ANTHROPOLOGY (Unit 1 – detailed)

Anthropology (Unit 1 – detailed)

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Anthropology (Unit 1 – detailed)

What each branch does

· Archaeology – studies past human societies by excavating and analyzing material remains (artifacts, buildings, tools, pottery). Main goal: reconstruct how people lived, what they ate, their social structures, and how cultures changed over time.

· Cultural Anthropology – studies living human cultures: traditions, beliefs, rituals, family structures, economic systems. Uses participant observation and interviews. Key videos: 6 rites of passage videos, No Man's Land, Bulgaria Brides.

· Biological (Physical) Anthropology – studies human evolution, genetics, primatology, and biological variation. Includes forensic anthropology (identifying human remains for legal purposes – creates a biological profile: age, sex, ancestry, stature, unique features).

· Linguistic Anthropology – studies how language shapes culture and social life. Topics: language origins, dialects, nonverbal communication, language loss. Key concepts: feral children (Genie Wiley – missed the critical period for language), Broca's area (speech production), Wernicke's area (language comprehension), Noam Chomsky's Language Acquisition Device L.A.D – humans are born with an innate ability to learn language). Videos: Silbo language (whistled language), click languages, T.E.D talk on language.

Key concepts you must define

· Material culture – physical objects a culture creates (clothing, buildings, art, tools).

· Non‑material culture – ideas, beliefs, values, norms, language.

· Ethnocentrism – judging another culture by the standards of your own culture (e.g., thinking your own food is “normal” and another's is “weird”).

· Cultural relativism – understanding a culture on its own terms without judging it as better or worse.

· Xenocentrism – believing another culture is superior to your own (e.g., preferring foreign goods or customs just because they are foreign).

· Rite of passage – ceremony marking a major life transition (birth, puberty, marriage, death). Often has three phases: separation, liminality (in‑between), incorporation.

· Primates – characteristics: opposable thumbs, depth perception (stereoscopic vision), large brains relative to body size, long childhood/infancy, social learning.

· Natural selection (Darwin) – individuals with traits that improve survival and reproduction are more likely to pass those traits to the next generation. Evolution happens over generations; organisms do not “choose” to evolve, and learned behaviours are not inherited.

· Survival of the fittest – “fittest” means best adapted to the environment, not strongest or fastest.

Key studies/videos for anthropology

· Ape Genius – shows primates use tools, solve problems, communicate (even some symbolic communication), and have social intelligence.

· Genie Wiley (feral child case study) – isolated until age 13; never fully acquired grammar, proving there is a critical period for language development.

· Noam Chomsky – argued language is biologically innate; children everywhere go through

similar stages without explicit instruction.

Psychology (Unit 2 – detailed, with all sub‑branches)

Brain structure (know location & function)

· Frontal lobe – planning, decision making, problem solving, speech production (Broca's area), personality. Damage here (like Phineas Gage) can change impulse control and social behaviour.

· Parietal lobe – processes touch, temperature, pain, and spatial awareness (knowing where your body is in space).

· Occipital lobe – vision and visual processing (recognizing faces, colours, motion).

· Temporal lobe – memory (hippocampus), language comprehension (Wernicke's area), hearing.

· Cerebellum – balance, coordination, fine motor movement (e.g., playing piano, catching a ball).

· Limbic system – includes amygdala (emotion, especially fear and aggression) and hippocampus (forming new memories).

Psychodynamic branch (Freud, Jung, dreams)

· Freud – mind divided into: Id (pleasure principle, wants immediate gratification), Ego (reality principle, balances id and external world), Superego (morality, conscience, right vs wrong). Defence mechanisms (e.g., repression – pushing painful memories out of conscious awareness).

· Jung – Collective unconscious (shared inherited memories from all humans). Archetypes (universal symbols: Hero, Mother, Shadow, Wise Old Man). Differed from Freud: Jung believed dreams also reflect collective unconscious, not just repressed wishes.

Dream theories

· Activation‑synthesis (Hobson & McCarley): brain stem sends random neural signals during rem; cortex tries to weave them into a story – dreams are “meaningless” but feel real.

· Threat simulation theory: dreams evolved to let us practice avoiding dangers (e.g., being chased, falling).

· Social simulation theory: dreams let us rehearse social interactions and relationships safely.

· Stages of sleep – nrem 1‑3, then rem (where most vivid dreams occur). Lucid dreaming = knowing you are dreaming while still in the dream.

Personality theories

· Ocean (Big Five) – know high vs low examples:

· Openness: high = creative, curious; low = conventional, prefers routine.

· Conscientiousness: high = organized, responsible; low = careless, impulsive.

· Extraversion: high = outgoing, social; low = solitary, reserved.

· Agreeableness: high = kind, cooperative; low = critical, competitive.

· Neuroticism: high = anxious, moody; low = emotionally stable, calm.

· Myers‑Briggs M.B.T.I – 16 types based on four dichotomies (Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, Judging/Perceiving). Used in workplaces but criticized for low reliability.

Abnormal psychology (4 D's, D.S.M-5, Rosenhan)

· 4 D's – Deviance (behaviour differs from social norms), Distress (causes emotional suffering), Dysfunction (interferes with daily life – work, school, relationships), Danger (poses risk to self or others).

· D.S.M-5 – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, used to diagnose mental disorders. Strengths: standardised criteria, improves reliability. Limitations: over‑medicalisation, cultural bias, labelling effects.

· Biopsychosocial model – mental disorders result from biological (genes, brain chemistry, hormones) + psychological (thoughts, emotions, personality) + social (family, culture, environment, trauma) factors.

· Rosenhan “Being Sane in Insane Places” – pseudopatients faked hearing voices, were admitted to psychiatric hospitals, then acted normally. Staff took months to release them, interpreting normal behaviour as illness. Key finding: psychiatric labels powerfully influence how behaviour is interpreted, and diagnoses can be unreliable.

Learning theories (behaviourism)

· Pavlov (classical conditioning) – neutral stimulus (bell) paired with unconditioned stimulus (food) to conditioned response (salivation to bell alone). Learning by association.

· Skinner (operant conditioning) – behaviour shaped by consequences. Positive reinforcement (add something pleasant to behaviour increases). Negative reinforcement (remove something unpleasant to behaviour increases). Punishment (add or remove something to decrease behaviour). Skinner box experiment: rat presses lever to get food (positive reinforcement) or stop electric shock (negative reinforcement).

· Thorndike's laws – Law of Effect (rewarded behaviour is repeated), Law of Exercise (connections strengthen with use), Law of Readiness (learning is more effective when the organism is ready).

· Watson (Little Albert) – conditioned fear of a white rat by pairing it with a loud noise. Showed emotional responses can be learned. Major ethical concerns (no desensitisation, caused distress).

· Bandura (Bobo doll) – children watched an adult hit a doll; then they imitated the aggression. Demonstrated observational learning / social learning theory – learning happens by watching and modelling others, even without direct reinforcement.

Cognitive psychology

· Stroop effect – naming the ink colour of a colour word (e.g., the word red printed in blue ink) is slower than naming the ink colour of a neutral word. Shows conflict between automatic processing (reading) and controlled processing (naming colour).

· Cognitive dissonance (Festinger) – discomfort when behaviour conflicts with belief. Example: you know smoking is unhealthy but you smoke anyway – you may change your belief (“it's not that bad”) or your behaviour (quit).

· Confirmation bias – seeking out information that supports what you already believe and ignoring contradictory evidence.

· Piaget (conservation tasks) – children under 7 don't understand that quantity stays the same despite changes in appearance (e.g., same water in tall narrow glass vs short wide glass). Demonstrates stages of cognitive development.

· Intrinsic motivation – doing something because it is internally satisfying (enjoyment, curiosity). Extrinsic motivation – doing something for a reward or to avoid punishment (grades, money, approval).

Forensic psychology

· Loftus & Palmer (car crash study) – participants watched a car crash video. Asked “How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?” gave higher speed estimates and later reported broken glass (false memory) than those asked “hit each other.” Shows eyewitness memory is unreliable and easily distorted by wording.

· Weapon focus – when a weapon is present, witnesses focus on the weapon and fail to remember other details (suspect's face, clothing). Reduces identification accuracy.

· False confessions – Reed technique (confrontational, accusatory interrogation) can lead innocent people to confess due to exhaustion, stress, or false promises of leniency.

· Other forensic roles – assess competency to stand trial, risk assessment for reoffending, N.C.R (not criminally responsible due to mental disorder), lie detectors (polygraph – not fully reliable).

Humanistic psychology

· Carl Rogers – people strive for self‑actualisation (becoming their best self). Three parts of self‑concept: self‑image (how you see yourself), self‑worth (self‑esteem – how much value you believe you have), ideal self (who you want to become). Conditional positive regard – love given only if you meet certain expectations (e.g., “I'll love you if you get straight A's”). Unconditional positive regard – acceptance no matter what; crucial for healthy development.

· Maslow (hierarchy of needs) – pyramid: physiological (food, water) to safety to love/belonging to esteem to self‑actualisation. Lower needs must be mostly satisfied before higher needs motivate behaviour.

· Erikson (psychosocial development) – 8 stages, each with a crisis (e.g., trust vs mistrust, identity vs role confusion). Personality develops through social relationships across the lifespan.

· Viktor Frankl (logotherapy) – Holocaust survivor. Argued the primary drive in life is finding meaning, even through suffering. Therapy helps people discover purpose rather than just reduce symptoms.

Key studies (quick reference)

· Marshmallow experiment – children who delayed gratification (waited for two marshmallows instead of eating one now) later had better life outcomes S.A.T scores, health).

· Stroop effect – automatic vs controlled processing.

· Loftus & Palmer – false memories / eyewitness unreliability.

· Little Albert – conditioned fear.

· Bobo doll – observational learning.

· Skinner box – operant conditioning.

· Pavlov's dogs – classical conditioning.

· Phineas Gage – frontal lobe damage changed personality (impulsive, rude).

· Genie Wiley – critical period for language.

· Rosenhan – psychiatric labelling problems.

· Hawthorne studies (psych/socio) – workers improved productivity just because they were being observed (Hawthorne effect).

Sociology (Unit 4 – detailed)

Basic concepts

· Values – shared beliefs about what is good/important (e.g., freedom, hard work, family).

· Norms – rules for behaviour (e.g., facing forward in an elevator, saying “thank you”).

· Socialization – lifelong process of learning values, norms, and culture. Major agents: family (primary), school (teaches obedience, punctuality), peers (identity), media (shapes beliefs).

· Human need for belonging – Maslow's belongingness level: we need social connections to thrive.

Levels of analysis

· Micro – face‑to‑face interactions (e.g., two friends talking).

· Meso – organisations or communities (e.g., a school, a church).

· Macro – large‑scale social structures (e.g., capitalism, patriarchy).

· Global – worldwide processes (e.g., migration, climate change, multinational corporations).

Major theories & theorists

· Émile Durkheim – Functionalism – society is like a living organism; each institution (family, education, religion, crime) serves a function to maintain stability. Crime is normal and necessary – it clarifies boundaries, promotes social unity (everyone unites against the criminal), and can trigger social change.

· Karl Marx – Conflict Theory – society is shaped by conflict over limited resources and power. The ruling class (bourgeoisie) exploits the working class (proletariat). Law and norms serve the powerful.

· Max Weber – Social Action Theory – people act based on the meanings and motives they attach to their situation (e.g., a handshake can mean friendship or a deal). Also known for legal‑rational authority (laws and bureaucracy).

· George Herbert Mead – Symbolic Interactionism – society is created through everyday interactions and shared symbols (language, gestures, objects). We interpret each other's actions based on shared meanings.

· C. Wright Mills – Sociological Imagination – the ability to see the connection between personal troubles (e.g., losing a job) and larger social issues (e.g., economic recession). “Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both.”

· Michel Foucault – Panopticon (a prison design with a central tower; prisoners never know if they are being watched, so they behave as if always watched). This leads to self‑surveillance – people internalise the watchful eye and control their own behaviour even without an authority present. Social media acts as a digital panopticon.

· Charles Horton Cooley – Looking Glass Self – we develop our self‑concept by imagining how others see us, then imagining their judgment, then developing feelings about that judgment (pride, shame). “I am not what I think I am, and I am not what you think I am; I am what I think you think I am.”

Crime & deviance theories (detailed)

· Deviance = behaviour that violates social norms (not necessarily illegal – for example, picking your nose in public). Crime = behaviour that violates written laws.

· Strain Theory (Merton) – people may turn to crime when there is a gap between socially approved goals (wealth, success) and legitimate means (education, good job). Example: someone who cannot find work may steal to survive.

· Social Disorganization Theory – crime is higher in neighbourhoods with poverty, weak schools, broken families, lack of community organisations. Not about “bad people” but about a broken social structure.

· Functionalist Theory of Crime (Durkheim) – crime is inevitable and serves three positive functions: (1) clarifies norms (punishment shows what is wrong), (2) promotes social unity (community unites against crime), (3) promotes social change (today's deviance becomes tomorrow's law).

· Control Theory (Hirschi) – people do not commit crime because they are bonded to society. Four social bonds: Attachment (to family, friends, teachers), Commitment (investment in conventional goals like education, career), Involvement (time spent in positive activities leaves less time for crime), Belief (respect for laws and moral order). Weaker bonds to higher chance of crime.

· Symbolic Interactionist Theory of Crime – crime is learned through social interaction and the meanings people attach to labels. Labeling Theory – when society labels someone a “criminal” or “deviant,” that person may internalise the label and act accordingly (self‑fulfilling prophecy).

· Conflict Theory of Crime (Marxist) – laws are created by the powerful to control the poor; crime is a response to inequality; white‑collar crime is punished less harshly than street crime.

Surveillance, identity & behaviour

· Hawthorne Effect – people change their behaviour simply because they know they are being observed (from the Hawthorne factory studies on worker productivity).

· Panopticon (Foucault) – modern society is like a panopticon: we never know when we are being watched (cameras, social media, bosses, neighbours), so we constantly monitor and discipline ourselves.

· Looking Glass Self (Cooley) – our self‑image is a reflection of how we think others see us.

· Acquisitive vs Protective self‑monitoring – acquisitive = seeking social approval by changing behaviour to fit in; protective = hiding behaviour to avoid disapproval.

· Virtual vigilantism – online users enforce norms by “calling out” or punishing deviant behaviour (doxxing, cancel culture).

Sociology of law

· Sociological jurisprudence – studying how laws are shaped by social forces (values, power, economics) and how laws in turn shape society.

· Law on paper vs law in action – written law vs how it is actually enforced (e.g., police discretion, prosecutorial bias).

· Legal precedent – previous court decisions guide future cases (stare decisis).

· Durkheim's two types of law – Repressive law (punitive, focuses on punishment; common in mechanical solidarity – simple, traditional societies) vs Restitutive law (focuses on restoring balance and compensation; common in organic solidarity – complex, modern societies).

· Legality vs morality – something can be legal but immoral (lying to a friend) or illegal but morally justified (assisted dying in some views).

Media & crime

· Media sensationalism – exaggerated, dramatic reporting of crime (especially violent or unusual crime) to attract viewers. This increases public fear of crime even when crime rates are falling. Can create moral panics (e.g., “stranger danger”).

Research Methods & Ethics (no tables)

Social Science Inquiry Method – 6 steps

1. Ask a question (e.g., Do video games cause aggression?)

2. Form a hypothesis (testable prediction – for example, Playing violent video games increases aggressive behaviour.)

3. Collect data (surveys, experiments, observations, interviews)

4. Analyze data (look for patterns, use statistics)

5. Stop + check / crossroads (revisit hypothesis, consider alternative explanations, check for bias)

6. Present results (write report, share findings, discuss limitations)

Common methods explained

· Experiment – tests cause and effect. Independent variable (manipulated by researcher). Dependent variable (measured outcome). Example: 4 = type of video game, D.V = aggressive behaviour score.

· Survey – questionnaire given to many people. Good for large samples, but answers can be biased (social desirability).

· Interview – one‑on‑one, structured or semi‑structured. Gets rich detail but time‑consuming.

· Case study – in‑depth study of a single person, group, or event (e.g., Genie Wiley, Phineas Gage). Good for rare cases, but hard to generalise.

· Participant observation – researcher joins the group they are studying (e.g., living in a community). Gains insider perspective but risk of “going native” (losing objectivity).

· Unstructured observation – watching behaviour without a checklist; flexible but may miss patterns.

· Structured observation – using a predetermined checklist of behaviours to record; more systematic but may miss unexpected behaviours.

Research ethics (5 principles)

1. Informed consent – participants must be told what the study involves and voluntarily agree.

2. Debriefing – after the study, participants are told the true purpose (especially if deception was used).

3. Protection from harm – no physical or psychological harm; researchers must stop the study if harm appears.

4. Privacy & confidentiality – personal information must be kept anonymous or confidential.

5. Approval – research must be approved by an ethics board (e.g., at a university) before it begins.

Final Exam tips & Formula for Long Answers

Paragraph response formula (use for each long answer)

1. Define the key theory/concept in your own words.

2. Explain the theory in more detail (who created it? what are its main assumptions or steps?).

3. Apply it directly to the scenario given in the question (use specific details from the scenario).

4. Use evidence – name a study, experiment, or real‑world example that supports your point (e.g., “As shown in Bandura's Bobo doll study…”).

5. Conclude – answer the question explicitly (e.g., “Therefore, this behaviour is best explained by…”).

If a question asks you to compare two theories

· Explain Theory A fully, then Theory B fully.

· Compare them: what is the main difference? (e.g., one focuses on internal drives, the other on external consequences).

· State which one you find more convincing and why (based on evidence or logic).

General writing tips

· Read the question twice – answer every part (e.g., “explain, apply, compare, evaluate”).

· Do not just retell the scenario – use it as evidence.

· Always connect your paragraph back to the question.

· If you forget a theorist's name, describe their idea – partial credit is better than blank.

· Never leave a long answer blank. Write something logical; you know more than you think.

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