Page 23 - Sociology and You

lor’s degrees is even greater—median earnings of $36,930 for African Americans and $45,737 for whites, or 24 percent more (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000). Does this discrepancy between blacks and whites extend to other areas of life as well? Almost seven out of ten whites say that blacks are treated the same as whites in their communities, but only 41 percent of African Americans agree with that statement. Less than half of African Americans believe they receive equal housing opportunities, while 83 percent of whites responded that their commu- nities provide equal housing opportunities for everyone (Ludwig, 2001).
1. Which of the statements in the preceding paragraph are facts? How did you identify the facts?
2. Which of the statements in the preceding paragraph are opinions? How did you identify them?
Applying the Skill
1. Watch a television interview. List three facts and three opinions that were stated.
2. Can you verify the facts?
3. How did you identify the opinions?
4. What statements, if any, seemed to contain both fact and
opinion?
Making Generalizations
Generalizations are statements assumed to represent the truth by those who make them. If you say, “People who work hard make more money,” you are making a generalization. If you also say that every hardworking person you know makes more money, you are attempting to support your generalization. Keep in mind that making a generalization from a small number of observations does not pro- vide strong evidence that your generalization is actually true.
Learning the Skill
To make a valid generalization, you must first collect factual infor- mation relevant to the topic. Follow these steps:
◆ Identify the subject matter.
◆ Gather related facts and examples.
◆ Identify similarities among these facts.
◆ Use these similarities to form some general conclusions about
the subject.
Sociologists study processes of socialization and make generalizations about how these processes shape individuals’ ways of think- ing, feeling, and acting.
Sociology Handbook HB-9