soc100 final Flashcards
(134 cards)
1
Q
the existence of structured inequality between groups in society in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards
A
social stratification
2
Q
a large-scale grouping of people who share common economic resources that strongly influence the type of lifestyle
A
class
3
Q
money received from paid wages and salaries or earned from investments
A
income
4
Q
money and material possessions held by an individual or group - usually measured in terms of net worth (all assets one owns (e.g. house) minus one’s debts (e.g. loan)) some argue that _____________ is the real indicator of social class because it is less sensitive to fluctuations due to work hours, health, and other factors in a given year
A
wealth
5
Q
traditionally, income and wealth are measures of class location; recent measures include cultural factors such as _________ and consumption patterns; distinction on the basis of cultural tastes and leisure pursuits
A
lifestyle
6
Q
own the means of production (= capitalists)
A
bourgeoisie
7
Q
earn their living by selling their labor to the capitalists
A
proletariat
8
Q
a social system based on the common ownership of the means of production and sharing the wealth it produces (= socialist system) technology replaces much of human labor with everyone working together for the common good
A
communism
9
Q
the social honor or prestige a particular group is accorded by others
A
status
10
Q
the upward or downward movement of individuals or groups between different social positions through changes in occupation, wealth, or income
A
social mobility
11
Q
social movement across generations (e.g., child vs. parents)
A
intergenerational mobility
12
Q
social movement during their working life
A
intragenerational mobility
13
Q
a political system that allows the citizens to participate in political decision making or to elect representatives to government bodies
A
democracy
14
Q
the belief that politics should reflect the needs and interests of ordinary people rather than those of elite individuals or groups
A
populism
15
Q
a political system in which the governing bodies or leaders use force to maintain control
A
authoritarianism
16
Q
political communities with delimited borders and shared culture
A
nation-state
17
Q
the ability of people or groups to realize their will over the will of others
A
power
18
Q
power that people do not accept as legitimate (illegitimate, unjust)
A
coercion
19
Q
power that is accepted as legitimate (just)
A
authority
20
Q
legal rights held by all citizens in a given national community (e.g., freedom of speech and religion, the right to own property, etc.)
A
civil rights
21
Q
rights of political participation, such as the right to vote in elections and run for public office
A
political rights
22
Q
rights of every individual to enjoy a minimum standard of economic welfare and security (e.g., unemployment benefits, sickness payments)
A
social rights
23
Q
power that is legitimized on the basis of a leader’s exceptional personal qualities or the demonstration of extraordinary insight and accomplishment that inspires loyalty and obedience from followers
A
charismatic authority
24
Q
power that is legitimized by law or written rules and regulations in organizations
A
rational-legal authority
25
power that is legitimized on the basis of long-standing customs, handed down from generation to generation
traditional authority
26
a group organized to pursue specific interests in the political arena, operating primarily by lobbying the members of legislative bodies (e.g., NRA)
interest group
27
a measure of how much a society’s values and beliefs divide along political or ideological lines
polarization
28
processes of social change involving the mobilizing of a mass social movement, which, by often using violence, overthrows an existing regime and forms a new government
revolution
29
collective attempts to further a common interest or secure a common goal through action outside the sphere of established institutions
- some argue that is not absolute deprivation that leads to protest but relative deprivation
social movement
30
the discrepancy between people’s actual lives and what they think could realistically be achieved, by comparing themselves with peers in a group (e.g., Robert Merton – an important element in deviant behavior)
relative deprivation
31
the physical differences of the body that distinguish males from females
sex
32
Social expectations about behavior regarded as appropriate for the members of each sex
gender
33
- gender alone does not shape our life experiences
- our multiple group memberships affect our lives; gender intersects with other traits, such as race or social class
intersectionality
34
the view that differences between men and women are natural and inevitable consequences of the intrinsic biological natures of men and women
biological essentialism
35
the process by which we learn about male – and female – typed roles and practices from socialization agents (e.g., family, peers, schools)
gender role socialization
36
the assessment (positive or negative) of a person’s gender (class race) performance by others, based on normative conceptions and attitudes about what is “appropriate”
accountability
37
engaging in behavior at the risk of gender assessment by others (either positive or negative)
doing gender
38
women hold occupations of lower status and pay, such as secretarial and retail positions, and men hold jobs of higher status and pay, such as managerial and professional positions
gender typing
39
a promotion barrier that prevents a woman’s upward mobility within an organization
glass ceiling
40
men’s rapid ascent up the hierarchy when they work in female-dominated professions
- employers single out male workers and promote them to top administrative jobs
glass escalator
41
classifying people as black if they have some black ancestry
one drop rule
42
a group of people in a given society who, because of their distinct physical or cultural characteristics, find themselves in situations of inequality compared with the dominant group within that society
- not simply a numerical category
minority group
43
A socially constructed category rooted in the belief that there are fundamental differences among humans, associated with phenotype and ancestry
- fixed and biological
race
44
a source of identity based on society and culture
ethnicity
45
- one specific form of prejudice, focusing on physical variations among people
- a special form of discrimination against the members of a racial group by a powerful other
- racial attitudes become entrenched during the Western colonial expansion
racism
46
holding preconceived ideas about a person or group; it can be conscious or unconscious
prejudice
47
actual behavior that denies the members of a group resources or rewards available to others; it involves power dynamics
discrimination
48
thinking in terms of fixed and inflexible categories
stereotyping
49
patterns of discrimination based on race that have become structured into existing social institutions: the idea that racism occurs through the respected and established institutions of society rather than hateful actions of some bad people
institutional (systemic) racism
50
a means of maintaining racial inequality without appearing racist
color-blind racism
51
the movement of persons from one locality to another (within a country)
migration
52
the movement of people into one country from another for the purpose of settlement
immigration
53
the movement of people out of one country to settle in another
emigration
54
does not always mean paid employment (e.g., housework)
work
55
any form of paid employment in which an individual regularly works
occupation
56
an economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested in order to produce profit
capitalism
57
“scientific management” involved in the detailed study of industrial processes to break them down into simple operations that could be precisely times and organized
taylorism
58
the system of mass production tied to the cultivation of mass markets
fordism
59
Organizational or work settings in which people are allowed little responsibility for, or control over, the work task (e.g., Fordism, Taylorism)
low-trust system
60
Organizational or work settings in which individuals are permitted a great deal of autonomy and control over the work task (e.g., post-Fordism)
high-trust system
61
feeling of estrangement and even hostility to one’s job and eventually to the overall framework of capitalist industrial production
alienation
62
a new era of capitalist-economic production in which flexibility and innovation are maximized to meet market demands for diverse customized products
post-fordism
63
the domination by a single firm in a given industry
monopoly
64
the domination by a small number of firms in a given industry
oligopoly
65
A temporary stoppage of work by a group of employees in order to express a grievance or enforce a demand
strike
66
The employers, rather than the workers, bring about a stoppage of work to force workers to accept a particular contract
lockout
67
a society no longer based primarily on the production of material goods but instead on the production of knowledge
knowledge economy
68
a group of individuals related to one another by kin connections (blood ties, marriage, or adoption) who form an economic unit, of which adult members are responsible for the upbringing of children
family
69
a socially acknowledged and approved sexual union between two individuals
marriage
70
A form of marriage in which each married partner is allowed only one spouse at a given time
monogamy
71
A form of marriage in which a person may have two or more spouses simultaneously
polygamy
72
a couple lives together in a sexual relationship without being married
- one of the new forms of family
- for most, it is a temporary state (leading to marriage or a breakup)
on average it is less stable than marriage
cohabitation
73
traits of behavior or attitudes that are learned at school but not included in the formal curriculum (e.g., students from different social classes are provided different types of eduction, it terms of both learning materials and the kinds of interactions in which their teachers engage them in)
hidden curriculum
74
Pierre Bourdieu argued that schools reproduce social-class inequality by rewarding certain cultural norms over others (e.g., middle and upper-class children come to school with a certain kind of cultural capital that the school values, and thus rewards)
cultural reproduction
75
the ability to engage in and appreciate various lifestyles, and the components of those lifestyles including tastes, language, attitudes; speech patterns, demeanors, tastes
cultural capital
76
dividing students into groups that receive different instructions on the basis of assumed similarities in ability or attainment, is common in American school
- there are debates about the effects of it. (for poor vs. advanced students)
tracking
77
more than the ability to read; also the ability to process complex information
literacy
78
the state of people who have little or no access to information technology such as a computer
information poverty
79
a cultural system of commonly shared beliefs and rituals that provides a sense of ultimate meaning and purpose by creating an idea of reality that is sacred, all-encompassing, and supernatural
religion
80
A religious subgroup that breaks away from orthodoxy (usually the larger organization) and follows its own unique set of rules and principles
sects
81
Sects that have become institutionalized bodies rather than activist protest groups (e.g., Calvinism, Methodism, and Mormonism)
denominations
82
the most loosely knit and transient religious groupings, comprising individuals who reject the values of the outside society; they often form around the influence of an inspirational leader (e.g., Heaven’s Gate)
cults
83
a process of decline in the influence of religion
- the disagreement between supporters of its thesis (who see religion as diminishing in power and importance in the modern world) and opponents of it
secularization
84
geographic areas in which residents do not have easy access to high-quality affordable food (e.g., in rural areas and poor urban neighborhoods)
food deserts
85
a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being; not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (involve mental and emotional conditions)
health
86
an important component of human sexuality because it involves the direction of one’s sexual or romantic attraction
sexual orientation
87
a term developed by Talcott Parsons (1951) to describe patterns of behavior that a sick person adopts to minimize the disruptive impact of illness
sick role
88
a concept developed by Erving Goffman (1963), which refers to any personal characteristic that is labeled by society as undesirable
stigma
89
the study of populations
demography
90
the number of babies per 1,000 births who die before reaching age one
infant mortality rate
91
the number of years the average person can expect to live
life expectancy
92
the movement of the population into towns and cities, and away from rural areas
urbanization
93
distinctive characteristics of urban social life, such as its impersonality
urbanism
94
the development of suburbia; areas of housing outside inner cities
suburbanization
95
the process in which older, deteriorated housing and other buildings are renovated as more affluent groups move into an area
gentrification
96
Residential zones where particular groups were forced to live, not necessarily because they were poor, but because they belonged to a particular ethnic or racial group viewed as inferior (e.g., Blacks in the U.S., Jews in Rome)
ghettos
97
Zones habited by people who couldn’t afford to live elsewhere
slums
98
a. All societies must be stratified because the benefits of different positions in any society are not equal
b. Inequality is functional because it ensures that the most qualified people, attracted by the rewards society provides, will fill the roles that are most important to the smooth functioning of society
functionalist view (functionalism)
99
a. In large-scale societies, democratic participation is necessarily limited to the regular election of political leaders
b. Max Weber argued two conditions must be met for the effective democratic systems:
i. Parties that represent different interests and have different outlooks
ii. Political leaders with imagination and courage to escape the inertia of bureaucracy
c. Weber emphasized the importance of leadership in democracy
democratic elitism
100
a. Small networks of individuals who hold concentrated power in modern societies
b. C. Wright Mills (1956) argued that during the 20th century, institutional centralization occurred in the political order, the economy, and the military
c. Those holding the highest positions in three institutional areas had similar social backgrounds, enjoyed parallel interests, and often knew one another personally
d. According to Mills, the ______________ in American society is composed mainly of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs) who are from wealthy families, attend the same prestigious universities, belong to the same clubs, and sit on government committees together
power elite theory
101
A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the uniqueness of the experience of women
feminist theory
102
equal opportunities through legislation
liberal feminism
103
overthrow the patriarchal order (men are the enemy)
radical feminism
104
work with men to dismantle capitalism
socialist feminism
105
Feminist theory that concentrates on the problems facing black women
black feminism
106
The feminist perspective that, like black feminism, challenges the idea that all women share a single basis of identity and experience
postmodern feminism
107
a. Emphasizes the contextual, subjective nature of family interactions
b. Family as “a unity of interacting personalities” in which the behavior or identities of individual family members mutually shape one another over time
c. Do not take power differentials for granted, and they do not assume that men have more power or that adults have more power (e.g., a partner who is less committed to the romantic relationship has more power)
d. Children often shape, influence, and guide their parents (e.g., immigrant children)
e. Critiques
i. Place too much emphasis on cooperation and consensus
ii. Overly descriptive – tells what is happening, but does not tell why
iii. Lack of explicit attention to social structure (e.g. embedded gender differences)
symbolic interactionist approach
108
capitalism is a class system
- capitalism is a class system, which is in the interests of the ruling class
- groups of people who have common relationships to the means of production
- bourgeoisie
- proletariat
Karl Marx
109
class and status
- different views on class: class divisions derive not only from control of the means of production, but also from economic differences that are unrelated to property, such as skills and credentials
- there are dimensions other than class that strongly influence people's lives
- status: the social honor or prestige a particular group is accorded by others
- status depends on people's subjective evaluations
- status is governed by lifestyles that groups follow
Max Weber
110
a. religion and functionalism
i. he connected religion not with social inequalities or power but with the overall nature of a society’s institutions
ii. he defines religion in terms of a distinction between the sacred and the profane → sacred objects and symbols are treated as apart from routine aspects of day-to-day existence
iii. functionalist view - religious ceremonies and rituals are essential to unifying the members of groups → religion promotes a stable society by ensuring that people meet regularly to affirm common beliefs and values
Emile Durkheim
111
a. two main functions of families:
i. primary socialization: the process by which children learn their society’s cultural norms and expectations for behavior
ii. personality stabilization: the role of the family in assisting its adult members emotionally (personalities are supported and kept healthy through marriage)
b. Parsons regarded the nuclear family as best equipped to handle the demands of industrial society
c. believed that stable, supportive families were the key to successful socialization of children (Parsons and Bales, 1955)
i. Parsons saw the family as operating most efficiently with a clear-cut sexual division of labor → women carry out expressive roles (e.g., care, emotional support), men perform an instrumental role (e.g., being a breadwinner)
Talcott Parsons
112
argued that schools reproduce social-class inequality by rewarding certain cultural norms over others
Pierre Bourdieu
113
What are the differences between Karl Marx’s and Max Weber’s views on class and social stratification?
o Karl Max:
Capitalism is a class system in the interests of the ruling class
The relationship between classes is exploitative
o Max Weber
Class divisions derive not only from control of the means of production, but also from economic differences that are unrelated to property, such as skills and credentials
Dimensions other than class strongly influence people’s lives
114
what are the characteristics of the nation-state?
sovereignty: the undisputed political rule over a given territorial area
nationalism: beliefs expressing identification with a national community
- power and authority
- democracy is not the only type of legitimate
government: dictatorships and states governed by
religious leaders can also have legitimacy
- citizenship and citizenship rights
- civil rights
- political rights
- social rights
115
what are the main components of collective action?
o the organization of the groups or groups involved
o mobilization ways in which a group acquires resources to make collective action possible
o the common interests of those engaging in collective action
o opportunity chance events that allow for the pursuit of revolutionary aims
116
how could division of household labor reinforce gender inequality in society?
- women spend more time doing housework than their male counterparts
- work and family are competing social roles, and women's family lives often impede their career and professional prospects
- women's housework tends to require a fixed schedule, while men's housework is more likely to be discretionary
- by reproducing gendered roles learned through childhood socialization, men and women are "doing gender"
117
what are the two myths of race?
o the myth that race is biological → but as shown in the film, our genes don’t carry racial markers
o the myth that race is imaginary ← not biological does not mean not real: for example, education creates no biological changes but has real impact
118
what are the two main components of racism?
prejudice and discrimination
119
what are the characteristics of post-Fordism different from Fordist practices?
- a departure from Fordist practices
- flexible business structure / mass customization / global outsourcing / job insecurity / (+) decline of labor union power
120
what are the effects of automation and computerized technology on workforce?
- as many as two-fifths of all jobs in the U.S. could be replaced by software
- automation could increase control over workers
- automation could also create new services and jobs
- computerized technology could result in a two-tiered workforce, with a small group of highly skilled professionals and a larger group fo unskilled labor force
- it is not clear that the benefits of automation to consumers would be outweighed by the cost to workers
121
what are the arguments and critiques of each theoretical approach to families?
functionalist approaches:
- families perform important tasks that contribute to society's basic needs
- families function as an agent of primary socialization and personality stabilization
- Parsons regarded the nuclear family as best equipped to handle the demands of industrial society
- a clear-cut sexual division of labor: women carry out
expressive roles and men perform instrumental roles
symbolic interactions approaches:
- symbolic interactions emphasize the contextual, subjective nature of family interactions
- symbolic interactionists do not take power differentials for granted, and they do not assume that men have more power or that adults have more power
- behavior or identities of individual family members mutually shape one another over time
feminist approaches:
- family as the site of exploitation and inequality
- three important topics in feminist approaches
- the division of household labor
- unequal power relationships, especially domestic
violence
- carework
122
what are the roles of education in society?
assimilation: the official curriculum of education is important in creating a common culture
- credentialing mechanism
- credentialism maintains that the primary social
function of mass education derives from the need for
degrees to determine one's credentials for a job
- social reproduction
- schools reproduce race, class, gender inequality
- hidden curriculum
- cultural reproduction
123
how do sociologists think about religion?
o sociologists are not concerned with whether religious beliefs are true or false
put aside their personal beliefs and address human aspects of religion (= social facts)
o sociologists are especially concerned with the social organization of religion
religions are practices through an enormous variety of social forms
religious practice often occurs in formal organizations (e.g., church, temples)
o sociologists have often viewed religions as a major source of social solidarity
religions offer believers a common set of norms and values
o if a society’s members adhere to competing religions, religious differences may lead to destabilizing social conflicts
e.g. hate crimes against Jews, Muslims, and other minorities in the United States
o sociologists explain the appeal of religion in terms of social forces rather than personal, spiritual, or psychological factors
some argue that people often turn to religion when their fundamental sense of social order is threatened by economic hardship, poor health, and so on
124
what are the similarities and differences between three classical views on religion?
- although they had different focuses on religion they each argued that religion was fundamentally an illusion
Karl Marx:
- religion is a form of false consciousness (it is the opium of the people)
- religion defers happiness and rewards to the afterlife, teaching a resigned acceptance of conditions in the earthly life
- people should discard their religious beliefs to better understand the social forces that were oppressing them
Emile Durkheim
- religion promotes a stable society by ensuring that people meet regularly to affirm common beliefs and values
Max Weber
- religiously inspired movements have often produced dramatic social transformations
125
what might be the reasons behind the obesity epidemic in the United States?
o most public health experts believe that obesity is caused by a social environment that unwittingly contributes to weight gain
sedentary desk jobs/children spending after-schooling hours sitting in front of a computer / due to the hectic schedule, turning to unhealthy fast food / enormous serving sizes of food at low prices (e.g. Big Mac)
the social forces that promote high fat and sugar consumption and that restrict the opportunity to exercise are particularly acute for poor people and ethnic minorities (e.g., small grocery stores without fresh produce, high crime rates in the inner city)
food deserts: geographic areas in which residents do not have easy access to high-quality affordable food (e.g. in rural areas and poor urban neighborhoods)
126
what are the arguments of the two sociological perspectives on illness?
o Argument one: functionalist thought (again)
society operates in a smooth and consensual manner → illness is a dysfunction that can disrupt the flow of this normal state
sick role: a term developed by Talcott Parsons (1951) to describe patterns of behavior that a sick person adopts to minimize the disruptive impact of illness
because sick people cannot carry out their normal roles, the lives of people around them are disrupted
people learn the sick role through socialization. as with other social roles such as “worker” and “mother,” sick persons face societal expectations for how to behave (e.g., a sick person is expected to take sensible steps to regain his or her health)
* Argument two: symbolic interactionist approach (again)
o study the ways people interpret the social world and ascribe meaning to it
* illness as “lived experience” → meanings of illness are socially constructed
o address questions such as: how do people react and adjust to news about a serious illness? how does illness shape individuals’ daily lives? (e.g., illness work - taking pills/tests) how does living with a chronic illness affect an individual’s self-identity?
* stigma: a concept developed by Erving Goffman (1963), which refers to any personal characteristic that is labeled by society as undesirable
o processes of adaptation to illness may be particularly difficult for those who suffer from a stigmatized health condition (e.g., Schizophrenia, HIV/AIDs)
127
what are the two main concepts developed in urban sociology
ecological approach and urbanism as a way of life
128
what are the barriers of environmental social movements in the U.S.?
o The influence of politically powerful climate change deniers in shaping public opinion congressional gridlock the fact that the worst impacts are in the future and are intangible; the absence of “ownership” by any significant segment of the public
129
the studies to date have concluded that not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents
same-sex family
130
the official curriculum of education is important in creating a common culture
assimilation
131
money and material resources
economic capital
132
social networks and relations of trust
social capital
133
like natural organisms, cities grew and took shape by adapting to their environments
ecological approach
134
there are distinctive characteristics of urban social life, such as impersonality
urbanism (as a way of life)
