HSP3U Exam Review
Unit 1: Research Methods and Inquiry Method
Case Studies
Informative examination of a situation, individual, or group
Pros: In-depth research
Cons: Not a large amount of people
Famous example = Margaret Mead and her case study titled Coming of Age in Samoa
Surveys
Questions asked in order to gain information on an individual’s preferences, opinions, and feelings on certain subjects.
Pros: Small amount of people represents a larger population
Cons: Does not get all of the information (limited options)
Experiments
Tasks taken where you are looking at cause and effect relationships using different variables
Lab experiments - controlled environment where social scientists control conditions of the experiment. Pros: Can replicate it over and over again. Cons: Someone may not act as they normally would in the experiment.
Field experiments - done in every day (aka real life) environments. Pros: Most likely to get authentic behaviours. Cons: External variables (something could happen; there isn’t control like there is in a lab).
Natural experiments - conducted in every day (aka real life) environments with NO manipulation. Pros: the most authentic experiment. Cons: very time consuming, less control, difficult to replicate.
Interviews
Sit down with an individual to ask questions and have them answered.
Pros: Help you explain, better understand, and explore research subjects’ opinions, behaviour experiences, phenomenon, etc. Interview questions are open-ended, and in-depth information is collected, effective for qualitative data.
Cons: Time consuming, you can’t see a lot of people.
Observations
Unstructured Observation: Studying people without a predetermined idea of what to look for.
Structured Observation: Involves planning beforehand for what will be observed and noted; a list of things to look for will be kept. E.g. public spaces (safe or not–could use a list of look-fors).
Participant Observation: A technique used mainly by anthropologists where researchers observe groups and also observe groups and also participate in the group’s activities for short periods of time to gain a deeper understanding. (E.g. Margaret Mead.)
Pros: More authentic
Cons: Time consuming
Inquiry Method (AKA Scientific Method)
Question or Problem
Clarify Work
Hypothesis
Gather Data
Analyze Data
Draw Conclusions
Unit 2: Anthropology
What makes humans unique from other species
Bipedalism
Large brain size
Opposable thumbs
Theory of Evolution
Developed by Charles Darwin
He wrote On the Origin of Species, which described the Theory of Evolution
The theory that organisms change structurally and genetically over time, resulting in the gradual development of new species “natural selection.”
Physical Anthropology
Understanding/defining the physical or biological nature of human beings. Branches: forensic anthropology, paleoanthropology, primatology/evolution, biological anthropology.
Forensic Anthropology
The application of biological and skeletal analysis techniques to legal investigations, particularly in identifying human remains and determining factors like cause of death.
Cultural Anthropology
The study of human beings in different cultural settings around the world. Branches: archaeology, linguistic anthropology, ethnography, ethnology.
How is Physical Anthropology studied?
In connection with human evolution, physical anthropology seeks to understand how the human body has changed over time, particularly focusing on features such as our skeletal structure, dentition, brain size, and other physical characteristics that have evolved over millions of years. By studying these traits across populations, physical anthropologists can draw conclusions about human adaptation, migration patterns, and speciation.
How is Cultural Anthropology studied?
Assimilation: The process in which individuals or groups adopt cultural traits, values, behaviours, beliefs, and norms of another culture while gradually losing their own cultural identity.
Acculturation: A process of cultural change that occurs when individuals or groups come into contact with another culture, often as a result of migration, colonization, or globalization. They adopt elements of another culture while also maintaining aspects of their own culture.
Diffusion: The spread of culture elements from one culture to another.
Ethnocentrism: Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one’s own culture as superior to others.
Cultural Relativism: The idea that cultural practices should be understood within their cultural context without imposing external judgement or values, while appreciating cultural diversity and recognizing that different cultures have different views.
Rite of Passage: A cultural ceremony or ritual that marks a significant event or transition.
Norms: Shared expectations, rules, and standards that govern behaviour and interactions within a particular cultural group.
Values: The ideals and principles that are considered important or desirable within a particular culture.
Symbols: Objects, images, or representations that hold meaning and significance within a particular culture.
Key Anthropologists
Beatrice Medicine - Focused on Indigenous languages and culture, as well as how their identity and gender roles played a part in their culture. She conducted her research in North America; Canada and America. Research method used was observation. Her main focus in Indigenous peoples were their mental health and gender issues. She discovered that they weren’t being treated as well as they would have been if they were white, and urged people to challenge racism. Her advocacy helped gain a lot more respect and understanding within Indigenous communities.
Charles Darwin - Developed the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. Described how organisms with traits that are advantageous in their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on those traits to their offspring. He said that over time, the small gradual changes can accumulate and lead to significant evolutionary changes in populations and species. Used observations.
Margaret Mead - Used case studies to study “coming of age” in Samoa. Studied adolescence and gender roles in different societies, specifically on their psychological development, sexual behaviour, and social norms.
Louis Leakey - Focused on prehistoric studies in Africa. He made significant discoveries that revolutionized understanding of human evolution. He focused on finding and studying fossils of early humans and hominin ancestors. Used observations.
Franz Boas - Made contributions to the fields of cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and physical anthropology. Is regarded as one of the founders of modern anthropology. Focused on understanding the diversity of human cultures, particularly Indigenous cultures. Emphasized cultural relativism and the importance of studying Indigenous cultures of their own terms. He sought to counter racism and bias in anthropological research. Used participant observation.
Jane Goodall - Known for her research on chimpanzees in Tanzania. Her studies provided valuable insights into chimpanzee behaviour, society, and cognition. Her research challenged previous assumptions about primate behaviour, showing that chimps are capable of complex social relationships, tool use, and even some forms of culture. She advocated for conservation of chimpanzees and their natural habitats. She used observations.
Dian Fossey - She researched mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s mountains. She studied and protected endangered great apes. Her work focused on various aspects of gorilla behaviour, ecology, and sociobiology. Her research was observation-focused. She discovered that mountain gorillas live in complex social structures, they use tools, and can communicate with vocalizations and behaviours.
Mysore Narasimhachar Srinivas - He focused on Indian society and the caste system, as well as the caste system’s social and economic implications. He emphasized the resilience and adaptability of caste systems in India, and how despite the efforts to abolish castes, it continued to play a significant role in shaping social divisions and hierarchies in India. He observed the caste groups tend to be internally egalitarian, with access to resources and opportunities.
Unit 3: Psychology
Regions of the Human Brain
Frontal Lobe: Its function is voluntary movement, expressive language, managing higher level executive functions (cognitive skills). Affect on behaviour if damaged is personality changes, socially inappropriate behaviour, difficulty planning and concentrating, being disorganized.
Parietal Lobe: Its function is to help process the senses, allows you to navigate your spaces, helps to interpret symbols. Affect on behaviour if damaged is it affects your spatial awareness, affects your logical thinking, affects reading and comprehension and understanding mathematics.
Temporal Lobe: Its function is to analyze sounds to make sense of speech, memory storage. Processes language, memories, emotions, senses, and visual recognition. Affect on behaviour if damaged is there will be a difference in memory and language retention, inability to recognize objects, a difference in how you experience certain emotions and senses.
Occipital Lobe: Its function is it is responsible for visual perception including colour, form, and motion. It is associated with visual processing, including distance and depth perception, object and face recognition, and memory formation. Affect on behaviour if damaged is the production of hallucinations, visual illusions, inaccurately seeing objects, word blindness, inability to recognize words, difficulty recognizing drawn objects.
Limbic: Its function is to process and regulate emotions and memory. Affect on behaviour if damaged is emotion control and regulation is damaged, you will struggle to remember things, which can lead to a change in behaviour because you do not remember the process of something or how to treat people.
Amygdala: Processes emotions, particularly fear and anxiety. Is a part of the limbic system. Is involved in emotional learning, and identifies potentially threatening stimuli and to trigger the body’s fight-or-flight response, preparing the body to react to danger. Affect on behaviour if damaged is that a person may not respond to fearful or threatening things as they normally would, which can lead to a reduced ability to form and recall emotional memories, as well as impaired emotional responding. This can also mean struggling with recognizing and understanding emotional cues from others.
Teenage Brain
During puberty, teenagers experience changes in the brain that affect personal and social development.
Changes take place primarily in the prefrontal cortex: improved computational and organizational skills, ability to control behaviour and impulses.
The limbic system develops years earlier than the prefrontal cortex, and the connections between the two are still developing through adolescence.
Teens may still have trouble controlling emotions and avoiding risk-taking behaviour. Since their prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed, teens might rely on the emotional and impulsive amygdala in the limbic system to make decisions and solve problems more than adults do.
Classical Conditioning
A type of learning where a once neutral stimulus comes to produce a particular response after pairings with a conditioned stimulus.
Unconditioned Stimulus: a stimulus that naturally triggers a response.
Unconditioned Response: the natural response to an unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Response: the learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus: an originally neutral stimulus that comes to trigger a conditioned response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
Operant Conditioning
A type of learning that uses rewards and punishments to achieve a desired behaviour.
Reinforcers: responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behaviour being repeated (strengthens behaviour - can be positive or negative).
Punishers: responses from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated (weakens behaviour - can be positive or negative).
Nature vs. Nurture
Nature refers to the inherent characteristics and traits of an individual that are determined by genetic inheritance.
Nurture refers to the environmental influences and experiences that shape an individual’s development and behaviour.
Defense mechanisms
Denial: claiming or believing that what is true is actually false.
Displacement: diverting emotional feelings from their original source to a substitute target.
Intellectualization: avoiding unacceptable emotions by focusing on the intellectual aspects.
Projection: attributing one’s own thoughts, feelings, or motives onto another.
Rationalization: creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behaviour.
Regression: A reversion to immature patterns of behaviour.
Repression: Keeping distressed thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious.
Sublimation: Redirecting “wrong” urges into socially acceptable actions.
Reaction Formation: Behaving in a way that is exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings.
Cognitive Learning
A branch of psychology that focuses on understanding how our brains process information. Examines how people process, store, and retrieve information, and how it influences behaviour and environmental interaction.
Thinking/Reasoning: How we form thoughts, use logical, and understand the world
Learning: How we acquire new knowledge and skills.
Memory: How we remember past experiences and information.
Perception: How we interpret sensory information, like sights and sounds.
Attention: How we focus on specific aspects of our environment while ignoring others.
Language: How we understand and use language to communicate.
Problem-solving: How we find solutions to challenges and make decisions.
The Cognitive Process: Perception is the first stage, where you gather information through your five senses and notice what’s happening around you. Attention is the second stage, when your brain focuses on some aspects of your perceived information, which helps you concentrate on what is important now. The third stage is memory, where the information you pay attention to is stored. This stage is about storing and retrieving information. The last stage is thinking, when you process and interpret information in your memory. This involves using your brain to think, understand, make decisions, solve problems, and use language. It’s where you make sense of everything you’ve noticed and remembered.
Memory
An internal record or representation of some prior event or experience. A set of mental processes that receives, encodes, stores, organizes, alters, and retrieves information over time.
Short-Term Memory: Temporarily stores info until it is sent to Long Term Memory. Last 5-30 seconds. Capacity of 5 to 9 items. Duration and capacity can be increased with maintenance rehearsal and/or chunking.
Working Memory: the use/act of information.
Long-Term Memory: Keep info stored for long periods of time. Unlimited capacity and duration. Making meaning of content using grouping and hierarchies. Takes longer for memories to become long-term. Rehearsal for long-term memory would take elaborative processing.
Memory Process Model: Encoding - process of translating info into neural codes that will be kept in memory. Storage - the process of keeping neural coded info over time. Retrieval - the process of recovering info from memory storage.
Mental Health vs Mental Illness (Neurosis/ Psychosis)
Mental Health is a state of mental and emotional well-being, your ability to enjoy life, achieve goals, cope with normal stresses, contribute to one’s community, and good relationships. It is complicated, subjective, and controversial.
Mental Illness is “abnormal” behaviour, thought, and emotion. It is subjective and controversial.
Neurosis: mild functional, neuro-psychical disorders that confirm themselves in specific clinical phenomena in the absence of psychical phenomena. Doesn’t affect personality. The contact with reality is partially lost. Hallucinations and delusions are not present (or extremely rare if present). Low risk of self-harm. Obsessive-compulsive disorders, Somatorform disorders, depression and post-traumatic disorders are a few types of neurosis. The causing factors for neurosis are biological, socio-psychic climate, psychological, pedagogical, and socio-economic. The treatment is usually psychological and medicines can also be prescribed.
Psychosis: A severe mental illness characterized by loss of contact with reality and relationship with other people causing social maladaptation. Affects personality. The contact with reality is completely lost. Hallucinations and delusions are present. Higher risk of self-harm. Schizophrenia and delusional disorders are a few types of psychosis. The causing factors for psychosis are genetic, biochemical and environmental. Psychosis is treated by antipsychotic medicines, psychological therapy, social support.
Key Theorists such as: Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Abraham Maslow, Ivan Pavlov. B.F Skinner
Sigmund Freud developed the theory of psychoanalysis, which focuses on exploring the unconscious mind and its influence on behaviour. He focused on dream analysis, the structure of the mind (id: the primitive and instinctual aspect of the personality, seeking immediate satisfaction of desires and impulses; ego: the responsible and rational part of the personality; and superego: the moralistic and idealistic aspect of the personality, encompassing the individual’s internalized ideals, values, and conscience), the relationship between the conscious and unconscious mind, the development of personality, and the role of sexuality in human behaviour.
Jean Piaget focused on the cognitive development of children. The process of cognitive development from birth to adolescence, identified the four key stages of cognitive development (sensorimotor stage: first stage, occurring from birth to two years old, children use their sense and motor skills to explore and interact with environment; preoperational stage: occurs from 2 to 7, is characterized by the development of symbolic thought and language, with limited understanding of logical operations; concrete operational stage: 7 to 11, develop the ability to solve logical problems using concrete objects; and formal operational stage: begins during adolescence and involves the development of abstract thinking during the ability to reason about hypotheticals). Investigated how children develop problem-solving abilities, reasoning skills, language use, and understanding the world around them as they grow and mature.
Unit 4: Sociology
Socialization
The process whereby an individual learns to adjust to a group (or society) and behave in a manner approved by the group (or society).
Primary Socialization: process of learning basic skills needed to survive in society.
Secondary Socialization: process of learning how to behave appropriately in new situations.
Anticipatory Socialization: process of planning how to behave in new situations (use of prior knowledge and act accordingly).
Resocialization: process of transforming old, sometimes unacceptable behaviour, into socially acceptable behaviour.
Social institutions are organized groups which support social order and govern behaviour of individuals, can be personal (intimate relationships) or impersonal (large groups). They are not always in or related to a building.
Conflict Theory and Functionalist Theories
Conflict theory interprets social phenomena as shaped by power struggles, inequalities, and conflicts among different groups or classes within society. It states that social order is a result of power distribution and negotiation among competing groups or classes.
Functionalism (functionalist theory) views society as a complex system of interrelated parts, each serving a function to maintain the stability and equilibrium of the whole. This perspective suggests that social institutions are interdependent and contribute to maintaining societal order. It states that social institutions exist because they serve a purpose that benefits the smooth functioning of larger society, rather than being the result of coercion or conflict.
Agent of Socialization
Family: The primary agent of socialization. A group and an institution. Arguably the most formative and the most important. Children are socialized in intentional/unintentional ways. Class and cultural background can influence how parents socialize children. Doesn’t always have to be blood-related, can be found family.
Peers: Secondary agent of socialization. Influence begins as early as 2-3 years old. it grows into importance by adolescence. Children can learn more from peers than family in rapidly changing societies. Peers can also be ineffective socializing agents (peer pressure).
Education: Secondary agent of socialization (institutions). Formal curriculum; knowledge and skills, career prep, cultural expectations and heritage. System of forcing societal values on children (“hidden curriculum”). Opportunities for peer socialization (social network).
Religion: Secondary agents of socialization (institutions). Teaches morals, beliefs, and accepted practices. Rites of passage established due to beliefs within a religion. Helps members learn how to be good members of (religious or semi-religious) societies.
Media: Powerful agent of socialization (institution). Attitudes and behaviour shaped through TV, podcasts, movies, social media, advertising, etc. Influences consumption and desires. Studies have linked violent media with violent acts/desensitization to violence.
Group Behaviour
Conformity: When an individual alters their behaviour or beliefs to meet the expectations of a group or authority figure. People conform to achieve a sense of security, belonging to a group, and to avoid criticism or rejection.
Groupthink: Sometimes viewed as an extreme form of conformity. A type of thinking when members of a group accept the group’s consensus uncritically.
Individualistic Societies: Conformity can be viewed negatively.
Deviance: When an individual violates social norms.
Exploring the Isms: (Systemic vs Overt) Racism, sexism, heterosexism etc.
Overt Discrimination: clear, intentional and explicit discriminatory actions or behaviours against individuals or groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation.
System Discrimination: discrimination that is entrenched in and perpetuated by institutions and social structures. It results from policies, practices, and procedures that favour certain groups over others, leading to unequal outcomes.
Sexism: discrimination against a person/group because of their sex.
Ageism: discrimination against a person/group because of their age.
Homophobia: discrimination against a person/group because of their sexual orientation, preferred gender, etc.
Biphobia: discrimination against bisexual people.
Racism: discrimination against a person/group because of their race.
Religious discrimination: discrimination against a person or group because of their religious beliefs.
Ableism: discrimination against a person/group because of their abilities, physically and mentally.
Sizeism: discrimination against a person because of their weight/size.
Classism: discrimination against a person/group because of their economic standing.
Theories of discrimination
Learned Theory: Family - prejudicial views are passed along from parent to child. Peers - the familial views are abandoned in adolescence as children rebel from parents in favour of the ideas and beliefs of their peers. Media - crucial in disseminating positive and negative views of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Language - inappropriate terminology teaches assumptions about gender roles and career choices.
Competition Theory: Finite amount of resources leads to prejudice and discrimination. Economic crises typically lead to assumptions that immigration policies and immigrants are responsible for problems. Unfounded feelings/assumptions may lead to resentment towards the “other.”
Ignorance THeory: Lack of experience leads to people making incorrect assumptions about a specific class or group. Also a refusal to learn about the group. Fear of unfamiliar cultural practices that guides discriminatory behaviour - pass judgement based on values of their own culture.
Frustration-Aggression Theory: shortcomings in individual experiences - financial status, class status, etc - leads to a resentment of a group that appears to have greater wealth and prosperity. Aggression is exhibited towards those assumed to be holding them back in his or her life; usually the “other.”
Sexism vs. Heterosexism vs Homophobia, Transphobia
Sexism refers to discrimination or prejudice based on someone’s gender or sex.
Herterosexism is the belief that heterosexuality is normal, natural, or superior to other sexual orientations, and that individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ should conform to heterosexual norms and expectations.
Homophobia and Transphobia: Prejudice and bias against people who identify as LGBTQ+, transphobia specifically targeted against people who identify as transgender.
Privilege, bias, prejudice, equity
Privilege: an unearned advantage for members of some groups about which they are often unaware.
Prejudice: an attitude directed at members of a group (can be positive or negative).
Bias: an unfavourable attitude towards individuals or groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or disability, leading to the unfair favouring of a different group even when they are wrong.
Equity: the principle of fairness and justice in a way that involves allocating resources, and opportunities in a way that addresses historical injustices and inequalities while taking into account the unique needs and circumstances of different groups.
Key Theorists
Emile Durkheim: established the academic discipline of sociology, is commonly cited as one of the principal architects of modern social science
Karl Marx: developer of conflict theory.
W.E.B. DuBois: viewed race as a socially constructed concept that greatly impacts people’s lives, rather than a mere biological distinction.
Solomon Asch: Conformity experiments. His main finding was that peer pressure can change opinions and even perceptions.
Philip Zimbardo: Did the 1971 Stanford Prison experiment, which demonstrated the power of social situations to influence people’s behaviour.
George Mead: The theory of the generalized “other” is thought to have originated the concept of symbolic interactionism.
Kimberle Crenshaw: critical race theory and intersectionality.
Audre Lorde: Articulated an approach which demanded that the categories of “difference” (e.g. race, gender, sexuality, social class) confronting Black women be acknowledged in order to celebrate their experiences and to effect progressive social and political change.
Dorothy Smith: Created Feminist Theory and institutional ethnography.