Sociology Examination Review

Unit 1: Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology

1.Social Sciences:

• Anthropology: examines the development of the human species and cultures throughout the world. A human culture consists of the ways of living in a group of people including their traditions, inventions, and conventions. Many anthropologists try to live with the cultural group they are studying.

• Sociology: looks at the development and structure of human society and how it works. Sociology examines how people act in social situations. 

• Psychology: study of people’s feelings, thoughts, and personality development. The goal is to discover the underlying triggers or causes of human behavior. Many psychologists look at past experiences or try to link animal behavior to the human mind.

2.Methodological Approaches:

• Positivist: predicts and tests theories of behavior by testing hypothesis. Quantitative research through experiments and surveys.

• Interpretive: tests ground theories to provide an adequate reflection of people’s experience of the social world.

• Critical: to improve the social conditions of the oppressed. Tends to study society more than individuals. 

3. Definitions:

• Hawthorne Effect: subject changes behavior when researcher is present.• Pygmalion Effect: gearing your study for a predetermined outcome.• Kafkaesque Effect: social subject is endangered.• Anecdotal Evidence: research based on one or a few people’s story.

4. Schools of thought in Anthropology: 

• Functionalism: looks at the social function of institutions (school, health care, etc.). Anthropologist-functionalists look to explain the role but not judge the customs.

• Structuralism: human mind works according to binary opposites. Anthropologists look to explain rules about what items are good and bad.

• Cultural Materialism: technological and economic factors are the most important in molding society. 

5. 3 Levels of Society According to Cultural Materialists:

• L3: Superstructure (music, art, recreation) - Members’ behavior and mental processes• L2: Structure (social classes, distribution of wealth) – Domestic economy and political mechanisms. • L1: Infrastructure (material factors) – Methods to ensure human reproduction and to produce goods and services to survive and prosper.

6. Parts of the mind according to Psychoanalytic Theory (the unconscious mind has more influence than the conscious on our personality and behavior):

• Id – encourages us to seek physical satisfaction• Superego – prompts us to do moral thing• Ego – referee between the two, deal with external reality

7. Elements of Schools of Thought in Psychology:

• Psychoanalytic Theory: the unconscious mind has more influence than the conscious on our personality and behavior.

• Behaviorism: By identifying factors that motivate human behavior, psychologists can predict, control and treat people with problems.

• Learning Theory: When humans observe behavior they are more likely to practice it.

8. Elements of Schools of Thought in Sociology: 

• Symbolic Interactionism: brain intervenes between what we see and how we act (attach meanings to actions).

• Functionalism: to understand society we must know how society works to meet its members’ needs.

• Neo-Marxism: economic power which is the basis of political power and key to understanding societies. 

• Inconclusionism: Sociologists must recognize the ethnic minorities within societies by studying the experiences of all ethnic groups and rejecting the urge to judge through the eyes of the mainstream culture and society.

9.Nature: an inherited ability or personality trait.Nurture: taught through experience.

10. The correlation between learning and tension is that a certain amount of stress is needed in order to be productive.

11. The Stanford Prison Study of 1971 revealed that living in an environment with no clocks, no view of the outside world and minimal sensory stimulation results in disorganized thinking, acute emotional disturbance, uncontrollable crying and rage, etc. The psychological consequences of stripping, delousing and shaving heads made the prisoners feel humiliated and emasculated. The guards got used to having power and didn’t want to give it up. The superintendent became too involved and did not want to end the study. 

12. By-stander Effect: when people want to maintain self preservation. They do this because they don’t want to move outside of their comfort zone.

13. 4 Types of Neuroses:

• Anxiety Neuroses – fear that dreadful things will happen, usually accompanied by anxiety attacks, pounding heart, faintness, numbness, etc.

• Hysterical Neuroses – helps people escape form their anxiety caused by their inner conflict. 

• Phobias – extreme fears of certain objects or situations (out of proportion to the dangers involved) that interfere with a person’s life.

• Obsession and Compulsion – persistent, unwanted, thought that comes from some sort of anxiety. Person may know fear is unreasonable, but can’t get rid of it.

14. 3 Types of Psychoses:

• Organic Psychoses – result of damage to the brain tissue from injury, untreated syphilis, long-term heavy use of drugs and alcohol. 

• Manic Depression – experience extreme mood changes far beyond normal, confused and aggressive behavior. 

• Schizophrenia – multiple personalities. Some withdraw themselves completely; lose interest in the world and experience hallucinations, delusions and sometimes bizarre behavior.

15. Social Scientists *

Anthropology:

• Franz Boaz: Pioneer of Cultural Anthropological Culture, not biology determines human nature.• Louis and Mary Leakey: Pioneers of physical anthropology.• Margaret Mead: Asserted that gender roles are not universal.

Psychology:

• Sigmund Freud: Father of psychology and psycho-analysis.• Harry Harlow: Importance of comfort and contact more important than food.• Ivan Pavlov: Studied relationship between stimuli and response.

Sociology:

• Karl Marx: Wrote Communist Manifesto. Conflict theorist.

• Emilie Durkheim: Wrote Suicide. Functionalist.• Max Weber: Wrote “Politics as Vocation”. Warned about powers of charismatic leadership and the shackles of the iron cage of bureaucracy.

Unit 2: Approaches to Wellness in Society

1. Methods whereby you could assess the wellness of society:

• Surveys• Interviews• Information records• Etc.

2. Definitions:

• Social Cohesion: the togetherness of a society.• Social Mores: the behaviors regarded as essential to the welfare and survival of a society.• Social Folkways: customs and conventional behaviors.• Caregiver burden: stresses associated with care giving.• Burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment caused largely by work-related stress.• Morbidity: illness rate.

3.Mentalities Surrounding Approaches to Canadian Healthcare System:

•Intervention Model: says we don’t need to worry about our health because doctors will be able to fix us.•Promotion Model: we must adopt healthy lifestyles.•Cult of Liberty: •2-Tier System: In US only elderly and very poor have access to free healthcare. 

4.Approaches to Wellness:

Anthropological:

Look at domestic-scale cultures, declining social cohesion and growing stress which lead to disease. When the gap between rich and poor becomes wider, social cohesion breaks down and morbidity increases.

Anthropologists look at health of industrialized societies. Tribal cultures tend to be in excellent physical condition and have high-fiber low-fat diets as well as low population densities. They are isolated from viruses of the outside world.

Sociological:

Sociologists examine the ways in which social structures, allocation of resources and social practices influence overall health. Canadians lead physically inactive lives with no cardio, steady intake of fast food and use tobacco and alcohol. 50% of all premature deaths in Canada are caused by unhealthy lifestyles. (Models of wellness)

Psychological:

Clinical psychology looks at wellness in terms of society and assumes that individual factors rather than larger societal factors contribute to why people become ill. Frequently work in association with hospitals and “mental hospitals”.

5. 5 Barriers to Health Care:

• Cost: The cost of health care in Canada is rising. In 1960, it was only 5% of the GDP; in 2000, it was 9.1% of the GDP. This will continue to rise due to the boomers and rising obesity rates.• Health Literacy: Basic reading and comprehension skills to understand and treat diagnosis. Professionals believe many do not have a high health literacy rate. Some people do not want to go to the doctor for fear that they appear unintelligent.• Facilities for People with Disabilities: different treatment/healthcare, attitude barrier.• Income: Lower income benefit less from education and healthcare. People in higher income tend to be healthier. People in higher income tend to be healthier. People in bottom 5% in years before retirement are twice as likely to die before 70. High income individuals live an extra 12 years.• 2-Tier System: In US only elderly and very poor have access to free healthcare.

6. 3 Ethical Issues Around Modern Medicine:

• Blood Supply: Canadian Red Cross agency most responsible for collecting, storing, and distributing blood products. In mid 1980s, 1200 Canadians contracted HIV from blood supplies and more contracted Hepatitis C. Canadian Blood Services took over CRC in 1998 funded by the government but independent of them.• Organ Harvesting: In Ontario, can sign “Multiple Organ Retrieval and Exchange” card which gives consent to doctors to harvest tissues and organs upon death. Who owns organs upon death?• Medical Research: A private company cloned (asexual reproduction) a human embryo in hopes to rid the world of illness and pain. What constitutes a live human?

7. Changing Social Mores in Canada:

• Tolerance for Violence: Social Commentators worry that there is a growing tolerance for violence and provides poor role models for youth. By the time children are 12, they have seen 12 000 violent deaths on TV. Laval University Study suggests that children TV shows have 68% more violent scenes that adult shows. Defenders say violence is fake. Psychologists suggest that violence is a learned behavior.• Attitude towards Recreational Drugs: Current drug policies based on 3 misconceptions: Drug use leads to criminal behavior, addiction, and adolescents are pressured to use drugs.• Work-Related Stress: Conservatives (right wing) believe that the government should be less involved with the economy and should be privatized. Social mores have suggested that people are to work longer and harder than 20 years ago. Stress is caused by persistent mental pressure and lack of personal control. People are getting sick often, less time with family, and cause concern for the healthcare system.• Aboriginal Health Initiatives: Western views see human body as a machine and illness as a breakdown and are to fix this part of the machine. First nations suggest that all parts of human life must be healed in an illness (physical, emotional, social, and spiritual).

8. 5 Factors that Influence Parenthood:

• Marriage: leads people to want children• Family values: many siblings – want more kids• Divorce: doesn’t influence want for children (will affect people in

their 20s if divorce of parents happened when they were older than 15)• Religion: religious beliefs – happiness = marriage + family• Education: women: more educated, less children (opposite for men)

9. Erikson’s 8 Stages of Development:

10. Aging has been re-defined by:

• People are retiring earlier• People are living longer, therefore retirement is longer• People need more money to retire, therefore may take on another job• People are more active (doing more activities) after retirement

Unit 3: Canadian Societal Change

1. Definitions:

• Dependency Load: a measure of the portion of the national population that is not actively employed (frequently including children, youth, and seniors).• Hyperculture: Refers to the staggering rate of change in modern technological studies.• Alienation: A feeling that one does not share in the major values and goals of society.• Future Shock: Disorientation brought on by technological advancement, creating a sense that the future has arrived prematurely.• Conformity: Pressures in society to have people accept dominant beliefs (ex. democracy in Canada).• Technosis: An overblown attachment to or dependency on technology.• Cognitive Consistency: The desire to avoid attitudes that conflict with each other, which generally results in the ability to live more satisfying lives.• Informational Influence: The human desire to accept information that another admired person tells us is valid.• Cognitive Dissonance: People try to avoid conflicts between what they think and what they do.• Normative Influence: The pressure to conform to the positive

expectations of others.• Acculturation: Prolonged contact between two cultures, during which time they interchange symbols, beliefs, and customs.• LICO: The poverty line.• Diffusion: The spreading of ideas, methods, symbols, and tools from one culture to another.• Human Capital Theory: The more you invest in yourself, the more you will get in return.• Inertia: Resistance to change.• Cultural Lag: The view, that while some members of society adapt to technological innovation, others lag behind the new discovery.

2. 3 Conditions for Social Change:

• Leadership: Weber’s term to describe a leader characterized by large vision, magnetic style, having strong support and extraordinary character.• Role of the Elites: Group of power and influential people who create change.• A Population Ready for Change: Vision of leaders must be the same as the general population and values learned in adolescence/early adulthood usually stick with us.

3. 6 Stages of Behavior Modification:

• Pre-contemplation: denial and refusal• Contemplation: questioning• Preparation: investigation• Action: commitment• Maintenance (6 months after action): transition• Termination (only 20% of changes reach this stage): completion

4. 3 Impediments for Social Change:

• Traditional Cultural values: Move toward modernity vs. a traditional worldview (adhere to old practices).• The Expense: Governments can only support programs that the general population is willing to pay for.• Social Science Inquiry: Often we use participant observation technique where researcher is submerged into culture and feels compassion for sample group and is therefore biased.

5. Alienation and Conformity Promotes Social Change by:

• Alienation can motivate people to inspire social change (ex. women’s movement)• Conformity suggests that people accept practices that individuals know are wrong due to their desire to fit in

6. Wage Gap Between Men and Women:

• Women take pregnancy leave• Men tend to do more strenuous work that likely pays more• Men may have a higher education• Women are home more and tend to family and home

7. Ideas Surrounding “Welfare” and Social Assistance in Canada:

• Government believes social assistance is a disincentive • In 1999, welfare families only received 46% of amount needed to avoid poverty

8. Systemic Racism: An existing system that favors one or some groups over others in terms of hiring, benefits, and promotions.

Overt Racism: Slap in your face discrimination: ex. not hiring someone because they are African American.

9. Dominant Paradigm: Belief that humans have a duty to create material wealth to make this and future generations richer, and a right to dominate, change, or even corrupt the natural world in order to do so.

Alternative Environmental Paradigm: Belief that society must place a higher importance on non-material values, encourage stronger communities built on better personal relationships, and act with a greater respect for nature.

10.Social Transformation of Society and how we reached the Post-Industrialized Era: 

Hunter-Gatherer

First Revolution: Domestication (of plants and animals)

Horticultural Society Pastoral Society Second Revolution: Agricultural (invention of plough)

Agricultural Society Third Revolution: Industrial (invention of steam engines)

Industrial Society Fourth Revolution: Information (invention of microchip)

Postindustrial Society

11. Costs and Benefits of Biotechnology and GM crops:• Industrialization led to more mechanization of farming industry• Decreases small family farms and large corporate farms took over• Farming has become increasingly computerized• New methods of food production are needed to feed the growing global population• 42 GM crops have been approved by health Canada• No conclusive evidence has been done to study the long-term effects of these foods on human health

12. Rise of Suburbia and Implications:

• Limited construction during the depression and WWII resulted in major construction outside urban areas • Bungalows, curved streets, land set aside for parks and schools• Some grew out of control and police had trouble policing• Car became necessity, fast food, malls, drive-in movies• Women would meet during the day, night card parties or bowling, Brownies and Scouts became popular• 60% attended religious services, provincial laws forbade commercial activity on Sunday

13. Impact of Retiring Boomers:

• Echo kids will dominate the professional world• High dependency load makes it difficult for working population to meet the needs of seniors and children, resulting in high taxes or heavy borrowing 

• Many boomers depositing as much as 10% of their income into pension plans. Feds want to see fewer people dependent upon government pensions because people are now living 15-20 years passed retirement.• Increased emphasis on healthier living and embarking on second career• Young retired will begin to travel and participate in ecotourism and “soft” outdoor activities. • Foote believes that “main street” shopping will be revived

Unit 4: Global Challenges of Change

1. Definitions:

• Fertility: actual reproduction• Fecundity: ability to reproduce• Purdah: practice of confining women to their homes (for example in Muslim countries)• Infertility: the inability of a couple to achieve a pregnancy after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse • Stratification: the separation of a sample population into non-overlapping groups based on a habitat or population characteristics that can be divided into multiple levels • Proximate Detriments: the biological and behavioral factors through which social, economic, and environmental variables affect fertility• Menarche: first menstrual cycle• Social Cognitive Theory of Prejudice: The process by which children first learn race awareness, then either reject or form racial prejudices.• Relativism: relationship between self and society• Constancy: our perceptual world tends to remain the same despite information which is contrary to our beliefs• Disembedding: people put their faith in systems, such as financial and medical institutions• Unconscious Inference: term coined by German social scientist Hermann von Helmholtz for the phenomenon of constancy• Selective Attention: the ability to focus on certain physical stimuli and exclude others

2. Social Scientists:

• Theodore Aldorno— Identified characteristics of the opposite to the

tolerant personality, the “authoritarian personality” such people are quick to judge things as either right or wrong, good or bad. They have a low tolerance for ambiguity, are more prejudicial and are formed during childhood, as a result of bigoted parenting.• Robert Cave— • Jean Piaget— Swiss philosopher, natural scientist, and developmental psychologist known for his work studying children and his theory of cognitive development. • John Ogbu— Focuses on subordinate cultures, which he believes are required to follow the norms of the white majority culture. Known for his work on the relationship between language and identity among African-Americans, known as “Ebonics”.• Lawrence Kohlberg— American psychologist, famous for research in moral education, reasoning, and development. He developed the stages of moral development and extended Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. • Beverly Tatum— Believes that it is important for people to engage in conversation about race, even though it can seem to be an awkward subject. We must strive to affirm our racial identity. Believes whites must become aware that they enjoy subtle “rewards” and advantages in society based on their visible identity.• Peggy MacIntosh— Suggests that people of Anglo-European descent, like her, carry an invisible, weightless knapsack of skin-colour privileges that the bearer takes for granted. She made an autobiographical list of 46 daily ways in which she experiences unearned advantage because of her skin colour. 3. Variety of menstruation period across cultures:• In pre-industrialized societies, women have less protein in their diets and lower calorie proteins in their diets than westerners do. Women travel 12k or more on foot. This lifestyle results in menarche between 16 and 18 years of age.• Women then breast feed on demand, children born every 4 or 5 years until she reaches menopause at around 45.• Women in developed countries eat diet high in fat, protein in calories, and experience very little physical stress from exercise and exposure to elements. This has lowered age of menarche to 12 or 13 and delayed menopause to 50 or 55.• Women in western societies do not have the long period of infertility associated with breast-feeding therefore the average women will ovulate around 450 times over her lifetime which is 300 times more than women in developing societies.

4. The 4 Types of Reproductive Technologies

• Intrauterine Insemination: women are given fertility drugs for super ovulation- increases risk for twins, etc.• In Virto Fertilization: “in glass” combining• Artificial Insemination by Donor: sperm bank• Surrogate Mothers: substitute women lends uterus

5. 5 Elements of Racism:

Stereotype— False or generalized beliefs about a group of people that result in categorizing members without regard for individual difference. i.e. That black people are faster runners.

Prejudice— A set of opinions, attitudes, and feelings that unfairly cast a group and its members in a negative light without legitimate reasons. i.e. In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”, a man is wrongly tried and convicted because of his race.

Discrimination— Inequitable treatment of people based on their race, gender, nationality, language, faith, or sexual orientation.

Systemic Discrimination— Describes a system that favors one or some groups over others in terms on hiring, benefits, promotions, and pay increases. i.e. An individual isn’t considered for hiring because of their race.

Genocide— The most extreme form of systemic discrimination, by which deliberate attempts are made by authorities at mass murder of any national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. i.e. Holocaust, Ethnic Cleansing

6. The 4 Characteristics of Hate Crime:

• Hatred is intense and personal• Hate is based on prejudice and power• Hatred is directed at scapegoats for other frustrations• Genocide is an expression of national hatred

7. Approaches to Globalization:

Anthropological: 

• Primarily, globalization is an economic force as products and services are sold around the world thereby diffusion of cultural elements occurs.• Because of the American Economic Juggernaut, globalization can be synonymous with Americanization.• Culture of some peoples can be sidetracked by the heavy influence of American popular culture E.G. Use of language, and “trashy” shows and movies like Baywatch which introduces sleazy values, consumerism, easy sex, etc. (making Islamic cultures resentful)

Sociological:

• 1950s introduced ideas of convergence: if all or most countries became capitalist and industrial, differences would be eliminated. At this time, sociologists assumed the shift toward capitalism would benefit everyone.• Has created an element the “global village” connected by telecommunications. With this we can gain a sense of global awareness and global values.

Psychological:

• Perception plays a major role on how we see ourselves as a nation.• Study of perception: what we perceive is not uniquely determined by physical stimulation that we experience.• Humans use constancy, unconscious inference, and select of attention.

8. Approaches to theories of globalization:

5 Anthropological Theories:

• Modernizationo Herbert Spencer’s worko Regarded the colonial relationship between the west and what he called “backward” region of the world as beneficial.o This colonial relationship could benefit from capitalist and entrepreneurial skills

• Dependency Theoryo Says that lack of economic development in many developing countries is because of the destructive nature of colonial relationship that Spencer applauded.• World-system Theoryo Brought up by Immanuel Wallersteino Says that the basic relationship between West and Developing World was established during economic timeso Rare from a country to move from exploited to dominant position• Neo-Marxian Theoryo Capitalism puts humans in direct competition with one another therefore neo-Marxists suggest it is a negative force.• Globalization Theoryo Western Transnational corporations have gained control of global trade therefore profits tend to flow from poor countries to rich countries

3 Sociological Theories:

• Richard Robertsono Introduced idea of relativismo As world system changes, outlooks of both our society and ourselves change• Anthony Giddenso Feels that modern technologies unleashed globalization at enormously fast rateo Concept of disembedding: process where people put faith in abstract, largely anonymous systems such as banks, Web Browsers• Martin Albrowo Suggests that the end of the Cold War/communism was a huge victory for capitalism that was the crucial catalyst in globalization