2.6.3 Test (TS): What Is Society?

Test

Sociology (S3455240)
Points possible: 50

Date: ____________

I. Short-Answer Questions
1. According to Sigmund Freud, what are the the id and the superego? Give an example of
each. What role does the ego play with regard to the id and the superego? Give an example
that illustrates this role. (9 points)

2. Habitat for Humanity is a large national organization in which volunteers build or rehabilitate
houses for families in need of a home. Is Habitat for Humanity an informal group or a
bureaucracy? Explain your reasoning. Identify at least one challenge that the group might face
as a result of being this type of organization (5 points)

.
3. Driving five miles per hour over the speed limit on a highway is breaking the law; so is driving
after drinking a large amount of alcohol. How would a symbolic interactionist answer the
following questions using labeling theory?
What is the difference between those two behaviors?
Which of the two behaviors is an example of deviance and why?
(6 points)

II. Application and Critical Thinking

1. To help his students understand how ordinary Germans could have allowed Hitler to rise to
power, high school history teacher Ron Jones did an experiment with his class. Telling them that
it is important to have strength through discipline and community, he required strict obedience
and the adoption of a special salute. Students received membership cards, stopped questioning
anything Mr. Jones told them, and bullied any students who did not follow the new rules. Mr.
Jones called this movement the Third Wave. At the end of the week, he called a rally and told
the students that they had been manipulated into acting like citizens of Nazi Germany.

Write an analysis of this experiment. Your analysis should address the following questions:
What were the status and role of Mr. Jones? What were the status and role of his
students?
Identify at least one norm, at least one symbol, and at least one value in the Third
Wave.
How does the experiment illustrate the power of conformity and groupthink?
How does the Third Wave illustrate the idea that deviance is relative?
(15 points)

2. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper either favoring or opposing mandatory
(required) school uniforms. Your letter should:
Describe the purpose of rules about what students are allowed to wear to school,
using one of the three sociological approaches: structural-functional approach, socialconflict approach, or symbolic-interaction approach. Be sure to indicate which
approach you are using.
Describe one way each of the following factors affects student dress as it relates to
the school uniform issue:
o
Social class
o
Gender socialization
o
Personality
o
Take a position for or against mandatory school uniforms, drawing arguments
from some of the points above.

(15 points)

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