Sociology Chapter 4-6

Front 1

Theory, concepts, variables, propositions, and hypotheses

Back 1

Theory explains a phenomena and can be tested. Concepts allow us to understand a phenomena in a particular way. Variables are concepts that has 2+ values & they can vary from person to person. A proposition is a statement about the relationship between 2+ variables. Hypotheses are statements that can be tested

Front 2

Objectivity, replication, and precision of measurement.

Back 2

Objectivity is that personal biases should not influence any results. Replication says that someone should be able to replicate the same experiment and retrieve the same results. Precision of measurement says that the phenomena being studied should be measured in precise, reliable, and valid ways.

Front 3

Validity and Reliability

Back 3

Validity says that the right equipment must be used. “cant use a inch ruler to measure centimeters.” Reliability says that the same results should come out if measuring the same thing

Front 4

Descriptive, explanatory, and evaluation research.

Back 4

Descriptive research provides facts about the social world. (facts:behavior, attitude, law, and statistic). Explanatory research explains why things do or do not happen. They provide useful info about social reality. “why do ppl who have gone to prison have trouble finding jobs”

Front 5

Qualitative and quantitative.

Back 5

Qualitative methods are used to determine the essential characteristics, properties, or processes of something or someone. Dealing with loss of someone (case studies or participant observation). Quantitative obtain numbers or amounts of something:median ages, crime rates. Uses surveys and experiments

Front 6

Observation techniques

Back 6

Laboratory observation: controlled environment of a particular activity. Field observation: observes someone in their place-student in a classroom. Participant observation: researcher is a participant in what he is researching.

Front 7

Advantages of observation studies, survey research, experimental designs, and secondary analysis.

Back 7

observation studies-new hypotheses, natural setting, new qualitative data. survey research -large populations, permits standardized questioning, easily administered, short time used. experimental designs -controls specific conditions, replication of experiment, specifies cause-effect relationships. Secondary analysis-data already gathered or available, inexpensive, past sources.

Front 8

Experimental designs

Back 8

Procedure used to determine cause-effect relationships in controlled situations

Front 9

Central tendency

Back 9

Statistic

Front 10

Sampling methods

Back 10

Strong (unbiased methods): systematic (not as good as random sample b/c every nth member of population is sampled) …simple random sampling (every one has an equal chance for being sampled)..stratified random sampling (population divided into categories & sample are taken from categories)
Poor (biased methods: convenience sampling (everyone does not have equal chance of being selected/quick and easy way to get data). Self selective sampling ( people provide their opinions when they want to) …cluster sampling (some people are selected to provide info)

Front 11

8 steps of research process

Back 11

a. Formulate problem-choose a problem
b. Review the literature-examine data
c. Develop hypotheses-make a prediction
d. Choose a research design-make a plan to further your data
e. Collect data from the design you chose
f. Analyze results-organize results and may create statistics that you found
g. Interpret findings and draw conclusion based on hypotheses-or create new hypothesis
h. Disseminate the results-publish maybe

Front 12

Professional journals and non-referred publications

Back 12

Professional journals are gold standard and have been reviewed prior to publication. Others are not.

Front 13

Culture (material and non-material) and symbols, language, values and norms

Back 13

Culture is a system of ideas, values, beliefs, knowledge, norms, customs, and technology shared by almost everyone in a particular society. A society’s system of common heritage. Non-material culture is language, ideas, and values. Material is houses, clothes, and tools. Symbols are something used to represent something else:words, gestures, crosses all symbolized something. Language is the systematized usage of speech and hearing to convey or express feelings and ideas. Values are ideas shared by people in a society regarding what is important and worthwhile. Values are the basis of our judgments about what is desirable, beautiful, correct, and good and the opposites of these (what is proper and improper). Norms are rules of conduct or social expectations for behavior (standards for what people should and should not do).

Front 14

Society

Back 14

Society is a group of interacting persons who live in a specific geographical area, who are organized in a cooperative manner, and who share a common culture.

Front 15

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Back 15

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that societies with different languages perceive the world differently because their members interpret the world through the grammatical forms, labels, and categories their language provides.

Front 16

Social norms, folkways, mores, laws, and taboos.

Back 16

Social norms are expectations of conduct. Folkways are unserious norms-mild punishment. (eating a steak with a spoon) . Mores are more important and may bring punishment-ending the life of a terminally ill patient. Taboos are norms that we are clearly not supposed to do-kill someone

Front 17

Explain the phenomenon known as cultural lag.

Back 17

cultural lag is the term used to describe when nonmaterial culture cannot catch up to material culture. Planes improve on their features-not enough rules to regulate the changes. Cars improve and more people are driving but there are not enough people to design more roads People want clean air but government hasn’t had time to change the rules about polluting air

Front 18

Define, compare, and contrast ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, temporocentrism, and xenocentrism.

Back 18

Ethnocentrism---your own culture is superior to others; that one’s own beliefs, values, and behaviors are more correct than others; and that other people and cultures can be evaluated in terms of one’s own culture. Cultural relativism means that a behavior appropriate in one place may not be appropriate everywhere. (being naked in the shower is appropriate but being naked in public is not) Temporocentrism--is the belief that one’s own time is more important than the past or future. Xenocentrism—your ideas, products, lifestyle, culture is not as good as other cultures (ex: France is better than America)

Front 19

Discuss the definitions of subculture and counterculture and give examples of each

Back 19

SUBCULTURES are groups of people who participate in the larger, dominant culture yet also maintain their own distinctive life styles and set of cultural elements as well. (Chinese man who speaks Chinese at home but works in Wall Street & speaks English around his work)
Counterculture is a subculture that adheres to “a set of norms and values that sharply contradict the dominant norms and values of the society of which that group is a part.” They do things that are not accepted by the dominant population (a gang that bombs things as part of their beliefs)

Front 20

Know what is meant by idiocultures and know how they are created.

Back 20

An idioculture is a system of shared knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, and customs created through enduring group interactions and shared experiences.

Front 21

Explain the differences between ideal and real culture (ideal and real norms) and provide examples of each.

Back 21

what people are supposed to do and what they actually do; ideal is what you are supposed to do and real culture is what you actually do. Real norms are also statistical. 84% of people don’t completely stop at stop signs Ex: speeding-the speed limit is 55 and you are supposed to follow it(ideal) but you drive 60 (real)

Front 22

Define, compare, and contrast the terms social institution and social organization

Back 22

Social institution is a system of norms, values, statuses, and roles that develops around a basic social goal. All societies have particular institutions to meet their broad goals; they form the foundation of society. Five basic social institutions are defined in the text: the family, religion, education, economic, and political. Family-reproduces and socializes children. Religion affirms values and provides an approach to nonempirical questions. Education transmits cultural heritage, knowledge, and skills from one generation to the next. Economic institutions produce and distribute goods and services. Political institutions provide social leadership and protect individuals from one another and from forces outside the society. The difference between institutions and organizations is that they both share the same goals but organizations are more specific in that goal. Ex: Education is an institution-East Georgia College is an organization. Religion is an institution-the Baptist Church is an organization

Front 23

Define socialization and explain the relationship between socialization, social interaction, and culture.

Back 23

Socialization is the process of social interaction through which people acquire personality and learn the way of life of their society/culture. It is the process of learning how to interact in society by learning the rules and expectations of society. Learn culture through socialization

Front 24

2) Describe and discuss the research comparing infants reared in a foundling home and infants reared in a home for delinquent mothers

Back 24

Infants raised in the foundling home had all of their physical needs met(nutrition, clothing, bedding, and room temperatures) and every child was seen by a physician at least once a day. Other interaction was very limited, and within two years, 34% of the 91 children died and 21 other children showed slow physical and social development. Infants in the home for delinquent mothers had basically the same physical care as the other infants, but their mothers played with their children for hours daily. The infants received a lot of social stimulation and they developed normally. It was concluded that the difference in the two was the amount of attention the children got.

Front 25

Explain the research of isolated and feral children

Back 25

Isolated children are children who are isolated from others show a lack of development because of the lack of human interaction. One research was about a child who was isolated until she was 6 and a half years old. She did not know language because her mother was mute and deaf. Specialists working with her thought she was retarded becaue of her lack of social skills. After 18 months, she was able to fully carry on a conversation and became just as progressed as other children her age. Feral children are children who have grown up in the wild. The most famous feral child was a young boy who was found in the wilderness in France in the 1800s. No one knows how he survived all the years and was very insensitive to heat or cold. He could supposedly reach into a fire to get a potato out & wear no clothes during the freezing winter. After 5 years of working with him, he had not improved whatsoever on his speech. This research determined that even physically healthy children could not develop normal social behavior without social interaction.

Front 26

4) Describe the essence of the “nature-nurture” debate about human development and identify the position taken by most social scientist (such as Cooley or Mead).

Back 26

Most sociologists go with socialization (nurture over nature)

Front 27

5) Describe the theories of Mead regarding the development of social self and identify the stages of role-taking.

Back 27

Individuals develop their sense of self through symbolic interaction in a process called role-taking. Role-taking is pretending to take or actually taking the roles of other people, so that we can see the world and our self from other viewpoints. Children first are able to internalize the particular other, usually a significant other(mother) and later the generalized other (society) Stages: Imitation- the preparatory stage in which a child imitates roles (no roles), play-child begins to formulate role expectations (one role in one situation), game- child learns to flexibly apply general rules and role expectations (many roles in one situation), and generalized other- the individual is aware of and uses widespread cultural norms and values as a reference in evaluating him or herself (many roles in many situations) .

Front 28

6) Identify and explain the components of Cooley’s theory called the looking-glass self and apply the theory to at least two social interaction context.

Back 28

Society is like a social mirror-imagine what kind of person we are & interpret others’ reactions as what kind of person we are & develop our self on others’ interpretations

Front 29

7) Define the presentation of self and explain Goffman’s dramaturgical approach.

Back 29

Put on a face. We just act how others expect. We are all actors.

Front 30

Identify and discuss the four major agencies of socialization

Back 30

Family-culture and first area of social life
Schools-teach discipline, behavior
Peer groups-closest people
Mass media-television plays role in developing

Front 31

9) Explain how infant and childhood experiences-schools, peer groups, and mass media-affect gender role socialization

Back 31

Boys are handled more roughly and expected to be tough, because of their gender. Girls are expected to be pretty, delicate, and emotional.

Front 32

Discuss and give at least two examples of adult socialization

Back 32

Adults learn to be parents from their parents, they are taught independence when move away from their family. Occupational training

Front 33

11) Define the term “resocialization” and give at least two examples of times in which the process may be necessary in an individual’s life

Back 33

Socialization to a new role or position in life that requires a dramatic shift in the attitudes, values, behaviors, and expectations learned in the past. To start over.

Front 34

Disadvantages of observation studies, survey research, experimental designs, and secondary analysis.

Back 34

observation studies-generalization difficult, observer may wsww. Survey research-sampling difficulties, exclusion of nonrespondents, may be dishonest. Experimental designs-nonnatural setting, can’t control all variables. Secondary analysis- missing materials, out of date or incomplete data, not accurate