Delta State University
Sociology 101
Spring Semester 2003
Study
Questions
Henslin Text, Chapter 4
(1)
What is meant by the term “social structure.”
Provide concrete examples of elements of social structure and briefly
describe some functions of each.
(2)
What is meant by the term “social interaction.”
What do interactionists study? Provide
concrete examples that distinguish this perspective from the structuralist
perspective.
(3)
For each of the following theorists, identify specific contributions they
made to the study of social structure and/or social interaction:
Emile Durkheim
Ferdinand Tonnies
Edward Hall
Erving Goffman
W.I. Thomas
(4)
Identify the five most important social institutions and give examples of
roles associated with each.
(5)
Identify three minor social institutions found in industrialized
societies, and connect each to some associated values and norms.
(6)
What are the four major social revolutions, according to Henslin?
For each, identify the important technological change and/or commodity
that produced the revolution, and describe how this technology or commodity
transformed economic organization and social relations.
(7)
What does the term “social construction of reality” mean?
Provide an example of how social situations are constructed.
Are social constructionists generally more interested in objective or
subjective reality? Explain.
(8)
Explain important differences between the microsociological and the
macrosociological perspectives. Use
examples to illustrate this difference.