Deck 4: Socialization and the Construction of Reality

Question 1

Which of the following best describes the difference between the I and the me in George Herbert Mead's theory?

A) The I is selfish and impulsive; the me is how we believe others see us.
B) The I is empathetic; the me is self-absorbed.
C) The I is how we believe others view us; the me is how we view ourselves.
D) The I wants to please others; the me wants to please the self.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Children like Anna,who have experienced long periods of isolation,illustrate how:

A) biology is more important than the social environment in whether we become functioning members of a society.
B) inadequate diet and sunshine will result in ill health if a child is not given early intimate training.
C) "human nature" is the result of a complex relationship between nature (biology) and nurture (the social environment).
D) lack of discipline in early childhood leads to the development of long-term physical and mental problems.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The process by which people internalize the values,beliefs,and norms required to become functioning members of a given society is known as:

A) education.
B) socialization.
C) dramaturgy.
D) ethnomethodology.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which theorist argued that other people essentially provide us with a social mirror and that our interpretations of this mirror affect how we see ourselves?

A) Erving Goffman
B) Émile Durkheim
C) George Herbert Mead
D) Charles Horton Cooley

Question 5

Which theory uses game playing to understand the development of self?

A) Cooley's looking glass self theory
B) Mead's role-playing theory
C) Merton's role theory
D) Goffman's dramaturgy theory

Question 6

If we place nature and nurture at opposite ends on a continuum,most sociologists would fall toward the nurture end of the continuum.Which statement best explains this tendency?

A) Sociologists focus on, and as a result give primary weight to, the social environment in explaining how people think, feel, and behave.
B) Sociologists believe humans are born as blank slates and that the social environment trumps nature.
C) Sociologists believe that our genetic makeup really has very little to do with who we become in life.
D) Sociologists believe there is a complex relationship between heredity and the environment and that we need to give more weight to evolutionary processes.

Question 7

Which of the following is considered an advanced stage of development,according to George Herbert Mead?

A) the game stage
B) the play stage
C) the imitation stage
D) the me stage

Question 8

Mead would probably argue that if your four-year-old daughter picks her nose and keeps pulling up her dress while you are out at a fancy restaurant,it is because she:

A) has not internalized the generalized other.
B) has good manners.
C) has not developed an I.
D) has developed a sense of the other.

Question 9

Concepts such as I,me,and generalized other are part of which theorist's work?

A) George Herbert Mead
B) Charles Horton Cooley
C) Erving Goffman
D) Sigmund Freud

Question 10

The final step in Mead's theory of socialization is the development of an internalized sense of the total expectations of others.This is known as the ____________ other.

A) socialized
B) first-person
C) generalized
D) significant

Question 11

Which of the following provides a good example of the generalized other?

A) A little girl has a grandmother who always wears a hat. One day, the girl sees a woman who is about her grandmother's age and asks her where her hat is.
B) A child goes to a friend's house to play and is surprised when her friend asks her to remove her shoes before coming into the house.
C) A child is taught to say "bless you" every time someone sneezes in her home. When she is at the grocery store one day, the child says "bless you" to a complete stranger who sneezes in the checkout line.
D) While at the park, a little girl notices a boy about her age standing all alone. Feeling sorry for him, she walks over and asks him if he would like to play.

Question 12

Ultimately we hold people responsible for their behavior precisely because they can exercise choice over what they do.This speaks to the limits of socialization that sociologists refer to as:

A) agency.
B) cognitive development.
C) deviance.
D) dysfunctional socialization.

Question 13

Sociologists view socialization as a lifelong process that begins when a child:

A) can distinguish the I from me.
B) is born.
C) is still in the womb.
D) internalizes the norms and values of society.

Question 14

In terms of how we feel about ourselves,which of the following statements would Charles Horton Cooley argue is NOT true?

A) If we imagine that others think we're fat, even if they don't, it will still affect the way we feel about ourselves.
B) Society provides us a "mirror" in which we can observe the reactions of others to our own behavior.
C) We are affected more by how people react to our behavior than by how we interpret their reactions.
D) Our interpretations of how others see us are more important than the reality of how others see us.

Question 15

According to Charles Horton Cooley,we develop a self-concept by:

A) inheriting genetic characteristics from our parents.
B) learning self-discipline.
C) interpreting our feelings about ourselves.
D) interpreting how others think about us.

Question 16

Using Mead's concept of the generalized other,which of the following explanations would you use to explain why a man "streaked" (ran around nude)at Harvard's graduation ceremony?

A) He has not been socialized properly by his family and has a poorly developed generalized other.
B) He has a keen awareness of the generalized other and simply enjoys soliciting people's reactions.
C) He has failed to separate the I from the me.
D) He does not fully comprehend the generalized other or the significance of his norm violation.

Question 17

Theories of socialization focus,in part,on how the self develops.According to your textbook,the self is the:

A) individual identity of a person as perceived by that same person.
B) identity of a person as perceived by others.
C) individual's sense of agency, action, or power.
D) conception one has of oneself when one looks in the "social mirror."

Question 18

According to George Herbert Mead's stages of development,children learn to recognize an other through:

A) playing informally with other people.
B) imitation.
C) playing formal games (like baseball).
D) trial and error.

Question 19

The story of the abused child named Anna teaches lessons about the importance of which of the following influences on human development?

A) money
B) proper hygiene
C) human interaction
D) healthy nutrition

Question 20

Cooley's theory of socialization states that the self develops from our interactions with others and their reactions to us.This theory is known as:

A) role-playing.
B) dramaturgy.
C) reflection theory.
D) looking glass self theory.

Question 21

Sandra's boss asked her to work this weekend,but Sandra feels obligated to attend a family reunion and she has to study for an exam.She is having trouble deciding which activity to let go.Sandra is experiencing:

A) enlightenment.
B) status inconsistency.
C) role strain.
D) status incompatibility.

Question 22

Expectations that define appropriate or inappropriate behavior for the occupants of a particular status are called:

A) roles.
B) folkways.
C) identities.
D) simple norms.

Question 23

Expected conformity,especially among teenage friends,is known as:

A) peer pressure.
B) adolescent angst.
C) teenage wasteland.
D) role conflict.

Question 24

The sociological significance of roles is that they:

A) dictate the reality of a situation.
B) lay out what is expected of people.
C) come with clearly defined expectations.
D) are identical from one setting to the next.

Question 25

According to research by Kohn and Schooler (1983)and Lareau (2003),parents of different social classes socialize their children differently.Which of the following statements best describes these differences?

A) Middle-class parents are more likely to stress independence and self-direction; working-class parents are more likely to instill respect for authority.
B) Middle-class kids have more opportunity to do what they want; working-class kids are involved in more structured activities.
C) Middle-class parents value obedience over independent thinking; working-class kids are taught to use logic and reason to support their choices.
D) Working-class parents are more likely to use time-outs as a form of punishment; middle-class parents are more likely to use spanking as a form of punishment.

Question 26

A single mother who is experiencing incompatibility within her role,such as dealing with sleep deprivation and spending quality time with her children,may be experiencing which of the following?

A) peer pressure
B) resocialization
C) role conflict
D) role strain

Question 27

The popular television show Sesame Street was created with the explicit purpose of providing educational opportunities for low-income children.Being that this show was successful,we can argue that:

A) the media serves as a powerful socializing agent.
B) low-income children now have the same opportunities as their wealthier peers.
C) children are not affected by what they see on television.
D) the media has the power to erase the reproduction of inequality in society.

Question 28

Annette Lareau,author of Unequal Childhoods (2003),makes a compelling case for the existence of different parenting values and practices between working-class and middle-class families.Which of the following statements best summarizes what she found?

A) Because schools are the "great equalizer," they play only a small role in shaping students' life chances.
B) Although middle-class and working-class families operate with different logics of child rearing, these different logics have minimal effects on children's life chances as they head into adulthood.
C) Children's life chances are primarily related to differences in aspirations, talents, and hard work on the part of individuals rather than parents' social class location.
D) Class differences, played out in the daily routines of parenting, have a powerful impact on children's life chances.

Question 29

People and groups who influence our orientation to life and our self-concept,emotions,attitudes,and behaviors are:

A) generalized others.
B) total institutions.
C) agents of socialization.
D) always in secondary groups.

Question 30

A recognizable social position that an individual occupies,such as student or professor,is known as a:

A) status.
B) role.
C) face.
D) total institution.

Question 31

Venus Williams is one of the top women's tennis players in the world.This status overrides all of her other statuses and is known as her:

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

Question 32

Janet has a paper due in her English class,a test in her psychology class,and field notes due in her anthropology class this week.On top of it all,she needs to meet with her advisor to plan out classes for next semester.Janet is experiencing:

A) role conflict.
B) status incongruity.
C) role strain.
D) status pressure.

Question 33

In their book Preparing for Power,Cookson and Persell (1985)explore the role that private prep schools play in transmitting power and privilege to the students who attend them.As discussed in your textbook,which is the most important aspect of prep school education?

A) Private prep schools teach kids good manners and etiquette.
B) Private prep schools allow students to engage in more upper-class sports and activities.
C) Private prep schools link students to important social networks that will benefit them for life.
D) Private prep schools prepare students to give back to their communities by engaging in philanthropic pursuits.

Question 34

Military boot camps and prisons are places that control all of the basics of people's day-to-day lives and are known as:

A) bureaucracies.
B) front stages.
C) total institutions.
D) ascribed statuses.

Question 35

Which of the following scenarios involves the use of peer pressure?

A) A young lady is whistled at by a group of boys as she passes them in the hall.
B) Two boys steal another boy's ball because he won't share.
C) Two friends decide to go hiking because they both enjoy it.
D) A student decides to go out for drinks after her friends make her feel guilty for studying too much.

Question 36

Who developed role theory as a way to examine social interaction?

A) Karl Marx
B) Erving Goffman
C) Robert Merton
D) Charles Horton Cooley

Question 37

Although there are many agents of socialization,four of the primary ones,according to the textbook,are:

A) television, music, videos, and books.
B) schools, the military, colleges, and day care centers.
C) peers, religion, sororities, and fraternities.
D) family, schools, peers, and media.

Question 38

A drastic type of adult socialization that may occur when adults change environments is known as:

A) resocialization.
B) dramaturgy.
C) role conflict.
D) role strain.

Question 39

According to Annette Lareau (2003),working-class and poor parents focus on the "accomplishment of natural growth," while middle-class parents are more likely to engage in "concerted cultivation." In the "accomplishment of natural growth," children experience:

A) learning how to interact with adult authority figures, how to talk to strangers, and how to manage schedules.
B) lots of organized activities that are established and controlled by their mothers and fathers.
C) long stretches of leisure time, child-initiated play, and clear boundaries between the social life of children and adults.
D) assistance, monitoring, and intervention from parents in their schoolwork (e.g., choosing classes and navigating college applications).

Question 40

Which of the following would be the best example of a total institution?

A) a Boy Scout troop
B) a political party
C) a sports team
D) a convent

Question 41

The expectations that Barbie dolls are for girls and G.I.Joe dolls are for boys are examples of:

A) role conflicts.
B) gender roles.
C) ascribed statuses.
D) status sets.

Question 42

Which of the following theories contains concepts such as front stage and backstage and has its roots in the work of William Shakespeare?

A) reflection theory
B) dramaturgical theory
C) looking glass self theory
D) stage theory

Question 43

Studies have shown that people interact with babies differently based on whether the babies are boys or girls.Using role theory,we could argue that:

A) sex is an achieved status.
B) sex is a master status in our society.
C) boys and girls are simply different.
D) gender roles are achieved.

Question 44

Which of the following scenarios provides an example of front-stage behavior?

A) Sally discovers her mother-in-law is dropping by shortly, so Sally rushes to tidy up the house.
B) Sam is angry at his little brother for embarrassing him in front of his girlfriend, so he refuses to take him to get ice cream.
C) Cinderella smokes a cigarette in the employee break room before going to sign autographs at the castle.
D) While eating at Denny's last night, Debbie saw a little boy pocket some money from one of the tables. The boy was not aware anyone saw him.

Question 45

Your professor drank too much over the weekend and tripped and sprained his ankle.When asked about his injury in class the next day,the professor replied,"I sprained my ankle playing soccer with the kids." This is an example of:

A) role strain.
B) saving face.
C) a breach of common roles.
D) a degradation ceremony.

Question 46

An ascribed status is one:

A) that stands out within a status set.
B) a person has little or no control over.
C) into which one enters.
D) that a person works to accomplish.

Question 47

A good deal of impression management can be said to involve teamwork.Which of the following is NOT an example of teamwork?

A) parents collaborating to prevent children from knowing about their quarrels
B) professors who loathe each other taking care to hide this fact from their students
C) political campaigners and staff radiating a common air of confidence about the latest poll results
D) pedestrians on a street gathering to watch someone jump from a building

Question 48

Which of the following is the best example of an achieved status?

A) a small Hispanic boy named Javier
B) a woman diagnosed with breast cancer
C) a newly ordained minister in a Pentecostal church
D) a baby who is baptized into the Roman Catholic Church

Question 49

Today's assumption that childhood represents a distinct phase in the life course stands in sharp contrast to the notion of children as little adults that was popular in preindustrial times.This example highlights how:

A) children have redefined their status over the years.
B) children today are increasingly put to work.
C) our notions of childhood are socially constructed.
D) children's views of the world remain the same.

Question 50

According to Goffman,the esteem in which an individual is held by others is known as:

A) the looking glass self.
B) the ego.
C) prestige.
D) face.

Question 51

All of the statuses that an individual occupies at any given time constitute his or her:

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

Question 52

Most people occupy many statuses at a particular point in time (e.g.,student,son or daughter,employee,citizen).This list of statuses is known as the:

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

Question 53

The three basic tenets of symbolic interactionism theory include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Human beings inherit mutual understandings of symbols across cultures, times, and social changes.
B) Human beings act toward ideas, concepts, and values on the basis of the meaning that those things have for them.
C) The meanings of ideas, concepts, and values are the products of social interaction in human society.
D) The meanings of ideas, concepts, and values are modified and filtered through an interpretive process that each individual uses in dealing with outward signs.

Question 54

According to dramaturgical theory,the primary goal of every social interaction is to:

A) be front (and center) stage.
B) make a good impression.
C) assume the correct role.
D) conform to the script.

Question 55

According to Goffman,we all try to make good impressions on others and we actively work to ensure that others believe they are doing the same.He calls this:

A) resocialization.
B) the generalized other.
C) impression management.
D) controlling one's environment.

Question 56

Which of the following theories argues that people's feelings and choices about how to act are based on shared meanings,orientations,and assumptions?

A) symbolic interactionism
B) dramaturgical theory
C) functionalism
D) role theory

Question 57

Which of the following represents an ascribed status?

A) an American of Japanese descent
B) a lawyer
C) a high school dropout
D) a sociology major

Question 58

Most sociologists (and biologists)argue that race is a human invention,or is socially constructed.Which of the following statements does NOT highlight how race is socially constructed?

A) Racial categories on census forms have continued to change over time.
B) The Irish and Jews, who were both regarded as blacks by some people 100 years ago, are now considered white.
C) Because of cross-cultural differences in how race is defined, it is likely that you would be considered a different race in another country.
D) People speak different languages.

Question 59

Involuntary statuses that we are born into are called:

A) ascribed statuses.
B) achieved statuses.
C) status sets.
D) master status.

Question 60

According to impression management,the backstage arena would include:

A) occasions when we are in public.
B) occasions when we create and maintain particular impressions of ourselves.
C) what we want others to think about us.
D) where we are our private selves and where the real story takes place.

Question 61

Using dramaturgical theory,why is it more difficult to end a conversation (closing)when on the phone than in person?

A) It is embarrassing to tell someone good-bye on the phone.
B) It is impossible for people to see our closing gestures, many of which are nonverbal, when we're on the phone.
C) When we're on the phone, we don't want to hurt someone's feelings.
D) We are in the backstage when on the phone but in the front stage when in person.

Question 62

Twitter,texting,and Facebook have changed the way we communicate and have had a profound impact on all of the following EXCEPT:

A) how we deal with anxiety.
B) the nature of social interaction.
C) the impression management strategies we use.
D) the nature and details of crime.

Question 63

Front-stage mistakes,such as if your sociology professor accidently trips as she walks into class one day,are known as:

A) breaches.
B) deviant openings.
C) bad manners.
D) theatrical breakdowns.

Question 64

According to George Herbert Mead,the final step in the socialization process is when we have developed the concept of the generalized other.Explain this concept in your own words,and give several examples of how your perception of the generalized other affects your day-to-day behavior.

Question 65

Two young men are on an elevator together.After briefly acknowledging each other's presence,they politely ignore each other for the remainder of the ride.Goffman would refer to this behavior as an example of:

A) backstage behavior.
B) civic inattention.
C) an opening signal.
D) a given-off gesture.

Question 66

If your professor asked you to do a breaching experiment,you might do which of the following?

A) ask a stranger for the time
B) ask a stranger to tie your shoes
C) tell your parents you are going over to a friend's house to study
D) tell your best friend that there is something in his or her teeth

Question 67

According to Goffman,when there is a breach (mistake)in an established script,people generally do which of the following?

A) point out the mistake so they can make others look bad
B) point out the mistake so they can feel superior
C) work hard to repair the mistake so everyone can move forward
D) work hard to repair the mistake only if they know the person really well

Question 68

Harold Garfinkel and his students devised breaching experiments in order to:

A) see if groups that were matched on important social characteristics would react differently when the independent variable was introduced.
B) ascertain if civic inattention operated in a wide variety of social situations.
C) reveal the presence of unspoken expectations that people in particular roles have of one another.
D) see if people avoid eye contact when they are placed in an uncomfortable situation.

Question 69

What does Cooley mean by his looking glass self theory? How does this theory explain the development of our self-concept?

Question 70

Unconscious signals of our true feelings,such as nonverbal behaviors,are known by Goffman as:

A) opening gestures.
B) closing acts.
C) opening acts.
D) given-off gestures.

Question 71

Ethnomethodology is an approach to studying human interaction that focuses on:

A) how we make sense of our world and convey this understanding to others in our effort to create mutually shared realities.
B) how we learn about the roles, scripts, and props we use in everyday life.
C) the influence of family, school, and media in constructing our social identities.
D) what we can learn by examining cross-cultural differences in behavior.

Question 72

Harold Garfinkel developed an approach to studying human interaction that focused on how people produce (and maintain)a mutually shared social order.This method was called:

A) dramaturgy.
B) ethnomethodology.
C) social constructionism.
D) dramaturgical analysis.

Question 73

Which of the following is NOT an example of a given-off gesture?

A) staring at the ceiling while your professor is talking
B) packing up your notebook when class should be ending
C) glancing at your watch when the professor starts another story
D) consciously stifling a laugh when someone walks into the class with toilet paper on his or her shoe

Question 74

Goffman's term for refraining from directly interacting with someone you know until an opening bracket has been issued is known as:

A) civic inattention.
B) face.
C) front stage.
D) backstage.

Question 75

In managing impressions,people rarely challenge the credentials of an actor,even when they suspect that a false impression is being created.Which of the following reasons does NOT explain this tendency?

A) All participants shoulder a common responsibility to maintain another's face.
B) When actors lose face, the discredited performance is uncomfortable for everyone.
C) People feel sorry for others who cannot pull off false impressions.
D) There is an implicit bargaining among actors not to question the performances that other people offer.

Question 76

Summarize the case of Anna.Based on the five conclusions reached from studying her life,what does this case tell us about the importance and limits of socialization?

Question 77

Describe the main ideas of Mead's theory of socialization and provide an example.Explain why Mead's theory of socialization is useful or not useful in this particular example.

Question 78

According to Goffman,the main goal of impression management is to:

A) create an alter ego.
B) save face.
C) fool others.
D) control our self.

Question 79

Saying "hello" when answering the telephone signals the start of an encounter in the first bracket and is known to dramaturgists as:

A) act one.
B) the monologue.
C) the opening.
D) the preshow.

Question 80

Define socialization and provide two examples of agents of socialization and why they are considered important in the socialization process.