Deck 9: Social Institutions: Education, Government, and the Economy

Question 1

Education refers to the process

A) whereby people learn the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture.
B) whereby people discard former behavior patterns and accept new ones as part of a transition in one's life.
C) whereby some people consciously and formally teach while others adopt the social role of learner.
D) none of these

Answer 1

whereby some people consciously and formally teach while others adopt the social role of learner.

Question 2

Which of the following statements about education in the United States is correct?

A) Project Head Start serves more than 904,000 children each year.
B) Higher education confers significant economic benefits.
C) Education is a major industry in the United States.
D) All of these

Answer 2

All of these

Question 3

Putting children in school keeps them off the street and out of trouble. This is an example of a(an)

A) manifest function of education.
B) latent function of education.
C) dysfunction of education.
D) correspondence principle.

Answer 3

latent function of education.

Question 4

Which of the following school programs was initiated as an "agent of social change"?

A) sex education classes
B) affirmative action admissions programs
C) Project Head Start
D) All of these

Question 5

Which of the following statements is not true regarding segregation in U.S. schools?

A) Brown v. Board of Education was overturned more than 50 years ago.
B) Racial isolation is still predominate in today's schools.
C) White students are not considered racially isolated.
D) Black and Latino students have more classmates from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Question 6

All of the following are examples of hidden curriculum in schools except:

A) Japanese schools offer healthy living skills.
B) Children are taught not to speak until the teacher calls on them.
C) Teachers preparing students for a state standardized test in mathematics and verbal skills.
D) Gender role modeling by teachers and aides in a kindergarten class.

Question 7

Which theorists would be most critical of the differential ways in which education bestows status?

A) interactionist theorists
B) conflict theorists
C) feminist theorists
D) functionalist theorists

Question 8

Which of the following institutions of higher learning was the first to admit female students?

A) University of Illinois
B) Arkansas State University
C) Oberlin College
D) Harvard University

Question 9

Sexism in education is most evident in

A) the employment of teachers.
B) textbooks that present negative stereotypes of women.
C) the pressure placed on women by counselors to persuade them to prepare for "women's work".
D) the unequal funding for women's and men's athletic programs.

Question 10

The "teacher-expectancy effect" refers to a phenomenon in which

A) a teacher's expectations about a student's performance may have on the student's actual achievements.
B) student expectations about a teacher's performance may have on the teacher's actual achievements.
C) a student's expectations about other students' performances may have on the performance of those students.
D) a teacher's expectations about other teachers' performances may have on the performances of those teachers.

Question 11

Debbie's mother and father are both lawyers, and she is sent to an exclusive private school for her education. Teachers are disappointed when she does only average work in her classes, and they spend more time working with and encouraging her to excel than they do with her classmates. This situation illustrates

A) the correspondence principle.
B) the teacher-expectancy effect.
C) credentialism.
D) the hidden curriculum.

Question 12

One research study revealed that teachers' expectations have an impact on students' athletic achievements. This situation would be of particular interest to which sociological perspective?

A) functionalist perspective
B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective
D) global perspective

Question 13

In a public high school, certain teachers are assigned to work with college preparatory students, while others work with students who plan to go directly into the business world. This is an example of the bureaucratic characteristic of

A) division of labor.
B) employment based on technical qualifications.
C) written rules and regulations.
D) hierarchy of authority.

Question 14

Which sociological perspective observes that the bureaucratization of education increases the likelihood that students, teachers, and administrators will be dealt with fairly - that is, on the basis of rational and equitable criteria?

A) functionalist perspective
B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective
D) global perspective

Question 15

Which sociological perspective argues the standardization of educational curricula generally reflects the values, interests, and lifestyles of the most powerful groups in a society?

A) functionalist
B) conflict
C) interactionist
D) global

Question 16

Which of the following statements about teaching is correct?

A) The prestige of the teaching profession has declined in the past decade.
B) The average of all teacher salaries in the United States is comparable to the average of all wage earners in the nation.
C) Many teachers have left the educational world for careers in other professions.
D) All of these

Question 17

___________ is/are designed to prevent any business from taking over so much of an industry that it gains control of the market.

A) Antitrust legislation
B) Monopolies
C) The Free Enterprise System
D) Socialism

Question 18

"Who gets what, when, how", is Harold D. Lasswell's definition of

A) power.
B) politics.
C) an oligopoly.
D) influence.

Question 19

Politics was defined by Harold Lasswell as

A) "flexing your civic muscles".
B) "who gets what, when, and how".
C) "the 'by the people, for the people' syndrome".
D) "power distribution and execution".

Question 20

Harold Lasswell

A) developed the power elite theory.
B) wrote Who Governs?
C) wrote The Making of a Counterculture.
D) defined politics as "who gets what, when, and how".

Question 21

Your sociology instructor probably decides what the class will do each time that you meet. The fact that your instructor can make these decisions and that the students follow his/her lead is an example of

A) capitalism.
B) power.
C) politics.
D) force.

Question 22

Power relations can involve

A) large organizations.
B) small groups.
C) people in an intimate association.
D) all of these

Question 23

A man changes his position on the issue of immigrant refugees being granted asylum in the United States after a dinner-table argument with his grown children. This is an example of

A) force.
B) authority.
C) legitimacy.
D) influence.

Question 24

Legal-rational authority refers to leaders who derive their authority from

A) custom and accepted practice.
B) their exceptional personal or emotional appeal.
C) the written rules and regulations of political systems.
D) the threat to use coercion to impose one's will on others.

Question 25

During an inner-city riot, the governor of a state calls up members of the National Guard to protect stores and private citizens. She is able to take this action based on the state's constitution and powers granted her by the state's legislative bodies. Her power is based on which type of authority?

A) traditional
B) legal-rational
C) charismatic
D) instrumental

Question 26

Charismatic authority refers to leaders who derive their authority from

A) custom and accepted practice.
B) their exceptional personal or emotional appeal.
C) the written rules and regulations of political systems.
D) the threat to use coercion to impose one's will on others.

Question 27

Which of the following factors did Sociologist Carl Couch say the electronic media has facilitated the development of

A) charismatic authority.
B) voter apathy.
C) legal-rational authority.
D) terrorism.

Question 28

Karl Marx believed that society is ruled by a small group of individuals who share a common set of political and economic interests, such as those represented by

A) the poor.
B) racial and ethnic minorities.
C) labor unions.
D) capitalists and the dominant bourgeoisie.

Question 29

Karl Marx believed that

A) nineteenth-century representative democracy was a sham.
B) industrial societies were dominated by relatively small numbers of people who owned factories and controlled natural resources.
C) government officials and military leaders were members of the capitalist class and helped shape the political and economic agendas.
D) all of these

Question 30

Which theorist believed that government officials and military leaders were essentially servants of the capitalist class and followed their wishes?

A) David Riesman
B) Karl Marx
C) É mile Durkheim
D) Robert Dahl

Question 31

As described by C. Wright Mills, the "power elite" is

A) a small group of military, industrial, and government leaders who control the fate of the United States.
B) all of the mayors, governors, senators, and representatives in the United States.
C) the group that stands at the top of the power structure in the United States.
D) two of these statements are true

Question 32

Which sociologist argued that the United States is dominated by corporate, military, and political elite?

A) Max Weber
B) C. Wright Mills
C) David Riesman
D) Lynn Kathlene

Question 33

Which one of the following is an example of the power elite, according to C. Wright Mills?

A) the mayor of Hackensack, New Jersey
B) a small business owner
C) the U.S. Secretary of State
D) all of these

Question 34

Which of the following criticisms were expressed regarding Mills's power elite model?

A) Mills failed to clarify when the power elite opposes protests
B) Mills failed to substantiate the interrelationship between power elite members
C) Mills failed to clarify when the power elite tolerates protests
D) All of these

Question 35

According to G. William Domhoff the two different coalitions in the electoral arena that have exercised influence are the

A) corporate-conservative coalition and the liberal-labor coalition
B) corporate-liberal coalition and the conservative-labor coalition
C) military-conservative coalition and the liberal-media coalition
D) corporate-conservative coalition and the liberal-media coalition

Question 36

Which sociological perspective would be most likely to emphasize the unequal distribution of power in the political system of the United States, in maintaining social, economic, and political control?

A) functionalist perspective
B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective
D) global perspective

Question 37

A city wants to build a drug rehabilitation center; business, religious, educational, and political groups argue back and forth about where to place this center. These competing groups illustrate which theory?

A) power elite theory
B) pluralist theory
C) charisma theory
D) PAC theory

Question 38

Which term refers to the social institution through which goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed?

A) technology
B) industrialization
C) political system
D) economic system

Question 39

The economy of the United States is changing, which is due partly to

A) the shift toward manufacturing jobs.
B) being intertwined with and dependent on global economy.
C) the lowering of federal taxes.
D) all of these

Question 40

Today, the workforce of the United States is more reflective of the diversity of the population as ethnic minorities enter the labor force and immigrants and their children move from marginal jobs or employment in the informal economy to positions of greater visibility and responsibility. Which sociological perspective notes that workers will find themselves supervising and being supervised by people very different from themselves?

A) functionalist perspective
B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective
D) labeling perspective

Question 41

According to which sociological perspective did the media begin expressing concern about downsizing only when it began to impact managers and white-collar workers?

A) functionalist perspective
B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective
D) global perspective

Question 42

Problems that have accompanied China's recent and substantial economic growth include

A) high injury rates and shortage of benefits like pension plans.
B) rapid turnover in labor force and limited advancement for female workers.
C) pollution and environmental problems.
D) all of the above

Question 43

An example of nations reassessing the ways in which they transmit culture is the Chinese government's alterations of the history curriculum.

Question 44

Conflict theorists argue that the educational system socializes students into values dictated by the powerful that tends to stifle individualism and creativity.

Question 45

Nationwide, White students are the most isolated racially.

Question 46

The vocational subculture of college refers to college being viewed primarily as a means of obtaining degrees that are essential for advancement.

Question 47

The authority of the president and the Congress of the United States are based on legal-rational authority, according to the classification system developed by É mile Durkheim.

Question 48

Karl Marx believed that nineteenth-century representative democracy was essentially a sham.

Question 49

Studies show tracking programs do not necessarily identify those students with the potential to succeed.

Question 50

A fundamental element purported in C. Wright Mills's thesis is that the power elite not only includes relatively few members but also operates as a self-conscious, cohesive unit.

Question 51

C. Wright Mills provided many detailed case studies to substantiate his view of the power structure of the United States.

Question 52

As many as half of all new teachers in poor urban schools leave within the first five years.

Question 53

Dianne Pinderhughes is critical of the pluralist model of politics for failing to account for the exclusion of African Americans in the political process.

Question 54

China is expected to be the world's largest economy by 2020.

Question 55

Discuss the primary differences between the functionalist and conflict view of education. Define the concepts of "hidden curriculum" and "credentialism" as part of your answer.

Question 56

Discuss Max Weber's classification of various types of authority and illustrate each type using examples.

Question 57

Describe the various models of power structure in the United States and give examples to support your answer.

Question 58

Describe the similarities and differences among capitalism, socialism, and communism. Give examples to support your answer.

Question 59

Discuss the various systematic factors associated with deindustrialization and downsizing.