Instructions for Week 5 paper
Read chapter 5 and Week 5 notes first.
Six paragraphs. Each paragraph should be about 150 words. Aim for mostly original
writing, with no, or few, quotes, and only very short ones.
Please include at least two page numbers per paragraph on textbook content, as an
in-text citation, like (Kendall, p. 130).
We have a mixture of students using the paperback and the digital edition, so the page
numbers may be off by a page or two.
Paragraph 1:
Provide definitions for ingroup, outgroup, and reference group, and describe the
significance of these concepts in everyday life. Do your best to write originally, i.e. don’t
paste in quotes for all of these definitions.
Paragraph 2:
Group conformity was discussed on pages 134 to 136. What did you learn about it via
the two classic experiments discussed (Asch and Milgram)? What do you think you
would have done as the subject?
Paragraph 3:
Do an internet search for “examples of groupthink in business” or “examples of
groupthink in the workplace” or even in politics, and read up on an example, maybe
even find a mainstream (unbiased) news article. Share the example and how it fits with
the process of groupthink as described in the text. Include your sources at the end of
your paragraph, just the name and URL are fine.
Paragraph 4:
Watch Seth Godin:
utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
Links to an external site.
What is Seth Godin’s idea of a “tribe?” What is the purpose of his ideas? i.e. what does
he want you to take away from his talk? This relates to the chapter on socialization, and
relates to a chapter we won’t cover on social movements, also, but describe how you
see it relating to chapter 5? Try to be specific and connect to the chapter.
Paragraph 5 (Chapter 5 and a short video I linked in notes):
List and briefly discuss two advantages and two disadvantages of McDonaldization. In
your opinion, do you think McDonaldization is a good or a bad process?
Paragraph 6
Name the five characteristics comprising Weber’s ideal type of bureaucracy as well as
their effects.
Class book- Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials
,
11
th
Edition, 2018,
by
Diana Kendall
