Sociology exam 1

Nature is to nurture as ____________ is to ____________

"biology" and "sociology" (in that order!)

The elements of culture:

1. Are based primarily on genetics 2. Are learned through interaction and socialization 3. Have little to do with language 4. Have little to do with globalization, which is primarily economic

Research Methods 7 steps

1. Define the research problem. 2. Review the evidence—do a literature review. 3. Make the problem precise—specify your hypothesis. 4. Work out a research design. 5. Carry out the research—collect your data. 6. Interpret the results—analyze your data. 7. Report the findings—publish or present them.

Rational Choice Theory

A theory that states that individuals act in their own best interest.

social network

Are comprised of direct and indirect associations that link people and groups

Asch Experiment

Asch found that a third of subjects agreed with other members of the group (actors used by the experimenter) even when they gave false answers. Illustrates group pressures to conform

A family of immigrants to the US from Brazil. When they arrive they try to take on all the values and norms of American Culture in order to "fit in". this family is practicing

Assimilation

Example of ethnocentrism

Brian believes that football, baseball, and other sports that are popular in the United States are far superior to cricket, soccer, and other sports that are much more popular in other countries.

Socialization and the Life Course

Childhood, teenager, young adulthood, middle age, old age

Anoime

Durkheim's term for the loss of direction felt in a society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective.

"McDonaldization" Ritzer (one of Weber's followers) suggests that, through management of time and routines, social life is becoming rigid and impersonal because of an overemphasis on four aspects of modern organization

Efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control

Gender Roles

Expectations regarding the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females.

key agents of socialization

Family, schools, peers, mass media, work

Cultural change across history:

From pre-modern societies of hunters and gatherers and early agrarian and pastoral societies - To colonial and industrialized societies - To globalized societies

How Groups shape behavior and identity

Groups are collection of people who interact regularly and who share a sense of common identity

Before the Second Gulf War, many in the U.S. government believed that Iraq possessed large stores of weapons of mass destruction, a belief that turned out to be wrong. Some have blamed the intense need for group cohesion and loyalty for driving out anyone who disagreed with the analysis. What is this called?

Groupthink

characteristics of bureaucracy

Hierarchy of authorities Written rules Salaries and trained officials Office distinct from the person Officials dont own organizational resources or tools

the following is an advantage of ethnography as a research method

It provides more in-depth information about social processes than other methods.

Max Weber

Like Marx, this theorist sees society and power as key forces in social life, but unlike Marx he does NOT see class factors as the only social forces, instead arguing for the importance of ideas, values, and bureaucracy in explaining human action and conflict.

Examples of cultural universals

Marriage, property rules, and language

Mead's Role Playing Stages:

Play: Explores adult world imitating others, then by role taking, seeing world through other's eyes Organized Games: Takes on multiple roles and tasks, others expectations, learns rules and organization of activity Generalized Other: Acting in accord with social/moral codes, expectations. Dealing with situations involving multiple statuses and roles

When people attend high school class reunions, they often compare their own personal and professional successes and failures to those of their former classmates. This means that classmates are a(n):

References Group

Debbie is taking an introductory psychology lecture, with more than 100 other students in the class. This class constitutes ____________ for Debbie.

Secondary group

_____________ involve a series of social relationships that link a person directly to others and indirectly to still more people. These relationships both constrain and emplower people.

Social Networks

Variations even among universals traceable to CULTURE

Societies need some conformity to function smoothly; this comes from shared culture learned through socialization. • Because people accept the norms and values of their societies as natural, they largely conform. • Those who do not conform are subject to measures of social control. • Nonetheless, culture varies across groups, place, and time. What is important or "normal" at one time and place, may not be in another

Which research method would be best to use if one wants a large, representative sample of people's attitudes toward an issue?

Survey

Culture

The key elements of this concept are values, norms, symbols, and material goods.

group size increases

The number of relationships increases faster Relationships (and the pressure to conform) become less instense The stability of the group increases Formal organization increases ( especially beyond 12 or so members)

ethnocentrism vs. cultural relativism

The tendency to regard one's own culture as superior vs. judging other cultures by their cultural standards

What type of research question is the following Q: Why did the numbers of terrorist attacks vary from country to country between 1968-1998?

Theoretical, comparative, and developmental?

Best describes the correlation between race and NFL protest attitudes?

There is correlation: white are less likely to support the protest than minorities

Which best describes your view of the relationship between nature and nurture?

They both have equal influence on social behavior

median

This measure of central tendency is the middle of any set of figures.

Karl Marx

This theorist sees social change as prompted mostly by economic influences, especially conflicts between social classes

Feminist Theory

This theory argues that gender relations, inequality, and identity are central to the study of society, but the sociology and sociological theories have traditionally ignored such issues.

Symbolic Interactionism

This theory sees the exchange of meanings and representations as foundational to human behavior and argues for sociologists to focus on the micro level where analysis of interpersonal relations help make sense of what others do and say.

Functionalism

This theory suggests that sociological analysis must start by analyzing the contribution that a social activity, institution, or event makes toward the maintenance or continuation of society as a whole.

dangers of bureaucracy

To individual autonomy and freedom To democracy and markets: iron law of oligarchy and the "means-end" problem

True/False: "Ferguson" article that white social networks are relatively segregated?

True

True/False: According to our Canvas reading on socialization, different family socialization styles ("concerted cultivation" by middle class parents and "natural growth" by working class parents) may help reproduce class inequalities

True

Sociology is considered a science because it:

Uses systematic methods of theoretical thinking Uses systematic methods of empirical analysis Involves the logical assessment of arguments

Webers critics

Weber overestimated both the efficiency of bureaucracy, and the threat that it poses to democracy

The Helen Keller, Wild Boy of Aveyron, and Genie examples discussed in class all suggest the crucial importance of ________________ in the socialization and development of the self.

What is social interaction, nurture.

triangulation

When sociologists combine several methods in a single piece of research, using each method to supplement and check the others.

secondary group

a large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a specific goal or activity

primary group

a small social group whose members share personal and lasting relationships

social status

a social position in society

Social status:

a social position in societySocial role:

The family, school, peer groups, and the media would all be considered by sociologists to be:

agents of socialization

Nurture

behavior shaped by learning -at birth, we have no culture, only biological features and predispositions -we spend a lifetime learning language and culture through social interaction

Rational choice theory crime

crime is a product of individual desires, self interest; society should make laws that keep the costs of crime higher than the benefits

the following account of crime fits with rational choice theory?

crime is a product of individual self interest; society should make laws that keep the costs of crime higher than benefits

Conflict crime

crime is a response to inequality—those who are poor and exploited fight the system by rebelling against it via criminal behavior

Symbolic Interactionism Crime

crime is an individual learned behavior produced from shared culture, symbols (hang out with the wrong crowd and you'll adopt their deviant ways)

Feminisim

crime is mostly committed by men and is related to gendered power imbalances and socialization

the following account of crime fits with functionalist theory?

crime results from lack of shared values but is useful for society in reminding us of right and wrong

Functionalism crime

crime results from lack of shared values but is useful, helpful for society in reminding us of right and wrong

An example of this type of research question is: Why has inequality in the United States increased between the years 1975 and 2012?

developmental AND theoretical

The four primary methods of sociological research:

ethnography, surveys, experiments, comparative/historical analysis

Groups that expand in size, especially beyond 12 or so members, tend to develop much greater

formal organization

According to George Herbert Mead, a person's awareness of the attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society as a whole is the

generalized other

A sociological researcher hypothesizes that increases in globalization lead to increases in international conflict. The level of globalization is the _______________ and international conflict is the ________________.

independent variable and dependent variable, respectively

_______________ is the primary mechanism by which culture is shared and learned.

language

Socialization is a process of

learning culture

Material goods

physical objects humans create (clothing, buildings, etc.). How does the structure of this room influence our interactions, learning? How might it be different?

street gang

primary group

reference group

provides a standard for judging our own attitudes or behaviors

These are examples of: Someone acts visibly uncomfortable when a coworker tells a sexist joke. A parent teaches a child not to burp at the dinner table. A child encourages her parents to open a Facebook account.

socialization

social roles

socially defined expectations of an individual in a given status or social position

Values

the ideals that a society holds; what values are operating in this classroom now?

Norms

values are the building blocks of norms, which are shared (but usually unspoken) rules of social behavior. Norms thus refer to observable patterns of behavior, while values are abstract ideals that must be inferred from those behaviors. What norms can you observe in this classroom?

Subcultures

variations in the above between distinct populations within a culture - Subcultures usually consistent with dominant cultures but when they are not - deviance

Nature

what makes us human is biology: structure, genes, hormones - our genetic make-up is reflected in behavioral as well as physical traits and nature selects for traits that increase our chances of reproducing. -therefore, we are hardwired to behave in some ways but not others

Cultural universals of human societies:

• Language • Marriage and family • Religious rituals • Incest taboos • Property rules Universality implies that these are hard-wired (by nature) into being "human"