Sociology Final
How might strong identification with, and loyalty to, an in-group result in discrimination against members of an out-group?
"Group loyalty and cohesion intensify when differences are strongly defined between the 'us' of an in-group and the 'them' of an out-group" This could cause a sense of superiority and a negative outlook on all the differences. The differences of an out-group often become exaggerated and extremely generalized. The example in the book is "All Irishmen are drunks". P 132
What is an example of something that would be part of a person's symbolic culture?
A belonging to a political party
Counterculture
A culture with lifestyles and values opposed to those of the established culture.
How does the size of a group affect how it operates and the sorts of relationships that are possible within it?
A larger group is more stable than a dyad, the smallest possible group, because arguments can be settled by the other members of the group, or larger groups can split into triads and dyads but are still collectively one group.
If you were feeling very generous to shoe manufacturers, you might argue that the manifest function of the production of newer and more expensive athletic shoes is to increase athletic performance. For a moment, let's not be generous. Explain another manifest function of the appearance of new athletic shoes and at least two latent functions.
A manifest function is the obvious, intended function of a social structure, whereas a latent function is the less obvious and sometimes unintentional function. In this case, the obvious manifest function would be to increase revenue for makers of athletic apparel. The latent functions might include increased jealousy and competition among teenagers, violence and muggings in order to obtain shoes, teenage boys showing increased fashion consciousness, and the creation of a subculture that bonds over its interest in shoes.
Taboos
A restriction on behavior imposed by social custom.
Describe how the four major agents of socialization have shaped your life experiences.
All answers should include how students' families, peers, schooling, and exposure to mass media have shaped their life experiences and how these sources of socialization overlap. For example, what students learned as children at school overlapped with what they learned at home.
What is the difference between an "everyday actor" and a "social analyst"?
An everyday actor participates in their society without thinking about the specific rituals and norms that they follow while a social analyst is aware of the society they are in and the types of norms and rituals they follow. A social analyst tries to participate in their society as though they were new to it using a beginner's lens.
The term "culture wars" refers to the extreme clashes in values that occur when there are conflicting viewpoints about efforts to change core values in society. Give an example of how social commentators in the media can facilitate a culture war.
An example of how social commentator in the media can facilitate a culture war is through an app, by commenting on someones post from someone who comes from a different culture, or making their beliefs more public.
Emile durkeim's study on suicide found that suicide rates went up when the economy slumped, but they also increased when the economy boomed. Which of Durkheim's concepts explains why both positive and negative economic conditions could increase suicide rates?
Anomie
Explain the difference between subcultures and countercultures and give an example of each.
Both subcultures and countercultures can be seen as distinct from the mainstream or dominant culture. However, while a subculture has its own values, norms, and practices, these do not contradict or stand in direct opposition to the beliefs of the mainstream culture. A counterculture, on the other hand, has beliefs, values, and practices that are incompatible with or in direct opposition to the mainstream culture. Some countercultures attempt to bring about social change; others simply try to live outside of mainstream society. For example, people who engage in activities like LARPing (live action role playing) would be considered members of a subculture, whereas people who have joined hate groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, would be considered members of a counterculture.
Many natural scientists argue that human behavioral traits can be explained through genetics. Many social scientists believe that human behavior is learned and shaped through social interaction. Which view is correct? Justify your answer.
Both views contain elements of truth. For example, the textbook cites research that suggests that the hormone testosterone can affect behavior, but also that testosterone levels rise and fall in response to social cues. There is a complex relationship between nature and nurture. Either one alone is insufficient to explain what makes us human. Heredity determines our basic potential, but it is primarily our social environment that determines whether we will realize or fall short of our potential or develop new potential. We are subject to social influences from the moment we are born and these influences only increase over time. This is in part because the influence of social contact happens so gradually, and to some extent unconsciously, we don't always notice what or how we are learning
Compare and contrast conflict theory with structural functionalism. Pay special attention to the way each theory treats the origin of social change.
Conflict theory says the origin of social change is conflicts between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
Namethree ways cultural groups change through contact with other culures and give examples.
Cultural imperialism Cultural diffusion Technology
Describe cultural relativism.
Cultural relativism is a way of understanding other cultures on their own terms rather than from the perspective of one's own culture. Unlike ethnocentrism, cultural relativism enables us to see other cultures more clearly without making value judgments.
What is culture?
Culture is the total way of life of a group of people.
What important role did Émile Durkheim suggest social groups perform for individuals?
Durkheim believed that social groups provide norms that guide our everyday lives, keep us connected, and place necessary limits on our individual actions. Without these norms, we would experience a state of anomie or normlessness. Ultimately, he argued that groups serve as an anchor to the social world and help keep us alive.
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf's hypothesis that language creates ways of thinking and perceiving
What is ethnocentrism and how does it impede our understanding of other cultures? What kind of attitude should we take instead?
Ethnocentrism causes us to judge other groups and individuals by using our own culture as a yardstick for normality, thus making any other culture "abnormal." This attitude also makes it more difficult for us to see the strangeness in our own culture. "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" may be mentioned to make this point. We should adopt the attitude of cultural relativism instead of ethnocentrism because relativism forces us to judge each culture on its own terms and it opens up a wider variety of views
Because of Western cultural imperialism, American media companies broadcast shows in other countries that may clash with the traditional cultural values of those countries. What are some examples of American cultural values exported through the media that people in non-Western parts of the world might find distasteful?
Examples could include materialism, democracy, capitalism, Christianity, individualism, and sexual freedom
Describe how the four major agents of socialization have shaped your life experiences. (Refer to your "Agents of Socialization" project.)
Family They are the ones that love me for me. They have seen me at my lowest and at my highest and continue to support me. They push me to work my hardest and have high expectations of me. Peers They are the people that I make some of my best memories with. They are my support system that I also have fun with. Media Affects my self confidence sometimes because it is society's way of telling us how we should look and act. On the positive side it allows me to contact distant friends and family and express my values and passions in life. School Grade school created a base for my Catholic beliefs. Trinity continues to grow my beliefs and has shaped me into the person I am today. School has inspired me to work hard and prepare for my next chapter in my life. It is where I discovered my interest for science and has pursued me to want a career in the health field.
According to Erving Goffman's theory of dramaturgy, why might you dress differently for a date than you would for a sociology class
Goffman believed that the self is created through our interactions with other people and how we present ourselves changes depending on the social context. Because a sociology class is an informal social setting, you can wear casual attire without paying heed to your hair and/or makeup. On the other hand, your clothing and grooming choices for a date would be significantly different. In this case, you would want to a make a good impression, so you would present yourself in a way that emphasizes your positive personal qualities
What is groupthink and how does it work? Provide an example from the textbook.
Groupthink is a group dynamic that affects decision making. It is most likely to occur when highly cohesive groups demand absolute conformity and punish members who violate group norms or threaten to undermine consensus. Although groupthink helps maintain group solidarity, it can also short-circuit the decision-making process and let a desire for unanimity prevail over critical reasoning. Under the influence of groupthink, a group may begin to feel invulnerable and morally superior. Members who would otherwise wish to dissent may instead censor themselves and cave in to peer pressure. The textbook cites the Challenger disaster, the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the Penn State child sexual abuse scandal as examples of groupthink. (
What is groupthink and how does it work? Provide an example from the textbook.
Groupthink is when people think with the group on a certain topic instead of thinking for themselves on things. It's like when people conform to what the majority of the group think to not stand out.
What is an example of ethnocentrism?
If we travel to another country, we may find that people eat a certain type of food that we consider abnormal for consumption. For example, if you travel to Scotland and are asked to try haggis, you will likely feel repulsed because you have been culturally conditioned to respond in this manner to foods that we consider odd in the United States. In Scottish culture, however, haggis is a perfectly acceptable thing to eat—in fact, it is a cultural tradition. This is an example of ethnocentrism because you would be judging another culture based on the standards of what is considered "normal" in your own culture.
Because of Western cultural imperialism, American media companies broadcast shows in other countries that may clash with the traditional cultural values of those countries. What are some examples of American cultural values exported through the media that people in non-Western parts of the world might find distasteful?
In Australia, parts of Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand it is considered rude to ride in the back of the cab, while instead you should sit in front of the cab and make conversation with the driver. Open mouthed laughing is considered a rude American thing in Japan
According to Erving Goffman's concept of dramaturgy, how can a particular social setting make a great deal of difference in how we interact with other people?
In dramaturgy, a specific social setting or region provides a context for the types of props, mannerisms, and demeanor that are socially acceptable in that setting. For example, a female student would not come to class wearing a bikini, but she is free to wear one while swimming or at the beach. Similarly, she would probably not take a computer or textbook to the pool.
What was the Asch experiment? What conclusions did Asch draw from it? What have researchers in recent decades found when trying to replicate Asch's results?
In the 1950s, Solomon Asch gathered groups of seven or eight college students to participate in what he called an experiment on visual acuity under varying conditions. In fact, only one of the students in each group was a real research subject. The others knew ahead of time how they were supposed to act. During the experiment, the participants in the group were asked to look at sets of three straight lines and to match the length of a fourth line to one of the other three. In each case, the real research subject was the last to give an answer. At first, all the participants gave the same correct answers each time the task was repeated. After a few rounds, however, the confederates began to give the same consistently wrong answers. They were completely unanimous in perceiving the line lengths incorrectly. Despite the fact that the answers were obviously wrong, most of the subjects felt considerable peer pressure to comply with the rest of the group. The best answers to this question will approximate some of the statistics given in the textbook. One-third (33 percent) of the subjects went along with the group response at least half the time; in all, 73 percent of the subjects complied at least once and only 25 percent of the subjects never yielded to the majority opinion. In a debriefing after the experiment, some of the subjects reported that they assumed that the rest of the participants were right and they were wrong. Other subjects knew they were right but did not want to appear different from the rest of the group. Almost all of the subjects were greatly distressed by the discrepancy between their perceptions and those of the other participants. From this experiment, Asch and other sociologists have concluded that peer pressure is extremely powerful. Clearly, it can be difficult to resist peer pressure and to maintain independence in a group situation. Today, Asch's experiment is seen as reflecting the cultural values of the 1950s. Researchers in recent decades who attempted to replicate Asch's results found much lower rates of compliance. This suggests that there has been a shift in the cultural and historical context of how we think about the value of conformity.
How does taking the sociological perspective enable sociologists to understand human life in society?
It allows them to understand human life by creating a sense of culture shock in an attempt to see the familiar through an outsider's eyes.
Culture Wars
Political conflict in the United States between "red-state" Americans, who tend to have strong religious beliefs, and "blue-state" Americans, who tend to be more secular.
Describe the difference between positive sanctions and negative sanctions.
Positive sanctions reward people for conforming to cultural norms. Examples of positive sanctions include smiles, praise, and awards. Negative sanctions punish people for violating norms. Examples of negative sanctions include frowns, disapproval, and incarceration.
How might strong identification with, and loyalty to, an in-group result in discrimination against members of an out-group?
Social cohesion and loyalty can intensify when differences between groups are strongly defined between the "us" of the in-group and the "them" of the out-group. Such definitions may give in-group members a feeling of superiority that can result in discrimination such as the denial of opportunities and privileges to members of the out-group.
Compare and contrast conflict theory with structural functionalism. Pay special attention to the way each theory treats the origin of social change.
Society is a stable, ordered system of interrelated parts or structures and that each structure has a function that contributes to the continued stability or equilibrium of the whole.
How does taking the sociological perspective enable sociologists to understand human life in society?
Taking the sociological perspective enables sociologists to view the world through a beginner's mind. By eliminating their personal experiences, opinions, and biases, they are able to learn about the familiar world in new ways.
Describe how television can be a powerful and covert agent of socialization.
Television can communicate covert messages that teach us norms and values; this can have a powerful influence on our behavior. The textbook gives the example of how television presents idealized images of the human body as being the norm. As a result, watching television may influence us to believe that our natural appearance is unacceptable in our society and that we must go on diets or get plastic surgery.
Language is the most important element of symbolic culture, but its role in social life is still hotly debated among sociologists. Describe the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and its position about the role of language in creating social life.
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, or the principle of linguistic relativity, reverses the standard assumption about the relationship between language and perception. Instead of sensory perception suggesting the need for words to describe it, the hypothesis suggests that our language helps structure our perception and, therefore, controls what our senses notice. For example, a native Colombian perceives a lemon as both a lemon and a lime. People in the United States see a distinct difference between a lemon and a lime.
Many natural scientists argue that human behavioral traits can be explained through genetics. Many social scientists believe that human behavior is learned and shaped through social interaction. Which view is correct? Justify your answer.
The correct view it "Many social scientists believe that human behavior is learned and shaped through social interaction." This is correct because as humans, we grow, develop, and act based upon the environment we were raised in. What one may think is the norm, the other may disagree because each and everyone are raised differently.
Because of economic strength, western companies are powerful enough to impose their products on markets worldwide.
The phenonmenon is known as cultural imperialism
How does the size of a group affect how it operates and the sorts of relationships that are possible within it?
The smaller the group is, the more likely it is to be based on intimate, personal ties. The larger the group is, the more impersonal it becomes and the more likely it is to be based on rules and regulations.
According to symbolic interactionism, describe how meaningful reality is created.
The textbook uses the example of how a tree can mean different things to different people in different social situations. We act toward things on the basis of their meaning, which is not inherent in the things themselves but is negotiated through interaction and can change or be modified over time. This demonstrates that meaningful reality is created through interaction.
The term "culture wars" refers to the extreme clashes in values that occur when there are conflicting viewpoints about efforts to change core values in society. Give an example of how social commentators in the media can facilitate a culture war.
The textbook uses the example of how social commentators have debated issues such as the appropriateness of Colin Kaepernick's kneeling during the National Anthem. Many commentators felt that he had been disrespectful and unpatriotic, which was especially concerning given Kaepernick was a role model to impressionable children. Others argued that Kaepernick was bringing attention to and protesting racial oppression and inequality
Give an example of a gesture within your culture that may not have the same meaning or translate at all into another culture.
The textbook uses the example of the "thumbs up" sign as a gesture, expressing praise or approval in the United States, but may be considered obscene in South America or Asia. Similarly, the "A-OK" sign communicates praise in the United States, but is not acceptable in parts of Italy. The "middle finger" is considered obscene in the United States, but means nothing to people living in Brazil.
Cultures around the world are changing at an increasingly rapid pace. How does a cultural group change through contact with other cultures?
There are three principal concepts associated with cultural change resulting from contact between societies. Cultural diffusion occurs when one culture begins to adopt the tools, beliefs, and/or practices of another culture to which it has been exposed. Cultural leveling happens when formerly distinct cultures become increasingly similar. Cultural imperialism refers to the imposition of the cultural beliefs and practices of a more economically powerful group onto a less powerful group. Within these types of cultural change, it is more likely that the flow of practices and ideas goes from the more dominant group to the less dominant group.
Why do structural functionalists argue that dysfunction tends to create social change?
They argue that if one structure is transformed, the other must also adjust. Each structure of society has a specific function even if it is dysfunctional. This dysfunction brings light to the problem and causes other structures to change to adapt to the problem. p20
Describe cultural relativism. Give an example.
Understanding someone's cultures from their point of view without judging according to your own culture. For example, when an american sociologist is studying certain Chinese food and realizes they eat dog like we eat horse, it is important that the sociologist does not say, "ew that's disgusting, how could you eat an animal that is a pet?" because it is just part of our culture. It is important to respect all aspects of people's cultures even if we do not agree with them.
Values and norms are symbolic culture in action. Describe the difference between values and norms and then describe the different kinds of norms.
Values are a cultural group's shared beliefs about what is worthwhile and desirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly. Norms are the rules and guidelines about acceptable behavior that develop out of those values. Norms can be formal or informal. Formal norms, such as laws, are always codified in some way, shape, or form. Informal norms are ordinary, everyday conventions and are usually unspoken. Informal norms range from folkways, the least strictly enforced, to mores, which are more strictly enforced because they relate to the core values of the group. The most extreme form of mores are taboos, which are so deeply ingrained that most people don't even like to think about violating them.
How is culture shock useful in helping sociologists see that even what is most familiar to us can be bizarre?
We are dependent on culture for survival and practicing our own culture becomes "second nature." Culture shock can help us look at our own culture in new ways rather than taking it for granted.
Why do structural functionalists argue that dysfunction tends to create social change?
When one structure of society encounters a disruption, there is a ripple effect across all social structures. This leads to the need for social change so that social systems may restore balance. For example, if a country goes to war, there will be a deficit in the economy. As a result, money available for education decreases as tax dollars are given to the military; soldiers die, resulting in single-parent, single-income households; and people begin to struggle with their religious beliefs, reducing involvement in the volunteer structure of communities. The system will fight for equilibrium and will eventually function, albeit in a different manner than it did before the war.
Symbolic Interactionism
a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people's actions
moral holiday
a specified time period during which some norm violations are allowed
ideal culture
cultural guidelines that group members claim to accept
Ethnocentrism
evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture.
Subcultures are
groups that share many elements of mainstream culture but maintain distinctive customs and lifestyles
Dominant
most important, powerful, or influential.
Folkways
norms that are not strictly enforced
Mores
norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance
Norms
rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members
symbolic culture
the ideas associated with a cultural group, including ways of thinking (beliefs, values, and assumptions) and ways of behaving (norms, interactions, and communication)
real culture
the norms and values that people actually follow
material culture
the physical things created by members of a society
Even though we are not all trained academically as sociologists, we can all be considered "everyday actors" because...
we are all members of society and have a background knowledge about how society works.
