Download Study Guide, Exam 2

Study Guide, Exam 2, SOCY1001 Spring Semester 2013
****note that the exams contain questions from the Witt textbook,
recitation readings/discussion and lecture.
Good luck with your studies!
Chapter 4 Socialization

What is socialization? Can you give examples? What do the horrible stories of feral children and extreme cases of
isolation have to do with socialization?
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How are primate studies useful to the understanding of socialization?

What’s the nature vs. nurture debate and what does it have to do with Sociology?

In Sociological terms, what is the “self”? Me? I?
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What does role-taking have to do with socialization? What are Mead’s stages of children’s development with regard
to role-taking?
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What is the looking glass self and how does it relate to socialization?
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Can you define Piaget’s model of cognitive development?
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Who is Goffman and what’s the dramaturgical approach? How does it relate to socialization?
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What are agents of socialization? Can you identify a variety of these agents and explain their roles? (This is a very big
question – covering family, peers, media, religion, the state, the workplace).

What are rites of passage? Examples? What do they have to do with socialization?

What is anticipatory socialization? Resocialization? Can you give examples? What are total institutions and why are
they of interest, and importance, to Sociologists?

How might a functionalist view anticipatory socialization? How might this be different than a conflict theorist?

What is gerontology? Ageism? How does American culture approach death and dying? What is hospice care?

Is socialization associated with the life course? In what ways? What types of roles/conflicts might one encounter
over the life course? What does retirement have to do with socialization? Can you discuss phases of retirement?

What is disengagement theory and how does it differ from activity theory? What does Klinenberg’s research on the
Chicago heat wave tell us about elderly vulnerability as related to these theories?

Can you describe trends in aging, particularly in the U.S.?
Chapter 5 Social Structure and Interaction
 Why does Witt use the example of a card game in the opening section of this chapter?
 Can you define the process, and components of, the “social construction of reality”? In what way is the social
construction of reality shaped by dominant ideology?
 How do Sociologists define social interaction? Can you give a variety of examples?
 How do Sociologists define social structure? What are the elements of social structure? Can you give a variety of
examples? Can you describe how these relate to social interaction?
 What are statuses? Ascribed and achieved statuses? Master statuses? Can you give examples? Is there a
relationship between ascribed and achieved statuses? Can you give examples?
 What are roles? Role obligations? Role strain? Role conflict? Role exit?
 Are role expectations intertwined with larger cultural contexts? If so, how? Can you give examples?
 In Sociological terms, what are “groups”? What types of groups are there and how do they shape the “self”?
 “Coalitions”?
 Isn’t Sociology the most interesting of subjects? 
 What are social networks? Can you give examples? What do they have to do with social interaction? Why does
Witt include the illustration of adolescent sexual networks?
 What are virtual worlds? Can you give examples? What do they have to do with social interaction? What’s an
avatar and, in Sociological terms, what does it have to do with the “self? What are the steps toward increased
internet interaction and how does this vary across the globe?
 In Sociological terms, what are social institutions? Can you give examples? What do they have to do with social
structure and social interaction?
 What are bureaucracies? Can you give examples? What are their characteristics – can you give examples? What are
their consequences? What do bureaucracies have to do with social structure and social interaction? Be sure you
can define and give examples of the terms:
o
Trained incapacity, alienation, goal displacement
 In sociological terms, what’s an “ideal type”?
 What is the division of labor and why does it interest sociologists? Can you give examples that reflect the division of
labor? What are its consequences?
 What is McDonaldization? Can you give examples? Why is it of interest to Sociologists? What does it have to do
with social structure and social interaction?
 What is the iron law of oligarchy and what does it have to do with this chapter?
 What is classical theory with regard to formal organizations? Scientific management approach?
 Can you discuss the various theories of changes in social structure (Tonnies’, Durkheim’s, Lenski’s)? Can you
describe how these structural changes are related to social interaction?
 What is a postmodern society? What are its characteristics? Can you give a variety of examples?
 Be sure that you can summarize the recitation reading and its main point(s).