What is Sociology?

What is the name of the process by which we acquire a sense of identity and become members of society?

• rationalization

• colonization

• McDonaldization

• socialization

Answer explanation

Sociologists argue that our identities are socially produced, through a process called socialization. This means that we have to learn to become members of our society, or of particular groups within it (such as social classes or subcultures), and we do this every time we join a new social group. Socialization involves learning the norms, values, and lifestyles of a group, to the extent that they become part of one's personal identity

In contemporary societies, social institutions are:

• highly specialized, interrelated sets of social practices

• disorganized social relations in a postmodern world

• virtual communities in cyberspace

• no longer relevant to sociology

Which of the following is not recognised as a level of society?

• the household

• the office

• the global village

• the nation state

When sociologists study the structure of layers in society and people's movement between them, they call this:

• social stratification

• social control

• social conflict

• social solidarity

Answer explanation

Societies are also characterized by structures of inequality and domination. We can find this within a society, in terms of wealth and social class, gender, ethnicity, and so on, but also between societies as nation states. Social stratification refers to the way in which these different levels, or strata, emerge and the relationships between them. Sociologists therefore ask where we draw the boundaries between strata, and how flexible they are in letting people to move from one level to another.

Social norms are:

• creative activities such as gardening, cookery and craftwork

• the symbolic representation of social groups in the mass media

• religious beliefs about how the world ought to be

• rules and expectations about interaction that regulate social life

In idealized views of science, the experimental method is said to involve:

• testing out new research methods to see which one works best

• isolating and measuring the effect of one variable upon another

• using personal beliefs and values to decide what to study

• interpreting data subjectively, drawing on theoretical paradigms

Society cannot be studied in the same way as the natural world because:

• human behavior is meaningful, and varies between individuals and cultures

• it is difficult for sociologists to gain access to a research laboratory

• sociologists are not rational or critical enough in their approach

• we cannot collect empirical data about social life

Answer explanation

The idealized view of science is often criticised as not being applicable to the social world, where we cannot study one variable in isolation from others. Furthermore, the subject matter of sociology is people, who do not behave in regular, predictable ways. Interpretivists, particularly, argue that human behaviour is meaningful and that we cannot explain it in terms of universal laws; we can only study the meanings people give to their activities within their own cultures.

Sociology differs from common sense in that:

• it focuses on the researchers' own experiences

• it makes little distinction between the way the world is and the way it ought to be

• its knowledge is accumulated from many different research contexts

• it is subjective and biased

Sociology can be considered a social science because:

• its theories are logical, explicit and supported by empirical evidence

• sociologists collect data in a relatively objective and systematic way

• ideas and research findings are scrutinized by other sociologists

• all of the above

Answer explanation

While sociology may not be like a natural science, it is generally regarded as a social science, because it follows some scientific principles. Sociologists construct theories that are different from common sense, by drawing on a range of data that they collect in a logical, disciplined, and systematic way. Their knowledge claims are supported by evidence from this data, which to some extent 'speaks for itself'. Other researchers can scrutinize their ideas and research findings, and most sociologists are also reflexively self-critical.

Many African Americans feel the flag for the Confederate States of America, called the Stars and Bars, is a sign of racial hatred. States' rights advocates view the same flag as "heritage, not hatred." Such a difference of opinion over the same material object is an illustration of which sociological perspective?

• Symbolic interactionism

• Social conflict

• Structural functionalism

• Structural Conflict