1. CORE CONCEPTS in Sociology John Bradford, Ph.D.

2. I. RESEARCH METHODS

3. Three types of Studies There are 3 different types of studies that correspond to 3 different sorts of dependent variables (Y), or objects of investigation 1. Case study (what causes an event or condition) Often we arent interested in Y itself as a fact or event, but changes in Y across time (longitudinal study) or differences in Y across space (cross-sectional study). 2. Cross-sectional study (comparison across space) 3. Longitudinal study (comparison across time)

4. Feedback Two types of Feedback: 1. Positive (reinforcing, amplifying): Initial changes become amplified or magnified over time; patterns are reinforced. Examples: exponential population growth; nuclear explosion; rich getting richer, etc. 2. Negative (counteracting, balancing): Initial changes are counteracted or balanced out, so that conditions remain relatively stable. Examples: homeostasis; a thermostat; what goes up, must come down, etc. Births + Population + Force of Gravity - Jump up + Positive Feedback Negative Feedback

5. Positive vs. Negative Association of Variables Positive association i. as values of X go up, values of Y go up. ii. as X goes down, Y goes down. Negative association as X goes up (down), Y goes down (up) or .

6. Positive vs. Negative Association of Variables Notes: i. Positive and Negative associations are averages! Examples that dont fit the general pattern will always exist. ii. Associations refer to relationships between 2 or more variables, not a single variable in itself. iii. Example: height and weight are positively associated (on average)

7. Independent (X) vs. Dependent (Y) Variables Independent variable (X) = the cause. Variable that influences. Dependent variable (Y) = the effect. Variable that is influenced by the cause; it is dependent on the cause. INCA: the INdependent variable is the CAuse.

8. Independent (X) vs. Dependent (Y) Variables Examples: Gender (X) is thought to influence occupation (Y) Religious affiliation (Y) is thought to be influenced by income. Educational attainment (X) is thought to influence income (Y). Age (X) is thought to influence attitudes towards using computers (Y) Income (Y) is thought to be influenced by race (X)

9. Sampling 1. A Sample is a portion of the larger population that you will study to make inferences about the larger population. 2. General rule: the more diverse a population is, the larger the sample needs to be! 3. Samples should be random (equally probable). Randomness means that every element in the population has the same probability of being in the sample.

10. Experiments An experiment involves manipulating the independent variable (X) and observing the effect on the dependent variable (Y) Experiments are the only means by which we can explore causal relationships; only way we can know for sure if changes to X cause changes in Y. Experimenter needs two dependent variable (Y) groups of Y: 1. Experimental group- receives treatment of independent variable (X) 2. Control group- does not receive treatment; is left alone.

11. Experiments Imagine a scientist testing the effect that some drug, X, has on growth of rats, Y. To see how the drug effects rat growth, the experimenter will compare growth in two groups of rats: Y , the group of rats that gets the drug (X) and a group of rates Y that will not. Y is the experimental group, and Y is the control group.

12. Experiments One assumes separation or isolation between the setting where X is applied and the control, where X isnt applied. It is important that rats which receive the drug and rats which do not be alike in all relevant characteristics and conditions, so that any observed differences between rats which receive the drug (the experimental group) and those that do not (the control group) can be attributed only to the drug (X), and not to something else.

13. Experiments Random Assignment to condition- is the process whereby all participants have an equal chance of taking part in any condition of the experiment. The purpose is to ensure that any potentially relevant differences between the experimental and control groups are distributed evenly and therefore wont affect the outcome (i.e. will cancel each other out)

14. Experiments A counter-factual refers to something that did not happen, but could have or would have occurred. We use the control group to make a counterfactual argument, which says that: in the absence of X, this is how Y would have behaved. We assume that Y would have behaved like Y, the control. Why? Because they are alike in all relevant characteristics so any difference we observe must be a result of the independent variable, X.

15. Experiments 5 Rules for Doing True Experiments 1. Have at least two groups (control and experiment) 2. Randomly assign people to groups 3. Treat the experimental group by manipulating the independent variable 4. Observe the effect of the treatment on the dependent variable in the experimental group 5. Compare the dependent variable differences (the outcome of treatment) in the experimental and control groups

16. II. FOUR FAMOUS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY EXPERIMENTS

17. Stanley Milgram and Obedience One of the most famous experiments of the 20th century. What explains the Holocaust? Are Germans just inherently more obedient than other people? The Milgram experiment measured the willingness to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience.

18. Stanley Milgram and Obedience Experiment: Three roles: an experimenter (man in white lab coat); a volunteer (the teacher); and the shockee (the learner). All are actors except the volunteer. Responding to a newspaper ad, a volunteer was told he would be participating in an experiment testing the effects of negative reinforcement (punishment) on learning. The volunteer was told that a teacher (giving electric shocks) and learner (receiving electric shocks) were to be picked at random.

19. Stanley Milgram and Obedience Experiment: In reality, the experiment was to see how much electroshock the teacher would give as punishment, when told it was part of an experiment. Everyone but the teacher was acting and knew the true purpose of the experiment. No electric shocks were actually administered, but the volunteer believed he was administering them. The learner would go into another room and a tape recording was played of scripted answers. For each wrong answer, the teacher was supposed to give a shock to the learner, with the voltage increasing in 15-volt increments for each wrong answer.

20. Stanley Milgram and Obedience Findings: BASELINE STUDY (most famous): 65% of volunteers go all the way and are willing to shock the subject to death! Milgram also studied 20-40 variants of this experiment with different results:

21. Stanley Milgram and Obedience Findings: Experiment #3: The Shockee is placed in the same room so that the volunteer can see him; obedience drops to 40%. Experiment #4: The volunteer must physically restrain the shockee; obedience drops to 30%. Experiment #14 : If experimenter is not a scientist in a white lab coat, then obedience drops to 20%. Experiment #17: Volunteer and two other participants (both actors); if other actors refuse to continue the experiment, obedience drops to 10%

22. Stanley Milgram and Obedience Findings: Experiment #15: *If there are two other experimenters in white lab coats (both actors) who disagree about what to do, then obedience drops to ZERO! As soon as participants are told that they have no choice, obedience drops to ZERO! These results were confirmed in 2006.

23. Stanley Milgram and Obedience QUESTION: What does all this mean? Why did so many people go along with the experiment, if they only did so long as they were NOT ordered to do so?

24. Stanley Milgram and Obedience This study does NOT show that people obey orders! They are participating because they believe they are promoting the greater good, a noble cause: science. They are shocking innocent strangers not because they believe they have to, but because they believe they ought to.

25. Zimbardos Stanford Prison Experiments Experiment: 70 volunteers selected; by flip of coin, half are chosen as guards, other half as prisoners Participants make up their own rules; not pre-determined Each participant was paid $15 a day

26. Zimbardos Stanford Prison Experiments Findings: Experiment ended after 6 days! Could no longer distinguish reality (the experiment) from the roles they adopted as prisoners and guards There were dramatic changes in virtually every aspect of their behavior, thinking and feeling. We were horrified because we saw some boys (guards) treat others as if they were despicable animals, taking pleasure in cruelty, while other boys (prisoners) became servile, dehumanized robots. (141)

27. Zimbardos Stanford Prison Experiments Findings: About 1/3 of guards became corrupted by the power of their roles (142) *T+he mere act of assigning labels to people and putting them into a situation where those labels acquire validity and meaning is sufficient to elicit pathological behavior (Zimbardo, pg. 143)

28. On Being Sane in Insane Places Can we always distinguish normal from abnormal people? The sane from the insane? How objective are these labels? 1. Are insane behaviors caused by innate characteristics of these individuals or are they elicited from external environments? 2. Do observers see the same behavior differently in different circumstances? Scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (1975)

29. On Being Sane in Insane Places Rosenhan undertakes groundbreaking study: will sane people (pseudo-patients) be recognized as sane by hospital staff in a psychiatric ward? Experiment 8 sane people admitted into 12 hospitals; 3 women, 5 men Initially complained of hearing voices of an existential nature: Symptoms chosen because there were zero reports of existential psychoses in the literature After being admitted, pseudo-patients behaved normally Length of stay ranges from 7 to 52 days, average of 19 days D. L. Rosenhan

30. On Being Sane in Insane Places Findings: The normal are not detectably sane! Pseudo-patients were never detected Other patients (but not doctors and staff) sometimes detected that they were not insane. Each was discharged with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in remission Normal behaviors were often interpreted as abnormal because of the diagnosis! D. L. Rosenhan

31. Labels and Perception Label (diagnosis) Perception of behavior Once a person is designated abnormal, all of his other behaviors and characteristics are colored by that label (280). 1. Observers perceive normal behavior as crazy; our expectations thus reinforce our initial impressions 2. Patients can even begin to see themselves as crazy, and thus act crazy (self-fulfilling prophecy)

32. Aschs Conformity Experiments Question: Which of the lines on the second card (A, B, or C) is the same length as the line on the first card? That we have found the tendency to conformity in our society so strong that reasonably intelligent and well-meaning young people are willing to call White Black is a matter of concern. It raises questions about out ways of education and about the values that guide out conduct (95) Solomon Asch (1907 1996)

33. III. SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS

34. What is Sociology? Definition #1: Sociology is the scientific study of interactions and relations among human beings (p. 3). Socius (Latin) = associate; logy (Greek) = study Definition #2: Sociology explains the intended and unintended consequences of human influence.

35. What is Sociology? Sociology studies the PATTERNS that people generate as they interact, influence, and relate to one another. In short: THINK PATTERNS, NOT PEOPLE! (at least not individual people)

36. What is an explanation? An Explanation of anything is always: 1. An answer some Why-question, and 2. A comparison (or contrast) Why is the sky blue and not orange? Why does social inequality exist, instead of not existing? Often this comparison is not stated explicitly {NOTE: In English we can express this contrast in a variety of ways. For example: Why A rather than B? Why A, as opposed to B? Why A instead of, or in contrast to B? }

37. What is an explanation? Additional Vocabulary: Explanandum (Latin) = the object of explanation; whatever it is you are trying to explain Explanans (Latin) = the explanation; the thing that explains the explanandum.

38. What is an explanation? Example: Why is it 85 degrees? Explanandum = 85 degrees. Possible Explanations: a) Because we use the Fahrenheit scale instead of Celsius. b) Because of our approximate distance from the sun. c) Because it is summer time. d) Because the air conditioner is not working.

39. What is an explanation? The explanandum is really not an object at all, but a comparison! Example: Why is it 85 degrees? Each explanation (explanans) of 85 degrees addresses a different explanandum: a) 85 degrees (Fahrenheit, rather than Celsius) b) 85 degrees (on earth, as opposed to another planet or without the sun) c) 85 degrees (in summer, in comparison to temperatures in other seasons) d) 85 degrees (inside, instead of 72 in most buildings)

40. What is an explanation? Why-Question: Why do you rob banks? Willie Sutton: Because thats where the money is!

41. What is an explanation? Intended Explanandum: The priest meant by his question: Why do you rob banks {vs not rob banks}? Reinterpreted Explanandum: Why do you rob banks {vs. rob some other place}?

42. What is an explanation? Question: Why do ducks fly south for the winter? Answer: Because its too far to walk. Intended explanandum: Why do ducks fly south for the winter {vs not migrate south for the winter}? Reinterpreted explanandum: Why do ducks fly {vs walk} south for the winter?

43. What is an explanation? Detective asks the suspect: Why did the man die? Suspect answers: Well, he had to go sometime! Intended explanandum: Why did the victim die now {vs. die at some other time}? Reinterpreted explanandum: Why did the victim die at all {vs. live forever}?

44. What is an explanation? Making different comparisons has led to scientific revolutions... Physics: pre-Newtonian: Why does an object {move/not move}? Newton: Why does an object have a {given acceleration/ some other acceleration}? Biology: Aristotle: Why does {this species/ some other species} exist? Darwin: Why did this species {survive/become extinct}?

45. What is an explanation? In a nutshell, Thinking without comparison is unthinkable. (Swanson 1971: 145).

46. The Sociological Imagination Sociology attempts to explain facts about groups of people, and then to relate these social facts to our individual lives. The study of how our lives are influenced by our larger historical and social circumstances is called the sociological imagination.

47. The Sociological Imagination Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both. C. Wright Mills (1916-1962)

48. The Sociological Imagination To understand one side, you have to understand the other. The ability to understand history and its relation to biography is called the sociological imagination by C. Wright Mills. Man/Woman Society Biography History Self World Personal Troubles of milieu Public Issues of social structure

49. Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. Karl Marx (1818-1883)

50. What is Social REALITY? Thomas theorem: "If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences To understand human inter-actions and relations, sociologists have to understand both reality, and perceived reality. W. I. Thomas 1863 - 1947

51. Social relations are often real because we act AS IF they are real. The social world concerns not only the material world, but the meanings we ascribe to the material objects, meanings which are themselves non-physical and non-material. Examples: 1. Nations 2. Money

52. Self-fulfilling and Self-negating prophecies Robert K. Merton also coined the terms self-fulfilling prophecy and role model A self-fulfilling prophecy is something that becomes true because it is believed to be true. Example: bank run, placebos, psychic predictions, etc A self-negating prophecy is a belief that causes its own falsehood. Explanation: it is something that, once believed to be true or expected to happen, cannot happen (or becomes less likely to happen). Robert K. Merton (1910 2003)

53. The Power of Expectations Pygmalion Effect (aka Rosenthal effect): the greater the expectation placed upon people, the better they perform. According to legend, Pygmalion was the king of Cyprus who fell in love with a beautiful woman (Galatea) he sculpted out of ivory.

54. The Power of Expectations In the 1960s Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson hypothesized that teacher expectations influenced childrens performance. Study: they randomly assigned 1 out of 5 children to the spurter/bloomer group, but told teachers these students were selected to the group based on test performances that indicated future success. Findings: the kids who were expected to spurt made larger improvements than nonspurters.

55. Cascades and Tipping points Social Cascades = TIPPING = a domino effect or chain reaction. Occurs when a small event triggers a large event or when the actions of a few trigger the actions of many. Basic idea: small or few large and many What explains this? We are always paying attention to and being influenced by the behavior of other people.

56. Cascades and Tipping points Diversity + Connectedness = Tipping Example: There are 100 people in the mall and you see a few of them running! How many of them have to be running out of the mall before you run out of the mall also? Assume you have no understanding of why they are running! Crowded mall

57. Cascades and Tipping points Diversity and Connectedness lead to Tipping Consider two scenarios: Scenario 1: Homogeneity. Everyone has the same threshold, or tipping point. Everyone will run out of the mall if they see 20 other people run out of the mall. What happens? NOTHING! No one will leave unless 20 other people leave! Scenario 2: Heterogeneity (Diversity). Everyone is numbered from 1 to 100; their number is also the number of people they need to see running before they also run: their threshold. What happens? First person leaves, then the second, then the third, etc. This generates a chain reaction, aka a CASCADE! Person 0 Begins to run Person 1 runs only if 1 other person runs Person 2 runs only if 2 other people run 3 4 5 6

58. Cascades and Tipping points Mark Granovetter devised this threshold model initially to describe RIOTS: one person will definitely riot; another will riot only if one other person riots; a third will riot only if two others riot; etc. We are much more likely to riot ourselves if we see others rioting.

59. Cascades and Tipping points The threshold model explains: 1. Why social changes can be abrupt, discontinuous, and sudden. 2. Why they are so unpredictable. One person in a chain can either cause or prevent a collective chain reaction, or social cascade. Other examples: clapping, birth rates, dancing at parties