SOCIOLOGY 1A06 – DECEMBER EXAM REVIEW 1. The Sociological approach:

a. is not scientific b. suggests that relations we have with other people create opportunities for us to think and act c. suggests that relations we have with other people set limits on our thoughts and actions d. leaves the study of personal issues to psychologists e. b and c *
EXPLANATION: Although sociology contains both objective and subjective elements it is a science. Sociologists observe reality in a systematic and controlled manner and evaluate the validity of their ideas based on observations. Objectivity plays the role of a reality check while subjectivity makes us set our priorities for research. The sociological approach to improving human welfare is based on the idea that the relations we have with other people create opportunities for us to think and act but also set limits on our thoughts and actions. Accordingly, we can better understand that what we are and what we can become by studying the social relations that help shape us. FOR EXAMPLE: even the most personal issues can be studied using a sociological approach Suicide could have been seen as an anti-social act caused by psychological distress but Durkheim studied it from a sociological perspective correlating it to “social solidarity”, how frequently people interact with others and share their beliefs, values and morals. Social forces then determine the likelihood to commit suicide.
Sociologists use the sociological approach to identify: 1) A behavior that they are interested in 2) Social forces that influence that behavior 3) The larger institutional, political, etc – changes that improve human welfare with respect to that behavior CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ (Society in Question) Chapter 1 * Chapter 1 in NS (New Society) FOCUS ON THESE SECTIONS IN CHAPTER 1 OF NS * The Sociological Explanation of Suicide * From Personal Troubles to Social Structures * Sociological Imagination * Theory Research and Values * Functionalism * Conflict Theory * Symbolic Interactionism * Feminist Theory |

NOTHING FROM CHAPTER 25 SIQ WILL BE ON THE EXAM AS DR. COLAVECCHIA CLARIFIED IN LECTURE TODAY 2. Durkheim, in his study of suicide, argued that:

a. the moral rules of a religion best predict suicide rates b. suicide rates vary positively with the degree of integration in a society c. suicide rates are higher in Catholic countries than they are in Protestant countries d. suicide rates vary by religion to the degree that religions have varying levels of integration e. sociology doesn’t help us understand suicide rates
EXPLANATION: D is the correct answer as it is aligned with Durkheim’s assertion that religious groups differ in the degree to which they are conducive to social integration.
FOR EXAMPLE: Durkheim found regions with a primarily Protestant population had higher rates of suicide than areas with predominantly Catholic members because the Protestant religion produces lower levels of social integration than the Catholic religion. Durkheim’s explanation for religious orientation and suicide rates rests on the claim that religious affiliation mediates the commonality of beliefs and practices, which in turn contributes to individuals’ sense of integration with society and thus, rates of society.
“A” is incorrect since it is suggest a focus on the moral rules of a religion as opposed to the level of integration a religion may produce
“B” is incorrect because it does not address Durkheim’s claim of suicide rates varying inversely with the degree of integration – remember, as level of social solidarity increases, the suicide rate decreases, until the opposite can then become true – which is excessively high rates of social solidarity gives rise to an increase in suicide
“C” is ruled out because it directly contradicts Durkheim’s finding
“E” should immediately be omitted as an option because sociology does provide insight into suicide
*** REMEMBER GUYS - sociological explanations of any social phenomena are able to move beyond individual, psychological or pathological explanations towards macro- level and larger social understandings CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 5 |

3. The findings of the Zimbardo prison experiment:

a. illustrated how prisoners deserve to be locked away in prisons b. illustrated how social structures influence individual behavior c. were refuted by the findings of the Stanley Milgram’s experiment d. suggested that most people can resist behaving differently than they otherwise would in compelling social situations e. suggested that only weak or deviant people behave differently than they otherwise would in compelling social situations
EXPLANATION:
“A” is wrong because the Stanford Prison experiment was a chilling illustration of the power of social structures and how the prison situation, as presently arranged, can elicit severe enough pathological in both guards and prisoners - not using ACTUAL PRISONERS
“C” is incorrect because the Milgram experiment on obedience to authority was a series of social psychology experiments which measure the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience. Specifically, Milgram was interested in understanding if an individual would comply with orders given to them by an authority figure, even if those orders went against their own beliefs and were unethical, whereas the Zimbardo’s Prison experiment was interested in understanding how social structures elicit pathological behaviour
“D” is incorrect because the Stanford Prison Experiment illustrated that because the majority of people in these studies do act in non-ration, non-obvious ways, it is likely that the majority of the observers would also succumb to the social psychological forces in the situation
“E” is incorrect because the 70 volunteers who answered to the ad to participate in the experiment were carefully screened by the research coordinators – most of them were mature, emotionally stable, normal and intelligent college students from middle class homes throughout the US and Canada - none had any criminal record and all were relatively homogenous on many social dimensions CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 3 * Chapter 20 NS FOCUS ON THESE SECTIONS IN CHAPTER 20 OF NS * Minimizing Bias in Social Science * Correlation and Causation * Techniques of Social Research (Experiments, Survey Research, Observational Studies) * Analysis of Numerical Data (you only have to look over this briefly) |

4. With regards to movies, sociologists argue that:

a. violent films typically lead viewers to become more physically and verbally aggressive b. the societal level influence of movies occurs because the social values portrayed in films affect all viewers in a similar manner c. the violent content of movies has more of an impact if it does not have a reasonable moral context d. through a scientific approach, the effect of movies can be separated out from other factors e. none of the above
EXPLANATION: The moral context is crucial to the sociological explanation of the effects of violent movies on society. To elaborate on this, if a movie has a significant amount of violence, but also includes the negative consequences for violent actions, it is less likely that it will be imitated. A couple of examples of this are Saving Private Ryan and American History X. There is a moral lesson to be learned about violence in these movies. On the other hand, if a movie is “gratuitously violent” with no repercussions, the correlation between violent movies and violent people will become stronger. A good example of this is the movie “Natural Born Killers”. This movie glorifies violence and makes those who commit these acts into celebrities. CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 8 * Chapter 2 NS FOCUS ON THESE SECTIONS IN CHAPTER 2 OF NS * Cooperation: Creating Norms and Values * Production: Creating Material and Non-Material Culture * Culture as Freedom and Constraint * Culture as Freedom (Symbolic Interactionism and Cultural Production * Multi Culturalism * Globalization * Post Modernism * Culture as a Constraint *** IMPORTANT (Rationalization and Consumerism) |

5. The Discovery of a link between a variant of the MAOA gene and aggressive behavior proves that:

a. human behavior is determined mostly by genetics b. biological reasons are key to understanding human behavior c. why those among the Maori of New Zealand have higher crime rates d. all of the above e. none of the above
EXPLANATION: The authors of this chapter argue that the impact of genes on behavior is dependent upon the environment in which people live.
Example studies have indicated that the MAOA variation does not increase anti-social behavior in young adults if those young adults did not experience any childhood maltreatment. BASICALLY the gene on its own did not have much impact without having a social environment to be facilitated in CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 4 * Chapter 3 NS FOCUS ON THESE SECTIONS IN CHAPTER 3 OF NS * Nature and Nurture (** IMPORTANT YOU UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO) * Charles Horton Cooley * George Herbert Mead * Paul Willis * Gender Socialization * Socialization though the Life Course (pgs 58-62) * Agents of Socialization (pgs 62-68) * Identity and Social Change |

6. Research done by Welsh and Baker in SIQ Chapter 16, Sexual Harrassment in the Canadian Workplace) illustrates that:

a. women typically identify their experiences of sexual harassment as such if they have been in situations where they learned stereotypical gender roles b. gender socialization no longer has an impact in workplace relations c. workplace culture is the key determinant of whether or not workplace sexual harassment takes place d. the interactive model of socialization better explains workplace sexual harassment than does the developmental model e. it is impossible to define workplace sexual harassment
EXPLANATION: The interactive model of socialization suggests that socialization is a creative process that takes place in groups, while the developmental model suggests that a person’s growth potential is set by their inherent characteristics. The research done by Welsh and Baker indicates that, with regards to sexual harassment in the workplace, gender socialization can inhibit women from reporting incidents of harassment. But it doesn’t necessarily prevent women from reporting these types of incidents. Depending on the workplace culture, women can and do define these incidents as sexual harassment. CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 16 |

7. Research into same-sex marriages has found that:

a. domestic work roles in same-sex marriages are determined around traditional ‘husband-wife’ roles b. domestic work roles in same-sex marriages are determined on the basis of patriarchal concerns c. individuals in same sex civil marriages express similar expectations of sexual exclusivity from their partners as do individuals in opposite-sex marriages d. same sex marriages are not recognized as legal in Canada e. none of the above
EXPLANATION:
“A” is incorrect because same sex couples in general reject “husband-wife” roles in favor of a more egalitarian model of domestic work founded on choice and interest. Domestic work is negotiated on an ongoing basis, determined by pragmatic concerns and personal interest (so what this means is that for example in a lesbian union, no one partner is assigned household duties because she is more ‘womanly”, rather, household duties and outside household duties such as lawn care and auto car are decided between the partner based on their interest in the duties and capabilities of doing them)
“B” is incorrect because Patriarchal concerns is not an issue among same-sex couples
“C” Civil marriages may not produce the same level of monogamy as opposite-sex marriages, especially among male couples… although some married same-sex couples embrace monogamy, others don’t
“D” Civil Marriage Act was signed in 2005 making same-sex marriages legal in Canada CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 17 * Chapter 10 NS FOCUS ON THESE SECTIONS IN CHAPTER 10 OF NS * Defining Families and Defining Marriage * Sociological Perspectives on Families (Functionalism, Conflict Theory, Feminism, Symbolic Inter.***REALLY IMPORTANT YOU KNOW ALL OF THESE) * Historical and Cross-Cultural Variation (Early Hunting and Gathering Societies, Pre-Industrial Society, Industrialization) * The 1950’s and Beyond * Contemporary Trends *** VERY IMPORTANT YOU KNOW THIS YOU WILLLLLL BE TESTED ON THIS (243-248) * Social Policy *** ALSO IMPORTANT |

8. In Canada, childhood care services generally:

a. receive the bulk of their funding from the government, and are mostly regulated by the federal government b. receive the bulk of their funding from the government, and are mostly regulated by the provincial governments c. receive the bulk of their funding from parents, and are mostly regulated by the provincial government d. receive the bulk of their funding from parents, and are mostly regulated by municipal governments e. are operated on a for-profit basis
EXPLANATION: Roughly 75% of childcare services are operated on a nonprofit basis. Provincial governments have constitutional responsibility for education, including early childhood and care services (ECEC), although outside of Ontario municipal governments have a limited role. The single largest source of funding for childcare is parents-who supply roughly 49% of revenue for full-day childcare centers CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 18 (PLEASE READ THIS GUYS, YOU WILL 100% BE TESTED ON IT) |

9. Research conducted on the topic of liberal arts education by Davies and Walters found:

a. a strong connection between university training and job markets b. that gender pay gaps among university graduates have increased c. that a degree in sociology limits the variety of occupations for which one is qualified d. that sociology graduates have much lower average incomes than graduates from other disciplines e. that a sociology degree is rewarded in the labor market due to credentialism
EXPLANATION: Today’s labor market creates a situation where many people compete for few jobs. Employers need to increase their requirements in order to find the best candidates for the positions offered. Thus, government and corporate bureaucracies select the applicants on the basis of their educational credentials. In the 70’s people with BA’s were perceived as highly skilled. In the 80’s high school diploma was perceived as a necessary requirement, but the more people finished secondary education, the less valuable it was for employers. Thus, the university diploma started to be seen as a necessity to the point where now we talk about “credential inflation”. It is a situation when a huge number of people hold a university degree and lacking one is seen as a sign of mediocrity. Finishing university, especially the mainstream ones that have a higher level entry requirements than for example online ones (McMaster University vs Everest College) has been associated with reliability, ability to complete tasks, punctuality and trustworthiness CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 2 * Chapter 12 NS FOCUS ON THESE SECTIONS IN CHAPTER 12 OF NS * Selection (Changing School Structure and Inequality Among Students) * Socialization (295-300) * Social Organization (301-308) |

10. Newspaper accounts of school shootings typically:

a. make direct connections between the content of video games and violent social outcomes b. point out the controversial nature of linking media violence to aggressive behavior c. contextualize violent behavior within the phenomena of poverty and neighbourhood instability d. all of the above e. none of the above
EXPLANATION: School shootings are rare and the characteristics of shooters vary greatly. Beginning in the early 1900’s, video games like Doom, a role-playing game involving graphic violence, became a ‘catch-all” for explaining such unexplainable events. Targeting video games as an explanation allows people to channel their fears and anxieties into tangible and changeable objects. When news reports focus on video games as culprits, it is a downplay of broader social factors such as the accessibility of guns, family or peer violence, poverty, unemployment, neighborhood violence, etc. Think of this concept as a ‘shift in blame’. News media discourages the examination of structural factors that might lead to violent outbursts and focuses on something that is ‘fixable” such as suggesting the limitation of exposure to violent games. CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 9 * Chapter 5 NS FOCUS ON THESE SECTIONS IN CHAPTER 5 OF NS * The Critical Perspective * Political Economy of Media * The Meaning of Message * Media Effects and Audiences * The Digital Divide: Technology and Social Inequality |

11. A Sociological analysis of the use of the Internet reveals that:

a. technology itself has a deterministic effect b. the internet displaces any sense of local community that people might have c. the digital divide has mostly disappeared within and between countries d. the internet has facilitated the continued displacement of place-based community with person-based community e. all of the above
EXPLANATION: The Internet has the ability to connect continents and people at a single bound. The developing personalization, portability and ubiquitous connectivity of the Internet have served to facilitate the change from place-based to person-based. Communication technologies are changing the nature of the community from physically fixed and bounded groups to social networks. This is known as networked individualism. CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 6 |

12. The term sexual scripts refers to:

a. the biological roles performed by males and females b. how sexual behavior is determined by non-social factors c. how sexuality is social constructed d. how sexual conduct can be separated from political and economic motives e. how sex and sexuality are based on biological impulses

EXPLANATION: Sexual scripts are the social cultural blueprints by which create and express what we typically experience as deeply personal and intimate. The NS definition is a bit different: the assumptions that guide sexual behavior by telling us whom we should find attractive, when and where it is appropriate to be aroused, what is sexually permissible and so on. Sexuality is socially constructed, built from and by cultures, eras and institutions. What this means is that sexuality is not biological or universal because it can differ depending on the culture, time or society. Sexual behaviour by this understanding is similar to other behaviors because we learn it from people, ideas and institutions that are around us. Sex and SEXUALITY are NOOOT the same thing CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 15 * Chapter 4&7 NS |

13. Recent income trends in Canada include the following:

a. decreasing educational homogamy, and lower employment earnings of lone mothers b. increasing educational homogamy, and increasing employment earnings of lone mothers c. increasing educational homogamy, and lower employment earnings of lone mothers d. decreasing educational homogamy, and increasing employment earnings of lone mothers e. none of the above
EXPLANATION: Educational homogamy refers to the tendency of people to marry someone similar to them – eg. Someone with a university degree marrying someone else with a university degree. Research shows that higher levels of education generally result in higher levels of income. So the impact of this trend, in terms of income inequality, is that there are relatively more poorly educated couples now with lower levels of income. Employment earnings of lone mothers actually rose between 1980 and 2000. This was mostly the result rising employment rates of lone mothers, which is itself a function of lone mothers in 2000 being older and better educated than long mothers were in 1980. CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 10 |

14. Research done by Duffy and Mandell on poverty in Canada reveals that:

a. recent periods of economic growth generally benefited all members of society b. recent periods of economic growth reduced income inequality c. Canada has less income inequality relative to almost all other industrialized countries d. Social welfare policies have helped reduce the incidence of poverty among single mothers e. None of the above
EXPLANATION: Periods of economic growth don’t always benefit every member of society. Statistics for example indicate that food bank use increased during the time of economic growth during the early 2000’s. Canada ranks 18th out of 30 industrialized countries in terms of income inequality. Social welfare policies rarely recognized the need among single mothers for adequate and affordable childcare. CHAPTERS TO READ: * SIQ Chapter 11 * NS Chapter 6 and 9 |

GOOOOD LUCK!