Chapter 1           -                  “THE SOCIOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW”

A.  What is sociology?

B.      What does it mean to have a “sociological imagination?”

C.      How does sociology compare to other social sciences

D.      How did the field of sociology start and develop?

E.      What are the three main perspectives in sociology and how to they differ in their focus?

Chapter 2           -                  “CULTURAL DIVERSITY”

A.  What is culture, and how

      do material and nonmaterial

      culture differ?

                                                B.  Identify and describe the basic

                                                      components of culture.

C.  What are cultural universals and

                                                      why do they exist?

D.   What do the terms ethnocentrism 

      and cultural relativism mean?

E.   What factors account for variations  among and within cultures?

Chapter 3           -            “CULTURAL CONFORMITY AND ADAPTATION”

A.  What are the traditional values

of U.S. culture?

B.      What are the new values that have appeared since the 1970’s

in the U.S.?

C.      How are the norms of society enforced?

D.      What is the difference between positive and negative sanctions?

E.      What is the difference between formal and informal sanctions?

F.      What are the main sources of social change?

G.     Why do people resist social change?

Chapter 4           -                  “SOCIAL STRUCTURE”

A.  Identify and describe the two

      major components of social

      structure.

B.      What are the most common types of social interaction?

C.      What types of interactions stabilize society?

D.      What types of interactions disrupt society?

E.      What types of societies exist in the world today?

F.      How has the transition from pre-industrial to industrial and postindustrial societies affected social relationships?

G.     What are the major features of primary and secondary groups?

H.     What purposes do groups fulfill?

I.          How is a  bureaucracy structured?

J.        Evaluate the effectiveness of bureaucracies.

Chapter 5           -                  “SOCIALIZING THE INDIVIDUAL”

A.  What four main factors affect

      the development of personality?

B.     How does isolation in childhood

      affect development?

B.     How does a sense of self emerge?

C.     Identify and describe the theories that have been put forth to explain the process of socialization

D.     Which agents of socialization are  most important in the U.S.?

E.      Why are family and education important social institutions?

Chapter 6           -                 “THE ADOLESCENT IN SOCIETY”

A.  How did adolescence develop as

                                                      a distinct stage of life in the U.S.?

                                                B.  What are the five general

      characteristics of adolescence?

C.     How did dating develop as a

form of social interaction?

D.     Describe the functions that

dating fulfills?

E.      What social problems are facing

today’s U.S. teenagers?

F.      What are the causes and

consequences of these social

problems?

Chapter 7           -                  “THE ADULT IN SOCIETY”

A.  Summarize Levinson’s theory of

                                                      of adult male development.

B.      Identify and describe the stages

of adult female development.

C.      How has the nature of work in

the U.S. changed?

D.      How has the composition of the

labor force in the U.S. changed?

E.      What are the characteristics of

life during late adulthood?

F.      What are some new challenges

faced by older Americans?

Chapter 8           -                “DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL”

A.  What is deviance?

B.      What are the social functions of

deviance?

C.      Explain and compare various theories of deviance.

D.      What are the principal types of crime in the U.S.?

E.      Explain the characteristics of the U.S. Criminal Justice System.

Chapter 9           -                  “SOCIAL STRATIFICATION”

A.  What are the characteristics of

                                                      caste systems and class systems?

B.      What are the major theories of

social stratification?

C.      What are the characteristics of

the U.S. class system?

D.      Explain how differing

motivations and cultural values influence the U.S. class system.

E.      Which groups in the U.S. are

affected by poverty?

F.      What steps have been taken by

the federal government to lessen the effects of poverty?

Chapter 10         -                  “RACIAL AND ETHNIC RELATIONS”

A.  How do sociologists define race,

      ethnicity, and minority group?

B.      What are the characteristics that

distinguish minority groups from one another?

C.      What is the difference between

prejudice and discrimination?

D.      What are the most common patterns of minority group treatment?

E.      What are the conditions under which minority groups in the U.S. live?

F.      How do government policies affect the lives of minority groups in the U.S.?

Chapter 11         -                  “GENDER, AGE, AND HEALTH”

A.  How do gender roles affect the

      opportunities available to men

      and women in society?

B.     How are gender roles affected by socialization?

C.     What effect does the aging of the population have on society?

D.     How does the aging of the population affect the life chances of older people in the U.S.?

E.      Describe the state of health care in the U.S.?

F.      What are some of the special health care concerns of various segments of U.S. society?

Chapter 12         -                  “THE FAMILY”

A.  What norms affect the way

      marriage is organized around

      the world?

B.      What basic societal needs does the family satisfy?

C.      How, in general, do American families begin?

D.      What are some of the disruptions that American families face?

E.      What are some of the current trends in American family life?

Chapter 13         -                  “THE ECONOMY AND POLITICS”

A.  Compare and contrast capitalist

                                                      and socialist economic systems.

B.      What developments have

transformed the U.S. economic system?

C.      How is power exercised

differently in various types of

government?

D.      What are the major

characteristics of the U.S.

political system?

Chapter 14         -                  “EDUCATION AND RELIGION”

A.  What is the difference between

      functionalist, conflict, and

      interactionist sociologists when it

      comes to their views concerning

      education in the U.S.?

B.      What are some of the current issues in U.S. education?

C.      What basic societal needs are satisfied by religion in the U.S.?

D.      What are the distinctive features of religion in American society?

Chapter 15         -                  “SCIENCE AND THE MASS MEDIA”

A.  What factors have contributed to

      the institutionalization of

      science?

B.     How are the norms of scientific

research different from the

realities of scientific research?

C.     What are the types of mass media in the U.S.?

D.     What are the major developments in the history of mass media in the U.S.?

E.      How do the sociological perspectives differ with respect to mass media?

F.      What are some of the current mass media issues?

Chapter 16         -                  “POPULATION AND URBANIZATION”

A.  What factors affect the size and

      structure of populations?

B.     How do sociologists measure the size and structure of populations?

C.     How do sociologists explain population change?

D.     What programs have been instituted to control population growth?

E.      How have cities evolved, and why has this happened fairly recently?

F.      What models have been proposed to explain the structure of cites?

G.     What theories have been proposed to explain city life?

Ch. 17        -                           “COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR AND

                                                          SOCIAL MOVEMENTS”

A.  Contrast the different types of

      collectivities.

B.      What explanations for collective

behavior have been proposed?

C.      What preconditions must exist for collective behavior to occur?

D.      How do these preconditions build on one another?

E.      What types of social movements are there?

F.      How do the different types of  social movements differ?

G.     What are the stages in the life

cycle of a social movement?

H.     How can the existence of social movements be explained?

Ch. 18        -                           “SOCIAL CHANGE AND MODERNIZATION”

A.  What are the theories that have

been offered by social scientists

to explain social change?

B.     Contrast the views of modernization theory and world-system theory on modernization in less-developed nations.

C.     What are some of the positive and negative effects of modernization on social life and the natural environment?