1. Consider the concept of the looking-glass self. How do you think others perceive you? Do you think most people perceive you correctly? 2. What are some different ways that you might study the effect of toys on the socialization of children? How could you isolate the toy variable from other variables that influence children’s socialization?

1. Given that subordinate groups have some common experiences, why is there such deep conflict between some of these groups? 2. What would need to happen in the United States, both individually and institutionally, for a positive form of ethnic pluralism to flourish in the twenty-first century?

1. Why does so much controversy exist over what should be taught in U.S. public schools? 2. How are the values and attitudes you learned from your family reflected in your beliefs about education and religion? 3. How would you design a research project to study the effects of civil religion on everyday life? What kind of data would be most accessible?

Think of a person you know well who often irritates you or whose behavior grates on your nerves. First, list that person’s statuses and roles. Then analyze the person’s possible role expectations, role performance, role conflicts, and role strains. Does anything you find in your analysis help to explain the irritating behavior? How helpful are the concepts of social structure in analyzing individual behavior?

1. If Durkheim, Marx, and Weber were engaged in a discussion about education and religion, on what topics might they agree? On what topics would they disagree? 2. Who is ultimately responsible for decisions and policies that are made in a democracy such as the United States: the people or their elected representatives? Why is it important to examine how economic influences affect the political […]

Using the theories discussed in this chapter, devise a plan to alleviate global poverty. Assume that you have the necessary wealth, political power, and other resources necessary to reduce the problem. Share your plan with others in your class, and create a consolidated plan that represents the best ideas and suggestions presented.

1. Based on Max Weber’s multidimensional class model of wealth, power, and prestige, how do entertainers and reality TV personalities, such as Lady Gaga and the Kardashians, become wealthy and well-known worldwide? Where do individuals such as these fit in Weber’s system of stratification? 2. Should employment be based on meritocracy, need, or affirmative-action policies?

1. If you were designing a study of growth patterns for the city where you live (or one you know well), which theoretical model(s) would provide the most useful framework for your analysis? 2. What do you think that everyday life in U.S. cities, suburbs, and rural areas will be like twenty years from the date you are reading this? Where would you prefer to […]

1. How would you organize a large-scale organization or company for the second decade of the twenty-first century? 2. Why does the crime rate fluctuate in the United States? How might we use sociology to explain the fact that the crime rate has not increased dramatically even in the recent recession and the slow economic recovery?