Sociology 101 Exam 1 Study Guide PDF

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Very comprehensive filled in and annotated study guide for the midterm exam. The study guide includes personal notes, references from assigned readings, and lectures. It will really help guide students how to study for the first major exam of the course....

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Sociology Exam 1: Study Guide I. ●

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What is Sociology? The study of the patterns of human behavior ○ Understand causes & predict outcomes ○ Epistemology: the science of truth “The study of the social” Society: gathering of human beings Cultural symbols Large-scale shifts: Industrial rev, internet boom, global warming Private & social issues intertwine Sociological studying is a perspective Sociology vs. common sense ○ Common sense: ideas that are common place, widely held ○ Sociology: rooted in science with empirical evidence & data to back up claims Objectivity vs. partisanship ○ The question of maintaining objectivity as a sociologist ○ Can sociologist isolate personal values, political views, etc.? ○ Is objective science of social institutions possible? ○ Objectivity: being impartial/neutral, no further interest but knowing the truth ■ Replication: have to be able to be replicated by others ■ Validity: defining what you mean ■ Reliability: similar to replication, someone can get the same result ○ Ex: Zimbardo not distancing himself enough from the experiment Sociological imagination: being aware of the forces around oneself ○ Recognizing that there are social forces that shape you & you might be blinded by ○ Looking at the world taking social forces into consideration ○ We are products of society as well Stereotypes ○ A widely held and oversimplified image of a type of person to represent a group ○ Based on common sense ○ Stereotypes are judgmental, oversimplified, absolute, overshadowing, don’t change, don’t promote understanding, not created carefully Methods: qualitative & quantitative ○ quali= words, quanti= numbers 1. Surveys 2. Participant observation 3. Case studies: small case as part of whole trend 4. Secondary analysis: data that someone else has collected 5. Documents 6. Interviews 7. Experiments: with dependent & independent variables 8. Unobtrusive measures: not telling observees they’re being observed How to choose your method

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○ Driven by the question you want answered ○ Practicality (resources & subjects) ○ Ethical issues about conducting research/have to protect subjects & study’s authenticity “There’s a difference between what people do and what they say they do” this is example of response bias “To make the familiar distant and the distant familiar” achieving a good balance especially with participant observation but in general with all research methods Qualitative Methods A. Objectivity 1. Defined as impartiality where no sides are taken, no biases or prejudice 2. Disinterest/detachment- being neutral, not having biases, no further interest to butcher results (make familiar distant and distant familiar; attain a healthy balance) 3. Replication - allows others to repeat the same experiment in the future 4. Validity - specificity in what you are measuring 5. Reliability - ability to use replication to reach same results B. Interviews 1. Can take place by email, phone, in person 2. Includes fewer respondents, more in-depth conversation and results 3. Responder bias is common- responders might feel like researcher has a particular bias or background and want to meet that bias or background by providing “socially acceptable answers” a) This is why asking neutral questions is good. Neutral: is Trump a good or bad president? Biased: Don’t you think Trump is a bad president? 4. Structured questions- close-ended 5. Unstructured questions- open-ended 6. EX: using an interview with people who witnessed a car accident to determine how reliable individuals’ memories really are C. Rapport 1. Building a relationship and trust with subject; important for interviews, unobtrusive observation, especially with sensitive information 2. Getting to know the subject to get more access to information/data 3. EX: Jacobs established a relationship with streetcorner crack dealers D. Case Studies 1. Single, particular event 2. Has problems with generalization and finding out if problem is linked to one particular cause or multiple (can’t know for certain) 3. Example: Anne (6yr old isolated girl from reading Extreme Isolation) E. Unobtrusive Measures 1. Measures that don’t require researcher to intrude the research context 2. No rapport is needed 3. Participant observation can be unobtrusive (doesn’t have to be)

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4. Not interacting with participants has limitations however and might affect data collected; researchers’ own biases in interpreting the research context might come into play 5. EX: putting mom and child into room in order to see how the parents socialize gender F. Secondary Analysis 1. Can fit in as quantitative depending how you use it 2. Involves the use of existing data, collected for the purposes of a prior study, in order to pursue a research interest which is distinct from original study. 3. Researcher’s bias in picking out studies to examine can come into play G. Participant Observation 1. Ethnography- research as an outsider 2. Direct observation, casual conversation, social interaction, in-depth interviews 3. Systematic gather of data- thick and detailed description 4. Gives subjects voice (unlike unobtrusive measures) 5. More subjective/less rigidly scientific 6. Hard to reduce to a single variable 7. Important to achieve a balance between making familiar distant and distant familiar 8. Streetcorner crack dealers: researcher examined the social organization of street sales, challenge: gaining rapport, establishing a connection to them, cops saw researcher as crazy and dealers thought he was a cop; researcher was an anomaly a) Specific example: researcher gained credibility with dealers when he got pulled over with the dealers, they understood he really wasn’t a cop (researcher was also scared) Quantitative Methods Variables: ○ To see association or cause ○ Something that varies/is manipulated ○ Independent and dependent ■ Ex: advertisement (ind.) → buy products (dep.) Survey: ○ Sample: results cluster around the mean ○ Random sample: representativity, will get the real mean ○ Neutral questions: unbiased questions Correlation =/= causation Experiments: ○ The context of events determines behavior ○ Experimental group: receives the treatment ○ Control group: gets placebo Robber’s cave experiment: testing competing teams to see if they would unite ○ Group conflict lead to working on common goals ○ Can be applied to international policy Zimbardo’s prison experiment: coercive setting of prison can induce brutal behavior

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Sociological Perspectives: three lenses of sociology A. Functionalism (macro theory) 1. How society works 2. Society as a machine- each part has a function 3. Problems due to failure of one part 4. Analogous of a human body- if all the parts work properly, machine is ok and in equilibrium a) Ex: healthcare and medical research institutions working together allows major discoveries to help people 5. Dysfunctions in any part of the society (which is viewed as a machine) leads to society not working properly, serving as a social problem a) Delay of a federal agency in developing benefits (lawmakers→ us) 6. Structure- how parts of a society are related (health care, labor market, social security, education, taxes are all viewed as connected in this model) 7. Functionalists would analyze abortion on a broad scale: laws/norms/societal impact; wouldn’t consider uon small picture level. 8. Functionalists believe practices and institutions were created as solutions to problems a) Families/schools: solves problem of socializing and education b) Free market- to produce and distribute goods/services c) Police system- to control deviance and conflict 9. Main idea: functionalists think everything has a function and need to work together for greater good B. Conflict Theory (macro theory) 1. Based on clash (from Marx and his theory on clash between proletariat and bourgeois classes) 2. Society as parts don’t work together 3. Problems are inevitable 4. Criticism to functionalism ideas that societies are problem-solving entities and that long standing practices and institutions are satisfactory. Conflict theory argues opposite. 5. Views societies as arenas in which groups with antagonistic interests struggle against each other. 6. Parts of society are not working together for resources (whether you know it or not) because of competing ideologies as well a) Ex: young/poor/pension 7. Less powerful are bound to react to oppression from upper classes, creating crime, suicide, and conflict 8. Main argument: problems are due to conflict and conflict is a natural outcome C. Symbolic Interactionism (micro) 1. We see the world through symbols and attach meaning to them 2. We act in terms of meanings we assign to objects 3. Problems avoided if norms/accepted meanings are adhered to

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4. My conduct is influenced by my definition of the situation a) Definition is influenced by images on TV, movies, videos, words (printed or spoken), gestures, clothing 5. Out behavior/how we react = based on meanings we assign 6. Groups also symbolize us 7. How we symbolize ourselves is vital for the choices we make 8. To match our self-image we choose: clothes, car, music, career 9. Who we share our lives with is dictated by such symbols 10. Different groups→ different realities Social Construction of Reality A. What is the definition of the social construction of reality? 1. The process through which others create their understanding of their environment B. What does each of these six principles of social reality mean? 1. Behavior is patterned and ordered - people are likely to do the same things; don’t deviate much in behavior a) Ex. picking the same seat in a classroom every class 2. Rules guide our behavior - regardless of whether rules are informal/formal or explicit/implicit, we are still likely to base our actions off of them a) Ex. not talking while the teacher is talking in a classroom setting 3. We give meaning to behavior - the meaning of actions are not inherent in behaviors a) Ex. Social Distance Rules - acceptable social distance varies according to space size, number of people, and how well we know each other (standing with others in an elevator) 4. Rules are collectively enforced - we tend to follow to what the group does a) Ex. police brutality/Rodney King - because some cops were beating King, the others did as well 5. Rules are symbolic - they are not “natural,” but socially constructed 6. Rules are cemented by our emotions - the objective act does not determine behavior, but the way one perceives a situation does a) Ex. a child may lose a parent, but they are upset because of the meaning they have assigned to the act, not because of a biological reason “Nacirema” & “Sacred Cows in India” exemplify each of these six principles Self-fulfilling Prophecy (Pygmalion effect) A. What is self-fulfilling prophecy? 1. When an expectation leads to behavior that then causes the expectation to become a reality 2. Ex: placebo effect 3. Believe it is real→ act it is real→ becomes real 4. Factors affecting self-fulfilling prophecy in the context of a teacher and students she expects a lot from: climate (social mood we create for others; warmer emotional climate for students we expect to do well), input factor (amount of information we give others; will teach students you expect more from more and better), response opportunity (amount of output we expect from others; extra

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opportunities to participate and show what students learned from high expectancy students), feedback (information we give others in response to their performance; better and more encouraging feedback to high expectancy students despite answer) B. How is the cycle of a self-fulfilling prophecy broken? 1. Outside force is needed to break self-fulfilling prophecy cycle ? 2. Need more here :/ my notes not too complete C. Examples of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 1. EX: Saints and Roughnecks: a) Saints were involved in school, got good grades b) Roughnecks were not as involved, bad grades c) Saints were less visible when doing deviant activities than roughnecks so roughnecks were more delinquent by perception d) Saints were more apologetic and roughnecks responded more negatively generally also affecting perception e) Saints parents tried to deal with cops and tell them it’s nothing abnormal the saints were doing (momental sowing of wild oats); roughnecks parents were cooperative or indifferent who acquiesced to laws in light of son’s behaviors f) Ultimately: pattern of deviancy was reinforced through selective perception and labeling g) Self-fulfilling prophecy was seen: saints almost all went to higher education institutions; was not the case with roughnecks; people’s reactions to each group determined life course after high school 2. EX: Bank Panic of 1930s a) Banks had a 8-10% reserve and not failing, nonetheless people believed banks were failing b) Rushed to take money from banks leading to failure of banks! 3. EX: Placebo effect a) If you think you are drinking alcohol (even if drinking water placebo), you will start acting drunk Norms, Roles, and Status Norms: more socially enforced rules, implicitly defined ○ Can vary by culture & person ○ Meaning changed in a socially constructed process ○ Changes in definitions do not come easily ○ Behavior follows definitions and definitions follow behavior Laws: explicitly defined written rules Status: a position that a person occupies within a social structure ○ Determines where we “fit” in society ○ Ascribed status: statuses that we are born with/assigned to us ■ Ex: child, gender, race, age ○ Achieved status: statuses that we earn or choose ■ Ex: parent, college graduate, profession

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Status symbols: symbols that indicate a person’s status Master status: our most significant status Status inconsistency: having contradictory statuses ■ Ex: a woman w/ a traditionally male job, Stephen Hawking Roles: expectations for behavior attached to status ○ The obligations and parts played attached to a particular status ■ Ex: student status vs. student role--have to carry out role to keep status ○ 2 Dimensions of roles: 1. Action dimension-behavior: roles guide our behavior, are learned through socialization, and create personal organization a. Anomie - feeling of normlessness or personal disorganization; stems from lack of social interaction 2. Identity dimension: roles shape our identity and emotions ● 3 ways we get our identity from roles: 1. Behaving in the role: we take on the emotions & attitudes of the role → become role 2. By the reactions of others: identity is socially bestowed and sustained ○ Ex: Ash experiment: go along with the group even though wrong, people are sometimes willing to disavow their own senses if it is contradicted by the judgement of the rest of the group 3. Having alternatives blocked off: ○ Ex: Zimbardo’s Prison experiment: people were told to stay in their roles and thought they were unable to leave, so they were forced to assume their appropriate identities ation and the Self A. How do we develop the ability to interact with others? 1. Society makes us human through social interaction, which is crucial for humans to develop. 2. The particular characteristics that make people human are developed within society, they are not innate or natural. Babies do not naturally develop into human adults with capacity of interaction. Society makes us human. 3. Example: Extreme Isolation (Anna and Isabelle) a) Isolation up to age of 6 = failure to acquire speech; to grasp the world of cultural meaning b) But it does not preclude the subsequent acquisition of these accelerated recovery, going through the mental stages at a more rapid rate (Isabelle) (1) Could be genetics or immediate care that caused differences but not sure which one c) Anna was rejected, locked, minimal interaction with other humans, delay in rehab, slight improvement, mom not mentally sharp (very low IQ) d) Isabelle was deaf-mute, more interactions with mom, immediate care, considerable improvement 4. EX: Feral children: children raised in isolation without social interaction; children brought up outside of society are not seen as human or social

5. EX: The twins: Jack and Oskar were identical twins with a roman catholic mother and jewish father. One went with mom and one went with dad. They each had different attitudes toward the war, Hitler, Jews, orientation to life. a) Jack was liberal, lived through holocaust, workaholic, proud Jew b) Oskar was conservative, enjoyed leisurely activities more c) Both excelled at sports, math, and had similar traits. d) Shows that genes vs. environment debate is not settled but limits of certain physical and mental abilities established by heredity e) (sports and math) but other processes of socialization is learned B. Socialization 1. Process of learning what’s on our mind and those of others 2. Social interaction is a relationship between two minds; it is double reciprocal structure. 3. A→ B but B→ A also 4. A responds to what A thinks B thinks and we try to discern what’s our own mind and mind of others. 5. Although socialization is powerful and affects us profoundly, we have a self. a) Our self is dynamic, established in childhood. It is affected by environment and acts on environment. Each of us therefore uses our mind to reason and make choices and is actively involved in construction of self. Self can change. b) Socialization is on going process. C. The Self 1. That set of skills and abilities that allow people to account for what’s on own mind and mind of others. 2. Self is ability to see ourselves from the outside 3. Self- stable set of perceptions of who we are in relation to others/social systems; to perceive, observe, etc. 4. From time of birth, humans define themselves within context of social interactions (looking glass self)--mirror: we imagine how we appear t others, we imagine and react to what we feel their judgement of that appearance must be, we develop our self through judgement of others. D. How do we develop Self-esteem? 1. Self-esteem is one’s own judgment of self worth. 2. Two important aspects of self esteem: a) Judgment of oneself b) Based on others’ evaluation of us 3. Social interaction determines our self esteem but interaction with significant others 4. Objective conditions do not determine self-esteem but the meanings we attach to it do a) EX: grade is only significant based on the meaning we attach to it (what mom will say, etc.) 5. EX: comparing self-esteem of white vs. black kids.

a) Black kids: expectation that objective conditions (home/school) and treatment (of kids by adults) would lower self-esteem of black children. b) But key = reaction of parents, not race. c) Self-esteem of black kids was same as white because when they grow up they have new peers, changes in significant other, their social environment changes affecting esteem. So objective condition is race/social class but it takes more than that to shape self-esteem. E. Stages of Socialization (Mead) 1. Preparatory stage a) Under three years b) Mimic and imitate behavior c) Activity helps child prepare for role 2. Play stage a) From 3-6 years b) Children begin to take on the role of other by dressing up, playing house c) Children develop ability to understand what is on minds of others and account for own mind d) Children start to develop self e) Socialization in this stage occurs through acting in a role it doesn’t occur by observing; you take on the role. (social more than cognitive process). f) Learning emotions, feelings, norms of these roles 3. Game stage a) About ages 6 and older b) Kids become fascinated by roles c) Spend a lot of time planning to play games (rules that tell people how to act) d) Children begin to take perspective of “game” or rules e) Taking perspective of generalized other f) Children develop sense of morality (if you break the rules that is wrong → punishment) F. Looking Glass Self 1. Process by which we internalize others’ reactions to us 2. We imagine how we appear to others, we imagine and rea...