Culture, Demographics, & Social Inequality Flashcards
(154 cards)
1
Q
Define culture
A
Refers to a shared way of life, including the beliefs and practices that a social group shares
◦ Although cultures can vary, are composed of similar elements like symbolic culture, material culture and non-materual culture
2
Q
Define symbolic culture
A
◦ Consists of symbols that are recognized by people of the same culture
◦ Symbols convey agreed-upon meaning, can communicate the values and norms of the culture, and include rituals, gestures, signs, and words that help people withina society communicate and understand each other
3
Q
Define material culture and non-material culture
A
◦ Material culture: involves physical objects or artifacts (this includes, clothing, hairstyles, food, and the design of homes) - the importance placed on material objects can reflect the culture’s values
◦ Non-material culture: is specific to social thoughts and ideas, such as values
4
Q
Define popular cultures and high culture
A
Popular culture: a phased used to describe features of culture that appeal to the masses, often those communicated through mass media (like radio and tv)
High culture: describes those features often limited to the comsumption of the elite, like the ballet or opera
5
Q
What are some cultural universals?
A
◦ Patterns or traits that are common to all people
◦ Tend to pertain to basic human survival and needs, such as securing food and shelter, but also pertain to events that every human experiences, like birth, death, and illness
◦ Despite these similarities, cultural differences are far more common than cultural universals
6
Q
Define values
A
A culture’s standard for evaluating what is good or bad
◦ Often define how people in a society should behave, but they may not actually reflect how people do behave
7
Q
Define beliefs
A
The convictions or principles that people hold
8
Q
Define norms
A
The visible and invisible rules of social conduct within a society
9
Q
People with a given culture tend to share…
A
Common values and beliefs
10
Q
Define sociobiology
A
A study of how biology and evolution have affected human social behaviour
◦ Primarily, it applies Darwin’s principle of natural selection to social behaviour (Darwin suggested there is a biological basis for many behaviours, which was adapted to, particular social behaviours persist over generations because they are adaptive for survival)
◦ Would argue that biological predisposition is influenced by social factors (an aggressive individual may learn to channel those tendencies away from socially unacceptable acts (assault) and toward socially acceptable activities (boxing)
11
Q
Define cultural diffusion
A
The transfer of elements of culture from one social group to another
◦ This contributes to cultural similarities b/w different societies
◦ Diffusion can be direct or indirect, or sometimes even forced, as with cultural inperialims
◦ The rate of diffusion has increases as a result of cross-cultural communication (like modern media and transportation)
12
Q
Define cultural competence
A
The effective interactions b/w people from different cultures
◦ Ie. In medicine, the diffusion of cultural understanding - which leads to effective communication - is an important element in reducing disparities in health and health care
13
Q
Define cultural transmission
A
The process through which this information is spread across generations, or the mechanisms of learning
14
Q
Elements of culture are…
A
Not static
15
Q
Define social change
A
When societies experience a change in state
◦ Can be sutle (like a new lingustic phrase)
◦ Can be radical (like a revolution)
16
Q
Define cultural lag
A
◦ Transformative social changes often challenge our understanding of the world b/c there is no social consensus about the new ____(ie. innovation)
◦ Material culture changes much faster than non-material culture, which often resists change
◦ The creation of new social rules ‘lag behind’
17
Q
Define transition shock
A
When individuals experience changes that necessitate a period of adjustment
18
Q
Define culture shock
A
When a change occurs that requires a period of adjustment, as a result of being subjected to alternative cultures and foreign environments (whether through travel or relocation)
19
Q
Define reverse culture shock
A
Involves the same experience of culture shock, but occur upon an individual’s return to their initial environment
20
Q
Define sociocultural evolution
A
◦ A set of theories describing the processes through which societies and cultures have progressed over time, as a result of social factors (like social interactions, rather than biological factors)
◦ Less concerned with the evolution of human bodies, but how human minds have evolved for us to succeed as beings with natural social tendencies
◦ Two modern theories of sociocultural evolution
21
Q
What are the two modern theories of sociocultural evolution?
A
◦ Modernization
◦ Sociobiology
22
Q
Define population
A
◦ The collection of people in a defined geographic area
◦ The number of people in the area
23
Q
What factors influence population studies?
A
Population growth/decline due to;
◦ birth rates
◦ death rates
◦ migration rates
24
Q
Explain the population growth rate
A
◦ The manner in which population growth and decline are measured
◦ Is the rate of population change in a specified time period, reported as a percent of the initial population
25
Define overpopulation
◦ The point at which there are more people than can be sustained
◦ A concern for those societies experiencing population growth
26
What is the concern of societies experiencing population decline?
Being able to maintain economic success
27
Define carrying capacity
The total possible population that can be supported with relevant resources and without significant negative effects in a given area
28
Define population equilibrium
◦ Is met at the maximum load, at which populations stop increasing/decreasing (once reached)
29
Explain population projections
Estimates of future populations made from mathematical projections of previous data
◦ Traditionally does not consider unpredicted effects on population (like the chance of catastrophes)
30
Explain population pyramids
A graphical illistrative manner of representing population distributions (specifically in age, and sex)
◦ These representations create age- and sex specific groiups (cohorts) using either total population or percentages
◦ The x-axis represents the population
◦ The y-axis separates men and women with the traditional positioning (males on the left and females on the right)
◦ Can help predict population trends and determine the social needs for dependents (children and the elderly)
◦ An expansive population pyramid is wide as the base, representing a high birth rate and a high death rate
31
How are birth rates and death rates often reported?
Through statistical measures
32
Define CBR
◦ Crude birth rate
◦ Is the annual number of births per 1,000 people in a population
◦ Consider CBR of 10-20 to be low and those of 40-50 to be high
33
Define CDR
◦ Crude death rate
◦ The annual number of deaths per 1,000 persons in a population
◦ Consider CDR below 10 to be low and those above 20 to be high
34
Explain the rate of population change
The difference b/x the crude birth rate and crude death rate
35
Define age-specific birth rates and age-specific death rates
The annual numbers of births or deaths per 1,000 people in an age group
36
Define fertility
Th ability of a woman to reproduce
37
Explain the general fertility rate
The annual number of births per 1,000 women in a population
38
Explain the total fertility rate
Predicts the total number of births per single woman in a population with the assumption that the woman experiences the current recorded age-specific fertility rates and reaches the end of her reproductive life (most woman's 'childbearing years' is b/w the ages of 15-45)
39
Explain the replacement fertility rate
and the sub-replacement fertility
◦ The replacement fertility rate: the fertility rate at which the population will remain balanced
◦ The sub-replacement fertility rate: indicates that the birth rate is less than the death rate, and thus the population size will not be sustained
40
Explain the population-lag effect
Refers to the fact that changes in total fertility rates are often not reflected in the birth rate for several generations
◦ Is the result of population momentum
41
Define population momentum
When the children produced during periods of higher fertility rates reproduct
◦ There are more women of reproductive age and thus more births overall (regardless of the number of births per women)
42
What do crude birth rates not consider?
◦ Age or sex difference
◦ Therefore, fertility rates offer a clearer idea of demographic trends
43
Define mortality
Refers to the death rate in a population
◦ This includes both general and specific measures
44
Define morbidity
Refers to the nature and extent of disease in a population
45
Define the prevalence rate
Measures the number of individuals experiencing a disease
46
Define the incidence rate
Measures the number of new cases of a disease
47
Define the case fatality rate
Measures death as the result of a set diagnosis or procedure - sometimes specific to the beginning or late stages
48
What is the relationship b/w a nation's crude death rate and its gross domestic product (GDP)
Inverser correlation
49
What factors contribute to quality of life?
◦ A countries gross domestric product (GDP)
◦ Infant mortality rate
◦ Life expectancy
50
Define infant mortality rate
The annual number of deaths per 1000 infants under one year of age
51
Define life expectancy
The number of years that an individual at a given age can expect to live at present mortality rates
52
What factors contribute to decreasing crude birth rates?
◦ Access to contraception
◦ Costs associated with raising a child
◦ Other social factors
53
What factors contribute to decreasing crude death rates?
Improvements in:
◦ Agriculture
◦ Medicine
◦ Sanitation
54
Define migration
The geographical movement of individuals, families, or other small or large groups of people
55
Define non-permanent movement
Travel for the purpose of
◦ Leisure
◦ Pilgrimage
◦ Seasonal reasons
◦ Nomadism
56
Define nomadism
A traditional method of continuous travel in search of natural resources as a method of sustenance (hunting & gathering)
57
Define external migration and internal migration
◦ External migration: (also referred to as crossborder or international migration) involves migration to another nation. Motivations are for economic or political reasons
◦ Internal migration: involves migration to another region of the same nation (often b/w rural areas and urban areas. Motivations are often for economic reasons as people pursue better opportunities, such as education
58
Define voluntary migration and involuntary migration
◦ Voluntary migration: is the result of internal factors (a personal decision)
◦ Involuntary migration: is the result of external factors that pose a threat to the individual in their initial environments and are often a form of soial control, such as ethnic cleansing (aka forced migration)
59
Define settlers and refugees
◦ Settlers: are those who migrate to unsettled areas
◦ Refugees: are those who migrate to seetled areas as a result of displacement
60
Define colonization
Involves migration to settled areas in which dominance is exerted over the foreign state
61
Define immigration and emigration
◦ Immigration: involves enters a new areas and these people are called immigrants (can be legal or illegal)
◦ Emigration: involves leaving an old area and these people are called emigrants
62
Define reverse migration
Also called return migration, is the return of individuals to their former homes
63
Define push factors
◦ Things that are unattractive about an area and 'push' people to leave
◦ Are often economic, political, or relgious
◦ Or related to prejudice, discrimination, or due to insufficient access to social resources
64
Define genocide
◦ Mass execution with the intention of eliminating a specific social group
65
Define pull factors
◦ Things that are attractive about an area and 'pull' people there
◦ Often include positive opportunities for economic, political, or religious freedom and success
66
What do push and pull factors contribute to?
The rates of migration
67
Define social geography
The spatial distribution of the individuals and social groups
68
Define urbanization
Refers ton the growth of urban areas as the result of global change
◦ As people move from rural to urban areas
69
Define industrialization
The process through which societies transform from agrarian to industrial in nature
70
Define rural flight
The migration from rural areas to urban areas
71
Define suburbanization
Refers to population growth on the fringes of urban areas
◦ As people move from urban areas to suburban areas
72
Define the suburbs
Residential satellite communities located in the peripheral regions of major urban centers that are often connected to the cities in some fashion
73
Define white flight
A historical example of suburbanization that involved the migration of whites from cities to more racially homogenous suburbs
74
Define urban sprawl
Migration to from urban city centers to the outter regions of the city
75
Define urban blight
Occurs when less functioning areas of large cities degrade as a result of urban decline
◦ A negative consequence of urban sprawl
76
Define gentrification
◦ The renovation of urban areas in a process of urban renewal
◦ Often specific to the introduction of wealthier residents to the cities who then help to restore the existing infrastructure, which alters the region's demographics and economics
◦ Is a form of urban renewal
◦ Can have both positive and negative effects
77
Define urbal renewal
The redevelopment of urban areas
◦ Can have both positive and negative effects (it can increase the areas tax base, but displace the original local people)
◦ It can be a mechanism for reform or a mechanism for control
78
Define demographic transition and it's limitations
DT is the transition from overall higher to overall lower birth and death rates as a result of a country's development from a pre-industrial to industrial freamework due to both economic and social changes
◦ Both fertility and mortality rates decrease as in the transition from an agricultural to a manufacturing society
◦ Has long term effects, such as a stable popluation
◦ Limitations: it does not consider additional social factors that affect birth rates, like religious influences
79
What did Thomas Robert Malthus believe?
◦ Argued that population is the result of available resources for sustenance, such as productive farmland
◦ Humans are inclined to reproduce and thus population growth is often exponential, especially during times of excess
◦ Believed there were two types of checks on population growth: positive checks and preventative checks
80
Define malthusianism
It states that the possible rate of population increase exceeds the possible rate of resource increase
81
Define positive checks
Things that raise the death rate, like disease, disasters, hunger, and wars
82
Define preventative checks
Things lower th birth rate, like abstinence, birth control, late marriage, and same-sex relationships
83
Define a malthusian catastrophe
Occurs when the means of sustenance are not enough to support the population, resulting in population reduction through actual or predicted famine
84
Define neo-Malthusianism
A movement based on the principles that advocate for population control in order to reduce the negative effects of population strain
85
Define demography
The study of human population dynamics, including the size, structure, and distribution of a population, and changes in the population over time due to birth, death, and migration
86
How is demographic data usually collected
From censuses
87
What is the New Great Migration?
An example of a domestic reverse migration
◦ During this period, there was an increase in black migration to the now urban South as racial relations improved
88
Define minorities
Those demographic groups that recieve differertial treatment through processes of prejudice and discrimination due to their shared characteristics
◦ These groups have lower statues than other groups, and thus are considered inferior
◦ Had no implication of their population size, but how they are viewed relative to the 'dominant' group
89
Define the dominant groups
Those with the social power to assign labels, like minority, inferior, and superior
90
What are demographics often discussed?
◦ Age
◦ Gender
◦ Race
◦ Ethnicity
◦ Sexual orientation
◦ Immigration status
91
Define age cohorts
An example of statistical cohorts in which a group of subjects share the characteristic of age
92
Define generational cohorts
Generations are groups of people born in the same period
93
What type of population distribution is the most stable?
Populations with proportionate distribution
94
Explain population aging
Occurs when there is a disproportionate amount of older people in a population
◦ This raises concerns about health-care demands and provider shortages
95
Define ageism
Prejudice or discrimination against a person based on age - often used against older people
96
Explain social aging
Reflects the biological changes in a multidimensional process in which individuals experience complex emotional and social changes
97
Differentiate b/w sex and gender
◦ Sex: is a biological charactersitic that is assigned at birth and permanents in most cases - it is based on chromosomes, external genitalika, gonads, and hormones. One can be male (XY), female (XX), and rarely, intersex (when a single sex cannot be identified.
◦ Gender: is a social characteristic that is based on behavioural role expectations. Options being masculine and feminine, or two-spirit
98
What influences gender?
Nature (biological measures like hormones influencing emotions) and nurture (how social surroundings impact the development of gender identifies)
99
What are gender roles?
The socialization of gender roles is also known as gender conditioning
100
What is gender expression?
The external manifestation of gender roles
101
What is gender schema theory?
The study of how gender beliefs become socialized in society
102
What is sexism?
◦ Prejudice or discrimination against a person based on gender or sex - often against women
103
What are transgendered individuals?
Individuals that have gender identities that are inconsistent with their biological sex divisions
104
Differentiate race and ethnicity
◦ Race is a description of a distinct social group based on certain shared characteristics that are often inherited bioligical traits or genetic differences (that influence physical apperances)
◦ Ethnicity is cultural rather than biological. They are not nationalities
105
What is ethnogenesis?
A social process that results in the creation of separate ethnicities
106
Why do members of the same racial or ethnic group often share identities?
B/c of similarities in determined characteristics, as well as on the basis of shared historical and social experiences
107
What is racism?
Prejudices and actions that discriminate based on race, or hold that one race is inferior to another
◦ Tends to be seen when the dominant or majority of the group holds a prejudice or engages in discrimination, whether inentional or not, against non-dominant or minority groups
108
Define ethnocentrism
Describes biases that result when people look at issues from the perspective of. particular cultural backgroup
109
What is the racial formation perspective
◦ It was created with the purpose of deconstructing race in its modern form
◦ It argues that without processes that present race as an exlcusive social construct, the differences in biological features are meaningless
110
Define racialization/ethnicization
The social process in which the dominant group ascribes racial or ethnic identities, percieved or real, to groups that do not otherwise relate to the labels
◦ These processes are used as forms of social control, often as part of imperialism or nationalism
111
What are the three main sexual orientations? And define them
◦ Heterosexual: the orientation toward the opposite gender or sex
◦ Homosexual: the orientation towards the same gender or sex
◦ Bisexual: the orientation toward both genders or sexes
112
What is someone who is pansexual?
Attached to people irrespective of gender or sex
113
Define asexuality
Involves the lack of sexual attraction
114
Define heterosexism
Prejudice or discrimination against a person based on their sexual orientation towards the same sex (ie. homophobic attitudes)
115
What are heteronormative beliefs?
Often enforce strict gender roles and involve prejudice and discrimination against non-heterosexual individuals
◦ There are sometimes public sanctions (like laws and policies) that reinforce these beliefs
116
What is the American Dream?
An ideological construct that offers individuals the opportunities for happiness and success with the proper amount of determination
117
What were the four periods in the USA for immigration, based on the social contact, as well as the distinct demographics (ethnicities, nationalities, and races) of the migrants?
1. The seventeenth and eitheenth centuries
2. The mid-nineteenth century
3. The early twentieth century
4. The late twentieth (post-1965) century to present
118
Why was the seventeenth and eighteenth centries a main period of immigration in the USA?
◦ English colonist migrated to the US (the colonial period)
◦ Indentured servents also migrated through this process, accounting for more than half of all immigrants from Europe during the period
119
Why was the mid-nineteenth century a main period of immigration in the USA?
◦ During this period, most migrants came from northern europe
120
Why was the early twentieth century a main period of immigration in the USA?
◦ Most migrants came from eouthern and eastern europe
◦ The peak migration was 1907, after which the social context of the US made conditions less suitable for immigration
◦ The Great Depression led to a period of higher national emigration rates than immigration rates (early 1930s)
121
Why was the late twentieth century (post-1965) to present, a main period of immigration in the USA?
◦ Majority of migrants are from Asia and Latin America
◦ Unprecident rates
122
What are immigration controls?
Formal policies that deine and regulate who has teh right to settle in an area
123
Define globalization
The process of increasing interdependence of societies and connections b/w people across the world
124
Define telecommunications
Use modern technologies to ease the challenges of communication across distances, and contribute to the integration of economical, political, and social processes worldwide
125
What is economic interdependence?
Can be thought of as the division of labour on a global scale
◦ Countries might have the demand for products without the internal means of production
126
What is outsourcing?
Involves the contracting of third parties for specific operations
◦ This can be domestic or foreign, but the finanial savings associated with foreign outsourcing have made it a focus of much opposition
127
What are NGOs?
Non-governmental organizations are those organizations w/out an offical government affiliation w/ the intention of contributing to the lessening of global issues
◦ Ex. Doctors w/out borders
128
What are periods of civil unrest?
Involve forms of collective behaviour in which there is public expression of the group's concern, often in repsonse to major social problems, like political demonstrations and protests
129
Define terrorism
Involves the use of violence with the intention to create fear in the target communities
◦ It can be committed for ideological, nationalistic, political, religious, or other reasons
◦ It involves indiscriminative violence and therefore involves violence directed toward non-combatants
130
Is globalization seen as a contributor to social cohension or social control?
Social control b/c the concentration of economic power in developed countries contributes to oppressive politics
131
Define relative deprivation
Refers to the conscious experience of individuals or groups that do not have the resources needed for the social experiences and services that are seen as appropriate to their social position
◦ There is a feeling of being entitled to more than what one has in their current situation, based on relative, not absolute, standards
◦ Can be economic, political or social
◦ Can contribute to social deviance
132
What is social statification?
Refers to the way that people are categorized in society
◦ Can be done by race, education, wealth, and income
◦ Those with the most resources comprise the top tiers of the stratification, while people w/ the least resources comprise the bottom tiers
◦ It is a system that serves to define differences (inequalities), but also serves to reinforce and perpetuate them
133
What does a caste system describe? Compare to a class system
◦ A caste system is a closed stratification where people can do nothing to change the category that they are born into
◦ A class system considers both social variables and individual initiative (it groups together people of similar wealth, income, education, but the classes are open - meaning people can strive to reach a higher class
134
Define a meritocracry
Another stratification system that uses merit (or personal effort) to establish social standing
◦ This is an idealized system - no society solely stratifies based on effort
134
How do most sociologists define stratification?
In terms of SES (socioeconomic status)
135
Define socioeconomic status
SUS can be defined in terms of power (the ability to get other people to do something, property (sum of possessions and income) and prestige (reputation in society)
136
What is social mobility?
It refers to the ability to move up or down within the socia stratification system
137
Compare upward mobility and downward mobility
◦ Upward mobility: refers to an increase in social class
◦ Downward mobility: refers to an decrease in social class
138
What is intergenerational mobility?
Occurs when there is an increase or decrease in social class b/w parents and children w/in a family
139
What is intragenerational mobility?
Describes the differences in social class b/w diderent members of the same generation
140
Define social reproduction
Refers to the structures and activities in place in a society that serve to transmit and reinforce social inequality over time
141
What are two mechanisms that reinforce social reproduction?
1. Cultural capital
2. Social Capital
142
What is social capital and cultural capital?
◦ Social capital: is the potential for social networks to allow for upward social mobility. It is a powerful way to tap into vast networks of resources, but can also reinforce inequalities present in society
◦ Cultural capital: is the non-financial social assets that promote social mobility. Ie. education
143
Differentiate b/w power, prestige, and privilege
◦ Power: is the ability to get other people to do something
◦ Prestige: reputation in society
◦ Privilege: a set of advantages available exclusively to a person or group
144
What is a socioeconomic gradient in health?
◦ It applies w/in countries (higher SES individuals tend to have better outcomes, across many variables) and b/w countries
◦ It impacts the conditions in which people live
145
What are the 3 D's?
◦ Dirty
◦ Dangerous
◦ Difficult
◦ Often associated with blue-collar, physical labour work
146
Define global statification
It compares the wealth, economic stability, and power of various countries
147
What are three of the worldwide patterns of global inequality?
1. Certain countries hold a majority of the resources
2. Access to resources among countries seriously impacts other social factors
3. The burden of inequality is placed on certain segments of the population
148
What is poverty defined as being?
Either relative or absolute
149
Define relative poverty and absolute poverty
◦ Relative poverty: is the inability to meet the average standard of living w/in a society
◦ Absolute poverty: is the inability to meet a bare minimum of basic necessities, including clean drinking water, food, safe housing, and reliable access to health care
150
Define marginal poverty and structural poverty
◦ Marginal poverty: is due to a lack of stable employment
◦ Structural poverty: is due to underlying and pervasive effects of the society's institutions
151
Define social epidemiology
The study of the distribution of health and disease across a population, with the focus on using social concepts to explain patterns of health and illness in a population
◦ Can help explain some of the health care disparities that exist across multiple social constructs (including gender, race and class)
152
What are health care disparities?
Include the population-specific differences in the presence of disease, health outcomes, and quality of health care across different social groups
153
How is gender bias prevenlent in health & health care disparities?
◦ Men and women often are treated differently for the same condition/disease
◦ Often due to most studies being done on men, which has set the standard for detection, and treatment
