Sociological Theories & Social Institutions Flashcards

Question

Define communism

Answer 1

An extreme form of socialism in which all means of production are owned by all workers equally

Answer 2

◦ Connect to conflict theory ◦ Agreed with Marx that the inequalities in a capitalist system would lead to conflict, but did not believe that the collapse of capitalism was inevitable ◦ Belived Marx's viewpoint which focused on economics was too narrow, and believed that values, beliefs, would play a big role ◦ Argued that the protestant/puritan work ethic was a key factor in the success of the capitalist system in replacing the feudalist system it followed in Western Europe ◦ Believed that the fundamental trend of modern society was the increasing rationalization of society

Answer 3

A widely held religious belief that admired the morality of hard work for the sake of Godliness

Answer 4

The increasing concern with efficiency (achieving the maximum result with the minimum amout of effort)

Answer 5

◦ Both emphasize the large-scale structures of society over individuals (macro theory) ◦ The perspectives of Karl Marx & Max Weber fundamentally differ from Émile Durkheim, the three men are considered the founders of sociology

Answer 6

◦ That is focuses too much on competition and does not recognize the role of stability within society ◦ Focuses too limitedly on economic factors, views society only from the perspecitve of those who lack power, and ignore the cooperative ways in which people and groups can reach reasonable agreements for the good of society as a whole

Answer 7

◦ Micro theory ◦ Emphasizes the way by which individuals actively shape their world through their understanding and subsequent behavioural responses to the meanings they attribute to the societal symbols through which individuals define their reality ◦ Examines the relationships b/w individuals and society by focusing on the exchange of information through language and symbols in one-on-one and small group communication, where meanings depend on both individual interpretations and social context ◦ Associated with George Herbert Mead - in the initial development of the viewpoint

Answer 8

People behave based on what they believe to be true, whether or not their beliefs are actually true

Answer 9

◦ By addressing the subjective meanings that people impose upon, objects, events, and behaviours ◦ Argues that society is constructed through human interpretation as people must continually interpret their own behaviours as well as those of others around them, and these interpretations form a special bond

Answer 10

1. Humans ascibe meaning to things and act toward those things bsed on their ascribed meaning 2. Language allows humans to generate meaning through social interaction w/ each other and society 3. Humans modify meansings through an interpretive thought process that observes and considers the reactions of others as well as the social context of these interactions

Answer 11

◦ In addition to the foundational beliefs of symbolic interactionism, believed in identity and the development of the self ◦ Believed the self is developed through language, games and play - all of which contribute significantly in the formation of identity ◦ Differenciated between "I" and "me"

Answer 12

◦ Language: incorporates what we say and hear, but also all modes of communication (including body language and interpretation of meaning) ◦ Social play is characterized by spontaneity and freedom, with minimal social rules and limited stakes ◦ Social games have a much stricter set of rules and offer greater stakes (ie. MCAT)

Answer 13

◦ Two important parts to identity: the individualistic self ("I") and the social self ("me") ◦ "I" - tries to establish its own unique identity through social interactions in the face of social pressures and expectations - the active agent (the part that acts on other people and things and has its own autonomy and will) ◦ "me" - when others are acting and interpreting our behaviour and we are the object of their actions and interpretations

Answer 14

◦ The theory that interpretation of a situation affects the response to that situation ◦ A phenomonon that is an example of the "definition of the situation" - which is when people interpret one another's behaviour and it is these interpretations that form our social bonds

Answer 15

◦ A specific type of interactionist philosophy ◦ Developed by Erving Goffman ◦ This paradigm views people as theatrical performers and everyday life as a stage ◦ The idea that people in society choose what kind dof image they want to communicate to those they interact with

Answer 16

◦ That the theory neglects the macro-level of social interpretation and may miss the larger issues of society by focusing too closely on individual interactions

Answer 17

◦ Depending on context, can be macro or micro ◦ Argues that people actively shape their reality through social interactions, and therefore reality is something that is socially constructed rather than inherent ◦ Focuses on social constructs that changfe across cultures and within a single culture over time ◦ Claims that social attributes like race, gender, sexuality, class are constructs of society (or an artifice of society), as are our concepts of occupational status, power, and mental health/illness ◦ Includes individual stocks of knowledge, typification, and analyzes the effects of mass media

Answer 18

That society is subject to cultural "meaning-making" and collective definition-building and that the primary way that societies evolve is through changes in collective meaning-making ◦ This similarity derives from the fact that most social contructionists have been greatly influenced by the tenets of symbolic interactionism ◦ Both theories challenge the scientific viewpoint that there is one objective reality shared by all humans

Answer 19

That while symbolic interactionists focus almost exclusively on one-on-one and small group interactions, social constructionists examine the constructs of society from both marco and micro-sociological perspectives

Answer 20

◦ Refers to the collection of information and knowledge resources, and are socially produced and impose an order on the universe and human experience w/in it

Answer 21

The process of classifying or categorizing abstract concepts, ideas, or experiences into concrete and recognizable entities or types

Answer 22

◦ Concerned with the social experience of both men and women and the difference b/w these experiences ◦ Strives to understand both the social structures that contribute to gender differeences (macro-level questions) and the effects of gender differences on inidividual interactions (micro-level questions) ◦ Related to, but isn't feminism ◦ Can extend to questions of intersectionality

Answer 23

The idea that various human aspects subject to societal oppression (ie. class, race, sexual orientation and gender) do not exist isolated and separated from each other, but have complex, influential, and interwoven relationships

Answer 24

◦ Social exchange theory ◦ Game theory ◦ Rational actor theory ◦ All bring a decidedly economic approach to the analysis of why, when, and how people interact ◦ Individuals seek to maximize the benefits they gain and minimize the disadvantages they sustain in all of their social interactions ◦ Social oder is possible b/c individuals realise that their best interests are often served through cooperation and compromises with others ◦ Often micro theories as look at individuals, but can be macro theories if accessing a large group of people

Answer 25

◦ human behaviours are utilitarian

Answer 26

1. That individual humans are rational in their actions 2. That in every human interaction, individuals seek to maximize their own self-interest

Answer 27

◦ For assuming the inherent rationality of human actions and minimizing the role of culture and subjective meaning in individual and group behaviour

Answer 28

Complexes of roles, norms, and values organized into a relatively stable form that contribute to social order by governing the behaviour of people. ◦ They provide predictability and organization for individuals within a society and mediate social behaviour b/w people

Answer 29

◦ Family ◦ Education ◦ Religion ◦ Government & Economy ◦ Health & Medicine

Answer 30

◦ In all of its forms, it is part of all human cultures ◦ It can be defined as a set of people related by blood, marriage, adapotion, or some other relationship that signified some responsibility to each other ◦ Families tend to serve five functions

Answer 31

1. Reproduction & the monitoring of sexual behaviour 2. Protection 3. Socialization (passing down norms and values of society) 4. Affection and companionship 5. Social status (social position is often based on family background and reputation)

Answer 32

◦ Nuclear family: consists of direct blood relatives ◦ Extended family: are grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc.

Answer 33

◦ Monogamy: marriage b/w two individuals ◦ Polygamy: An individual has multiple wives/husbands simultaneously ◦ Polygyny: A man married to more than one women ◦ Polyandry: A women married to more than one man ◦ Endogamy: The practice of marrying within a particular group ◦ Exogamy: A requirement to marry outside a particular grouo, with it being the norm is almost all cultures to prohibit sexual relationships b/w certain relatives

Answer 34

◦ Polygyny (man + many wifes) ◦ Polyandry (women + many husbands)

Answer 35

How we think about who we are related to ◦ Generally considered a cultural group, rather than a biological one

Answer 36

When a kin group inolve both the maternal and paternal relations

Answer 37

◦ Patrilineal: If kin groups have a preference for paternal relations ◦ Matrilineal: If kin groups have a preference for maternal relations

Answer 38

◦ In partriarchy men have more authority than women ◦ In matriarchy, women have more authority than men

Answer 39

Spouses are treated as equals and may be involved in more negotiation when making decisions

Answer 40

1. Cultural differences: ie. extended family living with you 2. Divorce 3. Cohabitation: couples living together prior to marriage 4. Lesbian and gay relationships

Answer 41

A situation where one family member is directly responsible for the threat through their mistreatment of another person, often in an attempt to gain power, leaving their target fearful and powerless

Answer 42

◦ Involves violence directed toward a child target ◦ There are four categories of child abuse; physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect

Answer 43

◦ Involves violence directed toward one partner of an intimate relationship, were the abuser is the second partner ◦ Also refered to as dating abuse or spousal abuse

Answer 44

◦ Involves violence directed toward an older target ◦ With elder abuse, there is an expectation of trust from the older person, which is violated in the course of violence

Answer 45

1. Physical abuse 2. Emotional abuse 3. Sexual abuse 4. Neglect

Answer 46

◦ Alcohol consumption ◦ Mental illness ◦ Certain social situations

Answer 47

◦ They have both ◦ Their manifest functions are to systematically pass down knowledge and to give status to those who have been educated ◦ Their latent functions include socialization, serving as agents of change, and maintaining social control

Answer 48

◦ They transmit aspects of the dominant culture ◦ They play a role in teaching the dominant language and literature, holidays and traditions, historical figures and events, and exposes people to existing beliefs - all of which involves a significant degree of interpretation ◦ They help maintain the current social norms by training students on discipline expected in institutions like the workplace, schools, etc

Answer 49

The unspoken, often unintended lessons, values, and perspecitives that students learn within an educational setting, distinct from the formal curriculum ◦ It often conflicts with the ,anifest curriculum

Answer 50

B/c the best schools, with the best tools to educate kids are expensive and only offered to those with money, but to get money you need a good education ◦ This is accomplished through the processes of educational segregation and stratification

Answer 51

The widening disparity b/w children from high-income neighbourhoods and those from low-income heighbourhoods

Answer 52

◦ They tend to attend poorer schools and receive poorer educations ◦ They are far less likely than children from wealthier neighbourhoods to pursue a four-year college degree, and even more unlikely to pursue education beyond college (ie. graduate or medical degree) ◦ They are more likely to end up with lower-paying jobs, and perpetrate the cycle of poverty for themselves

Answer 53

The idea that teaxhers tend to quickly form expectations of individual students, and once they have formed these expectations, they tend to act toward the student with these expectations in mind ◦ If the student accepts the teachers expectations as reasonable, the student will begin to perform in accordance with them

Answer 54

Educations ability to reinforce and perpetuate social inrqualities (even though it is known as the path for upward mobility)

Answer 55

◦ Involves beliefs and practices that are based on objects and ideas that are recognizes as sacred and worthy of reverence

Answer 56

1. Ecclesia 2. Church 3. Sect 4. Cult/New Religous Movement

Answer 57

◦ A dominant religous organization that includes most members of society, is recognized as the national or offical religion, and tolerates no other religions ◦ Is often integrated into political institutions ◦ People do not choose to participate but are born into the social institution ◦ Examples: Sweden (Lutheranism is the offical state religion) and Iran (Islam is the offical state religion)

Answer 58

◦ A type of religious organization that is well-integrated into the larger society ◦ Church membership tends to occur by birth, but most churches allow people to join ◦ Congregations are typically concerned with both the sacred and ordinary aspects of life and have well stipulated rules and regulations ◦ Example: the Catholic church

Answer 59

◦ A religious organization that is distinct from that of the larger society ◦ Are often formed from breaking away from larger religious institutions ◦ Over time, some sects may develop into churches ◦ Membership may be by birth or through conversion ◦ Examples: the Mormon community & the Amish community

Answer 60

◦ A religious organization that is far outside society's norms and often involves a very different lifestyle ◦ Examples: the Branch Davidians and Heaven's Gate

Answer 61

◦ It can create social cohesion (as well as dissent), social change (as well as control), and provide believers with meaning and purpose

Answer 62

Refers to the use of the church in a political effort against various social issues, such as poverty and injustice

Answer 63

The process through which religion loses its social significance in modern societies ◦ Still present in North America and religious factors continue to influence enconomics and politics

Answer 64

A second response to modernist societies in which there is strong attachment to traditional religious beliefs and practices and a strict adherence to basic religious doctrines resulting from a literalist interpretation of these texts

Answer 65

1. Christianity 2. Islam 3. Hinduism 4. Buddhism 5. Judaism

Answer 66

◦ The largest single faith in the world (~30% of the worlds population) ◦ Many demoninations ◦ Although church and state are legally separate, many social and political matters reference God ◦ Is monotheistic (one God), and its followers also believe in prophets (Jesus as the Son of God), an afterlife, and a judgment day

Answer 67

◦ The second largest religion in the world (~20-25% of the worlds population) ◦ Followers are known as Muslims ◦ Monotheistic (one god - Allah), and its followers believe in prophets (with the final one being Mohammad), an afterlife, and a judgement day ◦ Muslim goverments often do not separate religion and state and often religion dictates law in Muslim countries ◦ Muslim cultures vary in their norms, with issues such as hijabs worn by women being cultural rather than religious

Answer 68

◦ Developed in India ◦ Is a polytheistic religion (many gods) - major deities such as Shiva and Vishnu ◦ Practiced by about ~14% of the worlds population ◦ Believe in reincarnation, or rebirth after death

Answer 69

◦ Teaches overcoming cravings for physical or material pleasures primarily through meditative practices

Answer 70

◦ Monotheistic (one god) ◦ Formed the historical basis for Christianity and Islam ◦ Jews believe that God formed a covenant with Abraham and Sarah, and that if certain rules were followed (the Ten Commandements), God would bring paradise to Earth ◦ Make up 0.22% of the world's population

Answer 71

Refers to the extend of influence of religion in a person's life

Answer 72

Those who are devout to the extreme, who adhere strictly to religious beliefs

Answer 73

◦ Both influence and are influenced by social structure ◦ Power structures are a fundamental part of both (although there are different ways to acquire power) ◦ Different ways to acquire power & types of power ◦ Different ways for leaders to be elected & structures of governments

Answer 74

Power held within legal rules and regulationed which are in a document like a constitution

Answer 75

Power derived from custom, tradition, or accepted practice

Answer 76

Those who are powerful due to their power of persiasion

Answer 77

◦ A government controlled by a small group of people, selected based on specific qualifications, with decision-making power ◦ The public is not involved in most political decisions ◦ Include aristocracies and meritocracies

Answer 78

◦ Aristocracies: those ruled by elite citizens; like those with noble birth ◦ Meritocracies: those ruled by the meritorious; like those with a record of meaningful social contributions

Answer 79

◦ A government controlled by a single person, or a selective small group, with absolute decision-making power ◦ Include dictatoriships and fascist governments

Answer 80

◦ Dictatorships: those rules by one person ◦ Fascist governments: those ruled by a small group of leaders

Answer 81

◦ Those controlled by a single person, or a selective small group, who inherited their leadership role, like kings and quyeens ◦ There are both absolute and constitutional monarchies (in which leaders are limited through formal constitutions)

Answer 82

◦ Consists of an unelected leader ◦ The public might have some individual freedoms but have no control over representation ◦ Kim Jon Un (North Korea) ◦ Include totalitarianism

Answer 83

Thiose in which unelected leaders regulat both public and private life through coercive means of control

Answer 84

◦ Has elected leaders ◦ The public has some gree of political decision-making power through either direct decisions or representation ◦ Include direct democracies and representative democracies

Answer 85

◦ Direct democracies: governments in which there is direct public participation ◦ Representative democracies: governments in which there is indirect public participation through the election of representatives

Answer 86

Formal groups of people that share the same prinicle political beliefs and organise with a common purpose of ensuring governance that supports these principles through appropriate policies

Answer 87

◦ Leaders can be elected or unelected ◦ The public migt have the power to elect representation, but people have little influence in directing decisions and social change ◦ Controlled by a small group of people with shared interests ◦ Ie. Theocracies are governments ruled by religious elite ◦ Russia is an example

Answer 88

Consider their countries to be public concerns and are thus democratic in nature - meaning that the people have the supreme power in these societes

Answer 89

◦ Includes a governing representative head that shares power with constituent groups ◦ There is the division b/w the central government, or the federal government, and the constituent governments, or the state, provincal, and local governments

Answer 90

◦ Include both executive and legislative branches that are interconnected ◦ Members of the executive branch (ministers) are accountable to members of the legistlature

Answer 91

◦ Include organizing branches (executive and legislative branches), with a head of state

Answer 92

◦ A political concept that refers to societies without a public government ◦ A common implication of 'lawlessness'

Answer 93

◦ Concerned with the production, distribution, and comsumption of resources, both goods and services

Answer 94

1. Command economies (also know as planned economies) 2. Market economies 3. Mixed economies 4. Traditional economies

Answer 95

◦ Also known as 'planned economies' ◦ Economic decisions are based on a plan of production and the means of production after often public (state-owned) ◦ These include socialism & communism

Answer 96

◦ Economic decisions are based on the market (supply and demand) ◦ The means of production are often private ◦ These include laissez-faire and free market economies

Answer 97

◦ Blend elements of command and market economies with both public and private ownership ◦ There are various degrees of involvement ranging from public oversight, and public funding of private production

Answer 98

◦ Consider social customs in economic decisions ◦ This practice in most common in rural areas and often involves bartering and trading

Answer 99

An economic system in which resources and production are mainly privately owned ◦ Goods/services are produced for a profit ◦ The driving force in capitalist societies is the pursuit of personal profit ◦ Thought that capitalism benefits the consumer by allowing for competition, which theorectically promotes higher quality and lower prices of goods and services ◦ Also thought to emphasize personal freedom, by limiting government restrictions and regulations

Answer 100

◦ An economic system where resources and production are collectively owned ◦ Has a system of production and distribution designed to satisfy human needs (goods/servies are produced for direct use insteaad of for profit) ◦ Private property is limited and the government intervenes to share property amongst all ◦ The driving force is collective goals ◦ The economy is usually centrally controlled and run by the government

Answer 101

◦ A specific socialist structure in which there is common ownership of the means of production, but also the absence of currencies, classes, and states, based on shared economic, political, and social ideologies

Answer 102

◦ A systme in which most of the economy is private with the exception of extensive social welfare programs to serve certain needs within society ◦ Most western european countries demonstrate this b/c most of their economies are baed on capitalist principles, but universal health care is provided by the state

Answer 103

◦ Is a system in which companies are privately run, but work closely with the government in forming laws and regulations

Answer 104

Highly esteemed white-collar occupations that require a great deal of education

Answer 105

◦ Occurs as societies become so complex that it is not possible for an individual to meet all of his or her needs along (such as happened with the rise of capitalism) ◦ Different occupations emerge as a response - these occupations are specialized to serve a specific social need ◦ B/c individuals no longer participate in all of the activities required for survival, there is an inrease in interdependence - this has both positive and negative consequences for social order ◦ Ie. it has increase the rate of production but it has also decreased the similarities in social experience among individuals, contributing to class differences

Answer 106

He differentiated b/w the two forms of social solidarity in relation to economic approaches ◦ Mechanical solidarity ◦ Organic solidarity

Answer 107

Mechanical solidarity: Allows society to remain integrated b/c individuals have common beliefs that lead to each person having the same fundamental experience Organic solidarity: Allows society to integrate through a division of labour, which leds to each person having a different personal experience - thus, each movement is distinguishable and separate

Answer 108

◦ Medicine is the social institution that governs health and illness, specifically regarding diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illness ◦ Society plays a role in defining health/illness and acceptable health care practices (ie. different emphasis on physical health and mental health)

Answer 109

◦ Accomplished by teams of health-care providers with different training and backgrounds and specialty aeras, like physicians and nurses, therapists, dentists, etc. ◦ It is organized into different levels: primary, secondary, and teriary care

Answer 110

◦ Primary care: Those responsible for preventative care or disease management, or community-based care (urgent care centers) ◦ Secondary care: Involves acute care (the ED), and specialty care, which is often received following the referral from a primary care provider ◦ Tertiary care: A very specialized form of health care. Often specific to a limited set of conditions (ie. cancer hospitals, burn centers, and palliative care (end of life facilities))

Answer 111

It emphasizes physical or medical factors as being the cause of all illness ◦ The model views illness as a deviation from normal bodily functioning caused by biological factors and seeks to cure or fix this dysfunction ◦ It focuses on idnetifying and treating the underlying pathology to restore the body to a healthy state ◦ Health care workers looking for the *ultimate cause* of a person's illness

Answer 112

The process by which a condition comes to be reconceptualized as a disease with a medical diagnosis and a medicial treatment

Answer 113

◦ Emphasizes the effect one's social class, meployment status, neighbourhood, exposure to environmental toxins, diet, and many ofther factors can have on a person's attunded to a more *proximate cause* of the illness- something about the patient's life circumstances that put him/her at a greater risk of exposure

Answer 114

The field that studies how social organization contributes to the prevalence, incidence and distribution of diosease acorss and within populations ◦ A field within the social model of disease

Answer 115

An area where healthy, fresh-food is difficult to find because there are no proper grocery stores, making people more likely to eat high-calorie foods that have low nutirtional value

Answer 116

◦ A concept developed by Talcott Parsons ◦ The concept that when a person is ill, they are not able to be a contributing member of society - and is therefore a form of deviance ◦ As others have to take up the extra work in this person's absence, they must consider the person's illness to be legit - they must sanction this person's deviance by exempting him/her from normal social roles and by not blaming the person for his or her illness ◦ In return, the person must fulfill the obligations of a sick persion by seeking medical care and make an attempt to get well

Answer 117

1. The sick role, describes society's response to illness 2. Illness experience, explains the pateint's subjective experience of illness

Answer 118

1. For those with chronic disease, stigmatizes diseases, and 'lifestyle' diseases - and other either may not know much about it and therefore not believe the legitimation of the sick role 2. The sick role ws developed to describe acute illness and cannot explain chronic illness, where a person has good days and bad days, and often must carry on with normal life despite poor health

Answer 119

Research on illness experience takes the patient's subjective experience as its main concern

Answer 120

1. The sick role implies a passive patient and an authoritative physician 2. Research on illness experience takes the patient's subjective experience of illness as its main concern, but concidering how it affects a patient's overall way of life and experiences (their ability to work, to spend time with friends, and cultivate their selves)

Sociological Theories & Social Institutions Flashcards

(144 cards)