Demographics

Question 1

Which approach to studying human behavior primarily defines the human experience as a sequence of socially defined events and roles that the individual enacts over time?

Answer 1

The life course approach in sociology examines an individual’s life history and investigates how early events influenced future decisions and events (e.g. marriage, divorce, criminal record, medical history of disease).

For example, understanding why Meryl engaged in political violence in the 1960s would examine the connection between Meryl and the historical and socioeconomic context in which she lived at the time.

Question 2

Define:

a generational cohort

Answer 2

A generational cohort, commonly simply called a generation, is all of the people born and living at approximately the same time, treated collectively.

Question 3

Identify at least 4 U.S. generational cohorts.

Answer 3

The current age cohorts in the U.S. are the:

• Lost Generation – those born from 1883-1900
• G.I. Generation – those born from 1901-1924
• Silent Generation – those born from 1925-1942
• Baby Boomers – those born from 1945-1965
• Generation X – those born from 1963-1979
• Millennials/Generation Y - those born from 1981-2000
• Generation Z - those born from 1995-2010 (as of yet there is little consensus about official end birth year)

Question 4

There are 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 years of age each day. Their increasing strain on Social Security, Medicare, and medical institutions is a prime example of the _____________ of aging.

Answer 4

social significance

Aging has a significant impact on society. Transitions such as reaching puberty, age of majority, or retirement are often socially significant. Effects of aging may be both social and physical.

Question 5

_______ is primarily determined by a person’s genotype, while _______ is a result of their behaviors, attitudes, and role in society.

Answer 5

Sex (biological sex), gender

Sex is biological; it refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a society considers appropriate for men/women.

Question 6

To assist in finding mates, societies often form a ______ for gender. For example, wearing a shirt and tie is an expected male characteristic.

Answer 6

social construct

Gender is a concept that describes how societies determine sex categories. Gender constructs include expected social norms, attitudes, and activities that society deems more appropriate for one sex over another.

Question 7

Research shows that children 6-11 years old prefer interactions with same-sex peers as opposed to peers of the opposite gender. While this behavior wanes by adolescence, it is a prime example of:

Answer 7

gender segregation.

This is the separation by an institution, society, or individual of people according to their biological or perceived gender. Another example is gendered bathrooms in schools.

Question 8

________ is the outward appearance of an individual, most strongly associated with skin color.

Answer 8

Race

Race can be considered a social construct because society currently places distinctions on people based on differences in outward appearance.

Question 9

While race may be near-uniform in small geographical regions, _______ varies more widely, as it is closely tied to culture, which can evolve, be exchanged, or change over a short period of time.

Answer 9

ethnicity

Ethnicity is essentially the culture of where one or one’s family originated (e,g, Italian-American, African-American).

Question 10

Despite being biracial, President Barack Obama was primarily identified and spoken about by the media and most Americans as being “black.” This is an example of:

Answer 10

racialization.

This is the process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to an individual, relationship, social practice, or group that might not identify itself as that exact race/ethnicity.

Question 11

In some societies, the outcomes of a racialized social structure (i.e. differentials in income on the basis of race) shape what we believe to be true about racial categories. For example, when some hear the phrase “minority” or “poor” when talking about medical students in 2017, they think “black,” while the same phrase might have referred to “Irish” or “Polish” a few decades earlier. This fluid connection between race and social structure is known as:

Answer 11

racial formation.

This is the relationship between social structure and everyday life, through which the meaning of race and racial categories are agreed upon and argued over in society.

Question 12

Which component of social identity includes a person’s sexual and/or emotional attraction to others?

Answer 12

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation is an individual’s enduring sexual attraction to male partners, female partners, or both/other. Sexual orientation may include (as some examples) heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.

Question 13

The _________ of race and class is reflected in evidence that shows that the low performance of African-American students in school is best understood by taking the socioeconomic status of this group into account.

Answer 13

intersection

Intersection is a term used to describe the ways in which institutions (racism, sexism, xenophobia, classism, etc.) or characteristics (race, ethnicity, age, gender) are interconnected and should not be examined separately from one another.

Question 14

Data from the population in a region of China showed that food production by farms increased from 10 million tons (1900) to 20 million tons (1925) to 30 million (1950) to 40 million (1975) to 50 million (2000). At the same time, population in the region increased from 1 million to 16 million. These changes most strongly support which population theory?

Answer 14

Malthusian theory

This theory, named for Thomas Malthus, proposes that human populations grow exponentially while food production grows at an arithmetic rate.

Question 15

Demographic transition is often described as having five stages. Describe the characteristics of the first stage of demographic transition in the figure below.

Answer 15

The first stage describes pre-industrial societies, where death and birth rates are high and roughly in balance.

Question 16

Demographic transition is often described as having five stages. Describe the characteristics of the second stage of demographic transition in the figure below.

Answer 16

The second stage generally refers to developing countries.

Here, death rates drop quickly due to improvements in food supply and sanitation, which increase life expectancies and reduce disease. Fertility rates remain high in this stage.

Question 17

Demographic transition is often described as having five stages. Describe the characteristics of the third stage of demographic transition in the figure below.

Answer 17

In the third stage of demographic transition, birth rates fall due to fertility factors such as access to contraception, increases in wages, urbanization, or a reduction in subsistence agriculture.

Population growth begins to level off or decline slightly.

Question 18

Demographic transition is often described as having five stages. Describe the characteristics of the fourth stage of demographic transition in the figure below.

Answer 18

Once the fourth stage has been reached, both birth and death rates are low.

Often, the large group born during stage two ages, creating an economic burden on the remaining shrinking working population (e.g. Baby Boomers in the early 2000s). Death rates may increase slightly due to increases in lifestyle diseases (e.g. U.S. obesity).

Question 19

Demographic transition is often described as having five stages. Describe the characteristics of the fifth stage of demographic transition in the figure below.

Answer 19

The fifth stage of the demographic transition model is still theoretical, but it is generally described as:

1) existing in a period of population decline.
2) characterized by differences in fertility as compared to stage four.

The original demographic transition model contained only four stages, so the fifth stage is a recent addition.

Question 20

What must be the relative values of the birth and death rates in a society in order to sustain population growth?

(Note: Assume that no migration is occurring)

Answer 20

To maintain population growth, the birth rate must be greater than the death rate.

BR > DR

Question 21

What must be the relative values of the birth and death rates in a society in order to sustain population decline?

Note: Assume that no migration is occurring)

Answer 21

To maintain population decline, the birth rate must be lower than the death rate.

BR < DR

Question 22

How can the pyramid below best be described?

Answer 22

It is a top-heavy population pyramid.

This suggests that many people are outside of the optimal procreation age range, indicating that there will likely be a population decline due to low birth rate and high death rate.

Question 23

How can the pyramid below best be described?

Answer 23

It is a bottom-heavy population pyramid.

This suggests that many people are within the optimal procreation age range, indicating that there will likely be population growth due to high birth rates and low death rates.

Question 24

Define:

mortality rate

Answer 24

Mortality rate is the annual death rate (relative to population).

Question 25

# Define: **total fertility rate**

Answer 25

**Total fertility rate** is total number of children who would be born per woman, in a population, if she were to pass through the childbearing years an average woman has in her lifetime.

Question 26

# Define: **crude fertility rate**

Answer 26

**Crude fertility rate** is the number of live births in the population of a given area during a specific year, per 1,000 mid-year total population of the given geographical area during the same year.

Question 27

What term describes either mortality or fertility rates for individuals specified by age?

Answer 27

**Age-specific rates** are the respective rates of a population process for individuals within a specific age range.

Question 28

# Define: **replacement-level fertility rate**

Answer 28

**Replacement-level fertility rate** is the total fertility rate required for a population to exactly replace itself from one generation to the next, without migration. ## Footnote This value varies with mortality rate.

Question 29

\_\_\_\_\_\_ factors in migration tend to be negative (e.g. war, famine) while ______ factors in migration tend to be positive (e.g. job growth, religious freedom).

Answer 29

**Push, pull** ## Footnote Push factors are those that cause an individual to want to leave their current location, while pull factors are those that entice the individual to migrate to a specific country.

Question 30

Which term refers to the discontent people feel when they compare their position to others and realize that they have less of what they believe themselves to be entitled to? ## Footnote For example, Ben's neighbor wins the lottery and does extensive renovations to his house. Ben begins to resent his current house. He plays the lottery too, Ben thinks, and has more kids to take care of than his neighbor. Why doesn't he win?

Answer 30

**Relative deprivation** ## Footnote This term refers to the experience of being deprived of something (a job, an opportunity, a reward) to which one believes themselves to be entitled.

Question 31

Black Lives Matter and the Tea Party are examples of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_, which seek social change by bringing together and coordinating the actions of people with similar motivations or ideologies.

Answer 31

**social organizations** ## Footnote Social organizations are groups that facilitate relationships between and among individuals and social groups, which sometimes have the goal of social change. Shared characteristics may be gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, race, ethnicity, etc.

Question 32

Identify common strategies used by social movements (e.g. PETA) to facilitate social change.

Answer 32

Social movements use many different techniques to promote their ideas. These include (but are not limited to): * **Protests** * **Fundraising** * **Advertising** * **Social media/grassroots organization** * **Political candidacy** * **Voting** * **Voter registration** * **Social disruption** * **Media appearances** * **Public debate**

Question 33

Since the Middle Ages, people, and eventually companies, have been buying from and selling to each across the Silk Road across Central Asia that connected China and Europe. This process had profound changes on the environment, culture, political systems, and prosperity of people along the route and around the world. This process is called:

Answer 33

**globalization.** ## Footnote This is a process of communication, interaction, and integration between the citizens, industries, and governments of different nations. This process is accelerated and necessitated by international trade, investment, technology, and communication advancements.

Question 34

A major criticism of globalization is that the demand for resources in less-developed countries may lead to \_\_\_\_\_\_. ## Footnote One example of this phenomenon is the subjugation and exploitation of South Africa by the Dutch to support the burgeoning diamond industry in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Answer 34

**colonialism** ## Footnote Colonialism is the practice of one country acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with their own citizens, and exploiting it economically.

Question 35

The industrial revolution in Europe saw a majority of citizens move from the agrarian regions of the country to the factory- and industry-dense cities, in a process known as:

Answer 35

**urbanization.** ## Footnote Urbanization refers to a population shift from rural to urban areas, or a large shift of development or population growth from rural to more urban areas. This term can also refer to the ways in which a society adapts to the change.

Question 36

The response by the United States to the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 was one of extensive \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, where entire methods of mass production were built from scratch or adapted to wartime products and machinery.

Answer 36

**industrialization** ## Footnote This is the process by which an society's economy is transformed from primarily agricultural to manufacturing or where the manufacturing of goods is significantly increased.

Question 37

The "White Flight" of the latter 20^th century in America, where large numbers of white people left cities to establish new, more exclusive residential neighborhoods in the surrounding areas, is an example of:

Answer 37

**suburbanization.** ## Footnote Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas (i.e. cities, towns) into suburbs, the regions immediately surrounding cities. This leads to a large dispersion of the population around cities, called "suburban sprawl."

Question 38

Dr. Fernandes goes back to visit her alma mater, a large, urban medical university, 10 years after graduation. She finds that the empty lots, garbage-strewn streets, and tenements near the hospital have been replaced with luxury apartments, parks, and a ritzy grocery store chain and strip mall. This transformation exemplifies:

Answer 38

**Gentrification.** ## Footnote Gentrification is the financial and population-changing process of renovating and improving a housing or commercial area or district so that it conforms to tastes higher than before - for example, the shift of Brooklyn from low-class to middle-class to upper-class tastes (1980s-2010s). Proponents say this urban renewal is helpful, while critics argue it displaces those with insufficient means to remain in the area, who may have lived there for generations.

Question 39

In a protest against perceived unfair tax law, 10,000 citizens march in the streets in front of the state capitol. In the course of the protest, someone spots a Congress member, and the protest turns violent. Participants begin to assault any legislative members who attempt to exit or enter the building. As a result, the social movement can now be labeled as domestic:

Answer 39

**terrorism.** ## Footnote This is the unlawful use of violence and/or intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of social or political aims.