Question

An interest group that arises suddenly to demand the removal of a legislative member who has been accused of taking bribes is an

a. associational group.
b. institutional group.
c. anomic group.

My answer: A


What is an example of an institutional interest group?

a. a labor union that represents the concerns of electrical workers
b. a group arising suddenly to demand removal of a judge accused of taking bribes
c. the Roman Catholic Church

My answer: B or C


A labor union that represents the concerns of electrical workers is an

a. institutional group.
b. anomic group.
c. associational group.

My answer: C

Answer 1

These three questions are together and it's confusing me. So the first one I thought it would be anomic group, but @wwhitlock explained to me that it would be associational group. So overall I am now confused because the wording in the first question and last question are given as answer choices in the second question.

Answer 2

@wwhitlock

Answer 3

There are some real problems with this whole line of questioning.
A church and a Union are both institutions. People choose to associate with either one, but the group remains whether a certain person joins or not.

The word anomic doesn't really apply to interest groups. It's an adjective that describes a society that is breaking down. It doesn't really make sense that a group losing its moral center would share any interest, other than being lost and confused.

Your questioner is misusing the word in applying it to A.

Now that I see all three questions, I can understand why you are confused. It is difficult to create clear cut categories in sociology because people don't behave in just one way.

Multiple choice questions don't account for all these differences.

I realize that all of this doesn't help you answer their lame questions with a feeling of confidence. I'd go with C for number 2. And be prepared for the possibility that one or all could be marked wrong or right. It's just a guessing game now.

Answer 4

Exactly! The explanations given and the wording used make no sense at all. My book says that religion is a non-institutional interest group, and the other two options for #2 don't make sense because in other questions the answer is something else for them. But I'll choose C for 2 because that seems to be the best choice right now, and like you said I might get them right or wrong. Thank you for the help!

Answer 5

Hoping for the best for you.