SOCY 101 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Charlton Ogburn, Indian Removal Act, Sociobiology
30 May 2017
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Evolved by natural selection through mixing of genes: 50% from each parent. Sexual reproduction increases genetic variation, thus sex is a good defense mechanism against rapidly evolving threats. Gender: social/cultural, humans lived in hunting and gathering bands for most of human history: little division of labor, roles valued equally. Gender stratification occurs when members of one gender category consistently receive more valued resources than members of another. Sex-based inequalities increased as humans left hunting and gathering. Women may have a larger corpus callosum: the bundle of nerves that connects the two halves of the brain, may explain why language tends to be less lateralized in females. Females tend to use both halves of the brain for speech production and comprehension. Mirror neurons: neurons that fire both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same act performed by another. Related to empathy, females may have stronger mirror neuron systems, may explain some stereotypes.
