Week 3 Flashcards
(34 cards)
How does social structure shape our lives?
It plays a powerful role in shaping individuals’ lives as well as their access to valuable social RESOURCES, and provides a set of RULES that people must navigate
Social Status
A person’s or group’s socially determined positions within a large group or society, which can be achieved or given
Social Role
The set of expectations concerning the behavior and attitudes of people who occupy a particular social position
Life Chances
Opportunities to provide yourself with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences
Ascribed vs Achieved Status
Ascribed status is assigned by society at birth, not based on the individual’s characteristics. Achieved status is acquired by one’s own efforts
Role Conflict
Inconsistency between two or more roles
Noliwe Rooks
Scholar who addressed how natural hair has long been viewed as unprofessional because it was not a part of white beauty standards, and how their appearance affects how Black women are perceived, treated, and given opportunities
Max Weber
Explained how social status is closely tied to the life chances someone has
Cheryl Thompson
Feminist scholar who interviewed Black women to consider the meanings of hairstyles and what they tell us about racial hierarchies
Norms
Rules and expectations by which a group guides the behavior of its members
Social Network
Series of social relationships that link a person directly to other individuals and indirectly to even more people
What is agency?
Our ability to act according to our own will, shaped by the structural rules we encounter and resources at our disposal
How do we construct and maintain identities?
Our identities are constructed through the social influences that we encounter in our daily lives as well as how we see ourselves through the eyes of others.
How do agents of socialization shape our identities and behaviors?
The family, education, peer groups, and mass media are often identified as the four most important agents of socialization. The socialization process does not just happen to us as children or young adults; it occurs throughout our lives
Thomas McPartland & Manford Kuhn
Developed the Twenty-Statements Test (TST), which is used to analyze how people identify themselves
George Herbert Mead
One of the earliest sociologists to study the processes of identity formation and socialization. He argued that our sense of self develops from our social experiences and interactions
Generalized Other
The values and norms of the larger culture that guides your actions
Looking-glass Self
The way our perception of how others see us affects our sense of self
Erving Goffman
Introduced the idea of total institutions
Total Institution
A social institution where groups of people are largely cut off from the wider society and their lives are largely controlled by the institution
Judith Lorber
Explained that socialized into our gender identities, status, and roles from birth
Socialization
Experiences that give us an identity and that teach us how to be members of society
What is the relationship between individual agency and social structure?
There is a dynamic interplay between individual agency and social structure. Our actions are constrained and enabled by social structural rules and resources
Jen’Nan Ghazal Read & John Bartowski
Worked to uncover the diverse attitudes Muslim women have toward veiling; spoke with college students, professionals, and homemakers ranging in age from 21 to 55.
