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Chapter 1: Understanding the Sociological Imagination Multiple Choice: 1. “Sociology” is best defined as the systematic study of a. human groups and their interactions. b. social problems and their causes. c. face-to-face interaction. d. social networks and their consequences for individuals. Answer: A (page 4) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Explain what the sociological perspective is. 2. Which of the following is the best definition of the sociological perspective? a. a foundational theory of sociology b. the unique way that sociologists view the world and the relationships within it c. each individual’s view of the world is influenced by the society in which they live d. the perspective utilized by microsociologists in their research approach Answer: B (page 4) Applied Challenging Objective: Explain what the sociological perspective is. 3. Which sociological theorist highlighted the difference between “personal troubles” and “social issues”? a. Dorothy Smith b. Peter Berger c. Auguste Comte d. C. Wright Mills Answer: D (page 4) Factual Easy Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 4. C. Wright Mills defines quality of mind as a. a person’s level of intelligence. b. the educational values of a society. c. the ability to influence other people with your way of thinking. d. the ability to view personal circumstance within a social context. Answer: D (page 4) Factual Easy Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 5. Using the sociological imagination, rising tuition costs would be best approached in terms of a. private trouble. b. a political problem. c. a social issue. d. economic reality. Answer: C (page 5) Applied Moderate Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 6. On average in Canada today, men earn approximately __ percent more than women. a. 5 b. 10 c. 20 d. 35 Answer: D (page 8) Factual Easy Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 7. A sociologist would identify all of the following as possible reasons behind homelessness except a. a lack of affordable housing. b. personal laziness. c. substance abuse and mental illness. d. societal forces. Answer: B (page 8) Applied Moderate Objective – Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 8. Homelessness, racism, and poverty are all examples of a. personal troubles. b. social issues. c. symbolic interactionism. d. the Metaphysical Stage. Answer: B (page 4) Applied Moderate Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 9. This term is used to describe a combination of variables to position or score people on criteria such as income level, level of education achieved, occupation, and area of residence. a. ascribed status b. relative privilege status c. minority status d. socio-economic status Answer: D (page 9) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 10. Incidence of low income for female lone-parent families is approximately _____ that of two-parent families with children. a. the same as b. double c. four times higher than d. 10 times higher than Answer: C (page 9) Factual Easy Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 11. Which of the following is the best definition of ascribed status? a. The status of a person has been gained through personal attributes and qualities. b. A person has been assigned advantage or disadvantage through simply being born. c. People should strive to achieve the most they can in life despite any disadvantages they have. d. We judge the status of the people around us based on social factors such as gender and socio-economic status. Answer: B (page 10) Factual Easy Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 12. In 2004, the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating reported that ____ percent of the Canadian population aged 15 and over had contributed to a non-profit organization in the previous year. a. 5 b. 10 c. 50 d. 85 Answer: D (page 12) Factual Moderate Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 13. You are least likely to donate money to a charity if you live in this Canadian province or territory. a. Nunavut b. British Columbia c. Quebec d. Alberta Answer: C (page 12) Factual Moderate Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 14. The term “sociology” was coined by this theorist in 1838. a. Plato b. Peter Berger c. Auguste Comte d. Émile Durkheim Answer: C (page 14) Factual Easy Objective: Understand the historical development of sociology. 15. All of the following are revolutionary events in Europe that inspired the rise of sociology except a. the political revolution. b. the scientific revolution. c. the economic revolution. d. the Industrial Revolution. Answer: C (page 14) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Understand the historical development of sociology. 16. Comte’s Law of Three Stages defines how advances of the mind created three different types of societies. What are the three stages? a. Theological, Metaphysical, and Positive b. Theological, Religious, and Atheist c. Metaphysical, Industrial, and Political d. Positive, Appositive, and Negativistic Answer: A (page 14) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Understand the historical development of sociology. 17. The belief that there exists an objective and knowable reality comes out of this general theoretical approach. a. positivism b. negativism c. ethnomethodology d. qualitative sociology Answer: A (page 16) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 18. Critics of positivist-oriented sociology are most likely to argue that knowledge and understanding should be defined in relation to a. human subjectivity. b. inner feelings. c. theology. d. hard science. Answer: A (page 16) Conceptual Difficult Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 19. Anti-positivism is a theoretical approach that considers knowledge and understanding to be the result of a. science. b. positivism. c. sociological imagination. d. human subjectivity. Answer: D (page 16) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 20. Tahira is conducting a study that examines people’s fears of living in what they think is an increasingly violent society. She is most likely to be drawing on this kind of general sociological approach: a. quantitative b. positivistic c. humanistic d. qualitative Answer: D (page 17) Applied Moderate Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 21. A sociologist whose primary research interest is in the cross-cultural comparison of income levels between genders over time most likely comes out of which general approach? a. quantitative b. positivistic c. naturalisitic d. phenomenological Answer: A (page 16) Applied Challenging Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 22. Which of the following provides an example of qualitative sociology? a. crime rates b. the emotional effects of going through a divorce c. a comparative study on the number of homeless people in various major cities d. a survey about gender and earning potential Answer: B (page 17) Applied Moderate Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 23. Cultural assessments by which something is identified as right, desirable, and moral are referred to by sociologists as a. norms. b. standards. c. values. d. beliefs. Answer: C (page 17) Conceptual Easy Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 24. Which of the following would not be considered an ideal of the political revolution? a. globalization b. individual rights c. equality of opportunity d. democracy Answer: A (page 18) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Understand the historical development of sociology. 25. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s notion that we can achieve more by working together than we can apart is termed a. the social contract. b. a social issue. c. the blank slate theory. d. microsociology. Answer: A (page 18) Conceptual Challenging Objective: Understand the historical development of sociology. 26. As discussed in the text, all of the following are social problems that emerged out of the Industrial Revolution and the move from rural to urban environments except a. child labour. b. poverty. c. globalization. d. increased crime rates. Answer: C (page 18) Factual Moderate Objective: Understand the historical development of sociology 27. Sam the sociologist approaches the social world in relation to face-toface interaction and small-group dynamics. She is approaching the world through which approach? a. macrosociological b. microsociological c. sociological imagination d. network theory Answer: B (page 20) Applied Moderate Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 28. The writings of Karl Marx draw our attention to a. power. b. subjectivity. c. meaning. d. authority. Answer: A (page 20) Conceptual Easy Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 29. Émile Durkheim’s sociology draws connections between rising suicide rates and low levels of a. self-esteem. b. religious affiliation. c. social integration. d. employment. Answer: C (page 20) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 30. German sociologist Max Weber argued that the modern world is becoming increasingly a. meaningless. b. commodified. c. Disneyfied. d. rationalized. Answer: D (page 20) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 31. Macrosociology can best be defined as a. the study of society as a whole. b. applying the sociological perspective to everyday problems. c. a social movement dedicated to improving the quality of mind of Canadians. d. the study of individual or small-group dynamics within a larger society. Answer: A (page 20) Factual Easy Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 32. All of the following are considered leading theorists of microsociology except a. George Herbert Mead. b. Herbert Blumer. c. Max Weber. d. Charles Horton Cooley. Answer: C (page 21) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 33. Symbolic interactionism can best be defined as a. a macrosociological approach to exploring social problems. b. a perspective that asserts that people and societies are defined and created through the interactions of individuals. c. a positivistic explanation for how knowledge and understanding are developed. d. the tension between quantitative and qualitative approaches to sociological research. Answer: B (page 21) Conceptual Easy Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 34. Where was the first Canadian sociology department formed in 1924? a. York University in Toronto b. McGill University in Montreal c. Queen’s University in Kingston d. the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg Answer: B (page 21) Factual Easy Objective: Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology. 35. What province has had a significant influence on regionalism in Canada? a. British Columbia b. Ontario c. Quebec d. Nunavut Answer: C (page 23) Factual Easy Objective: Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology. 36. Which of the following is the best explanation for why Canadian sociology is more radical than the American tradition of sociology? a. Canada is a more liberal society. b. Canadian sociology is newer than American sociology. c. Canada is more influenced by European thinking. d. Canadian sociology has a greater focus on macrosociology and feminist perspectives. Answer: D (page 24) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology. 37. In his works The Fur Trade in Canada and The Cod Fisheries, Innis developed the staples thesis, which contends that a. all knowledge is the result of experience. b. regionalism has had a major influence on the development of Canadian culture and identity. c. Canadian development was based on the exploitation of raw materials that were sent to European countries. d. tensions and contradictions within society form the basis for social change. Answer: C (page 24) Conceptual Challenging Objective – Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology. 38. Globalization can best be defined as a. a process involving the production, distribution, and consumption of technological, political, economic, and socio-cultural goods and services. b. the collapse of space and time due to electronic media, which has enabled people to interact and experience life on a global scale. c. the increased difficulty of communicating with others across cultures. d. regionalism within countries. Answer: A (page 27) Factual Moderate Objective: Review the importance of a global perspective. 39. Renowned Canadian media scholar Marshall McLuhan is recognized for coining this term: a. globalization b. virtual reality c. global village d. political economy Answer: C (page 27) Factual Easy Objective: Review the importance of a global perspective. 40. Durkheim argued that a. the ‘self’ emerges through communication. b. professionals hold more power than non-professionals. c. people want to work together. d. people define selves by how others view them. Answer: C (page 20) Factual Moderate A Heading: Macro and Micro Approaches 41. Which of the following is a microtheorist? a. Karl Marx b. George Herbert Mead c. Emile Durkheim d. Max Weber Answer: B (page 21) Factual Moderate A Heading: Macro and Micro Approaches 42. Who named symbolic interactionism? a. Herbert Blumer b. Karl Marx c. Charles Horton Cooley d. George Herbert Mead Answer: A (page 21) Factual Easy A Heading: Macro and Micro Approaches 43. Which does not apply to anti-positivism? a. Subjective reality exists. b. Research is not value-free. c. qualitative research d. Knowable reality exists. Answer: D (page 16) Conceptual Moderate A Heading: Three Revolutions: The Rise of Sociology 44. Who was not a Renaissance thinker? a. John Locke b. Machiavelli c. Descartes d. Hobbes Answer: A (page 17) Factual Moderate A Heading: Three Revolutions: The Rise of Sociology 45. Sophists were the first thinkers to a. understand the link between the physical and social worlds. b. focus their efforts on human beings. c. challenge the virtue of being paid for one’s knowledge. d. understand a new science was necessary. Answer: C (page 14) Applied Moderate A Heading: Three Revolutions: The Rise of Sociology 46. Which does not constitute a minority status? a. physical disability b. women c. people of colour d. mental disability Answer: B (page 9) Conceptual Easy A Heading: What Makes You, You? 47. What percentage of the Canadian population contributes to non profit organizations? a. 15 percent b. 35 percent c. 65 percent d. 85 percent Answer: D (page 13) Factual Moderate A Heading: What Makes You, You? 48. Which of the following does not differentiate Canadian from American Sociology? a. regionalism b. political economy c. radical in nature d. Americanization Answer: D (page 24) Factual Easy A Heading: Sociology in Canada 49. Who, of the following, was not a Canadian sociologist? a. John Porter b. Harold Adams Innis c. Charles Cooley d. Herbert Brown Ames Answer: C (pages 25–26) Factual Easy A Heading: Sociology in Canada 50. Who coined the term global village? a. Marshall McLuhan b. Anthoney Giddens c. Antonio Gramsci d. Herbert Spencer Answer: A (page 27) Conceptual Easy A Heading: Sociology in a Global Perspective 51. Which is an example of a sociological perspective? a. seeing the causal link between smoking and poor health b. understanding that the roles men and women enact are rooted in biology c. understanding that there is an inextricable link between gender and sexuality d. understanding that women’s lower rates of employment and wages is related to patriarchy Answer: D (page 4) Applied moderate A Heading: Sociological Perspective 52. Peter Berger believes that the sociological perspective is the a. ability to understand the dynamic relationship between individual lives and the larger society. b. ability to see the differences between personal troubles and social issues. c. ability to see the strange in the familiar and the general in the particular. d. the systematic study of human interactions. Answer: C (page 5) Factual Moderate A Heading: What Makes You, You? 53. Where is most of the world’s wealth held? a. North b. South c. East d. West Answer: D (page 29) Factual Easy A Heading: Sociology in a Global Perspective 54. According to Harold Innis, Canadian society seems to have been partly defined by a. the use of two distinct languages. b. the understanding that Canada is not a major economic force. c. the unique landscape. d. the small population in comparison to the size of the land. Answer: B (page 29) Factual Moderate A Heading: Macro and Micro Approaches to Sociology 55. Mead believed that the self is formed through a. negotiating conflict. b. communication. c. parental authority. d. peer reflection. Answer: B (page 21) Factual Moderate A Heading: Macro and Micro Approaches to Sociology 56. Herbert Blumer’s contribution to sociology was his a. analysis of the self. b. looking glass theory. c. analysis of meaning, language, and thought. d. discussion of anomic suicide. Answer: C (page 21) Factual Moderate A Heading: Macro and Micro Approaches to Sociology 57. In The Prince Machiavelli argued that a. human behaviour is motivated by self interest and a desire for material gain. b. human beings were able to understand the world through rational reflection. c. techniques used in the hard sciences to explain the physical world should be applied to the social world as well. d. ideas are not innate and that all knowledge is the result of experience. Answer: B (page 18) Factual Moderate A Heading: Three Revolutions: The Rise of Sociology 58. Karl Marx believed that people are a. cooperative by nature. b. powerful. c. naturally competitive. d. in need of strong-handed laws. Answer: C (page 20) Factual Moderate A Heading: Macro and Micro Approaches to Sociology 59. Which of the Revolutions do Sociologists argue has had the biggest effect on society? a. the industrial revolution b. the political revolution c. the scientific revolution d. the communicative revolution Answer: A (pages 14–19) Factual Moderate A Heading: Three Revolutions: The Rise of Sociology True and False Questions 1. Getting fired from your job because you are always late for work is an example of a social issue. Answer: False (page 4) Applied Easy Objective: Explain what the sociological perspective is. 2. Mills highlighted the difference between personal troubles, which are caused by extra-local social structural factors, and social issues, which result from largely individual challenges. Answer: False (page 4) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 3. The sociological imagination can help improve a person’s quality of mind. Answer: True (page 5) Conceptual Easy Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 4. According to Berger, sociologists need to tune their sociological perspective by thinking about what is strange and seeing it as familiar. Answer: False (page 5) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Explain Peter Berger’s use of the terms general, particular, strange, and familiar. 5. The ability to see the general in the particular and the strange in the familiar is the cornerstone of the sociological perspective. Answer: True (page 6) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Explain Peter Berger’s use of the terms general, particular, strange, and familiar. 6, Sociology teaches us that the majority of those born poor remain poor. Answer: True (page 9) Applied Moderate Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 7. Gender inequality is no longer a social issue. Answer: False (page 9) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 8. Oprah Winfrey’s success can be attributed to her ascribed status. Answer: False (page 10) Conceptual Easy Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 9. A basic premise of positivism is that truth is relative to the knower. Answer: False (page 16) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 10. Positivism is a theoretical approach that considers all understanding to be based on science. Answer: True (page 16) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 11. Quantitative sociology focuses on behaviours that can be measured. Answer: True (page 17) Conceptual Easy Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 12. Qualitative sociologists propose that we can and should separate scientific inquiry from values. Answer: False (page 17) Conceptual Challenging Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 13. According to Hobbes, the true nature of humankind is compassion for others. Answer: False (page 18) Conceptual Moderate Objective: Understand the historical development of sociology. 14. Urbanization is a significant outcome of the Industrial Revolution that is still impacting our society today. Answer: True (page 19) Conceptual Challenging Objective: Understand the historical development of sociology. 15. Karl Marx’s perspective can best be described as microsociological. Answer: False (page 20) Conceptual Easy Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 16. Microsociology focuses on individuals and/or small groups and how they behave in particular face-to-face social networks. Answer: True (page 20) Applied Moderate Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 17. Political economy can be defined as the interactions of politics, government and governing, and the social and cultural constitution of markets, institutions, and actors. Answer: True (page 24) Factual Moderate Objective: Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology. 18. Canadian sociology has historically been, and remains to be, much more critical than American sociology. Answer: True (page 24) Factual Challenging Objective: Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology. 19. Contrary to what many so-called “globalization experts” say, our world is less interconnected and intermingled today than it was in the early 20th century. Answer: False (page 27) Applied Moderate Objective: Review the importance of a global perspective. 20. The international community did nothing to prevent the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, nor did they get involved once it began. Answer: True (page 27) Factual Moderate Objective: Review the importance of a global perspective. 21. Of the six billion people alive today, only one billion live in developed countries. Answer: True (page 29) Factual Easy A Heading: Sociology in a Global Perspective 22. Sociologists believe that our mundane choices have rich social significance. Answer: True (page 4) Factual Easy A Heading: The Sociological Perspective 23. C. Wright Mills describes the Sociological perspective as the ability to see the general in the particular and the strange in the familiar. Answer: False (page 5) Factual Easy A Heading: The Sociological Perspective 24. Men earn approximately 20 percent more than women in Canada. Answer: False (page 9) Factual Easy A Heading: What Makes you, You? 25. Canadian volunteer rates are highest among stay-at-home mothers whose household income was below $100 000. Answer: False (page 13) Factual moderate A Heading: What Makes you, You? 26. Positivism derived from the scientific revolution. Answer: True (page 15) Conceptual moderate A Heading: Three Revolutions: The Rise of Sociology 27. Interviewing a swim team about their experiences as part of a competitive team is an example of quantitative sociology. Answer: False (page 17) Applied Moderate A Heading: Three Revolutions: The Rise of Sociology 28. Elementary school teachers refusing to “volunteer” their time to supervise extracurricular activities is an example of Weber’s rationalization. Answer: True (page 21) Applied Moderate A Heading: Macro and Micro Approaches to Sociology 29. Canadian sociology developed prior to American sociology but has had less notoriety. Answer: False (page 21) Factual Moderate A Heading: Sociology in Canada 30. Political economy looks at the ways in which political institutions, the political environment, and the economic system influence each other. Answer: True (page 24) Conceptual Moderate A Heading: Sociology in Canada Short-Answer Questions 1. Explain what Peter Berger meant by the terms general, particular, strange, and familiar. How do they relate to sociology? Answer: Seeing the general in the particular is the ability to look at seemingly unique events or circumstances and then recognize the larger or general features involved (page 5). Sociologists need to tune their sociological perspective by thinking about what is familiar and seeing it as strange (page 5). Conceptual Moderate Objective: Explain Peter Berger’s use of the terms general, particular, strange, and familiar. 2. What does it mean to say that an individual has “agency”? Answer: To say that individuals have agency is to highlight that, however limited, they do have some ability to alter their socially constructed lives (page 7). Conceptual Challenging Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 3. Identify the two distinct yet complementary perspectives that define the sociological perspective as developed by Peter Berger in his 1963 book Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective. Answer: Berger argued that thinking sociologically requires one to see (1) the general in the particular and (2) the strange in the familiar (page 6). Conceptual Moderate Objective: Explain Peter Berger’s use of the terms general, particular, strange, and familiar. 4. Describe and explain the sociological imagination. What sociologist developed this term? Why is it important to sociology? Answer: Mills developed the term. Answers will vary (see pages 4–5). Applied Moderate Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 5. What is the relationship between the concepts of sociological imagination and quality of mind? Answer: The sociological imagination improves quality of mind (page 5). Conceptual Challenging Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 6. What specific problem does Human Resources and Social Development Canada identify with respect to the compilation of numbers of homeless persons in Canada? Answer: At the present time, no reliable method for counting the number of people who are homeless can be identified (page 7). Factual Challenging Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 7. What is the difference between “achieved” and “ascribed” status? Answer: A person’s ascribed status refers to all attributes (advantages and disadvantages) assigned at birth, whereas their achieved status refers to all attributes developed throughout life as a result of effort and skill (page 10). Conceptual Moderate Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 8. Which three revolutions are associated with the emergence of the discipline of sociology? Answer: The scientific, political, and Industrial revolutions (pages 14). Factual Easy Objective: Understand the historical development of sociology. 9. Describe Auguste Comte’s Law of Three Stages and explain why sociologists today do not give much credit to his ideas. Answer: Comte’s Law of Three Stages defines how advances of the mind created three different types of societies (3 stages – Theological, Metaphysical, and Positive). Two reasons the Law of Three Stages is not given much credibility: it assumes that human thinking is currently as good as it will get, and the idea that the third and final stage was just emerging during Comte’s lifetime is somewhat self-serving (pages 14-15). Challenging Conceptual Objective: Understand the historical development of sociology. 10. Positivism is based on three primary assumptions. List the three assumptions and provide the anti-positivist response to each. Answer: (1) There exists an objective and knowable reality. Anti-positivism: The formulas that positivists use to explain the universe have meaning only when we collectively assign social value to them. (2) Since all sciences explore the same, singular reality over time, all sciences will become more alike. Antipositivism: No single methodological approach can reach a complete understanding of our world. (3) There is no room in science for value judgments. Anti-positivism: Science cannot be separated from values (pages 16-17). Conceptual Challenging Objective: Define and explain the differences between positivism and antipositivism. 11. What does Weber mean in his characterization of modern society as “rationalized”? Answer: People are becoming more focused on “efficiency” in the accomplishment of particular ends. Weber notes that while society may become more productive and efficient, people also come to act, increasingly, as machines (page 20). Conceptual Challenging Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 12. Identify the three key theorists associated with the development of the American tradition known as “microsociology.” Answer: The works of George Herbert Mead (1863–1931), Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929), and Herbert Blumer (1900–1987) were instrumental in establishing and promoting a microsociological perspective of the social world (page 20). Factual Moderate Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 13. Define microsociology and macrosociology. Choose a theorist associated with each approach. Answer: Macrosociology – the study of society as a whole; theorists Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, and Max Weber (see pages 20-21). Microsociology – the study of individual or small-group dynamics within a larger society; theorists George Herbert Mead, Charles Horton Cooley, and Herbert Blumer (see page 21). Conceptual Moderate Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 14. As a new sociologist, do you identify more with the macro or micro approach to sociology? Why? Answer: Answers will vary (see pages 20-21). Applied Challenging Objective: Explain microsociology and macrosociology, and identify the leading theorists of each. 15. Name the four features of Canadian sociology that distinguish it from American sociology. Explain two of them. Answer: Geography and regionalism, focus on political economy, Canadianization movement, and radical nature of Canadian sociology (pages 22-24). Answers will vary. Conceptual Moderate Objective: Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology. 16. What does “political economy” refer to? Identify two Canadian sociologists associated with this theoretical approach. Answer: As discussed by leading Canadian sociologist Wallace Clement, political economy is the study of the interactions of politics, government and governing, and the social and cultural constitution of markets, institutions, and actors. According to Clement, political economy–oriented sociology attempts to seek out tensions and contradictions within society to form the basis for social change. The first Canadian sociologist to investigate Canada’s political economy in a systematic way was Harold A. Innis (page 24). Conceptual Challenging Objective: Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology. 17. What was the “Canadianization movement” and what general condition gave rise to its emergence? Answer: In the 1950s and1960s, Canadian sociologists felt the significant need to hire and train more Canadian sociologists to study Canadian society from a distinctively Canadian perspective. This movement was largely stimulated by the dominance of American sociology in Canadian sociology departments at that time (page 24). Factual Challenging Objective: Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology. 18. Select two early Canadian sociologists and describe their contributions to the field of sociology. Answer: Answers will vary (see pages 25-27). Conceptual Moderate Objective: Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology. 19. Define and discuss what McLuhan’s phrase “global village” refers to. Answer: This phrase references the collapsing of space and time through electronic media, which enable people to interact and experience life on a global scale. McLuhan argues that technology has shrunk the globe to the size of a village, to the extent that we perceive a closeness that transcends traditional boundaries of time and space (page 26). Conceptual Moderate Objective: Review the importance of a global perspective. 20. Define globalization and discuss how it relates to sociology. Answer: Globalization is a worldwide process involving the production, distribution, and consumption of technological, political, economic, and sociocultural goods and services (page 27). Answers will vary. Applied Challenging Objective” Review the importance of a global perspective. 21. Explain the differences between quantitative and qualitative research. Answer (page 17): Quantitative research focuses on measuring and is positivistic in nature. Qualitative research focuses on experience—non measurable behaviours—and is anti-positivistic in nature. Conceptual Moderate A Heading: Three Revolutions: The Rise of Sociology 22. Discuss five social factors which influence who we become. Answer (pages 7–11): Minority status (visible, mental, or physical disability, gay lesbian, bi-sexual); gender (women disadvantaged); Socio-economic status (ascribed vs. achieved status); family structure (married/divorced/single parent/extended); urban-rural difference (live in small town vs. large city). Applied Moderate A Heading: What Makes You, You? 23. Discuss C. Wright Mills’ importance to sociology. Answer (pages 4–5): Need to appreciate how individual challenges are influenced by larger social forces. Personal troubles/social issues/sociological imagination. Conceptual Moderate A Heading: The Sociological Perspective 24. The ability to see the general in the particular and the strange in the familiar is said to be the cornerstone of the sociological perspective. What does this mean and who coined this phrase? Answer (pages 5–7): Peter Berger, an American sociologist, said that the sociological imagination included the ability to see the world from two distinct, yet complimentary, perspectives; seeing the general in the particular and seeing the strange in the familiar. Conceptual Moderate A Heading: The Sociological Perspective 25. According to the text, what inspired the rise of sociology? Answer (pages 14–19): The three revolutions—scientific, political, industrial. Factual Easy A Heading: Three Revolutions: The Rise of Sociology 26. Outline the differences between positivism and anti-positivism. Answer (pages 16–17): Positivism is a theoretical approach that considers all understanding to be based on science. There are three primary assumptions: there exists an objective and knowable reality; since all sciences explore the same, singular reality, over time all sciences will become more alike. There is no room in science for value judgment. Anti-positivism is a theoretical approach that considers knowledge and understanding to be the result of human subjectivity. Anti-positivists challenge each positivist assumption arguing the exact opposite. Conceptual Challenging A Heading: Three Revolutions: The Rise of Sociology 27. Explain the differences between macro- and microsociology, and list which theorists fall under the perspective categories. Answer (pages 20–21): Attempting to understand society as a whole is referred to as macrosociology whereas microsociology investigates individual or small group dynamics. Macro: Marx and Durkheim. Micro: Mead, Cooley, Blumer. Conceptual Easy A Heading: Macro and Micro Approaches to Sociology 28. Discuss the four features that define Canadian sociology as different from American sociology. Answer (pages 22–25): Canada’s geography and regionalism: development and maintenance of a community despite hostile elements and outside political forces, unique linguistic and cultural influences of Quebec. Focus on political economy; interest in the interactions of politics, government and governing, and the social and cultural constitution of markets, institutions, and actors. Canadianization movement, radical nature of Canadian sociology; greater focus on macrosociology as well as feminism. Factual Moderate A Heading: Sociology in Canada 29. When looking at sociology in a global context, why do the authors argue that capitalism is an important aspect? Answer (pages 27–28): We often see capitalism as the only possible economic system. While capitalism has led to great wealth for some countries and for some individuals, it has created greater poverty as well. Of the six billion people on the planet, five billion live in poverty. The one billion who live in developed countries control 80 percent of global resources. Conceptual Moderate A Heading: Sociology in a Global Perspective. 30. What does the term global village mean? Answer (page 27): Marshall McLuhan coined the term global village. The global village describes how electronic media allows for the collapse of space and time, and thus enables people everywhere to interact and experience life on a global scale. Conceptual Moderate A Heading: Sociology in a Global Perspective. Essay Questions 1. Define the “sociological imagination” and discuss how this “quality of mind” would apply to you as a university student. Answer: The sociological imagination makes reference to the ability to understand the dynamic relationship between individual lives and the larger society. This “quality of mind” involves stepping outside of one’s own immediate circumstances and utilizing a new perspective that broadly contextualizes one’s life. This perspective requires one to move beyond the individual level by seeing oneself as the product of family, income level, race, and gender. As Mills discussed, when people understand themselves and others through the sociological imagination, they appreciate that very few things are black and white (pages 4-5). Applied Moderate Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 2. Choose a social problem and explore it from a sociological perspective, making reference to the ideas of C.W. Mills and Peter Berger. How has this exploration impacted your initial views on the social problem? Explain Peter Berger’s use of the terms general, particular, strange, and familiar. Answer: Answers will vary (see pages 4–7). Applied Challenging Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination; explain Peter Berger’s use of the terms general, particular, strange, and familiar. 3. Choose three social factors that you believe have been most influential for defining the person you have become. From a sociological perspective, discuss how these social factors have had an influence on your life. Answer: Answers will vary (see pages 7 – 12). Applied Challenging Objective: Describe, and provide personal reflections about, C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. 4. Discuss some of the key features of Canadian sociology and some key Canadian sociologists whose work embodies these features. Answer: Essays will vary, but they should include some reference to the following key dimensions that have shaped the development of Canadian sociology: Canadian geography and regionalism (pages 22-23), the focus on political economy, Canadianization, and radical perspectives (pages 24-25). Strong essays will include some discussion of key Canadian sociologists, including Carl Dewson, Harold Innis, Aileen Ross, Helel Abell, Kathleen Herman, John Porter, and Ruth Rittenhouse Morris (pages 25-26). Conceptual Moderate Objective: Describe the defining features of Canadian sociology. 5. Peter Berger is an American Sociologist who defined the sociological perspective as the ability to see the world from two distinct and complimentary perspectives—seeing the general in the particular and the strange in the familiar. Apply your sociological imagination to any event of your choosing; it could be a sporting event, preparing dinner, attending class, or any other activity which you carry out. Write a few paragraphs describing your chosen event. At the end of your ‘seeing the strange in the familiar’ ensure that you include a description of the event in familiar language. Answers will vary. Students can refer to page 5 of the textbook. Applied Challenging A Heading: The Sociological Perspective 6. Discuss the sociological perspective and the relationship between social forces and personal social identity. Answer (pages 4–11): The sociological perspective is the view that society is based on the dynamic relationships between individuals and the larger social networks in which we live. It can be illustrated by Charles Wright Mills’ discussion of sociological imagination, personal troubles, and social issues, as well as Peter Berger’s defining features of the sociological perspective (seeing the strange in the familiar and the general in the particular). There is an understanding that individuals have agency, but there are social factors which help to shape us. Should include discussion of gender, family structure, minority status, socio-economic status, and urban-rural differences. Applied/Conceptual Challenging A Heading: The Sociological Perspective and What Makes You, You?