The scientific study of society.
Questions tagged [sociology]
103 questions
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Trolling and young people
There seems often to be an implicit assumption in the minds of many people that most trolls are children or teenagers or generally in the younger demographics.
Such as this unsourced claim on this article:
Close to 90 percent of the trolls on the…
Lie Ryan
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Is preferred personal space affected by population density?
Many years ago, I learnt of the concept of "personal space" - the idea that people carry a small territory around them that they do not like strangers to invade.
In particular, the size of one's personal space is claimed to be inversely related to…
Oddthinking
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Are countries that have kings and queens empirically freer and more socially just than countries that don't?
Just listening to some thinking kind of stuff on YouTube and came across an interview with Stephen Fry, a highly respectable man in the "empiricist" and "rationalist" circles. I found most of what he said compelling and believable, but he made this…
user11643
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Is a better work ethic correlated to the level of education?
I've heard numerous times that less educated people have lower work ethics, but I've never seen any scientific papers on the subject. Is there any correlation between work ethic and level of education?
Hugo
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Does Santa Claus get more mail than any other fictional or divine entity?
Source
I was listening to the 2008 Christmas Special of the BBC radio programme The Unbelievable Truth, where the following was said to be true:
Santa has more mail than any other fictional or divine entity.
God and
Sherlock Holmes come next.
I…
Oliver_C
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Could "Generation Z" be the most conservative one since WW2?
I've found several sources that explain that "Generation Z" could be the most conservative one since the end of WW2.
Some of the sources, are the ones that follow:
Dailymail: They don't like drugs or gay marriage, and they HATE tattoos: Is…
user2638180
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Transgender teenagers grow out of it 75% of the time
Ben Shapiro writes:
Suicide Rates Among Transgenders Do Not Decrease Thanks to Sex-Change Surgery. The suicide rates among transgenders do not drop after surgery. 41 percent of transgender people attempt suicide sometime in their life; just 4.6…
Eliyahu
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Does small talk not build relationship and is it not great for our happiness levels?
I'm referencing this article: http://www.wired.co.uk/article/banning-small-talk
research has confirmed what most people know but don't practice:
surface level small talk does not build relationships and it is not
great for our happiness levels.…
Celeritas
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Do mirrors decrease perceived waiting time
There is a famous anecdote about a multistoried office building in New York in which occupants complained that the elevator was very slow. After installing mirrors in the lobby, the complaints disappeared.
Did this anecdote happen and does…
Pål GD
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Does population growth stabilize when the mortality rate falls below 10 deaths per 1,000 people?
From Forbes in 2011:
In society after society, [Bill Gates] saw, when the mortality rate falls—specifically, below 10 deaths per 1,000 people—the birth rate follows, and population growth stabilizes.
Does population growth stabilize when the…
Barry Harrison
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Has the Americans with Disabilities Act reduced employment for disabled workers?
I recently heard someone claim that, despite its intentions, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has actually reduced employment for disabled workers, because companies now fear lawsuits from disabled employees.
A little digging led me to…
BradC
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Are women in general more attracted to powerful men?
According to this quora post:
From an evolutionary standpoint, women are designed to make sure their offspring survive to reproduce. If they mate with a powerful man, their children will be strong/powerful, and they will survive to reproduce.
Are…
Sakib Arifin
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Does legalizing drugs (controlled substances) actualy lead to a decrease in their use?
The two memes below make the claim that legalizing drugs will actually lead to a decrease in their use.
Image states:
Portugal, A Real Land of the Free. In 2001 Portugal decriminalized personal possession of all drugs. Opponents predicted a…
user32268
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Are there more Mormons in the world than Jews?
I notice on Wikipedia that it lists the total number of Jewish adherents at ~14 million, and it lists the number of adherents in the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) at ~15.3 million. Are there really more Mormons in the…
ShemSeger
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Does student selection by private schools negatively affect nearby public ones?
I've heard several times that the existence of private or "charter" schools near public schools in the US harms public schools specifically because it draws "stronger"(grade-wise or socioeconomically) students away.
Allegedly having "stronger"…
Scis
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