socio review

Question 1

social change

Answer 1

there is a shift in society from one stage to the next whether for good or bad

Question 2

status

Answer 2

the position of an individual in society whether it be ascribed or achieved and which brings with them specific behaviours

Question 3

norms

Answer 3

these are guidelines for expected behaviours within specified contexts

Question 4

values

Answer 4

ideas that are considered as proper, good, correct, worthwhile

Question 5

social group

Answer 5

these comprise of individuals interacting with each other whether formally or informally

Question 6

culture

Answer 6

the total way of life of a society comprising of tangible and intangible objects

Question 7

sociology

Answer 7

a systematic study of society whether the society is an advanced industrial one or a simple traditional one. It is also the study of human behaviour; it focuses not on the individual per se but on how individuals interact with and relate to each other

Question 8

stages of sociology as a discipline

Answer 8

Renaissance
Enlightenment/Age of Rationalism/Age of Reason
Romanticism
French Revolution
Industrial Revolution

Question 9

Renaissance

Answer 9

• 1300 to 1600
• thinking from the Middle Ages were debunked
• focus on humanism
• instead of solely focusing on theology subjects like literature and philosophy were studied to help understand the problems of humanity

Question 10

Enlightenment/Age of Reason/ Age of Reason

Answer 10

• late 1600 to early 1700
• emphasized on the scientific method and its use of experimentation
• positivist thinking

Question 11

Romanticism

Answer 11

end of 1700s

• ideals of human dignity and human worth
• people came to value emotion, passion,spontaneity and individuality

Question 12

French Revolution

Answer 12

fueled by the inequality among three stratified groups

Question 13

Industrial Revolution

Answer 13

• Industrialization
• moved away from rural areas
• urbanization
• impact on social class structures
• major impact on political, social economic life

Question 14

Lloyd Ewen Stuart Brathwaite

Answer 14

Trinidadian sociologist who wrote “Social Stratification in Trinidad”. It looked at the complex nature of class, colour and culture by merging Weber’s inner dynamics of society with Parsons’ macro sociology to help our understanding of Caribbean stratification

Question 15

Michael Garfield Smith

Answer 15

• adapted J.S. Furnivall’s plural society
• he wrote an article called “social and cultural pluralism”. he attempted to develop a theoretical perspective for understanding the complexities of societies characterised by prominent cultural diversity.

Question 16

George Beckford

Answer 16

Marxist ideology reflected in the plantation model

analysed not only the way in which the plantations were organised in terms of their economic structure also how this had an impact on social stratification also how this had an impact on social stratification

colour was a symbol of status

attempted to understand the Caribbean society in the 1960s with focus on the under developed status of the Caribbean Region

Question 17

EK Brathwaite

Answer 17

came up with the creolisation thesis

Question 18

Creolisation thesis by EK Brathwaite

Answer 18

comprised a reciprocal response of blacks and whites whereby they both imitated each other’s behaviour

Question 19

sociological imagination was developed by

Answer 19

C. Wright Mills

Question 20

social structure

Answer 20

According to Gaspard et al 2005,social structure refers to the framework of society, that is, the patterns around which is organized. This is the structure and culture of societies in which relationships develop in the social group and establishes how we relate to one another both within the family and along family units

Question 21

Social institutions

Answer 21

According to Gaspard et al, they represent an enduring organized system of behavioural patterns that each society develops to meet its basic needs, they provide routine patterns for dealing with predictable patterns of social life

Question 22

social order

Answer 22

According to Haralombus and Holborn (2013), it forms the basis of social unity or social solidarity since individuals will tend to identify and feel kinship with those who share the same values as themselves

Question 23

socialisation

Answer 23

According to Giddens (2006) the process whereby the helpless infant becomes a self-aware , knowledgeable person skilled in the ways of the culture in which he or she was born

Question 24

primary socialization

Answer 24

• considered the most important part of the process
• takes place during infancy and within the family

Question 25

secondary socialization

Answer 25

- occurs after infancy - builds on the process of primary socialization - less hierarchal

Question 26

resocialisation

Answer 26

- process of learning new cultures, values , standards - relevant to adults (adapting to a new work environment ) - Incarceration - rehabilitation, behaviour modification through environmental manipulation - Institutionalization - behaviour modification

Question 27

reverse socialisation

Answer 27

- Adults being re-socialized by the younger persons of society, learning new norms and values -adapting to new technologies

Question 28

anticipatory socialization

Answer 28

entails social learning towards gaining a desired position

Question 29

Macro perspective

Answer 29

The wider impact of society on the individual and how this shapes their behaviour

Question 30

functionalism

Answer 30

views the individual as being influenced by social facts such as norms values rules regulations and laws. hence the actions of an individual are neither physiological nor psychological but because of the influence of society. the need for social order facilitated by organic solidarity results in organic solidarity the need for modern society to survive

Question 31

Durkheim social facts

Answer 31

belief systems, customs, and institutions of society which exists outside the individual and so coerces his/her behaviour

Question 32

according to functionalists, society has certain basic needs and requirements that must be met for survival. These are called functional pre - requisites

Answer 32

Adaptation - we must adapt to the environment Goal Attainment- important in keeping us alive as we move from potential to achieve to self actualisation Integration - the most important since organically we need and depend on each other Latency or pattern maintenance - the main feature of social institutions as they make social life or predictable and less chaotic

Question 33

Criticisms of Functionalism

Answer 33

- Pays too little attention to the human construction of social reality - Pays too much attention to social order -Assumes too much importance to consensus

Question 34

Marxism

Answer 34

The conflict theories see the economic system as the driving force behind an individual's action. According to Marxism the economic system forms the infrastructure and the norms, values etc. forms the superstructure. The superstructure is determined by the economy.

Question 35

Tenets of Marxism

Answer 35

Opposes Functionalism - Emphasizes " conflict as an inevitable part of social life and as the most important agent for social change"(Ferrante 2006) - Asserts that discord and disunity are common and persistent features of society - "The conflict perspective helps us to see how inequality and the conflict it generates are rooted in the organization of society itself" (Haralombus &Horthorne 2012) - Conflict is perpetuated between the different groups and classes due to varying inequalities and interests.

Question 36

Criticisms of Marxism

Answer 36

- Communism is not what Marx envisioned.. social inequality is still present - Little indication of the proletariat becoming a class for itself - Class structure in capitalist societies is not characterised by polarisation but is more complex because of a growing middle class -Sometimes the superstructure, not the economic infrastructure, directs change - ''Religious beliefs provided the ethics, attitudes and motivations for the development of capitalism ( H&H2013) -Views on the direction of social change have not been materialized

Question 37

Micro Perspective

Answer 37

focused on how the interactions made by the individual shapes his/her behaviour. the use of symbols and the meaning placed on those symbols

Question 38

Interactionism

Answer 38

This theory gives centrality to human processes and interactions Theory examines how individuals shape society and are shaped by social interactions Human beings act towards things on the basis of meanings that thes things have to them Meanings that we have for many things arise out of social interactions

Question 39

Feminism

Answer 39

the belief in equality among the sexes

Question 40

Patriarchy

Answer 40

the hierarchal structure in which men are seemed to have more power than women

Question 41

Sexism

Answer 41

the idea that men are superior to women

Question 42

Misogyny

Answer 42

the hatred of women

Question 43

DEFINE Sociology as it relates to Industrialization

Answer 43

Sociology was developed to account for the changes that accompanied industrial society

Question 44

Family

Answer 44

The family is a social group characterised by common residence economic cooperation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children owned or adopted of the sexually cohabiting adults (George Murdock 1949

Question 45

Who disagreed with Murdock's belief that the nuclear family is most ideal

Answer 45

Edholm (1982) states that there is nothing ideal about the nuclear family as families are socially constructed and based on culture rather than biology

Question 46

function of the family according to parsons

Answer 46

stabilisation of adult personalities primary socialisation

Question 47

assumptions of the functionalists on family

Answer 47

Marriage is important in the family The isolated nuclear family is fast becoming the dominant family form in modern industrial societies There is a natural fit between modern industrial societies Roles in the family are becoming increasingly equal The family is a good thing as its functional for its members and a wider society

Question 48

Criticism of the functionalist perspective (family)

Answer 48

Functionalist theories tend to give rise to the benefits of the family but little consideration is made for the disadvantages Functionalists fail to consider the viability of alternatives to the family Many functionalists do not consider the other family types Interpretivists argue that functionalists place too much emphasis on the role that the family plays for society while ignoring how individuals in families develop their own meaning of things and figure out things based on what these interactions mean to them

Question 49

Assumptions of the Marxists on the Family

Answer 49

The economy influences the structure of the family The family is responsible for maintaining class divisions in capitalist society as children are socialised into accepting their social class position,this ensures that the ruling class always have a labour force to exploit. Married women are oppressed in the home and taken advantage of and they are regarded as nothing more than a reserve labour force The family is seen as a place of refuge from work Families are the consumers in a modern capitalists societies as they purchase a wide range of goods

Question 50

Leach

Answer 50

believes that the family isolates its members and in some cases promotes religious bigotry racism and sexism in the home

Question 51

Criticisms of the Marxist perspective (family)

Answer 51

- Marxists agrees that the structure of the family is dependent on the nature of the social system - Marxists focus on the negative aspects of the family and fail to recognize the satisfaction it provides for its members - because of the many changes made in the workplace it is unlikely women will remain a reserve labour workforce - Feminists disagree with Marxists as they believe the reason for women's inequality is because of gender and not class