction in a society, the society's social control becomes ineffective, often leading to increases in crime and deviance. This statement is supported by which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Social disorganization theory and the concept of anomie both address the breakdown of social norms and the resulting increase in deviance and crime. Anomie, introduced by Durkheim, describes a state of normlessness where societal norms fail to regulate individual behavior.

Question 14

Which of the following is unlikely to be stigmatizing?

Accepted Answer

Getting a B in sociology is a common academic outcome and is not associated with social stigma, unlike the other options which involve significant social judgment or marginalization.

Question 15

Which theoretical perspective would argue that those with less power and influence, such as Aboriginal Canadians, are more likely to find themselves incarcerated than members of the dominant group?

Accepted Answer

Conflict theory perspective argues that social structures and institutions are designed to maintain the power and privilege of dominant groups, leading to the marginalization and increased incarceration of less powerful groups like Aboriginal Canadians.

Question 16

Crime is a violation of which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Crime is defined as a violation of the law for which formal penalties are applied by some governmental authority.

Question 17

On a typical day, which country imprisons 751 of every 100,000 adults?

Accepted Answer

The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, with approximately 751 out of every 100,000 adults imprisoned.

Question 18

When Reena returns to school after summer break, she notices that all of her friends have begun to wear makeup, so she asks her mother if she can wear makeup too. What kind of  behaviour is Reena displaying?

Accepted Answer

Reena is displaying conformity as she wants to adopt the behavior of her peers by wearing makeup, aligning herself with the group's norms.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT a social control measure instituted after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States?

Accepted Answer

Mandatory fingerprinting of newborns in Canada was not a social control measure instituted after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. The other options are measures related to increased security and surveillance post-9/11.

Question 20

The participants who acted as "teachers" in Milgram's classic social control experiment obeying the experimenter's orders to shock the "learner" were described by Milgram as acting obediently, because they were accustomed to submitting to impersonal authority figures in the social world. Which sociological perspective explains the organization of North American society in this way?

Accepted Answer

Functionalists view society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability, and they would explain obedience to authority as a necessary function for maintaining social order.

Quiz 3: Social Structure, Interaction & Deviance