Feral Children Research Paper

Children who are assumed have been raised by animals, in the wilderness, isolated from humans are called feral children. The reason why I chose developmentally disabled is because of the correlation related the wilderness environment described, and some people may assume that those conditions are part of a disabling environment, which refers to environments that are harmful to health. If it is harmful or not is outside the question, even if some people may consider a feral child to be developmentally disabled because of its deviance from what is considered “standard behavior,” the question was not asking about the assumptions of such, but how it is defined in sociological terms, therefore, developmentally disabled is not correct in the context

presented. Conversely, feral children is the sociological term used to describe children that are raised in isolation in the wilder that is mostly referred to a boy that was assumed to be raised in those conditions that was found in France in 1798, and the boy is known as “the wild boy of Aveyron.

Gender is the behaviors and attitudes that a society considers proper for its males and females; masculinity or femininity, in other words, gender is imposed to us and we learn our roles during childhood; we learn to behave, or how we should behave, in order to receive society’s acceptance. Gender socialization is learning society’s “gender map,” the paths in life set out for us because we are male or females, in other words, it is the objective and subjective actions and attitude that are imposed to us according to the sex (male and female). In the question, the Smiths were objectively imposing gender socialization for their two children, but may be acting with subjective intentions that are very firmly embedded to their lives that they may not even being aware of the significance of their actions. Conversely, ego is one of the three elements that consists our personality according to Freud. Ego is Freud’s term for a balancing force between the inborn basic drives called id, and the demands of society that suppresses it, which is also used to balance the conscience called superego. Therefore, the Smiths shopping for their two children is not a ego identity action because sociologists do not believe that inborn and subconscious motivations are the primary reason for human behavior, nor believes that the gender socialization occurs subconsciously. Conclusively, the Smiths selection of toys for their children is an example of gender socialization by parents.

Culture is a tradition, but tradition is not culture. According to the dictionary, a tradition is the handing down of statements, beliefs, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice, and a traditional society is a society in which the past is thought to be the best guide for the present; tribal, peasant, and feudal societies. On the other hand, culture is broader than tradition because it is not restricted or privileges verbal communication, instead, traditional patterns is within culture because culture includes languages, beliefs, customs, information, but does not limit to these elements. Conclusively, languages, beliefs, values, norms, behavior, material objects and technology passed from one generation to the next by members of society describe culture, and not tradition.

The sociological imagination, or sociological perspective, stresses the social context in which people live. The sociologist C. Wright Mills believes that history and biography, which means that each society is within a broad range of events, facts, and history that gives society a profile, a set of characteristics that are part of our personal stories, or biographies. Mills infers that our personal experiences are located in a broader historical setting that has to be taken into consideration as “external influences,” because it influences our thinking and motivations. That being said, Herbert Spencer is sometimes called the second founder of sociology, and he believed in “Social Darwinism,” which is the belief that societies go through a natural evolution, in other words, he believe that the more capable will survive and the less capable will die. This principle defends that helping the poor is wrong because it only helps the less capable to survive. Conclusively, the sociologist responsible for suggesting the connection between history and biography to explain the sociological imagination was C. Wright Mills. /173/

Capitalism is an economic system characterized by the private ownership of the means of production, the pursuit of profit, and market competition. Weber wrote a influential book called “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” to describe the changed way of thinking among the Protestants which turned capitalism into something spiritual. Calvinists believed that before birth, people are destined for either heaven or hell, and added that God surely doesn’t want those chosen for heaven to be ignorant. Therefore, God would give them signs that can be seen and measured, and this idea generated a motivation for them to invest their money. Calvinists also believed that they should not spend their money with things that are beyond the basics; beyond the necessary. Thereafter, capitalism became a solution for excesses of money that they felt as they should not spend for luxuries. Conversely, the Roman Catholics believed that “you are where you are because God wants you,” encouraging people to accept their way of living as the way it should be. Calvinists, on the other hand, believed in God’s favors, success and approval would be reflected into material and measurable things, but still believing that buying beyond the basic was sinful, which is somewhat contradictory but it became acceptable among them. Weber called this self-denying approach to life the Protestant ethic, and he refer to spirit of capitalism as the desire to invest capital in order to make more money. Conclusively, weber referred to the self-denying approach to life characterized by people living frugal lives and saving their money as the protestant ethic. /263/

The scientific research model considered ideal consists of eight steps.

However, in practice, some of the eight steps are combined, executed simultaneously, or even excluded altogether. The first step is selecting a topic, which may come from personal values and experiences, curiosity, funding, or interesting in learning more about a particular topic. The second step consists on defining the problem and it consists on finding a focus within a broader topic. The third step is reviewing the literature, which is useful to identify problems that were already studied, or analyzed, and speculate if a re-analysis can be done, or even if there is a specific area within the topic that was never researched before. The fourth step is when the hypothesis is formulated; the hypothesis is a statement of how variables are expected to be related to one another, often according to predictions from a theory; in other words, the hypothesis is the stipulation of what the results will be, and it consists of a variable – which is a factor thought to be significant for human behavior -- and an operational definition, -- which is the way in which a researcher measure a variable. The fifth step is when the research method is chosen, following by the sixth step which is when the data is collected, which is one of the most important parts of a research, and the data has to valid and reliable. The seventh step is analyzing the results, which can be analyzed in many different ways, this steps is also

when the hypothesis will be tested. The eight, and final step consists of sharing the results, which is when a report will be written sharing the findings of the research, and when a research is published, it belongs to the scientific community, allowing other to replicate the study to verify if they can have similar results. Conclusively, the correct sequence of steps in the research process is: Select a topic, review the literature, collect the data, and share the results.

The sociologist Erving Goffman added a new term and definition to the microsociology called “dramaturgy.” The term was brought from the theatrical field to sociology and it means that social life is a drama, therefore, we all have to learn and perform in the stage, where each individual in the center of each performance, therefore, we perform a role about our self beings. By definition, dramaturgy is an approach pioneered by Erving Goffman, in which social life is analyzed in terms of drama or the stage; also called dramaturgical analysis. On the other hand, phenomenology is mostly related to philosophy, in sub-disciplines such as ontology, epistemology, logic and ethics. “Phenomenology is the structures of consciousness of structures of consciousness as experience from the first person point of view.” (Smith) Phenomenology is similar to dramaturgy because they both have the self being as the center, but they differ when considering the purpose. Dramaturgy takes the approach that the self-being is performing, and the phenomenology studies the intentions, consciousness of an experience in the first-person point of view instead of performing for others. Conclusively, an approach to social interaction in which life is analyzed in terms of the stage is called dramaturgy.

Remarkably, sociology spread throughout the United States in the 1900s, but it has some important foundations in three universities in North America for its early introduction. Sociology was first introduced at the University of Kansas in 1890, at the University of Chicago in 1892, and at Atlanta University in 1897. From the three universities, the University of Chicago is the one who dominated the North American sociology with Albion Small as the sociology department founder who also started The American Journal of Sociology. This is when Robert E. Park, Ernest Burgess, and George Herbert Mead ideas were first introduced and continues to influence today’s sociology. Conversely, the principles of sociology was James M. Henslin, he earned his masters and doctorate degrees in sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri with primary interesting in everyday life sociology, He has published in sociology journals, including in the American Journal of Sociology. (Honestly, I am not very good with names and this and other question relating names were a complete guess, which is not a good one.) Conclusively, Robert E. Park, Ernest Burgess, and George Hebert Mead were among the first faculty members in the sociology department at the University of Chicago.

When using the research model, there are basic steps, which is: Selecting a topic, defining the problem, reviewing the literature, formulating a hypothesis, choosing a research method, collecting the data, analyzing the results and sharing the results. Formulating a hypothesis is the forth step and the one that is discussed in the question 24, this step includes variables and operational definitions. Most importantly, the hypothesis is a statement of what the researcher is expecting to find according to the theory; according to predictions. A hypothesis is also a statement of how variables are expected to be related to one another, when variables are factors that are thought to be significant for human behavior that can vary (or change) from one case, person, or situation, to another. On the other hand, correlation is when two or more variables are presented together, in other words, when one situation is found together with another situation it is called a correlation. Conclusively, the statement “poverty causes crime” is a correlation between two variables, one is “poverty” and the other is “crime.” Therefore, in the statement “poverty causes crime,” the words “poverty” and “crime” are best described as variables because they are subject to change.

There are many types of research methods; the book describes some types including surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis, analysis of documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures. Among all the research methods, the second method called participant observation, is also called fieldwork, because it’s when the researcher participates in the research setting while observing what is happening in that setting. Conversely, the content analysis can be described as the secondary analysis research method or analysis of documents method, because both of these methods analyze data. The secondary analysis focuses on data that others have collected, while the analysis of documents uses documents in general. Conclusively, the term used to describe the research method called participant observation is fieldwork.

As previously described, there are many types of research methods, which includes surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis, analysis of documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures.

The fifth method is when sociologists study documents. Documents is defined as the written sources that provide data; in its extended sense, archival material of any sort, including photographs, movies, CDs, DVDs, and so on. The analysis of documents method uses documents as the source to investigate social life, which includes books, newspapers, diaries, bank records, police reports, court records, immigration files, records kept by organizations, and more. It is correct to affirm that the term documents is very broad, and it can be almost any written source of data. Conversely, ethnography would be related to ethnomethodology, which is the study of how people use background assumptions to make sense out of life, in other words, how we make judgments based on our own previously learned assumptions which may differ from one person to another. Conclusively, if a researcher is using diaries to collect information about the attitudes of rape victims, he or she is using documents to collect their

data.