Introduction to Sociology

You may choose to answer as many of these questions as you like: each is worth 5 points. Your answer should be a paragraph in length. You don't need to include citations in your answers.

1. Using examples, discuss the agency/structure debate. How are the actions of individual human beings shaped by social structure while simultaneously helping to give structure to that society?

2. Provide 2 examples of the phenomenon of groupthink and how it either supports or defies social norms.

3. If sex refers to biological differences, how could it be argued that gender is socially constructed? Explain with reference to masculinity and femininity in our culture.

4. What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination? How are these concepts both related to racism and institutional racism?

5. What factors account for the trend toward later marriages in the United States in recent decades?