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REBECCA G. ADAMS

1. Home Page
2. Courses:
   1. SOC 101
      1. RC Syllabus Spring 2008
      2. Sociological Exercises
      3. Vocabulary List
   2. SOC 230W
   3. FMS 108
3. Curriculum Vitae
4. Publications by Type:
   1. Books
   2. Journal Articles
   3. Chapters
   4. Prefaces
   5. Newsletter Articles
   6. Book Reviews
5. Publications by Topic:
   1. The Deadhead Community
   2. Friendship
   3. Gerontology
6. Major Roles:
   1. Professor of Sociology
   2. Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee
   3. Chair of the Faculty Senate
   4. Masthead Editor of Personal Relationships

UNCG Home > College of Arts and Sciences > Sociology > Rebecca G. Adams Site Location

SOCIOLOGICAL EXERCISES

I. Do one of these exercises between Test #1 and Test #2:

1. Read two magazines, one intended to be read primarily by members of the lower and lower-middle class (e.g. adventure magazines, confession magazines, fan magazines, Reader's Digest, women's homemaking magazines) and one intended to be primarily read by members of the upper-middle or upper class (e.g. Playboy, New Yorker, Ms. Newsweek, Time, Vogue, Metropolitan Home). Be sure that both magazines are intended for the same sex or for mixed-sex audiences. Compare what the two magazines teach the readers.
2. Watch a television show intended for children. What attitudes and behaviors might a child learn from watching it?
3. Go to a toy store. Take note of what toys are available, how the toys are arranged, the colors of the toys, for whom the toys are intended, etc. Think about what a visit to a toy store would tell someone not familiar with our culture about us.

II. Do one of these exercises between Test #2 and Test #3:

1. Choose two pairs of friends to interview. Ask each pair to describe the structure of their friendship dyad. Determine whether each is hierarchical in terms of power and status and whether it is homogeneous in terms of their class backgrounds, religious preference, gender, and race. Determine which of the friendship pairs seems emotionally closest. Is the most hierarchical of the pairs less emotionally close? Is the more homogeneous of the pairs emotionally closer. Why do you think you found what you found?
2. Choose a bounded group (e.g., Greek organization, sports team, dorm hall residents, apartment building residents). Ask each member a question or questions about their ties to one another. For example, ask them to name their best and second best friends in the group or ask them which members they knew before they belonged to the group. Draw a sociogram using the information you have collected. What does it tell you about the structure of the group? Caution: Be sure to keep the information you gather confidential. Don't study a group to which you belong.
3. Interview someone who has either a white collar job or a blue collar job. Ask about the effects his or her job has had on his or her life and identity.
4. Attend a religious service of a faith that is not yours. Make note of how the components of this subculture differ from the elements of a religious subculture with which you are more familiar.
5. Attend a type of concert or musical performance that you have never attended before. Compare the components of the music subculture to those of one with which you are more familiar. (e.g., compare a blues bar to a folk bar; a symphony to a rock concert; etc.)

III. Do one of the following exercises between the Test #3 and the Final:

1. Imagine that you are a single parent with one child and working 40 hours a week at minimum wage. This puts you well above the poverty line. You are determined to make it without "handouts." Work out a monthly budget for: food, housing, transportation, clothing and personal care, medical care, social security, health insurance, income tax, and other expenditures. Do not guess at the amounts. Provide documentation as to how you arrived at them. What would your "life chances" be?
2. 2. Collect 10 advertisements from newspapers or magazines that demonstrate prejudices against women, ethnic minorities and/or old people. What stereotypes are portrayed?
3. When approaching a door with a member of the opposite sex, try each of the following: a) Wait for them to open the door after you have reached it first. Do this when you are not carrying anything cumbersome. b) Rush ahead and open the door for them. Do this when they are not carrying anything cumbersome. Try a & b with the same person. Try them with another person.
4. Think about one technological innovation (other than the development of the computer or automobile). What are the sociological consequences of the change? Do some historical library research and/or talk to older people.
5. Think about one type of deviance that occurs in your community or on campus. Xerox articles from back issues of a paper or talk to people to get the facts. How widespread is the deviance? What social control mechanisms are in place? Which of the theories we discussed do you think is most useful in explaining the existence of the type of deviance you've chosen to study?

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