Sociological Perspectives on College Life and Culture

Meritocracy

a social order that distributes rewards to individuals based on ability or unique talents

Rewards in Meritocracy

Rewards are bestowed based on achieved, rather than ascribed characteristics

Myth of Meritocracy

In education it is the myth of meritocracy -> it's not real

Socialites

go to college for the party, hook up culture, best time of life, upper class, have resources to participate in party pathway

Wannabes

Think they can live the party pathway, but don't have the resources to do so and party anyway.

Strivers

Motivated, disadvantaged students seeking the mobility pathway.

Achievers

Students already cultivated for success who pursue the professional pathway.

Underachiever

Not socially oriented, but still downwardly mobile students.

Social stratification

The social process through which rewards and resources such as wealth, power, and prestige are distributed systematically and unequally within and among social systems.

Median household income

$71,000.

Social reproduction

The tendency of social classes to remain relatively stable as class status is passed down from one generation to the next.

Party pathway

Fun outlet, affluent, white, socially oriented students isolate themselves from less privileged peers.

Mobility pathway

Provides vocational training to anyone who is willing to work hard to acquire it.

Professional pathway

Facilitates the conversion of class advantage into academic merit - competition for admission, merit-based financial rewards, top programs, internships and attention from professors.

Rape culture

A set of beliefs, norms, and values that normalizes sexual violence against people.

Red zone

Sexual assaults spike between the beginning of the fall semester and Thanksgiving break.

Sexual assault prevalence

(20%) 1/5 women will be sexually assaulted; (6%) 1/16 men will be sexually assaulted.

Victim-perpetrator relationship

You are more likely to be raped by someone you know; 80% of cases the victim knew the perpetrator.

Marital rape

Became a crime in 1993.

Reporting of sexual assault

90% of sexual assault survivors on college campuses do not report the assault.

False reporting of sexual assault

False reporting is between 2-10% of reported sexual assaults.

Gender roles

Expected gender behavior and attitudes.

Sex scripts

Ideas about normative interactions during sexual circumstances.

Rape myths

Victim-blaming beliefs such as 'she was dressed like a slut' or 'she was asking for it'.

Ineffective preventative measures

Educate about dangers of drinking; equip women to prevent; equip women to defend themselves or react to sexual assault.

Symbolic interaction and rape

Forced cohesion or threats is the definition of rape.

Reporting likelihood

60% of students report it was very likely that school officials would take a report of sexual assault seriously.

College graduation rate

In 2023, the college graduation rate was 62.2% for a 6-year rate.

Greek life donations

Greeks give approximately 2x more money to universities than other alumni.

Social control

Formal and informal mechanisms used to elicit conformity to values and norms to promote social cohesion.

Quantitative research

Working with numerical data that translates the social world into numbers that can then be manipulated mathematically.

Qualitative research

Works with nonnumerical data such as texts, written field notes, interviews transcripts, videos, or photographs.

Scientific method

Standard procedure for acquiring and verifying empirical knowledge as well as building and testing a body of scientific theory.

Meritocracy

A social order that distributes rewards to individuals based on ability or unique talents.

Red zone

The period when sexual assaults spike between the beginning of the fall semester and Thanksgiving break.

Rape myths

Victim-blaming beliefs that suggest the victim is responsible for the assault.

False reporting

Between 2-10% of reported sexual assaults are falsely reported.

Sexual assault prevalence

1/5 women (20%) and 1/16 men (6%) will be sexually assaulted.

College graduation rate

62.2% for a 6-year rate in 2023.

Party pathway

A social pathway where students engage in partying, often at the expense of academic responsibilities.

Professional pathway

Facilitates the conversion of class advantage into academic merit.

Ineffective preventative measures

Educate about dangers of drinking, equip women to prevent, and equip women to defend themselves.

Intervening variables

A third variable that explains the relationship between two other variables.

Spurious correlation

The appearance of causation produced by an intervening variable.

Deductive approach

An approach whereby the researcher formulates a hypothesis first and then gathers data to test the hypothesis.

Inductive approach

An approach whereby the researcher gathers data first, then formulates a theory to fit the data.

Victim-perpetrator relationship

In 80% of cases, the victim knew the perpetrator.

Behavioral descriptions

More women will report victimization when behavioral descriptions are used instead of labels.