Epsilon Flashcards
Differential Association Theory
Differential association theory suggests deviance is learned through interaction with others engaging in deviance. For example, if gang members carry illegal firearms, new recruits quickly learn that this is “normal” and expected. The passage does not suggest that the initial PD individuals learned their behaviors through interaction.
Labelling Theory
Labeling theory suggests that when individuals are labeled as deviant, they will confirm the label by acting deviant. Initial acts (primary deviance) are usually mild but lead to the “deviant” label and social stigma (disapproval by others). Internalization of the deviant label leads to more serious transgressions (secondary deviance). Large-scale deviance (eg, murder) is precipitated by smaller deviant acts (eg, hurting animals).
Conflict Theory
Conflict theory suggests that there is a constant struggle for limited resources between social classes (ie, poor, middle class, wealthy). It is a macro-level (large-scale) theory defining deviance as behavior that does not conform to what is defined as acceptable by social institutions (eg, government, law). The first paragraph describes micro-level (small-scale) deviance and does not suggest conflict between social classes.
Strain Theory
Strain theory predicts that individuals experience tension (strain) when there is a disconnect between goals and the available means for achieving those goals. For example, a parent who is unable to feed her child (goal) because there is not enough food (lack of means) experiences strain. This strain causes individuals to seek deviant means of achieving the goal.
Strain theory suggests that innovation occurs when individuals come up with new strategies for obtaining goals, which is most applicable to the first paragraph’s description of the initial acts of PD by the Vietnamese villagers.
Mental Set
Mental set describes when a problem solver gets stuck on a method that worked in the past but is not right for the current problem. Most villagers were feeding their children as they had always done (eg, certain foods, twice a day), even though this method resulted in malnutrition. Innovative PD strategies involve new methods (eg, feeding children more often), which overcomes a mental set.
Functional Fixedness
Functional fixedness prevents a problem solver from conceiving different uses or functions for an object. Using the edge of a coin to tighten a screw is an example of overcoming functional fixedness to solve a problem. Similarly, eating sweet potato plant leaves, not considered “food” by the rest of the villagers, suggests an ability to overcome functional fixedness.
Economic Capital
Economic capital describes an individual’s tangible financial assets, such as property and money/income. Money confers power and status in society, so economic capital confers advantage on those who possess it.
Social Capital
Social capital includes an individual’s social networks. In other words, it is the people an individual knows who can help that individual advance in society. For example, knowing the president of Harvard could help someone get accepted into Harvard. In this way, social capital can confer advantage, depending on who is part of the social network and how they can help the individual advance.
Human Capital
Human capital describes the collective skill and experience possessed by the individuals who are part of an organization. It is not one of the major types of capital that can be possessed by an individual.
Cultural Capital
Cultural capital describes all of the nonfinancial and nonsocial network assets that confer advantage in society. For example, a degree from a well-respected university such as Harvard confers prestige. Hard work, talent, intelligence, and physical attractiveness are also examples of cultural capital because these are all valued in society. PD, which includes behaviors that allow individuals to get ahead in society, is a form of cultural capital.
Kohlberg Moral Development
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Identity Diffusion
Identity diffusion (low commitment, low exploration): People at this level lack direction, have not explored options, and have not committed to a particular career path or future.
Identity Foreclosure
Identity foreclosure (high commitment, low exploration): People at this level have accepted an identity that they have been assigned (typically by a parent or authority figure) without contemplation or exploration.
Identity moratorium
Identity moratorium (low commitment, high exploration): People at this level are still trying new activities and thinking about a career path, but have not yet arrived at a decision.
Identity achievement
Identity achievement (high commitment, high exploration): People at this level have explored their options and typically feel confident about who they are and what they want to do in the future.
Class consciousness
Class consciousness is an awareness of one’s social status in society (which is necessary for social classes to unite in revolution).
False consciousness
False consciousness refers to an inaccurate assessment of one’s own status.
Heuristics
Heuristics are mental shortcuts that help individuals come to conclusions or make decisions more quickly and without having to consider every single option. Although time-saving, heuristics are not always accurate.
Representativeness Heuristics
Representativeness heuristic proposes that individuals tend to compare things to an existing mental prototype when trying to decide the likeliness of something. In other words, when encountering a new situation, individuals tend to rely on mental representations (of people, events) when drawing conclusions.
Nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication involves all of the wordless cues that convey meaning when exchanged between individuals. Some examples of nonverbal communication cues include distance between speakers, body language and other physical movements, facial expressions, and vocal modifications (tone, volume, emphasis, inflection). Research suggests that social interaction is largely influenced by nonverbal communication.
Autocommunication
Autocommunication occurs when a message sender is also the receiver. For example, dolphins echolocate by perceiving how the click sounds they have emitted echo back to them. Predator warning calls, communication that alerts other group members (not the individual making the call), is not relevant to auto-communication.
DNA Exonuclease activity
Normally, DNA polymerases are equipped with both 5′-3′ and 3′-5′ exonuclease activity that allows them to remove and replace incorrect nucleotides at either end of a DNA strand. However, the passage states that the Klenow fragment (KF) enzyme described in the experiment does not have 5′-3′ exonuclease activity. KF can only proofread DNA in the 3′-5′ direction on the template strand, so only errors at the 3′ end of the growing strand can be repaired.
Base excision and Nucleotide Excision enzymes
Base excision repair and nucleotide excision enzymes have endonuclease activity to remove damaged bases and mismatched nucleotides from the middle of a DNA strand, respectively.
Fatty acids Fluidity and Permeability
Fatty acids are nonpolar molecules composed of straight hydrocarbon chains with carboxyl groups at one end. Humans synthesize fatty acids with an even number of carbon atoms, and chains usually range from 14 to 18 carbon atoms long. Fatty acids with no carbon-carbon double bonds are described as saturated because each carbon atom has the maximum number of hydrogen atoms possible. In contrast, an unsaturated fatty acid contains one (monounsaturated) or multiple (polyunsaturated) double bonds that may be in either the cis (Z) or the trans (E) configuration.
Unsaturation contributes significantly to membrane fluidity. The carbon-carbon double bonds decrease the melting temperature of fatty acid chains and increase the average space between lipids. As a result, lipids with unsaturated fatty acid chains remain liquid (fluid) at room temperature. The cis configuration is particularly important in cell membranes as it introduces a bend or “kink” in the fatty acid that prevents phospholipids from stacking together and solidifying.
The passage introduces various molecules that have different effects on membrane fluidity. Of the choices listed, the cis bond of the polyunsaturated fatty acid EPA contributes the most to membrane fluidity.