1. Think of a problem that impacts you personally (e.g., the high cost of tuition, unemployment, or divorce) and explain how you would make sense of it differently if you viewed it as (a) only a personal problem or (b) influenced by a public issue. How do possible solutions to the problem differ depending on how you view it?

2. How can sociology help you become a more informed citizen and better able to understand how government policies impact society?

3. What are three ways the sociological perspec­tive can help you succeed in college and the workforce?

4. Think of some of the ways the social institutions of government and education are connected. Why is it in the interest of the government to sup­port higher education? How has government sup­port (or lack of support) impacted your college experience?

5. Imagine you would like to look at reasons behind the high college dropout rate in the United States. How might your explanations differ based on whether your analysis was on the micro, meso, or macro level? Why? Which level or levels would you focus on for your study? Why? 

1. Why do research questions have to be asked in a precise way? Give an example of a precise research question. How do precise questions make it possible for you to test and measure your topic?

2. As stated in this chapter, “sociologists must be continually open to having their findings reexam­ined and new interpretations proposed.” Describe a time when you changed your mind due to new information. Was it difficult for you to change your mind? Why or why not?

3. Why is the ability to be open to new ideas and interpretations so vital to the scientific per­spective? Do you think you could carry this aspect of the scientific process out successfully—no matter how you feel about a topic? Why or why not?

4. If you were to examine the relationship between the government and the economy in the United States today, which of the four major theoretical perspectives outlined in the chapter would be most helpful? Why?

5. Imagine you would like to conduct a sociological study of the students with whom you attended the fourth grade, to determine what key factors influenced their academic achievements. Which of the four major theoretical perspectives would you employ in your study? Why?

6. If you were to conduct a study to measure stu­dent satisfaction with a particular academic department on campus, what research method(s) would you use? Why? How would the method(s) you select vary according to (a) the size of the department and (b) the type of information you sought?

1. Think about the evolution of societies described in this chapter. In which type of society (hunter-gatherer, herding, horticultural, agricultural, industrial, or postindustrial) would you prefer to live? Why? In which would you most likely be (a) economically successful and (b) content? Why?

2. This chapter points out that today material culture “drives the globalization process.” Look around at what your classmates are wearing and carrying and come up with some examples that support that point.

3. Think of a subculture to which you belong. What are the norms, values, and material artifacts that distinguish members of your subculture from those who do not belong to it?

4. Every classroom has norms of behavior. Some are mores, and some are folkways. Describe two of each in a typical classroom at your school. How are both enforced? How do you help enforce these norms?

5. Are you part of a counterculture? Why or why not? In what ways might a counterculture benefit a society?

1. Cooley’s idea of the “looking-glass self” helps us understand that how we think other people view us influences our view of ourselves. How has your sense of your ability to succeed in college been influenced by the feedback you have processed from those around you (particularly teachers, peers, and family members)?

2. Socialization occurs throughout the life cycle. Into what role have you been socialized most recently? Who were the primary agents in this socialization process? Did you find the process relatively easy or difficult? Why?

3. Sociological studies have shown that middle-class and working-class parents tend to socialize their children differently. Explain the differences and describe how they relate to how you were socialized by your family of origin.

4. How has your socialization been influenced by television and video games? Do you think the extent to which these informal agents of social­ization influence children these days has a posi­tive or a negative impact on our society? Why?

5. If you were asked to create a government policy to promote positive socialization experiences that would strengthen our society, what might you propose? Why? 

1. Think about your social network. How useful might it be in helping you get a job (or a better job) once you graduate from college? Why?

2. During a typical day, when do you engage in front- and backstage behavior? Why? With whom do you engage in each? Why?

3. Have you ever experienced role strain because of your status as a student? Explain why or why not. If so, how did/do you cope with it?

4. Most college students, particularly those with fam­ily, work, and/or sports team obligations, deal with role conflict. Describe a time when you dealt with a conflict between the roles you carry out and what you did about it. How might colleges and universi­ties diminish role conflict among students?

5. To what primary and secondary groups do you belong? How does your involvement (or lack thereof) in primary groups on your campus impact your feelings of attachment to your school?

6. Would you rather live in a bureaucratic society or in a society without bureaucratic forms of organizations? Why? How does the informal structure at your col­lege or university impact how the school functions? Does it do more to help or hurt students? Why?

1. List five acts that were once considered deviant but are now considered acceptable or even cou­rageous. Have you ever committed a deviant act because you believed it was the moral thing to do? If yes, please explain why. If not, in what sort of situation might you consider carrying out a deviant act?

2. Have you ever been labeled deviant? Why or why not? How does your social class, level of educa­tion, gender, race or ethnicity, and nation of origin impact the chances you will be considered devi­ant in your country?

3. Which of the following theories of deviance described in the chapter—rational choice, differ­ential association, labeling theory, anomie and social disorganization, strain theory, and conflict theory—best explain the recent increase in cheat­ing among college students? Why?

4. Why is occupational crime not given as much attention as violent crime? What are some exam­ples of occupational crimes that hurt millions of Americans every day? Have you ever been the victim of one of these crimes? What would you suggest policy makers do to curb these crimes?

5. How do conflict theorists explain the makeup of prisoners in the U.S. prison system? Do you agree with their explanation? Why or why not?

6. How can social capital help keep people out of prison and help former prisoners avoid returning to prison? How will your social capital help you conform (or not?) to the norms of society?

1. Were you surprised to learn that among rich nations, life expectancy in the United States is among the lowest? Explain. What sociological theory best explains this fact? Support your answer.

2. How has the social class of your parents and your upbringing influenced your success in school and your professional aspirations?

3. What is the social status of most of the people with whom you hang out? Why do you think you tend to associate with people from this social status?

4. Describe factors at the (a) micro, (b) meso, and (c) macro levels that impact your ability to move up the social class ladder.

5. How do the forces that have led to the shrinking of the middle class impact your chance of becoming (or remaining) a member of the (a) middle, (b) upper-middle, or (c) upper class after you graduate from college?

6. How can bridging the global digital divide lead to a decrease in inequality across the world? How does your ready access (or lack of access) to a com­puter and the Internet impact your life chances?

1. Before you read this chapter, were you aware that slavery still exists throughout the world? If yes, describe how you learned about it and your reac­tion to this fact. If not, what are some factors that contributed to your lack of awareness of contem­porary slavery?

2. Have you ever experienced being stereotyped because of your race or ethnicity? Why or why not? How can racial stereotypes harm societies, as well as groups and individuals?

3. What is the difference between the color-blind perspective on race and blatant bigotry? Why is it often so difficult to recognize and address racial discrimination in the United States today?

4. Give two examples, respectively, of both side-effect discrimination and past-in-present discrimination. How have they impacted you and your life chances? Why?

5. We know that efforts to reduce prejudice, racism, and discrimination must take place at all levels (micro, meso, and macro). Most organizations, though, must choose one level on which to focus their particular efforts. If you were going to start an organization to decrease racial or ethnic preju­dice, would you focus on the micro, meso, or macro level? Why? Explain what your organiza­tion would do.

6. Do you agree with preferences for college appli­cants at the University of Michigan who were scholarship athletes or the sons or daughters of a large donor or a politician, but not for racial or eth­nic minorities? Why or why not? Was the Supreme Court correct in ruling that a referendum passed by voters in Michigan should trump concerns about diversity? Why?

1. Describe some of the ways socializing agents (e.g., family, peers, the media, religion, schools) encouraged you to conform to traditional gender norms. Do you think you will encourage (or have you encouraged) your own children to conform to traditional gender norms? Why or why not?

2. Give two examples of side-effect gender discrimi­nation that lead to economic inequality between men and women.

3. How does gender socialization influence who runs for office and for whom we vote? How are female politicians treated by the media, com­pared to male politicians? How has that impacted your own perception of female politicians?

4. How does gender discrimination harm society? What could be done on your campus to improve the status of women or men? How might you join these efforts?

5. What are your career goals? Do they follow tradi­tional gender roles? Why or why not? How has your gender socialization impacted your career plans?

6. More women than men are now in college. How do you think this fact will impact gender roles on campus and in the larger society?

1. What do you believe is the ideal makeup of a fam­ily? Why? How does your description relate to the functions the family performs in society?

2. Which of the main theoretical perspectives dis­cussed in this chapter (functionalist, conflict, rational choice, and feminist) is most useful when examining the families with which you are famil­iar? Why?

3. A majority of Americans and a strong majority of young Americans (those below 30) now support same-sex marriages. What are some cultural and structural changes that have led to this increase in support for marriage equality over the past decade?

4. Does (or did) your family expect you to marry someone of a particular (a) race or ethnicity, (b) social class, (c) educational background, or (d) religion? Why or why not? How do you think endogamous norms impact (a) individual mar­riages and (b) society?

5. How does your family’s income influence the (a) amount and (b) quality of the time family members spend together? How might more or less money influence your family members’ relationships with one another? Why?

6. Do you think the establishment of no-fault divorce laws have been good or bad for (a) the institution of the family in the United States, (b) married cou­ples, and (c) children? Explain your answers.

1. Why is a good system of education important for a democracy? How can gaining a sociological perspective help people become more effective participants in a democratic society?

2. Who were the most popular kids in your high school? What made them popular? How did the reasons for their popularity vary based on their gender?

3.How do functionalist and conflict theorists describe the “hidden curriculum” in schools? What description best matches your own school experience? Why?

4. Do you think there should be ability grouping (tracking) in schools? Why or why not? How has tracking (or an absence of tracking) in your schools impacted your education and sense of yourself as a student? How does ability grouping in schools impact society?

5.This chapter describes several ways social class influences educational success. How has the social class of the family in which you were raised influenced your educational achievement? How did it influence your selection of a college to attend?

6.How do schools reproduce and perpetuate social stratification? If you had the power and desire to use the school system to reduce inequality, what policies would you implement? What do you think the chances are of your policies actually being put into place? Why?

1. What are some ways that religion and govern­ment are interdependent and interrelated in the United States?

2. If you are a person of faith and affiliated with a reli­gious community, how did you become so? If you are not, explain why you are not. How did your family members and peers influence your views toward religion?

3. What motivates you to work hard and try to suc­ceed professionally? Think about how Weber per­ceived the relationship between the development of the capitalist economic system and thoughts about sacrifice and work. Does it relate to your answer to the first part of this question? Why or why not?

4. Do you think religion is more of a unifying or divi­sive force in (a) the United States and (b) the world today? Why? Do you have many friends from dif­ferent religious groups? Why or why not?

5. What do you think might happen to society if reli­gions did not exist? Why? How would an absence of religion impact you personally?

1. As you were growing up, did your parents encour­age you to try to influence your local community or society? Why or why not? Was their perspec­tive on power more like the pluralist or elite theo­retical perspective? Explain. How have their views about power influenced your own?

2. Is your family of origin part of what G. William Domhoff  refers to as the “power elite”? What makes you think so? Are you a member of the power elite? Why or why not? If you are not, what do you think your chances are of becoming a member of the power elite? Why?

3. Do you think that large corporations have undue influence over the U.S. government? Why or why not?

4. If you had the choice, would you rather live in a society with a planned/centralized economic sys­tem or market/capitalist economic system? Why?

5. How do conflict theorists explain terrorism? Do you agree? Why or why not? How would you sug­gest the U.S. government try to stem terrorism? What theoretical perspective do you think is most helpful in terms of understanding and dealing with terrorism? Why?

1. Imagine that your state has a law on the ballot that would legalize assisted suicide, following the model of Oregon, Vermont, or Washington’s law. Would you vote for or against the ballot question? Why? Would the conditions necessary for the legality of assisted suicide described in Oregon’s law influence your vote? Why or why not? Why do you think most of those who participated in the Death with Dignity program in Oregon were whites with college degrees?

2. Think of the last time you or someone close to you was seriously ill. What were the repercussions of the illness on the micro level? How did these repercussions relate to health care issues on the meso and macro levels?

3. What are three ways social class impacts health? Describe how social class has impacted your health and the health of your family members.

4. Do you think health care is a human right? Why or why not? How can inequality in health care nega­tively impact a society?

5. If you were a policy maker, how might you try to curb binge drinking or smoking among college students?

1. Why is it important for policy makers to under­stand demographic trends in their communities and nation? Why should you be interested in such knowledge? How might it impact your under­standing of and positions on issues related to (a) immigration, (b) education, (c) health care, and (d) Social Security legislation?

2. How many children (if any) do you think you would (ideally) like to have? Why? What might make this (ideal) number change?

3. What are some examples of (a) pronatalist and (b) antinatalist policies? Do you approve of such policies? Why or why not? How might your perspective differ depending on the demograph­ics of your particular nation?

4. How is the social status of girls and women related to a society’s ability to control population growth? If you were a male leader in the govern­ment of an overcrowded nation, why and how might you use this information to promote gender equality in your country? How might your ideas be perceived differently, depending on your sex?

5. What are some of the major reasons people leave their country of origin and move to another? Have you ever done so? Why? If not, under what cir­cumstances would you be willing to leave the country in which you were born and move to another?

6. How do your attitudes toward those around you and your behavior differ in rural, suburban, and urban settings? Why?

1. What is the latest technological device you or your family has acquired? How has it changed your life? What are the (a) intended and (b) unin­tended consequences of your having it?

2. Every organization must adapt to change. Describe how an organization to which you belong coped with change. Was the adaptation success­ful? Why or why not? What was your role? Did you feel as though you had some influence over the adaptation strategy? Why or why not?

3. Were you aware that the United States gives far less than the 0.7% of gross national product the United Nations has requested of nations, in order to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals to decrease poverty, illiteracy, famine, and dis­ease? Would be in the self-interest of the United States to contribute more or less? Why?

4. What type of social movement has helped bring about the dramatic increase in support for same-sex marriage over the past few years? Why? How do the results of this movement indicate the power of social movements to influence society at the micro, meso, and macro levels?

5. If you were to join a social movement today, which would you join? Why? What would you hope to achieve?