Day 3

Question 1

What are the 5 schools of thought for sociology?

Answer 1

1. Conflict Theory
2. Functionalism
3. Symbolic Interactionism
4. Feminist Theory
5. Postmodernism

Question 2

What is conflict theory?

Answer 2

Concerned with the unequal distribution of wealth and power in a society. They view society as a collection of groups that constantly struggle with each other to dominate society to achieve equal access to its institutions.

Question 3

What is Marx’s conflict theory?

Answer 3

Proposed that social conflict comes from the power difference between economically-powered social classes.

Marx saw religion to keep workers complicit on a system not directed in their interests and that it would pose as a distraction or explanation in order to maintain regular classes.

Question 4

What was Weber’s conflict theory?

Answer 4

Proposed that ideas, including religious beliefs and economic views, can change societies.

Question 5

What is functionalism?

Answer 5

Views society as a system of parts (institutions) that work together to preserve stability and efficiency as a whole. Seen as a working organism, one failed institution can result in the downfall of others.

If there are large shifts with loneliness or disassociation, Durkheim’s “Suicide” reflects the reason of suicide to be partly caused by loneliness.

Question 6

What is symbolic interaction?

Answer 6

Focuses on small group interactions and the ways people interact with one another. Studies of interactions of peoples on an extreme miniscule scale.

Question 7

What is feminism?

Answer 7

Asserts that culture, ideology, social life, and economic relations (instead of biology) create social inequalities between men and woman and subordinate women. Studies the ways gender makes the lives of women and nonbinary people different than those of men. Eliminating gender inequality is the overthrow of capitalism.

Question 8

What is intersectionality?

Answer 8

Examines the interconnection of social disadvantages related to ethnicity, class, and gender which creates more complex and interdependent systems of oppression.

Question 9

What is class?

Answer 9

The division of people into social groups based on the distribution of material resources and power.

Question 10

What is class consciousness?

Answer 10

A sense of shared identity and common interests that stems from an awareness of similar economic positions.

Question 11

What are the four types of alienation?

Answer 11

1. Alienation of the worker
2. Alienation between workers
3. Alienation of the process of production
4. Alienation of the workers and the product

Question 12

What is conspicuous consumption?

Answer 12

The motivation that we are validated by the admiration and validation of acquisition of the goods we might own in order to obtain those approving behaviours.

Question 13

What is social mobility?

Answer 13

Describes the process of moving from one class or occupational status to another.

Question 14

What is upward mobility?

Answer 14

Describes the move to a higher position in the stratification hierarchy. From a societal standpoint, the rate of upward movement is an indicator of a society’s openness and wellbeing.

Question 15

What is exchange mobility?

Answer 15

Movement within an occupational hierarchy that can only occur when an existing position becomes vacant.

Question 16

What is structural mobility?

Answer 16

Movement within an occupational hierarchy that can occur as a result of the creation of new jobs or positions.

Question 17

What is primary labour market?

Answer 17

Industries that provide job with high wages, good opportunities for advancement, and job security.

Question 18

What is secondary or marginal labour market?

Answer 18

Sectors in the economy that offer low paying jobs characterized by fewer opportunities for advancement and insecurity.

Question 19

What is intergenerational mobility?

Answer 19

The movement of people into positions that are higher or lower than the positions held by their parents.

Question 20

What is intrageneration mobility?

Answer 20

Social mobility within a person’s lifespan.

Question 21

What is downward mobility?

Answer 21

Vertical social mobility into lower regarded and lower paid occupational positions which intersects with dimensions of inequality.

The idea that some groups are prone to downward social mobility such as immigrants, women.

Question 22

What is underemployment?

Answer 22

Employment in a job t hat requires far less expertise or skill or ability that the job-holder possesses.

Question 23

What is absolute poverty?

Answer 23

The level at which persons income does not meet basic survival needs such as water, food, shelter, and access to critical healthcare.

Question 24

What is relative poverty?

Answer 24

The level at which a person’s income differs from the average.

Question 25

What is LICO (low income cut-off)?

Answer 25

Identifies income thresholds below which a family will likely spend a larger proportion of its income on necessities than an average family of a similar size.

Question 26

What is LIM?

Answer 26

Calculates the low income threshold of a household as one half of the median income of a household of the same size in a community of a similar size.

Question 27

What is market basket measure (MBM)?

Answer 27

Calculates how much income a household requires to meet its needs, including subsistence needs (basic food and shelter) and the need to satisfy community norms.

Question 28

What is the poverty line?

Answer 28

An agreed income at which a standard of living that is considered “acceptable” should be affordable.

Question 29

What is social exclusion?

Answer 29

The inability to participate in commonly accepted activities in a given society.

Question 30

What is biomedical model of health?

Answer 30

Considers only physiological and genetic factors as relevant to a person’s wellbeing. “Health” is the absence of disease, and the body is viewed as a machine.

Question 31

What is the behavioural health model?

Answer 31

Considers the lifestyle choices of the individual as the only factors relevant to a person’s wellbeing.

Question 32

What is biopsychosocial model of health?

Answer 32

Recognizes a variety of emotional, mental, and physical aspects of a person’s life that contribute to their overall wellbeing.

Question 33

What is a safety net?

Answer 33

Services that prevent people from falling into poverty such as social assistance, universal healthcare, homeless shelters, and food banks.

Question 34

What is social assistance?

Answer 34

Financial programs that provide payments to the lowest-earning individuals and members of vulnerable social groups to enable them to meet their basic needs.

Question 35

What is universal basic income (UBI)?

Answer 35

A monthly payment to all members of society guaranteeing an acceptable standard of living.

Question 36

What is social stratification?

Answer 36

A hierarchical system of inequality based on class, socioeconomic status, and power combined with other forms of differentiating

Question 37

What is class-consciousness?

Answer 37

A sense of collective identity that stems from the shared experience of a particular group’s life chances and position in the hierarchy.

Question 38

What theoretical approach uses poverty as a form of motivation rather than a social problem?

Answer 38

Functionalism.

Question 39

What is the behavioural model of health?

Answer 39

A model of health more relative to the person’s personal choices within the lifespan such as choices of diet and activity or exercise.