Weighing the Evidence Activity

Weighing the Evidence 

The issued research topic for the project was the roles of women in the United States in reference to their social and political life. After executing the “weighing the evidence activity”, a total of 17 primary and secondary research publications were identified as appropriate for use in supporting the offered topic. Example of the most convincing primary source was a picture shot in 1943 and preserved in the Records of the women Bureau. The portrait could be used to show that as early as in 1943, women had already started being recognized as viable members of organizational workforce. 

The criteria used to rank the sources identified as suitable for supporting the featured topic were evaluated based on a single key factor. That is the level of persuasion attained by each source that was placed in the Docs Teach Scale. The issued research topic for the project was the roles of women in the United States in reference to their social and political life. In addition, research publications that were most persuasive in supporting the identified topic were considered to be primary sources while sources that were less persuasive was classified as secondary sources. 

The manner in which a primary source has been presented in a text cannot influence my decision more than the content of the same text. That is because a primary source can be placed on wrong part of a text as reference, in which case it could fail to support the intended position in a text. Lastly, the primary sources’ content are not all that matter when presenting data. That is because the secondary sources also play a crucial role in affirming the arguments theorized by the authors of the primary sources. 

Final Project Milestone Three: Sociological View and Research 

Introduction 

The movie that will be reviewed in this project is Boyz n the Hood and it was released in 1991. The film is an American-based teen drama movie that was directed by John Singleton. The film starred Cuba Gooding Jr., Nia Long, Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube as well as Regina King. The plot of the film revolves around the life of a 10-year-old – Tre Styles, who lives with his mother Reva in Inglewood, California. Tre gets into a fight in school and Reva decides to send him to his father (Jason) who lives in Crenshaw, Hyde Park. Reva hopes that by living with Jason, Tre will mature and stop getting into fights with his peers. 

Sociological View 

The sociological aspect that can be manifested in the film is childhood aggression. That is at the instance when Tre gets into a fight in school. The social phenomenon that is causing childhood aggression as a social issue in Tre is the separation of his parents. Jason and Reva live in different locations as they are separated and it is evident that the lack of a father figure has made Tre become aggressive against his peers in school. 

Classical Sociological Theory 

The feminist theory is one of the classical sociological theories that can be employed to explain Tre’s childhood aggression while in school. The feminist theory characterizes the gender inequality perspectives or male and female powers differential when executing some social functions. In the film, it is evident that Reva performs the dominant parenting roles before Tre gets into a fight at school. However, although her parenting skills are good, she still lacks the masculinity aspect that is important to guide Tre into social maturity. The feminist theory, in this case, illustrates the gender inadequacies that women may have in raising their children adequately. The feminist theory, in this case, manifests the roles of women in parenting and their need for male gender support in instilling essential behavioral aspects in their young developing children. 

Contemporary Sociological Theory 

These are theories that were developed from the second half of the 20th century. The most effective contemporary sociological theory that can be applied in the sociological analysis of the stated film is the symbolic interactionism theory. The latter theory is focused on how social behavior, subjective understanding as well as gestural communication impact the development of a kid as a social being. In the film, Reva’s decision to take Tre to live with his father shows that she understands the impact of parental communication in the social development of a growing child. Through symbolic interactionism, Tre will observe the actions and behavior of his father and use them to become a morally upright child with no aggression issues in his social environment. 

Additional Theories, Differing Opinions, and Research Inferences 

A journal article authored by Averdijk, Malti, Eisner, and Ribeaud (2012) portrayed that parental care, as well as aggression, plays a primary role in the development of an aggressive behavior among adolescents. The article illustrates that the social problem of separation as depicted in the film can substantially influence the behavior of growing children. The findings of the article can also be contrasted by a research article that was authored by Ogundele (2018). While the first article emphasized that parenting issues like separation or divorce are the primary cause of childhood aggression, the second article references mental health problems as the leading causes of childhood aggression. The second publication stipulated that depression, anxiety as well as autism among other mental health conditions are the core influences of emotional and behavioral disorders in developing children (Ogundele, 2018). The first article uses the symbolic interactionism theory to illustrate that how parents relate to their children affects their behavioral development. The second article uses the behavioral psychology theory to illustrate how various health conditions can influence the behavior of developing children. 

Conclusion 

Based on the discussed publications, I believe that the symbolic interactionism theory well explains how parental or marriage issues can affect children’s behavior. That is because after a separation event, children face a tough time in striving to understand the causes of the problem in their homestead. In the process, some children may become distracted from their academic life and act out aggressively to such anxieties. The film discussed in this context validates the social stereotypes premise that a failed marriage yields failed children. In this case, separated partners are most likely to have children with behavioral problems, especially when the break up occurs during a child’s formative period. 

References 

Averdijk, M., Malti, T., Eisner, M., & Ribeaud, D. (2012). Parental Separation and Child Aggressive and Internalizing Behavior: An Event History Calendar Analysis. Child Psychiatry Human Development , 184-200. 

Ogundele , M.O. (2018). Behavioral and emotional disorders in childhood: A brief overview for pediatricians.  World journal of clinical pediatrics ,  7 (1), 9-26. doi:10.5409/wjcp.v7.i1.9