sociology test 1 John Stamm ICC copy

Reliability

consistency of measurement

Validity

Actually measuring exactly what you intend to measure

Correlation

a relationship in which two (or more) variables change together

Objectivity

personal neutrality in conducting research

spurious correlation

an apparent but false relationship between two (or more) variables that is caused by some other variable

Max Weber argued that researcher should be which of the following investigations?

Value-free

not a limitation of scientific sociology?

Human behavior is very simple and sociologist try to make things too complicated.

critical sociology

researcher is an activist.

interpretive sociology

corresponds to symbolic interactionism.

positivist sociology

see society as an orderly system.

Piaget

saw personality in stages of cognitive development.

Kohlberg

looked at stages of moral development.

Freud

personality is made up of id, ego, superego

Gilligan

compared the moral development of boys and girls.

Mead

saw the self as the product of social experiment.

Erikson

emphasized the different challenges we face throughout life.

Superego

the cultural values and norms internalized by the individual is…

ego

a person's conscious efforts to balance innate pleasure-seeking drives with the demands of society

Id

the human being's basic drives

looking-glass self

our self image based on how we think others see us

retrospective labeling

interpreting someone's past in light of some present deviance

primary deviance

deviance that provokes only slight reaction from others and little effect on a person's self concept

stigma

a powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person's self-concept and social identity

medicalization of deviance

the trend of moving from punishment to treatment for some drugs is an example of…

what age group is overrepresented in American crime rate?

15-24

illegal drug use is an example of a

victimless crime

Detterence

the attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment

which of the following is NOT an explanation in the text for the decline in the use of the death penalty in the US

the crime rates have gotten so high it has convinced people the death penalty doesn't work

97% of criminal convictions come from a

a plea bargain

Which of the following statements is true about the US in the last 25 yrs?

both property and violent crimes have decreased

4 aspects of sociology

~level of analysis(what they think)-what level are you looking at things?

~human behavior(think)-socially determined not biological

~social groups(think)-important. do not determine who you are

~describe and explain variation(what they do)-a crossed societies. between groups within a society, and they do it a crossed time.

biological examples

hormones, nature

sociological examples

cultural expectations, social role, nurture

3 Major Paradigms of Sociology

structural functionalism (sf)

social conflict (sc)

symbolic interactionism (si)

sf 3 assumptions

~stability- any pattern behavior that benefits society.

~harmony- all parts of society work together for the good of the whole.

~evolution- social change is evolutionary

sf application

ask yourself the question of how does ……….. benefit society?

sc 3 assumptions

~competition- competition over scarce resources(ex.: time, money, power, relationships jobs, natural resources, respect) is the heart if all social relationships

~inequality- inequality is built into the social structure(the power organizes society for their own benefits)

~revolution-social change is the result of a change in power

sc applications

ask yourself the question of how does a …………. benefits those in power?

si 3 assumptions

~humans act according to their interpretations of reality.(interpretation shows why people act)

~these interpretations are learned from past social experiences.(experiences cause interpretations)

~human are constantly evaluating their own behavior and the behavior of others.(ex.:first date)

si applications

ask yourself the question of how do people interact? how do people interpret their interactions? how do past experiences effect interpretations?

variable

any concept that values change from case to case

positive correlation

value of one variable increases, so does the other. 'x' increases 'y' also increases

negitive correlation

value of variable increases, the other decreases. 'x' increases 'y' decreases

no correlation

There is no relationship between data sets.

Causation

change in value of one variable(independent) brings about(causes) in the value if another(dependent).

Standards of Causation

1. must be a correlation

2. change in the value of the independent variable must proceed change in the value of the dependent variable

3. must be a theoretical rational(plausible reason)

4. show that there is no spurious causation(false)

Methods for gathering data

surveys(sample from population)

experiments(manipulate variables in a controlled setting)

participant observation(spending time with people in their homes or without them knowing, taking notes)

existing sources(combine raw data in new ways)

culture

any shared ways of life

to be cultural

1. must be commonly practiced

2. must be learned,must vary a crossed cultures.

Elements of Culture

1.symbols- flags, gestures

2.language- system of symbols(different meanings attached to sounds, grammar rules, phonetic rules, variation in what concepts has a word, and variation within the same "major language" across cultures)

3.beliefs&values- b=things held to be true. v=standards of desirability

4.norms- rules and expectations that a culture has.(some are prescriptive-what you should do- some are proscriptive-what you should not do.)

5.material culture and technology

strongly held formally enforced

murder,violent crimes, felonies

strongly held informally enforced

extreme ideology

weakly held formally enforced

marijuana, parking violations, jaywalking

weakly held informally enforced

driving the speed limit, cursing a lot in public, manners

socialization

lifelong social process by which we learn culture and develop our human potential

human potential

evidence for socializations importance in achieving for potential

what doesn't show human potential?

isolated children, animal studies, feral children, orphanage studies

Resocialization

radically changing some aspect of someones personality by careful control of the environment.

total institution T.I

a setting in which people are isolated from society and manipulated by an administrative staff

3 characteristics of T.I

staff supervision 24/7, very high standardization,rules and schedules dictate daily life

basic process of T.I

break down existing identity

build up a new identity using rewards and punishments

(ex.: prison, mental institutions, military training, rehab,concentration camps)

Deviance

any recognized violation of societies norms

sf thoughts about deviance

deviance benifits society

Durkheim

deviance is necessary and beneficial.

Durkheims observtions

clarified moral boundaries

provides needed social change

response to deviance brings people together(social cohesion)

sc thoughts about deviance

deviance is defined by those in power. inequality in criminal justice system

examples of sc in deviance

~white collar v.s. blue collar (powerful people vs poor people)(hiding money vs stealing)

~powder cocaine v.s. crack cocaine 100:1 ratio(100x's more powder for 1 crack)(crack is a lower class drug where as powder is upper class)

looking at data

crime is deviance but not always bad

why has violent and property crimes decreased over 25 years?

major increase in technology

increase in standard of living..

harsher punishment(increase in prison population)

we are older(less younger people)