SOC 180A Quiz 1 Review

(1) According to lecture, what are some main findings related to the developmental processes of attraction, and to identification?

One is the grounded theory perspective. Sexuality can be anything. It can be fluid. Being attracted to aesthetics. Identities and behaviors may not align.

(2) Which claim related to understanding complexities of "sexuality" is false?

a. Someone's attitudes, behaviors, and identities might not all be consistent with one another

b. Researchers should not challenge or doubt a participant's self-identification when it conflicts with their reported attitudes, beliefs, and/or behaviors

c. For many individuals, fantasy and headspace is equally or more important than embodied or physical experiences

d. People mostly watch porn - or generally fantasize - about sexual activities they actually want to engage in

e. One's identification as heterosexual is still valid even if they occasionally hookup with someone of the same gender

d. People mostly watch porn - or generally fantasize - about sexual activities they actually want to engage in

(3) Which point about socialization is false?

a. Learning requires a direct operant conditioning and reinforcement process

b. Attachment is mostly shaped by whether basic needs and emotional support were consistently provided in childhood

c. The media remains the most crucial reference point for educating people about groups and for influencing perceptions

d. We often model ourselves after - and compare ourselves to - people within our lives as well as in the media

e. Our parents and family members often have a significant influence over how we perceive relationships, affection, intimacy, and communication

f. The most influential socialization institutions during one's life course are generally family --> school --> peers --> adult institutions (academia, banks, healthcare) - but media is the most powerful and consistent throughout

a. Learning requires a direct operant conditioning and reinforcement process

(4) Studies about conformity suggest all of the following points, except:

a. People who deviate from norms are often subjected to some negative experiences due to being stigmatized

b. There are many informal and formal types of social control which incentivize people to conform

c. Someone's preferences are rarely (if ever) determined independently

d. It's usually easy for people to distinguish between their personal wants and broader social pressures/influences

d. It's usually easy for people to distinguish between their personal wants and broader social pressures/influences

(5) Which statement about identitarian politics is false?

a. Obtaining certain benefits from an institution often requires processes that can be tough for some people to access

b. Identification processes are shaped and constrained by the language that is available within a culture - since people can generally only "be" what they can see and what they have a vocabulary for

c. An individual does not have agency over identifying with categories since these are limited state-made constructs

d. Categories are inherently limited social constructs deployed by dominant institutions - but identifying with them can offer personal, social, material, and political benefits

e. Some people identify with a given category primarily because there is no better terminology or community to affiliate with

c. An individual does not have agency over identifying with categories since these are limited state-made constructs

(6) Which claim about normativity processes related to gender and sexuality is false?

a. Normal and abnormal are social constructs

b. Some reports claim that around 10% of human bodies diverge in some way from what is considered "typical anatomy"

c. Most physicians today rely more on grounded theory understandings rather than essentialist perspectives

d. The field of medicine is growing more mindful about sociological frameworks and minimizing implicit biases

e. Anxieties frequently arise that someone's resistance of norms will lead to a broader contagion effect

c. Most physicians today rely more on grounded theory understandings rather than essentialist perspectives

(7) Which point about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is false?

a. Rates of STIs within a population are not influenced much by practices among physicians and/or insurance companies

b. Urine tests and genital swabs might not detect STIs because some diagnoses may require oral, anal, or blood tests

c. Patients may not realize that a physician did not conduct a full panel of STI tests

d. How a patient is perceived often influences what recommendations, tests, and medications are provided by a doctor

e. Doctors are more likely to test gay cis men across multiple bodily sites

f. Lesbian women are less likely to be encouraged by physicians to pursue sexual health screenings and vaccines

a. Rates of STIs within a population are not influenced much by practices among physicians and/or insurance companies

(8) Which statement about medical/health inequalities is false?

a. How a patient is perceived often influences what recommendations, tests, and medications are provided by a doctor

b. Resources for sexual health are now easily accessible and affordable for everyone is the U.S.

c. Many people may not be aware of various health issues, nor how to obtain relevant information, tests or medications

d. PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) medications can help to prevent HIV infections as well as manage HIV symptoms

e. Some patients feel more comfortable than others with discussing medical and sexual issues with physicians

b. Resources for sexual health are now easily accessible and affordable for everyone is the U.S.

(9) Which statement about sex education in the U.S. is false?

a. Lessons often reflect aspects of xenophobia, sexism, heterosexism, racism, and population/bodily control

b. Major variations in curricula are common even within the same localities/districts

c. Schools are not generally transparent with their reporting of sex education curricula

d. Funding and prevalence of abstinence-only education has been consistently decreasing since the 1980s

e. Private institutions tend to have more flexibility yet less accountability/transparency with how sex education is taught - in part due to funding and FOIA considerations

d. Funding and prevalence of abstinence-only education has been consistently decreasing since the 1980s

(10) All of these claims about sex education in the U.S. are true, except:

a. There is no curriculum standardization across states

b. It's mandatory in more than half of the states

c. Most states do not require medically accurate information

d. Only a few states promote any LGBTQ+ discourses

e. Content is frequently centered around heteronormativity, monogamy, respectability, and contraception

f. Some educators are barred from conducting demonstrations and/or discussing "intricacies" about sex and instead rely on indirect presentations like how to safely engage in "shoe activity"

b. It's mandatory in more than half of the states

(11) Limitations or critiques with Oliver's (2015) sex education video include all of the following, except:

a. Jokes that can be perceived as offensive, dismissive, and shame-inducing

b. Promotes sexual definitions and identities which utilize grounded theory

c. Views sexuality only through activities which involve just a few body parts

d. Occasionally deploys undefined terminologies

b. Promotes sexual definitions and identities which utilize grounded theory

(12) Garcia's (2009) findings were consistent with all of these points, except:

a. Boys were disciplined for misbehaving or not taking class seriously

b. Girls were reprimanded for their active engagement ("knowing girls")

c. Educators only warned females that respect was linked with sexual behaviors

d. Sex education was generally validating of queer identities and experiences

e. Discourses reflected aspects of xenophobia, sexism, heterosexism, racism, and population/bodily control

f. Like all institutions, sex education in the U.S. is gendered, classed, and racialized

d. Sex education was generally validating of queer identities and experiences

(13) Why are grounded theory methods so crucial with regards to understanding and operationalizing how research participants define various concepts related to sex?

- It is because sexuality can mean anything one chooses to define it as. It is also fluid, meaning it can change depending on energy, dynamics, and headspace. We need to ask participants to define it.

(14) How might the discourses of sex educators within Garcia's (2009) study also be reflective of racism and xenophobia?

- Racialized stereotypes of "those girls" bad girl, good girl thing. Educators perceived Latinas to embody non-normative heterosexuality in need of correction & drew on a racialized good girl/bad girl dichotomy to transmit gendered ethnicity-specific lessons.

(15) What is hidden or implicit curricula, and how do they differ from explicit programming? Why is the quote "Now Why Do You Want To Know About That?" (as highlighted within Garcia's title) an example of this concept?

- Racialized stereotypes of "those girls" bad girl, good girl thing. Educators perceived Latinas to embody non-normative heterosexuality in need of correction & drew on a racialized good girl/bad girl dichotomy to transmit gendered ethnicity-specific lessons.

(16) TRUE OR FALSE - Garcia (2009) conducted 2-3 interviews with 20 Mexican American & 20 Puerto Rican American female teens - which is reflective of local demographics in Chicago, and large enough of a sample size for qualitative studies

TRUE

(17) TRUE OR FALSE - Garcia (2009) sampling considerations do not result in many limitations

FALSE

(18) TRUE OR FALSE - Biogovernmental practices teach individuals through both explicit means and hidden curriculum about which behaviors are suitable for each type of person and in which contexts/situations. Institutions of power impose these mechanisms in order to discipline bodies in ways that promote compliance and serve their various agendas.

TRUE

(19) TRUE OR FALSE - All of these points about "sexuality" are accurate:

According to grounded theory, it can mean anything that one chooses to define it as

May be generally fluid - or contingent on energy dynamics, headspace, partners, or timeframes during one's lifecourse

Does not require some kind of interaction nor physical contact with another person

Fluidity in preferences across the lifecourse is common, but is less reported among cismen than other genders

Can be described broadly on a continuum of play/leisure activities that individuals may refrain from - or engage in - through a wide range of contexts; but it can even pertain to aesthetics or discourses

Most people generally demonstrate attraction to, and preferences for, individuals who in various ways are similar to themselves (which is known as homophily)

TRUE

Operant Conditioning

Learning via association between a behavior or stimuli and its reinforcement/consequence

Situationism

Behavior is mostly influenced by environment rather than one's traits or motivations

Social Learning/Cultivation

One's cognitive processes form passively in social contexts and via observation

Ethnocentrism

Imposing your own biases/perceptions while analyzing other people

Grounded Theory

Methods which limit ethnocentrism & generate findings based on participants' meanings

Constructionism/Constructivism

Categories are collectively developed within a society & then performed by individuals

Essentialism

Traits, behaviors or preferences are considered innate, stable & rooted in physiology