Ethical issues in Sociological Research The study of people (“human subjects”) raises vital questions about ethical concerns in sociological research. Beginning in the 1960s. the U.S. government set up regulations for “the protection of human subjects.” Because of scientific ~buses in the past. researchers arc now mandated to weigh the societal benefits of research against the potential physical and emotional costs to participants. Researchers are…

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Reflect And Analyze 1. Apply the symbolic interaction perspective to runaways and other street kids. How does being a runaway or a throwaway child affect a child’s self Identity and influence his or her ability to thrive, or simply survive, In society? 2. What might other primary agents of socialization such as schools, peer groups, and the mass media do to…

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The School As the amount of specialized technical and SCientific knowledge has expanded rapidly and as the amount of time that children are in educational settings has increased. schools continue to play an enormous role i1hthe socialization of young people. For many people. the formal education process is an undertaking that lasts up to twenty years. As the number of one-parent families…

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Mass Media An agent of socialization that has a profound impact on both children and adults is the mass media, composed of large-scale organizations that use print or electronic means (such as radio, television, film, and the Internet) to communicate with large numbers’ of people. The media function as socializing agents in several ways: (1) they inform us about events; (2)…

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Peer Groups As soon as we are old enough to have acquaintances outside the home. most of us begin to rely heavily on peer groups as a source of information and approval about social behavior. A peer group is a group of people who are linked by common interests, equal social position. and (usually) similar age. In early childhood. peer groups…

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Why They Leave Forty-seven percent of runaway and homeless youths indicate that conflict between them and their parent or guardian is a major problem. Thirty four percent of runaways (girls and boys) report sexual abuse, and 43 percent report physical abuse before leaving home, abuse that increases youths’ risk of being assaulted or raped-or both-on the street. Other problems !that runaways report Include alcohol…

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Trying to Go It Alone: Runaway Adolescents and Teens home. Family. The ideal is that these words evoke a sense of well-being-feelings such as love, understanding, acceptance, and security. However. the reality is that for many of us, especially adolescents and teens, these words trigger negative feelings-fear, anxiety, dread-and an urgent desire to escape. The most recent statistics available indicate that between 1.6…

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Life on the Street Is Hard This homeless girl on a sidewalk in Manhattan reflects the reality that youths age 12 to 17 are at higher risk for homelessness than are adults. Available data show that 12 percent of runaway and homeless youths spend at least one night outside in a park. on a street. under a bridge or overhang, or…

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Piaget and Cognitive Development Unlike psychoanalytic approaches, which focus primarily on personality development, cognitive approaches emphasize the intellectual (cognitive) development of children. The Swisspsychologist Jean Piaget (I 896-1980) was a pioneer in the field of cognitive development. Cognitive theorists are interested in how people obtain, process, and use information-that is, in how we think. Cognitive development relates to changes over time in how…

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Kohlberg and the Stages of Moral Development Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) elaborated on Piaget’s theories of cognitive reasoning by conducting a series of studies in which children, adolescents. and adults were presented with moral dilemmas that took the form of stories, Based on his findings, Kohlberg (1969. 1981) classified moral reasoning into three sequentiallevels: 1. Preconventional level (age seven to ten). Children’s perceptions…

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