User:Ha Ab Spring 2008

Hey Y'all. I'm Abbey and I'm a freshman at OU.

Social Bonds and Cheating

 * 1) Objective I propose to create a YouTube Video based around the theory of flickr.  I will be incorporating music with my pictures so I will have to post it on YouTube.  It will go through the sociological decisions of control theory, social bonds, and symbolic interaction based on the topic of cheating.


 * 1) Interest This is interesting because because I wanted to know why people cheat? It’s a deviant act that looks attractive if people you have strong social bonds with are also cheating.  Guys in frats that have girl friends are very rare; the reason seems to be that it is often too common that guys will be drinking and hook up with a girl that is not their girl friends.  Sociology talks about social bonds and how strong bonds cause people to conform and weak bonds cause people to deviate.   This also pulls in the theory of symbolic interaction and how people influence one another. There are however the guys in frats that have girlfriends.  They fall under the control theory where they are weighing the risks against benefits.  They have strong attachments to their girlfriend and have a lot invested in the time they’ve shared together.  They could possibly see a future with them and wouldn’t want to risk losing all of that for a mistake they made.  They could also hold strong personal or religions believes that would inhibit them from cheating.  It is a deviant act to cheat, but it has become increasingly more prevalent and can be shown by the increase in the divorce rate.  There is also the other side of the story that leaves an innocent bystander getting hurt.  This person has to deal with the deviant act of the person they cared for.  In my video, I hope to portray social bonds and give two different scenarios that deal with cheating.


 * 1) Background reading I will read read the text book, google scholar, and other basic sociology texts on the following topics: 1. I will also find scholarly research on the general issue of social bonds, control theory, and symbolic interaction
 * 1) General Plan I plan to to take pictures of a couple and then have the guy at a party and deciding whether to cheat or not.  When he does, have pictures of the couple ending their relationships.  When he doesn’t, have pictures of them going off and being happy.  I have already collected songs, edited them and put them together in garage band, so all I have to do is add the pictures and edit in imovie.


 * 1) Collaborators  I will be working alone.

Comments from Ted

 * 1) General comments.  I think this sounds like a great project idea.  I really hope you are able to get interesting footage and images to illustrate your ideas.   One thing you might want to emphasize is how norms about loyalty vary and why.  Has this changed across time?  It seems like there has been a rise in casual serial relationships amongst college students.  You might want to think about what ideas from sociology might help explain this.
 * 2) Plan.  One way you can make your plan more helpful is to plan out the next 4 concrete steps that you will take.  For instance—one step might be make a list of examples that we might want to show, then find clips or images that represent those examples.  These sorts of concrete steps will help you get the project done if you think them through and write them down.
 * 3) Background research.   You will need to be more specific about the concepts, theories, and research from sociology that will be used in your project.  It is helpful to start with the textbook and find several concepts that are relevant.  Then do a little bit of research (check for articles and books cited for that concept in book) and do some google searchers.   However—once you have found one or two concepts that seem helpful you should focus on those and go into more depth.  Your goal is to really understand how those concepts relate to the ideas you address in your project.   In summary, start your background research broad, with several possible concepts—but finish narrow focusing on one or two that you really understand and are helpful for your project.
 * 4) Interest.   You have an interesting project idea and an interesting topic.  Spend some time thinking:  why do you find it interesting?  What makes other people interested in it?   Your project will be more compelling if you can take advantage of what makes people interested in general. There are many directions you could go with interest---  for instance-- how might current relationship patterns in college affect later relationships?  Or-- why might current relationship patterns be different than in the past?  Does the internet and other means of communication affect this change?  Like in the example of the popularity of different names.

Here is the link to my video and text to accompany the video



Alan has a strong attachment to his girlfriend and they have a lot invested in the time they’ve shared together. They could even possibly see a future with each other. But, only being in college, they have a long time to figure that out. Besides, they have so much to learn how sociology could play such an important role in their relationship. Cheating is a deviant act, so why do people do it all the time? “Deviant acts tend to be attractive, providing rewards to those who engage in them.” The high rate of divorce has gone from 0.47% in 1991 to 0.38% in 2005 and one of the leading reasons for this high rate is unfaithfulness. The children who in 1991 watched people getting divorces due to cheating may think it’s acceptable to go outside of the relationship, that it is the norm, a rule that defines the behavior that is acceptable in particular circumstances. That is why college students who aren’t happy in a relationship or have the chance to gain something or someone better, they are more likely to cheat. Rational choice says that within limits of information and choices, guided by your preferences, humans tend to maximize. So, it’s fine to cheat if you will be maximizing what you have or “trading in for a better model,” so to say. The social norms are telling Alan that its okay to cheat because so many people are doing it and it has become almost accepted if they are gaining something like rational choice tends to make us believe. Sociological imagination tends for us to make a link between each person that cheats and say that it has become an accepted norm to cheat. There has to be another side or else every story would end the same. On the other hand, why don’t people cheat? The idea of control theory goes through four different reasons as to why a person wouldn’t cheat. Attachments are ties to other people or the person your in the relationship to that you wouldn’t want to disappoint or hurt. Involvement is what you stand to lose and odds are that you are not willing to just throw away the time that you have invested in making it work thus far. Involvement may include the activities that demand your time and energy so you don’t deviate. Being in this relationship may take away time that you would otherwise use in a deviant matter. Lastly, beliefs are our personal notification of how we ought to act. You wouldn’t want to cheat because you have person feelings that tell you it is wrong. Therefore, the four ideas of control theory would help you decide that cheating would not be the best idea.