Deck 21: Networks, Groups, Bureaucracies, and Societies

Question 1

On average, according to the text, how many social ties does each Torontonian have?

A) 75
B) 150
C) 300
D) 400

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In the early 1970s, social psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted an experiment that he told participants was a study of the effect of punishment on learning. What was Milgram honestly researching?

A) the abuse of power in the learning process
B) the willingness of participants to disregard their personal conscience and follow the instructions given by an authoritative figure
C) the ability of participants to learn more when there is no fear of punishment
D) the willingness of participants to be socialized into a whistle-blowing mindset

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Nobody spoke up when the authorities asked who in the company the leader of the scam was. The media report commented on how all of the employees stood by the company, despite the fact that laws had been broken. According to the text, which of the following reasons would NOT have played a role in building the loyalty of this staff?

A) a strong sense of solidarity among the staff
B) a strong pride in their work
C) a strong authority structure
D) a well-oiled bureaucratic machine

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Who conducted the original research on degrees of separation in social networks?

A) Karl Marx and Frederick Engels
B) Jeffrey Travers and Stanley Milgram
C) Patrick Nolan and Gerhard Lenski
D) Kevin Bacon and Steve Carell

Question 5

Zi needs a favour from Miguel, but she does not know Miguel. However, she knows Elena, who knows Miguel. Therefore, Zi calls Elena and asks her to ask Miguel if he can offer assistance. What social relationship is Zi using to obtain assistance?

A) an informal social network
B) a formal social network
C) a bureaucracy
D) a social group

Question 6

On her first day at the company, Tara was introduced to the president, three vice-presidents, five directors, and 10 managers. The line of authority was clearly explained to her so that she would take any of her issues to a manager, who would report to a director, and so forth up the chain. According to the text, what kind of organizational structure was used by the company?

A) a presidential system
B) an authoritative proprietorship
C) an efficiency structure
D) a bureaucracy

Question 7

Which of the following explains the ability of humans to perpetrate atrocities against their own kind?

A) We are biologically predisposed to violence.
B) It is in the nature of bureaucracies.
C) Group hatred is an empirical and historical fact.
D) Humans are by nature animals.

Question 8

When the work of killing people is subjected to a bureaucratic division of labour, what is the consequence?

A) Inefficiencies creep in due to lack of communication.
B) People do their job because they want to kill.
C) Far fewer people are killed as a result.
D) The many tasks depersonalize the horrible truth.

Question 9

During the Vietnam War, American soldiers massacred 504 unarmed civilians in a village called My Lai. What dynamic helps explain the cause of this calamity?

A) norms of solidarity
B) the boot camp effect
C) kill or be killed instinct
D) innovative cruelty

Question 10

After losing the soccer game, the girls' team ran through the streets vandalizing cars and store windows. According to the text, why would the team captain insist that all of the girls participate?

A) Vandalism was a way to maintain a bond between team players
B) Vandalism kept everyone distracted from the loss.
C) Vandalism was a way to punish the winning team.
D) Vandalism was a way to minimize authority.

Question 11

One analyst of the 2008 global financial meltdown claimed that the large investment companies had a criminogenic work environment-only a few employees were whistleblowers. How were whistleblowers able to take action?

A) They did not adopt organizational norms.
B) They possessed a guilty conscience.
C) They did not want to go to jail.
D) They possessed good character.

Question 12

Gavin is an avid social media user, and decided to investigate the social connectedness of people around the world. While in the process of analyzing a data set of instant messages composed of 40 billion conversations among 260 million people, his roommate Scott predicted the answer. Gavin was amazed when he discovered that Scott was right. What figure did Scott predict?

A) 6
B) 12
C) 24
D) 36

Question 13

Sandra needs help getting a job. According to Mark Granovetter, who of the following is most likely to be able to offer assistance?

A) Sandra's brother
B) Sandra's mother
C) Sandra's best friend
D) a friend of Sandra's best friend

Question 14

According to the text, what might be your best job-seeking strategy?

A) Contact members of your extended family, especially close relatives.
B) Canvass businesses door-to-door and make interview appointments.
C) Broaden your contacts, utilize your casual acquaintances.
D) Make a résumé, search the want ads, go to an employment agency.

Question 15

According to Ferdinand Tönnies, what does a society consist of?

A) relationships connected by self-interest
B) intimate and emotionally intense ties
C) a community of extended families
D) rural local and small villages

Question 16

According to the text, we live in a small world. What is behind this assertion?

A) rapid transit, such as jet airliners
B) we have mobile communication
C) social networks connect us
D) the effects of globalization

Question 17

John told the teacher about how the boys were teasing one of the girls mercilessly at recess. According to the text, why might John have spoken out about the event when none of the other boys dared to?

A) He believed in justice over social belonging.
B) He did not want to let the girl down.
C) He may have not been fully socialized into the group.
D) He wanted the girl to like him.

Question 18

In his analysis of the Glen Ridge rape case of 1989, Bernard Lefkowitz concluded that the perpetrators were adhering to the values of the community in which they were socialized. Which of the following is NOT one of the community values discussed by Lefkowitz?

A) the toleration of male misconduct
B) the perspective that women are subordinate to men
C) achievement is a trait that is more highly valued than compassion
D) group solidarity is not as important as moral sensitivity

Question 19

Daniel needed to see a famous doctor quickly, but no one he knew had any connections to the doctor. At least, that was the case until he realized that he had an acquaintance who had a similar illness and who had seen the same doctor. Daniel contacted the acquaintance, who was able to help him. According to Granovetter, which of the following phenomenon does this demonstrate?

A) the importance of asking for help
B) the strength of weak ties
C) the benefits of health networks
D) the use of strong ties

Question 20

An undergraduate student in his early 20s befriends a new but shy sociology professor only slightly older than himself. With the guidance of his professor friend, the student eventually becomes a sociology professor, too. How was this accomplished?

A) getting multiple degrees
B) by hard work and merit
C) by politics at a micro level
D) networking and mentorship

Question 21

Selecting Common Ground is an organization that brings together Muslim, Jewish, and Christian children for summer camps. What strategy is being employed here toward breaking down in-group and out-group conflict?

A) time out for energy renewal
B) face-to-face contact
C) conversion to another faith
D) a vacation from conflict

Question 22

There is a meeting next week for people planning to sell their houses. Which of the following is this a meeting for?

A) a social category
B) a social group
C) a social organization
D) a social network

Question 23

Juan said to Hector, "You can't quit your job because then Carlos will have to support us both. It doesn't matter if your boss is mean; it wouldn't be fair to Carlos." What kind of relationship is demonstrated in this conversation?

A) a dyad
B) a triad
C) a guilt circle
D) an economic partnership

Question 24

A man in a wheelchair is waiting at a subway station with several other people, when he gets swarmed by a group of unruly teens-they poke fun at him and race him up and down the station platform in his chair. Why do the witnesses do nothing?

A) The more bystanders there are, the less responsibility each person feels to intervene.
B) People might have assumed the victim was acquainted with his assailants.
C) People do not like to interfere in other people's business.
D) Everyone is too frightened to intervene; they all fear for their own safety.

Question 25

Members of the running group the Miramichi River Runners all think of themselves as runners, whatever their competitive ability. What are these runners, as a class of people?

A) a primary group
B) a running group
C) a social category
D) a network

Question 26

A student told all of his friends a wrong answer for a subjective test question just before the test. The teacher could find no reference to the answer in the textbook, but since 10 students in the class had put the same answer, he figured it must be right and marked it correct. Which of the following social phenomena is this an example of?

A) testing
B) subjectivity
C) objectivity
D) conformity

Question 27

In the classic experiment on prejudice, what strategy did the researchers utilize to break down the in-group/out-group barriers between 11-year-old boys at a summer camp?

A) They controlled the conflict, and then performed an intervention.
B) They created emergencies that required the boys to work together in order to solve them.
C) They had small-group counselling sessions focused on resolving group differences.
D) They conducted classes, highlighting to the groups that their in- and out-group distinctions were meaningless.

Question 28

Susannah and her two sons, Richard and Paul, form what type of a social relationship?

A) dyad
B) triad
C) quadrad
D) myad

Question 29

Patrizia and Saul have been married for five years, and recently adopted a seven-year-old boy from Africa. According to the text, which of the following would be true about their social relationship?

A) Patrizia and Saul's relationship will become even more intimate and intense.
B) They now have a serious dyadic relationship.
C) Patrizia and Saul have a completely new set of social dynamics to adjust to.
D) Their social relationship has not changed significantly.

Question 30

A young man growing up in a small town has a desire to be a jazz musician; however, he has no one to "jam" with. Yet he collects records, reads jazz history, and idolizes jazz innovator Miles Davis. What does this distant jazz community represent for this young man?

A) a reference group
B) a primary group
C) an ideal group
D) a secondary group

Question 31

On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded after launch. An investigation later determined that safety warnings about fuel seals leaking had been ignored by NASA administrators and seal manufacturers. What is the term for this kind of corporate decision making?

A) risk taking
B) groupthink
C) negligence
D) human error

Question 32

Which of the following is the most elementary network unit?

A) triad
B) quadrad
C) dyad
D) myad

Question 33

At a rave party, a 15-year-old was drugged and then raped repeatedly by a number of the partygoers. Some onlookers snapped pictures that they subsequently posted on Facebook, and others just ignored what was happening. When a witness to the affair was contacted by police, his statement was, "I didn't know her. I assumed she was a willing participant. Besides, no one else was calling 911." What is the term used to describe his reaction to the event?

A) concrete feet syndrome
B) bystander apathy
C) intervention hesitation
D) reluctant witness syndrome

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT true in reference to group conformity?

A) Low-status members of a group are more likely to disagree than the high-status members in the group.
B) When group cohesiveness increases, the likelihood of conformity increases.
C) One group member who vocally disagrees will increase the possibility of other group members disagreeing.
D) People who live in individualistic societies tend to be less conforming than people living in collectivist societies.

Question 35

What term describes a group that establishes boundaries to separate itself from others?

A) primary group
B) out-group
C) in-group
D) network

Question 36

How do triads differ from dyads?

A) Triads divide responsibilities more equally.
B) In triads, the potential for conflict increases.
C) In triads, relations are more intimate.
D) Triads share resources more equally.

Question 37

The Miramichi River Runners are a network of people who come together to participate in races, have an annual party, and give out awards to top competitors. What kind of group is this?

A) a primary group
B) a social category
C) a running club
D) a social group

Question 38

What does the text call a group composed of people whom an individual uses in order to evaluate his or her situation or conduct?

A) primary group
B) work group
C) formal organization
D) reference group

Question 39

Who conducted experiments on conformity using perception of line lengths and group judgments?

A) George Herbert Mead
B) Stanley Milgram
C) Ferdinand Tönnies
D) Solomon Asch

Question 40

During World War II, German in-group boundaries included defining out-group membership as any person who had a Jewish grandparent. What effect did this have on German society?

A) It was unnecessary, as the German/Jewish boundary was already well defined.
B) It created a strong boundary that cut deeply into the fabric of German society.
C) It solved a big problem that had been challenging German census takers.
D) It deeply unified people of faith and conscience against the German government.

Question 41

A young woman tries to return a defective pair of earphones to a large chain store, only to be told that company policy prohibits returns of such products on hygienic grounds. What aspect of bureaucracy is captured in this example?

A) corporate pettiness
B) bureaucratic ritualization
C) organizational policy
D) bureaucratic inefficiency

Question 42

Long waits at the emergency department of a hospital, having to "take a number," and interacting with workers who seem more mired in routine than concerned about you, are examples of which characteristic of bureaucracy?

A) people processing
B) dehumanization
C) people changing
D) bureaucratizing people

Question 43

A president of a large corporation sends out an email to initiate some corporate cultural change, but after six months is frustrated with the lack of results. Why might this be the case?

A) The president should know that email is not effective communication.
B) Information in the hierarchy gets blocked or changed.
C) It takes that long for email memos to circulate in the organization.
D) The vice-president may have sent out a similar message.

Question 44

According to research, which of the following leadership styles is LEAST effective?

A) laissez-faire
B) democratic
C) authoritarian
D) transactional

Question 45

Most of us develop some degree of loyalty to secondary groups in our lives-such as school loyalty, or company loyalty-yet we may know only a fraction of the members in these groups. According to the text, how is this commitment fostered?

A) by faith
B) by feelings
C) by imagination
D) by experience

Question 46

A president of a large corporation sends out a memo to initiate some corporate cultural change, but after six months is frustrated with the lack of results. Why might this be the case?

A) because of a phenomenon known as the ticker-tape parade
B) because of a phenomenon known as the fog index
C) because of a phenomenon known as the paper shuffle
D) because of a phenomenon known as the paperwork blizzard

Question 47

Many people believe that former U.S. president George W. Bush and the senior political bureaucrats of his government seized too much power when running the American government. Which ideas about bureaucracy do these criticisms reflect?

A) monopolization
B) patriarchy
C) oligarchy
D) conglomeration

Question 48

Based on what you've read in the text, if you had the opportunity to run a large bureaucratically structured corporation for a day, what changes would you make in order to overcome bureaucratic inefficiency?

A) Make a flatter hierarchical structure and decentralize decision making.
B) Make a taller hierarchical structure and centralize decision making.
C) Eliminate all top-down communication in the organization.
D) Eliminate all bottom-up communication in the organization.

Question 49

In bureaucracies, bigger is not always better. Which of the following statements helps to explain why?

A) Too many people needing supervision means sometimes people are unproductive.
B) The infrastructure of a large organization goes to maintaining itself, not to production.
C) The possibility arises to form more dyadic relationships and cliques.
D) Sometimes the dollars spent on the organization greatly outweigh the profits.

Question 50

The president of the company made many rules and regulations. However, she always requested feedback from her employees to ensure that the rules and regulations were effective and not hindering productivity. What kind of leadership style did this president follow?

A) authoritarian leadership
B) democratic leadership
C) laissez-faire leadership
D) effective leadership

Question 51

You are an auto worker in an assembly plant, working on a line with a small team of other workers. In addition to doing their own jobs, all team members are also responsible for checking the quality of the work being performed. What is the term given to this style of worker authority?

A) a quality guarantee
B) a quality circle
C) a quality effort
D) a quality plan

Question 52

According to the text, which leadership style is most effective?

A) laissez-faire leadership
B) authoritarian leadership
C) democratic leadership
D) direct-command leadership

Question 53

Donna worked in a large factory sewing collars on blouses day after day. In order to decrease the monotony, she treated it as a game-trying to exceed her output from the previous day. A co-worker took her aside and told her to stop, or management would increase everyone's quota. What does this action demonstrate?

A) positive relationship between output and ability
B) work slacker syndrome
C) laissez-faire leadership
D) social networks affect productivity

Question 54

Many of the secondary groups we belong to are a paradox, in the sense that we are close to some members yet distant from most others. Which of the following statements best identifies how people foster their shared sense of group belonging?

A) Group belonging is an illusion.
B) Group belonging is delusional.
C) Group belonging is imagined.
D) Group belonging is created.

Question 55

What major global trend has overtaken business organizations over the past 40 years?

A) Corporate and management environments have become more laissez-faire.
B) U.S. and Japanese corporate management styles have diverged.
C) Corporate and management environments have become more authoritarian.
D) U.S. and Japanese corporate management styles have converged.

Question 56

Which of the following statements reflects Max Weber's perspective of bureaucracies?

A) They are the least efficient secondary group.
B) They are the most efficient secondary group.
C) They are a force destructive to social solidarity.
D) They contribute to social solidarity.

Question 57

Every year Canada's Auditor General files a report to parliament describing the waste of millions of dollars in government bureaucracies. Each report is almost a photocopy of the previous year's report. This waste by the government captures which aspect of bureaucracy?

A) bureaucratic inertia
B) corporate steadfastness
C) organizational waste
D) sticking bureaucracy

Question 58

How many dyadic relationships are possible among 50 people?

A) 350
B) 925
C) 1225
D) 1650

Question 59

A president of a large corporation sends out an email memo to initiate some corporate cultural change, but after six months is frustrated with the lack of results. Why might this be the case?

A) A president's work is mainly public relations, not leading the company.
B) No one really reads their memos.
C) His ideas are impractical, since he lacks knowledge about the company's base.
D) Just because someone has the authority to do something doesn't mean he has the respect.

Question 60

The president of the company was frustrated that his directive to hire 100 new employees had not been carried out. He discovered that the hiring practices involved three interviews and a formal vetting process, designed to ensure that the best person was hired for each position. What was inhibiting the growth of the company's workforce?

A) bureaucratic ritualism
B) bureaucratic inertia
C) hierarchical procedures
D) employee scrutiny

Question 61

Leila had to decide whether to marry Jamal or not. She decided that she didn't want to be alone for the rest of her life and since she was approaching 40 (when everyone knows it is more unlikely to find a mate), she agreed to the marriage. In this situation, what was the source of the pressure to marry?

A) her network
B) her social group
C) the local bureaucracy
D) the society

Question 62

If you live in a small village next to a large cornfield and your job is to fashion hand tools, what kind of society do you live in?

A) farming
B) foraging
C) pastoral
D) horticultural

Question 63

Which of the following was one of the significant developments of the agricultural era?

A) the concept of private property
B) the emergence of cities
C) the creation of God's will
D) an increasing division of labour

Question 64

What was one outcome of the maturation of industrial societies?

A) Class and gender inequality declined.
B) Class and gender inequality increased.
C) Class inequality declined, but gender inequality increased.
D) Gender inequality declined, but class inequality increased.

Question 65

Evidence is given in the text to indicate that our society affects us deeply, despite the commonly held belief that we are autonomous and free. Which of the following is presented in the text as the most compelling evidence?

A) the beverages we choose to drink
B) the average number of children couples have
C) the language we speak (mother tongue)
D) the foods we choose to eat

Question 66

If you collect berries and others in your group hunt, what type of society do you live in?

A) pastoral
B) agricultural
C) horticultural
D) foraging

Question 67

If you live on a farm just outside a nearby town and you are about to harness an ox to a plow, what kind of society do you live in?

A) preindustrial
B) agricultural
C) horticultural
D) pastoral

Question 68

Which of the following would you find in a horticultural society?

A) an abundance of domesticated cattle, camels, pigs, goats, sheep, and horses
B) private property rights
C) hand tools for gardening
D) a vast number of fishing boats and nets

Question 69

What is a quality circle?

A) Workers who observe and correct defects.
B) Group sessions used to motivate employees.
C) Supervisors who go around checking quality.
D) A focus group hired to evaluate product quality.

Question 70

Where did the Industrial Revolution originate?

A) United States
B) France
C) Germany
D) Britain

Question 71

What characterizes a pastoral society?

A) farming
B) fishing
C) herding
D) trading

Question 72

If the work you are doing is taking care of the elderly in a nursing home, and your occupation is a Licensed Practical Nurse, what kind of society do you live in?

A) post technological
B) post labour
C) post modern
D) post industrial

Question 73

With pastoral and horticultural production came accompanying social changes. What were these changes?

A) increased isolation between bands
B) rapid innovation in technology
C) greater social and economic inequality
D) unprecedented peacefulness

Question 74

Which form of human society has been most prevalent throughout the existence of humankind?

A) horticultural
B) foraging
C) agricultural
D) pastoral

Question 75

What kind of existence/lifestyle did foragers lead?

A) a life full of conflict and war
B) a constant struggle to survive
C) a life full of hunger and disease
D) a relatively leisurely existence

Question 76

What basic tool of production fuelled agriculture?

A) hatchet
B) plow
C) hoe
D) scythe

Question 77

How was a forager's mode of production related to the natural environment?

A) symbiotically
B) unfavourably
C) passively
D) aggressively

Question 78

Many local women have been hired by a new telemarketing firm that is selling family vacations. It used to be that women had much more trouble than men getting hired in this town. According to the text, what shift has occurred, making the hiring practices more equitable?

A) the shift to a new society
B) the shift to a gendered society
C) the shift to a post industrial society
D) the shift to a industrial society

Question 79

What mode of production characterizes post industrial societies?

A) biotech engineering
B) providing services
C) robotic factories
D) information technology

Question 80

If your tribe leads a nomadic life, and you tend herds, moving them from highland to lowland pastures in tune with seasonal change, what kind of society are you living in?

A) domesticated
B) horticultural
C) foraging
D) pastoral