The scientific study of society.
Questions tagged [sociology]
103 questions
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Are people of Nordic Nations "happier, healthier" with "a higher standard of living overall than Americans"?
Ernest W. Adams wrote in the answer to the question "Why are people so negative about Nordic nations, especially Sweden?":
There are a lot of right wing Americans who have been preaching for the last 70 years that the welfare state can’t work, it's…

Sakib Arifin
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Was Mohammed the most popular first name for boys born in Berlin in 2018?
German right-wing party AfD has recently posted this claim on its Facebook page:
++ Neugeborene: Mohammed auf Platz 1 der Vornamen in Berlin ++
Man höre und staune: Der häufigste Erstname für neugeborene Jungen in
Berlin ist Mohammed. In Bremen…

oliver
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Are girls and boys pre-programmed to behave... like girls and boys?
My dad claims that even as toddlers, my sister and I knew which toys to play with. For example, I would always pick up toy guns, Action Man, and other similar toys. She would always pick up Barbie. He also claims that this happened while we were…

Thomas O
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Is Muhammad one of the most popular names for boys in England and Wales?
A number of articles describe how Muhammad is the most popular name in the UK for baby boys, topping William and other names.
A few links for reference:
2016 Independent article
Muhammad has replaced William in the top ten most popular boys' names…

MBender
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60
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2 answers
Do 40% of U.S. Americans think that global warming is unproblematic since Christ will return soon?
Noam Chomsky states in a recent interview:
One of the difficulties in raising public concern over the very severe threats of global warming is that 40 percent of the US population does not see why it is a problem, since Christ is returning in a few…

Turion
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Do Afghans keep track of their birthdays?
According to this article (not in English) (not paywalled version) (Google Translate translation) the man in the article has a problem with his visa because he used a fictitious birthdate (as advised by the authorities) when arriving at the border…

d-b
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Is ignoring a bully an effective means to prevent bullying?
It's a common belief among people such as teachers and parents or other carers/guardians that a good way to prevent being bullied is to simply ignore the aggressor, as that apparently gives them no sort of entertainment to suck out. No matter who…
user28632
50
votes
1 answer
Are IQ tests reliable?
Some of the more common types of IQ tests are:
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition (SBIS-V) (Ages 2–90+)An update of the SB-IV. In addition to providing a Full Scale score, it assesses Fluid Reasoning, Knowledge, Quantitative…

Monkey Tuesday
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Are a high percentage of scientists atheist?
When I was an engineering student, I had many friends who were atheist, or otherwise became so as the years progressed, including myself. Because I grew up with a religious background, I tend to notice when others took the same turn in the road as…

John
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Does child rearing by homosexual couples have any measurable negative effects?
There is a widespread belief that there are adverse effects on children reared in same-sex-parents households compared to male+female household (I can add random googled cites if necessary, but the existence of laws preventing homosexuals to adopt…

user5341
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Are 1 in 5 college women raped?
In this article, it is claimed that 1 in 5 college women are raped (at least around the 2013-2014 time period). I have heard the claim repeated from other sources (such as the BBC, which was apparently quoting a White House figure), so to say the…
user19074
36
votes
1 answer
Do atheists have a better knowledge of religion than theists in the United States?
A Pew Survey from 2010 seems to indicate that this could be the case, with the atheist/agnostic group outscoring all others on a 32-question quiz of religious knowledge.
Obviously, this lone survey hardly constitutes definitive evidence, and could…

Monkey Tuesday
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Do more men use the Internet than women?
Long before the Internet existed, computers were women. (United States Census Bureau, courtesy of the University of Hartford)
It's a well-known trope that there are no girls on the Internet. In fact, apparently that is a "rule of the…

Patches
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Do nice guys finish last?
xkcd #513 Friends by Randall Munroe
You might think this is something men parrot to justify their lack of luck with the ladies, but ask any androphile and we'll tell you there's just something about "bad boys" that drives us wild.
Apparently,…

Patches
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Do other animals have non-reproductive sex?
At about the 11:40 point in the class day 2009 lecture by Robert Sapolsky the claim is made that humans are the only species that engage in non-reproductive sex.
Is there solid evidence for or against the idea that only humans have non-reproductive…

Russell Steen
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