SOA 1061st EditionExam # 2 Study Guide Lectures: 12 - 28Lecture 12 (September 22)Win as much as you can game.Lecture 13 (September 24)Introducing the Social Structure● Cannot understand sociology without understanding the social structure● What we learned from the class activity○ Tragedy of the commons○ We made mascots to create group identity○ Rules of the game affect the way you play it○ The rules of the game matter○ They affect the way you play the game○ Society is governed by rules and they affect the way we behave everyday○ Who gets to be married, wealthy, American, arrested are all determined by rules○ In moments we can create a group identity and identify with them○ American culture is very individualistic○ We immediately accept the reality we are presented● The social structure – social institutions. Organizations, groups, statuses and roles, values and norms that add order and predictability to our lives○ OR a forces that opposes individual action that is observable, external to the individual and independent of individual motivation, structure as a constraint.● Social Dilemma – potential for a societies long term ruin because of individual tendency to pursue their own short term interests.Lecture 14 (September 26)The Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner● Written in 1991● Professor at University of Southern California● Novel is about why Americans are engrossed in fear● Glassner believes the media weighs people down by advertising gruesome events that people do not really need to worry about● Glassner claims that 3 out 4 people say that they feel more fearful today than they did twenty years agoWhere Fears Come From and How to Overcome Them● Our perceptions of danger has increased, not our actual levels of danger● Organizations profit from our fears and so they create them and advertising○ News channels -- mostly reports are about crimes○ creates social panics● People waste unnecessary money worrying about these fears○ programs○ time and energy wasted on the fears● Glassner blames the news and media for the majority of peoples fears● Media Effect Theory-- the media design stories to increase ratings● “Peddlers of Fear” --politicians, news groups, and advocacy groups that propel fear and deliver stories of crime because it increases viewers and ratings○ they over exaggerate statisticsLecture 15 (September 29)Social Institutions● Social Institutions -- interdependent positions that perform a social role and reproduce themselves over time which shapes the behavior of people OR persistent and connectedset of rules (formal and informal) that prescribe behavioral roles, constrains activity, and shape expectations○ like the Harvard vs. ISU activityClassic Institutions● Education, government, religion, economy, family, mass media● The point is to try to understand the role of that social institution in society○ EX: governments are all different but no matter the exact roles of the government they all do the same basic thing.● Are these institutions?○ gender -- yes-- different genders are expected to like different things (girls like pink, boys like blue) and behave in certain ways○ race--yes-- as much as a social institution as gender, they have stereotypes and expectations○ class--yes○ sexuality-- yesInstitutional Effects● Institutions are a key source of predictability● Social institutions constrain our behavior● They are the root source of many social problems● As an individualist society it is hard to see these sociological effectsInstitutional Intersections● Institutions do not exist in isolation they work together○ politics & economy & education○ economics, family, gender○ politics, race, gender, economyLecture 16 (October 1)The Culture of Fear● Crime hasn’t changed but we are exposed to more crime due to the media and internet● It has created fears like: tainted Halloween candy (only happened to two people), pedophilia ( more likely to be in a car accident than to be abducted)● These fears are used to distract us from things we really should be afraid of○ Homelessness, starvation● We call these “non- problems” symbolic substitutes, they keep us from focusing on our real issuesMass Media Consolidation● Is the media biased? – YES● Other countries know more about our country than we do● Media shows whatever gets the station more viewers● Consider ownership—six large corporations own 90% of all the US media (including TV, radio, movie studios, internet, newspapers, and magazines)○ The most opinions we could ever be shared on the media is six● Motives—commercial media (including the news) is funded via advertising sales● Corporations buy ads trying to sell things to media concerns—ads cost more if the mediaoutlet demonstrates its viewers are derisible● Most industrialized countries have publicly owned news channels (they don’t worry about making a profit)—the public ones we have are PBS and PBR● News casters main goal is to get you to keep watching● No one asks the tough questions● What are the implications for people and society generally? – we don’t know basic things about our government (senators, councilmen), where other countries our located (we our currently bombing Syria but most Americans could not point it out on a map)Lecture 17 (October 3)Roles of the Education System● It is an agent of socialization○ from it we learn: culture, appropriate behavior, prepare students for labor market, make informed citizens● Hidden curriculum-- behaviors and attitudes taught in schools that are not included within the formal curriculum.● Teaches students..○ punctuality (ringing of the bell and being on time for class)○ passive consumption of ideas ( writing down whatever is on the slide, just accepting what we are told)○ to obey authority○ to accept our social order and our place in itThe University as a Sorting Machine● “common sense” about role of higher education○ higher education is a path to upward mobility○ belief in equal opportunity of education, its open to everybody○ success and failure seems to be based on merit○ those skills are rewarded in the labor market● Biggest predictor of someone going to college is your parents socioeconomic status● Sociological Analysis of higher education:○ there is no equal access to education○ education functions as a social sorting