Review
Questions – Sociology 101 – Morrisville State College – Exam 1
Use these questions as a kind of "flash card" -- can you answer each question without referring to the textbook or notes? Prepare by testing yourself before you take the test on Blackboard -- this is proven to be the best way to study. Develop hints for yourself, acronyms and sayings, that will help you remember critical information. Organize the information in your mind following the outline provided in the notes. And don't "cram" -- do short stints of studying to rest your mind between study sessions.
Major Concepts
to Review for Exam 1:
A. Introduction (from text Chapter 1 and class notes)
- What is sociology and how do we define society?
- What is the smallest "unit of analysis" in sociology?
- What is "the self," as defined for sociologists?
- How is "society" best defined?
- What does it mean to have a "sociological imagination"?
- What is a social institution? What does the acronym FREEP stand for?
- What social forces were changing in European society in the 1800s?
- Who are the thinkers (2F2G -- two in France, two in Germany ) who founded sociology as an "enlightenment science"?
- What sociological theories relate to each of the French and German founders (S.F., S.C., and S.I.)?
- Online Media - Sociological Imagination - What is the sociological imagination and who created the phrase?
- Online Media - Your Mind: Master or Servant? What was the message of this video?
B. Doing Social Science (text Chapter 2 and class notes)
- What defines the scientific method?
- What is a hypothesis? What is a theory?
- What different types of reasoning exist, and which type is most commonly used by sociologists?
- What does the acronym NOTTUS stand for?
- What are the differences between science, pseudoscience, non-science, and protoscience?
- What are
the typical methods of sociological research?
- What is the
difference between a research method's reliability and its validity?
- Online Media - What is Critical Thinking and what types of reasoning are involved?
C. Cultural Sociology (text Chapter 3 and class notes)
- What is one definition of culture? What is a subculture?
- What does it mean that "culture is to people as water is to fish"?
- What is culture shock?
- What are ethnocentricity and xenocentricity?
- On the four components of culture:
... What are Symbols?
... What is Language?
... What are Values and Norms? How does this relate to beliefs?
... What are Artifacts?
- What are the four "ways of knowing" (and establishing our beliefs)?
- What is the difference between Material vs. Non-material culture? How are
they connected? How does ripping up a dollar bill demonstrate this?
- What is meant by the term "the globalization of culture"?
- Online Media: Can you give examples of each of the components of culture?