Final exam 2018, questions PDF

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study guide for midterm 2...

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Sociology 122: Final exam study guide Terms Jacob Moreno

threshold

two-mode network

reproduction rate

generalized exchange

computational social science

divide et impera

the diner’s dilemma

Kevin Bacon Game

inverted advantage

cascade

Solomon Asch

offline emergence

normative influence

TIT FOR TAT

tipping point

the Latin Kings

gatekeeper brokerage

catalyst brokerage

linearity assumption

Short response Provide two real-life examples of “altruistic acts,” and explain why each of these acts would not actually be considered “altruistic” from the perspective of exchange theorists. Provide three reasons why triads in social networks are likely to close. At UCSD, “Muirons” (students of Muir College) are particularly likely to be friends with other “Muirons.” Provide three reasons why this might be the case that have nothing to do with “Muiron homophily,” i.e. the actual preference of students of Muir College to be friends with each other. Explain the SIR model: 1) What do the letters “SIR” stand for? 2) What are the three phases of logistic growth? And 3) of those three phases, what is the best stage at which to stop an epidemic? What three conditions are required for social networks to exacerbate inequality? Describe the three mechanisms by which cooperation could have conceivably evolved. Further, for each mechanism, 1) identify the essential ingredient and 2) provide a concrete example. Explain the difference between simple and complex contagion and provide a (non-biological) example of each. Identify and explain the three conditions under which a cascade is impossible.

Provide a real-life example of a “Prisoner’s Dilemma”-type situation and explain why that situation captures the paradox of the Prisoner’s Dilemma. Why are chickens relevant for the study of gang homicide?

Long response Online dating is now responsible for the creation of an unprecedented proportion of romantic partnerships. Drawing on major ideas from the course, answer the following questions: 1) How is mate selection online different from mate selection in face-to-face environments? 2) From the perspective of an individual dating site user, what are the advantages and disadvantages of online dating compared to meeting a partner through more traditional means? 3) If you were to design an online dating site, how would you design the site to be most successful in creating matches? While Stanley Milgram is best known for his controversial research on obedience, his work on the smallworld problem was arguably more influential. First, describe the question Milgram was trying to answer and the method he used to answer it. Second, evaluate the strengths and limitations of his approach. Third, explain how Milgram’s work is related to the distinction between broadcast and directed search and why a “broadcast” version of Milgram’s experiment would have been problematic. Salganik, Dodds, and Watts’ study of an “artificial cultural market” revolutionized our understanding of fads and fashions. First, describe the research methodology they employed, i.e. how their experiment was structured. Second, describe the main findings of their experiment. Third, explain why these findings are so important—and what they tell us about the success of The Beatles, Harry Potter, or some other hit product or popular cultural item with which you are familiar. In “Murder by structure,” how is Papachristos’ approach to gang homicide different from conventional explanations for murder? What are four main findings of his research? As a consequence of these findings, what kinds of interventions does Papachristos recommend? And finally, how is this research similar to or different from the “Chains of affection” study by Bearman, Moody, and Stovel? Drawing on major ideas from the course, explain the relevance of social network analysis for understanding two major issues in sociological thinking: 1) the connection between “micro” (small-scale) and “macro” (large-scale) levels of analysis, and 2) the tension between “structure” (the fact that we are constrained and influenced by our social environment) and “agency” (the fact that this same environment is a product of our individual decisions). Draw on specific examples whenever possible. Contemporary social media—from Facebook to eBay to online dating sites—are both changing how human beings interact as well as helping social scientists better understand these interactions. Drawing on major ideas from the course, evaluate the pros and cons of both. In other words, answer the following two questions: 1) Is the internet helping or harming society? 2) Is the availability of internetbased data helping or harming scientific research? For both questions, draw on specific examples whenever possible....