Mr Sociology

Let's use the GRAVEE and SODA models to remember points for evaluation in our essays.  Remember that in a 16 mark essay 10 marks are award for AO3 so it is important to remember the strengths and limitations of theories and ideas. G Generalisability - can the findings be generalised to the wider population? R Reliability - if the study were to be repeated, would it get the same results? A

The AQA Specification says; "Stages of attachment identified by Schaffer. Multiple attachments." Schaffer and Emerson studied the attachment behaviours of babies and that lead them to develop their theory there are four stages of attachment that develop as a baby ages. Stage 1 - Asocial stage In the first few weeks of life a babies attachment towards various people and objects is similar, hence the term "asocial", meaning that babies are largely indifferent to who or what they are around, but they did show a preference for certain people and are more easily comforted by them, e.g. when a mother or caregiver is able to get a baby to settle and sleep or stop crying. Stage 2 - Indiscriminate attachment From 2 - 7 months babies show a much stronger preference to be with humans rather than objects (like teddy bears) and will accept cuddles from almost anyone without showing separation anxiety or stranger anxiety, hence the term, 'indiscriminate'. At this stage th

Coding Information is stored in different forms - this is referred to as 'coding'. It is almost the minds method of applying labels to information and placing it in the correct cupboard. Research by Alan Baddeley found that short term memory is coded acoustically and long term memory is coded semantically.  Baddeley divided lists of words into four groups and asks participants to remember them. When trying to recall from short term memory participants did worst on acoustically similar words and when recalling from long term they did worst with the semantically similar words. See the video below for  a simple explanation. It seems counterintuitive to think that because participant did worse on acoustically similar words for short term memory that indicates that short term memory codes acoustically. For your exam please try to remember that short term memory is coded acoustically and long term memory codes semantically . That is a chunk of AO1 that you need to recall if asked in

Participant Observation To see participant observation in action, follow the links below. Hooligans Donal Macintyre and the chelseas headhunters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBI-2N-9-rk Participant observation involves a researcher becoming involved with the group he/she is studying by joining them, integrating gaming them, working and/or living with them. Participant observation is typically used by interpretivist Sociologists as it allows them the opportunity to see and understand people as they go about their daily business acting naturally. It allows the researcher to better understand their point of view (verstehen - Weber) and gain an in-depth detailed knowledge of the subject groups actions.  Many studies into criminal gangs and subcultures are done through participant observation as seen in the above documentary. Other investigative journalists who often gets up close and personal with their subjects are Louis Theroux and Reggie Yates -  feel free to look up their documentar

Structured (Formal) Interviews   Structured interviews (and interviews in general) are a widely used research method in gathering data in Sociology. They involve an interviewer asking a number of closed questions that can be pre-coded - this coming allows answers to be put into quantitative data and statistical form (suitable for Positivists - Can you name a Positivist Sociologist?). Advantages  - Structured interviews can be seen as more reliable as the study can be repeated using the same questions and this can allow for comparisons with other studies - pre-coded questions and answers can be turned into quantitative data (positivists) - they are a better way of getting questionnaires completed - postal questionnaires have a low response rate Disadvantages  - answers are limited ("yes, "no") as the interviewer imposes limits with closed questions  - they are more time consuming and costly than closed questionnaires - possibility of interviewer influence and interviewer

Many large scale surveys such as the census use a questionnaire.  Researchers take time to carefully design the questionnaire with clear instructions and questions that often can be answered with a ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘don’t know’. Leading questions should be avoided, E.g. “why do you think homework is bad”. This is an example of a bad, leading question because it assumes homework is bad!  Questions should be clear and written with neutral language.  Confidentiality of participants should be assured meaning that their answers will be kept private and anonymous.  Activity! Design a 5 question questionnaire on a topic of your choosing with “yes”, “no” or “don’t know” answers.  Topic suggestions - school policies such as homework or discipline, school life, school experiences. Give the questionnaire to 5 people in the class. Collect answers and see what issues arised from questionnaire such as wording of questions. Closed Questionnaires Closed questionnaires are highly structured, containing a

Surveys and Sampling Methods Surveys are used to collect primary data from large numbers of people, usually via questionnaires or structured interviews. Positivists prefer the survey method because it produces quantitative data in statistical form. The government often carry out surveys like the census, and other such as market researchers and election pollsters to find out how people intend to vote. Sociologists rarely have the time or funding to complete large scale surveys of the entire population, so they instead opt for a smaller group known as a sample . To achieve a representative sample, all the relevant characteristics of the whole group must be included (survey population).  For example, to get the voting intentions of women aged 30-40 in the UK, one woman aged in this range could be selected from every postcode in the UK, then the results of the study could be generalised to the wider population. It is very important for a sample to be representative , otherwise generalisati

Experiments  Experiments are a main feature of scientific research in the natural sciences. A scientist will form and test a hypothesis often in laboratory experiments. Researchers will investigate the relationship between an independent variable (cause) and a dependent variable (effect), e.g. drinking alcohol causes you to perform poorly on the game 'operation'.  Positivists regard the experiment as a good form of research because of its scientific qualities including, - the research can control conditions and keep them high scientific (ruling out distracting variables) - experiments produce quantitative data - it is detached and objective. The researcher merely sets up the condition and records the results Problems with experiments in Sociology - Humans are complex beings and no two humans are exactly alike, therefore it is difficult to make conclusions like can be made in other sciences - Lab experiments only focus on small scale studies and cannot (should not) be generalise

A huge part of being a psychologist involves conducting research - this often involves experiments along with a lot of other research methods. Let's begin with an experiment! Half of the class will write the following sentence on a piece of paper with their eyes open and the other half of the class will write it with their eyes closed. "I love psychology class. It is the best" The hypothesis will be; Students who write this sentence with their eyes open will produce neater handwriting than students who write this sentence with their eyes closed . Aims The aim of research is to develop a theory based on an idea, a question, thought, observation or prior knowledge. You may notice that some people's handwriting is worse when they are not fully concentrating on the page, or in the example from the book, that people become much more talkative after drinking a sugary drink. So, an aim is stating what we intend to investigate. Hypothesis What is a hypothesis? A hypothesis i

Primary data refers to data that has been collected by the sociologists themselves from questionnaires, interviews, participant or non-participant observation. Secondary data refers to data that already exists that can include the research of other sociologists, journalists, official statistics, diaries, and official statistics (e.g. census). Qualitative data Qualitative data is data that is obtained from research methods such as unstructured interviews and it is made up content based on words rather than reducing answers to numbers.  Qualitative secondary data Qualitative secondary data can include media reports, novels, diaries, letters, autobiographies, historical documents, parish records, school records, previous sociological studies, police records and some official government reports.  Advantages of Qualitative secondary data - it can provide a valuable insight into life and information from the past - it can be useful for Sociologists to get an insight into the ideologies and

Specification the theoretical, practical and ethical considerations influencing choice of topic, choice of method(s) and the conduct of research Influences on the choice of research topic and method It may not come as a shock to hear this, but most academic sociological researchers choose to research a topic for which they have a deep interest. It is often an area where they work, something that has affected them or something that they have experienced and wish to further research to develop knowledge to share.  Once the topic is chosen there are a range of factors to consider how best to go about researching the topic.  A useful way to remember the influences of choice of research topic and method is PET - Practical issues, Ethical Issues and Theoretical issues. Practical Issues - Accessibility - in some settings accessibility is easy. We are often approached in public places by people conducting surveys and happy to take random people from the street to do it. Other settings prove m

Drug Therapy As we saw in the biological explanation of OCD, the condition is associated with low levels of Serotonin, therefore the biological approach to treating OCD focuses on increasing the level of Serotonin in the brain. Snap question - what is serotonin? SSRI's SSRI stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor which is the standard prescribed medical treatment for OCD. SSRI's are a particular type of antidepressant drug and they are also used to treat other mental health conditions including depression. SSRI's work by preventing the reuptake of serotonin after it is released across the synapse. This ensures that more serotonin is absorbed by the postsynaptic neuron and ensures that more serotonin remains in the body system. The increased serotonin goes on to improve mood and regulate the amount of required serotonin to help the patient deal with OCD. There is a huge variety of SSRI drugs available and the impact on patients can vary, taking at least a month for

Genetic explanations OCD is a mental disorder that has a large biological component to it. A study by Lewis (1936) found that of his patients, 37% had parents with OCD and 21% had siblings with OCD. This shows a genetic link and indicates that OCD runs in families. OCD sufferers pass on the genetic vulnerability to children (not the certainty of OCD) and the condition is often triggered by a stressful or traumatic experience.  Researchers have identified the genes that create the genetic vulnerability for OCD - candidate genes . The first is the SERT gene which affects the transmission of serotonin back to the pre-synatpic neutron (re-uptake). People with this gene have lower levels of serotonin. The second is the COMT gene which regulate the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is evolved with the brains reward system. High levels of dopamine are are associated with compulsions: the simple repetitive behaviour are rewarding for the OCD suffers because they relieve th

DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistics manual for mental disorders) recognises OCJ and related conditions which include; OCD Trichotillamania Hoarding disorder Excoriation disorder Go to page 144 in the 'green haired' book for a definition of all of the above, or better still, type it into google and do some independent research! What is OCD?  OCD is a mental health condition where a suffer has recurring thoughts and repetitive behaviours that cannot be controlled. Behaviour characteristics of OCD (what we do) Compulsions are repetitive People with OCD feel compelled to repeat a behaviour, e.g. hand washing, turning off lights, arranging and ordering groups of objects. Compulsions reduce anxiety For the majority of OCD suffers the repetitive behaviour is performed in an effort to reduce anxiety, e.g. excessive hand washing in a response to an obsessive and irrational fear of germs. Avoidance People with OCD often avoid situations that can trigger their OCD. This avoidance then can co