Sociology 101 Final 2018

Kozol— "Savage Inequalities"

"Equity is basically a goal to be desired and should be pursued for moral reasons, but would probably make no difference since poor kids still would lack the motivation and would probably fail in any case." • "Why should we should bus in kids from the city? How does it benefit any of us?" "I don't think busing students from the ghetto would do any good? You can take them out of the environment, but you can't take the environment out of them." "Keep them where they are, but make it equal."

patriarchial families

, fathers are the major authority figure in the family

Nudist management of respectability

1. Nudity and sexuality are unrelated 2. there is nothing shameful about the human body 3. nudity promotes a feeling of freedom and natural pleasure 4. nudist camp socialization requires redefining nakedness

Criteria of Causality

1. The independent variable and dependent variable must be statistically related. 2. The independent variable must precede the dependent variable in time and/or in logic. 3. The relationship between the independent variable and dependent variable must not be spurious. 4. No better explanation exists for the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable.

society

A community of people who share a common culture

socioeconomic status (SES)

A division of population based on occupation, income, and education.

democratic leadership

A form of leadership in which the leader solicits input from others.

patriarchy

A form of social organization in which males dominate females

nuclear family

A married couple and their children living together

glass ceiling

A metaphor alluding to the invisible barriers that prevent minorities and women from being promoted to top corporate positions.

self-report survey

A research approach that requires subjects to reveal their own participation in delinquent or criminal acts.

quota sample (nonrandom)`

A sample deliberately constructed to reflect several of the major characteristics of a given population

Scientific Method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

groupthink

A situation in which group members seek unanimous agreement despite their individual doubts

false consciousness

A term used by Karl Marx to describe an attitude held by members of a class that does not accurately reflect their objective position.

victimless crime

A term used by sociologists to describe the willing exchange among adults of widely desired, but illegal, goods and services.

crime

A violation of criminal law for which some governmental authority applies formal penalties.

Purpose of a degree

According to the Bounded Rationality explanation: ◦ Human beings possess limited information processing abilities ◦ Due to these limitations, we use various techniques to make things simpler. ◦ Thus, degrees are screening and sorting devices for employers

Purpose of a degree

According to the Human Capital Model: ◦ Students attend college to acquire the knowledge and skills modern societies require ◦ This allows them to obtain meaningful employment.

The high school dropout rate is: highest for Latinos and Native Americans; and lowest for Asians and whites.

Among persons 25 or older: Whites and especially Asians/Pacific Islanders are most likely to have a college degree. African Americans and Latinos least likely to have a college degree

Leaving Home for College

Anticipate change strategize about solidifying certain identities evaluate identities they wish to escape imagine identities they want to discover

existing data

Because existing data have already been gathered, the researcher does not have to spend the time and money to gather data. The data set that is being analyzed may not contain data on all the variables in which a sociologist is interested or may contain data on variables that are not measured in ways the sociologist prefers.

deviance

Behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society

Moral development

Children develop their ability to think and act morally through several stages. If they fail to reach the conventional stage, in which adolescents realize that their parents and society have rules that should be followed because they are morally right to follow, they might well engage in harmful behavior. Whereas boys tend to use formal rules to decide what is right or wrong, girls tend to take personal relationships into account.

Looking-glass self

Children gain an impression of how people perceive them as the children interact with them. In effect, children "see" themselves when they interact with other people, as if they are looking in a mirror. Individuals use the perceptions that others have of them to develop judgments and feelings about themselves.

Taking the role of the other

Children pretend to be other people in their play and in so doing learn what these other people expect of them. Younger children take the role of significant others, or the people, most typically parents and siblings, who have the most contact with them; older children when they play sports and other games take on the roles of other people and internalize the expectations of the generalized other, or society itself.

Cognitive development

Cognitive development occurs through four stages. The final stage is the formal operational stage, which begins at age 12 as children begin to use general principles to resolve various problems

Conflict theory - education

Education promotes social inequality through the use of tracking and standardized testing and the impact of its "hidden curriculum." Schools differ widely in their funding and learning conditions, and this type of inequality leads to learning disparities that reinforce social inequality.

functionalism - education

Education serves several functions for society. These include (a) socialization, (b) social integration, (c) social placement, and (d) social and cultural innovation. Latent functions include child care, the establishment of peer relationships, and lowering unemployment by keeping high school students out of the full-time labor force. Problems in the educational institution harm society because all these functions cannot be completely fulfilled

egalitarian families

Families in which spouses share similar positions of power at home and in the workplace.

ethnic group

Group of people who share common ancestry, language, religion, customs, or combination of such characteristics

True love is all over in 30 months

Hazan's conclusions challenge the romantic ideal, suggesting instead that men and women are biologically and mentally predisposed to be "in love" for only 18-30 months. "What we call love is created by a chemical cocktail in the brain triggered through social conditioning." "The effect wears off, returning people to a relatively relaxed state of mind within two years. By that time, couples have either parted or decided that they are easy enough with each other to stay together. Love becomes a habit, especially if children are in the frame. But those chemicals rarely return again in the relationship, even if further children are required. That is it for true love." People who are addicted to the chemicals fall into a pattern of serial monogamy

gestures

How you move your hands, arms and fingers to convey ideas or emotion

Identity development

Identity development encompasses eight stages across the life course. The fifth stage occurs in adolescence and is especially critical because teenagers often experience an identity crisis as they move from childhood to adulthood

social networks

Interconnections among individuals that foster social interaction.

Survey pro/con

Many people can be included. If given to a random sample of the population, a survey's results can be generalized to the population. Large surveys are expensive and time consuming. Although much information is gathered, this information is relatively superficial.

People with higher levels of education tend to live longer than those with lower levels of education

More highly educated people are less likely to smoke and engage in other unhealthy activities. 2. More highly educated people are more likely to exercise and to engage in other healthy activities and also to eat healthy diets. 3. More highly educated people have better access to high-quality health care

Observation Pro/con

Observational studies may provide rich, detailed information about the people who are observed. Because observation studies do not involve random samples of the population, their results cannot readily be generalized to the population.

Utilitarianism (rational choice theory or exchange theory)

People act to maximize their advantages in a given situation and to reduce their disadvantages. If they decide that benefits outweigh disadvantages, they will initiate the interaction or continue it if it is already under way. If they instead decide that disadvantages outweigh benefits, they will decline to begin interacting or stop the interaction if already begun. Social order is possible because people realize it will be in their best interests to cooperate and to make compromises when necessary. Utilitarianism is a micro theory.

Symbolic interactionism

People construct their roles as they interact; they do not merely learn the roles that society has set out for them. As this interaction occurs, individuals negotiate their definitions of the situations in which they find themselves and socially construct the reality of these situations. In so doing, they rely heavily on symbols such as words and gestures to reach a shared understanding of their interaction. Symbolic interactionism is a micro theory

bourgeoisie

Ruling class

You just don't understand women and men in conversion

She will feel hurt that he did not communicate with her and include her in the decision-making process

vertical social structure

Social inequality ways in which a society or group ranks people in a hierarchy

Functionalism

Social stability is necessary to have a strong society, and adequate socialization and social integration are necessary to achieve social stability. Society's social institutions perform important functions to help ensure social stability. Slow social change is desirable, but rapid social change threatens social order. Functionalism is a macro theory

Conflict theory

Society is characterized by pervasive inequality based on social class, gender, and other factors. Far-reaching social change is needed to reduce or eliminate social inequality and to create an egalitarian society. Conflict theory is a macro theory.

symbolic interaction

Stratification affects people's beliefs, lifestyles, daily interaction, and conceptions of themselves.

Funcationalism

Stratification is necessary to induce people with special intelligence, knowledge, and skills to enter the most important occupations. For this reason, stratification is necessary and inevitable.

Conflict

Stratification results from lack of opportunity and from discrimination and prejudice against the poor, women, and people of color. It is neither necessary nor inevitable.

Burka and the bikini

The Taliban's horrific treatment of women should inspire Americans to see how our own social constraints are harmful to women The Western image of a perfect body

Conflict - family

The family contributes to social inequality by reinforcing economic inequality and by reinforcing patriarchy. The family can also be a source of conflict, including physical violence and emotional cruelty, for its own members.

Functionalism Family

The family performs several essential functions for society. It socializes children, it provides emotional and practical support for its members, it helps regulate sexual activity and sexual reproduction, and it provides its members with a social identity. In addition, sudden or far-reaching changes in the family's structure or processes threaten its stability and weaken society.

symbolic interaction - family

The interaction of family members and intimate couples involves shared understandings of their situations. Wives and husbands have different styles of communication, and social class affects the expectations that spouses have of their marriages and of each other. Romantic love is the common basis for American marriages and dating relationships, but it is much less common in several other contemporary nations

On Being Sane in Insane Places

The normal are not delectably sane Characteristics that lead to psyc diagnosis reside in the environment someone is in.

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

The ongoing victimization study conducted jointly by the Justice Department and the U.S. Census Bureau that surveys victims about their experiences with law violation.

ethnic pride

The sense of self-worth that many people derive from their ethnic backgrounds.

Symbolic interactionism - education

This perspective focuses on social interaction in the classroom, on the playground, and in other school venues. Specific research finds that social interaction in schools affects the development of gender roles and that teachers' expectations of pupils' intellectual abilities affect how much pupils learn. Certain educational problems have their basis in social interaction and expectations

politics

Three types of authority 1. Traditional authority is based on a society's customs and traditions 2. Rational-legal authority stems from a society's rules 3. Charismatic authority derives from an individual's extraordinary personal qualities and is the most unstable of the three types of authority, because it ends with the death of the person who possesses this type of authority.

What includes drug use, prostitution, pornography and gambling?

Victim-less crime

conventional crime

Violent and property offenses, including homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.

race

a category of people who share certain inherited physical characteristics, such as skin color, facial features, and stature.

social category

a collection of individuals who have at least one attribute in common but otherwise do not necessarily interact (women)

social aggregate

a collection of people who are in the same place at the same time but who otherwise do not necessarily interact, except in the most superficial of ways, or have anything else in common. The crowd at a sporting event

social construction

a concept that has no objective reality but rather is what people decide it is

background assumptions

a deeply embedded, common understanding of how the world operates and of how people ought to act

extended family

a family that extends beyond the nuclear family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives, who all live nearby or in one household.

family

a group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment and who care for one another

subculture

a group that shares the central values and beliefs of the larger culture but still retains certain values, beliefs, and norms that make it distinct from the larger culture

Counterculture

a group whose values and beliefs directly oppose those of the larger culture and even reject it

prestige

a high standing achieved through success or influence or wealth etc.

secondary group

a large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a specific goal or activity

instrumental leader

a leader who is goal oriented with a primary focus on accomplishing tasks

convenience sample

a nonrandom sample that is used because it is relatively quick and inexpensive to obtain

class systems

a person is born into a social ranking but can move up or down from it much more easily than in caste systems or slave societies

sexual orientation

a person's preference for sexual relationships with individuals of the other sex (heterosexuality), one's own sex (homosexuality), or both sexes (bisexuality)

random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

primary group

a small social group whose members share personal and lasting relationships

caste system

a social structure in which classes are determined by heredity

gender roles

a society's expectations of people's behavior and attitudes based on whether they are females or males

sample

a subset of the population

social stratification

a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy

ideology

a system of ideas and ideals that set the status quo

Feminist Theory

a theoretical approach that looks at gender inequities in society and the way that gender structures the social world

dramaturgical approach Erving Goffman

a view of social interaction in which people are seen as theatrical performers

Our usual knowledge and understanding of social reality come from at least five sources

a) personal experience; (b) common sense; (c) the media (including the Internet); (d) "expert authorities," such as teachers, parents, and government officials; and (e) tradition.

class consciousness

an awareness of the reasons for oppression

consciousness

an awareness of their oppression and the true reasons for it

symbols

anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture

social control

attempts by society to regulate and prevent behavior that violates norms

episodic poverty

being poor for at least 2 consecutive months in some time period

estate systems

characterized by the concentration of economic and political power in the hands of a small minority of political-military elite, with the peasantry tied to the land

patrilineal

children are thought to be related only to their father's relatives, and wealth is passed down only to sons

matrilineal

children are thought to be related only to their mother's relatives, and wealth is passed down only to daughters

sexual harassment

comments, gestures, or physical contacts of a sexual nature that are deliberate, repeated, and unwelcome

nonverbal communication

communication using body movements, gestures, and facial expressions rather than speech

role conflict

conflict among the roles connected to two or more statuses

individual discrimination

discrimination that individuals practice in their daily lives, usually because they are prejudiced but sometimes even if they are not prejudiced

institutional discrimination

discrimination that pervades the practices of whole institutions, such as housing, medical care, law enforcement, employment, and education

authoritarian personality

emphasize such things as obedience to authority, a rigid adherence to rules, and low acceptance of people (out- groups) not like oneself

rituals

established procedures and ceremonies that often mark transitions in the life course

Formal norms

established, written rules Laws

Variable

feature or factor that may differ among the units of analysis that a researcher is studying

emotions

feelings that begin with a stimulus and that often involve psychological changes and a desire to engage in specific actions

macrosociology

focus on the big picture, which usually means such things as social structure, social institutions, and social, political, and economic change

informal morms

folkways and customs

Bureaucracy

formal organizations with certain organizational features designed to achieve goals in the most advg efficient way possible specialization hierarchy written rules and regulations impartiality and impersonality record keeping disadvg impersonality and alienation red tape trained incapacity incompetence

Part 1 Offenses (Uniform Crime Reports)

govs primary source of crime data eight felonies that the FBI considers the most serious. Four of these are violent crimes: homicide, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery; four are property crimes: burglary, larceny (e.g., shoplifting, pickpocketing, purse snatching), motor vehicle theft, and arson.

triad

group of three

dyad

group of two

reference groups

groups that set a standard for guiding our own behavior and attitudes. Family/friends

androgynous

having both male and female characteristics

in group vs out group

in group = where individual identifies - Frats out group = outside of group individual identifies - opponents

material culture,

includes all the society's physical objects, such as its tools and technology, clothing, eating utensils, and means of transportation

nonmaterial culture,

includes the values, beliefs, symbols, and language that define a society

social construction of reality

individuals who interact help construct the reality of the situation in which they interact

authoritarian leadership

involves a primary focus on achieving group goals and on rigorous compliance with group rules and penalties for noncompliance

white collar crime

job-related crimes committed by high-status people

values

judgements of what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable

formal organization

large secondary groups that follow explicit rules and procedures to achieve specific goals and tasks

expressive leader

maintain and improve the quality of relationships among group members and more generally to ensure group harmony

exogamy

marriage between people of different social categories

endogamy

marriage occurs within one's own social category or social group: people marry others of the same race, same religion, same social class, and so forth

artifacts

material evidence from the past that are left for us to study

symbolic interactionism

micro approach that focuses on the interaction of individuals and on how they interpret their interaction.

sterotype

mistaken generalizations about people because of their race and/or ethnicity

intergenerational mobility

mobility from one generation to the next within the same family

normative organizations

motivate membership based on morally relevant goals

secondary sex characteristics

nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

anomie

normlessness

feral

of a socially isolated person

coercive organizations

organization in which members do not have a choice in joining or control over their lives

Life chances

our chances of being helathy, wealthy, educated, happy

gender identity

our sense of being male or female

utilitarian organizations

provide an income or some other personal benefit - Business organizations

Experiment pro/con

provide fairly convincing data on cause and effect. and most often involve college students, their results cannot readily be generalized to the population.

intragenerational mobility

refers to mobility within a person's own lifetime

Enthocentrism

refers to the tendency to judge another culture by the standards of our own and to the belief that our own culture is indeed superior to another culture

sociobiology

several important human behaviors and emotions, such as competition, aggression, and altruism, stem from our biological makeup

classless societies

societies with no social stratification

debunking motif

sociology looks beyond on-the-surface understandings of social reality and helps us recognize the value of alternative understandings

Norms

standards and expectations for behaving

Hypothesis

statement of the relationship between two variables concerning the units of analysis the researcher is studying

microsociology

study social interaction. They look at how families, coworkers, and other small groups of people interact; why they interact the way they do; and how they interpret the meanings of their own interactions and of the social settings in which they find themselves

culture

symbols, language, beliefs, values, and artifacts (material objects) that are part of a society

iron law of oligarchy

tendency of organizations to become increasingly dominated by small groups of people

role strain

tension among the roles connected to a single status

power

the ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with the first person's intentions

sociological imagination

the ability to appreciate the structural basis for individual problems

male privilege

the advantages that males automatically have in a patriarchal society whether or not they realize they have these advantages

sex

the anatomical and other biological differences between females and males that are determined at the moment of conception and develop in the womb and throughout childhood and adolescence

discrimination

the arbitrary denial of rights, privileges, and opportunities to members of these groups

impression management

the attempt by people to get others to see them as they want to be seen

racism

the belief that certain racial or ethnic groups are inferior to one's own

culture relativism

the belief that we should not judge any culture as superior or inferior to another culture

feminism

the belief that women and men should have equal opportunities in economic, political, and social life, while sexism refers to a belief in traditional gender role stereotypes and in the inherent inequality between men and women

primary sex characteristics

the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible

slavery

the condition of being owned by another person and being made to work without wages

Feminiity

the cultural expectations we have of girls and women

social environment

the entire human environment, including interaction with others

masculinity

the expectations we have of boys and men

economic inequality

the extent of the economic difference between the rich and the poor

Laissez-faire leadership

the leader more or less sits back and lets the group function on its own and really exerts no leadership role

vertical mobility

the movement of an individual from one social position to another of a different rank

poverty line

the official measure of poverty;

life chances

the opportunities people have to provide themselves with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences

Psychoanalytic

the personality consists of the id, ego, and superego. If a child does not develop normally and the superego does not become strong enough to overcome the id, antisocial behavior may result.

Affirmative Action

the preferential treatment of minorities and women in employment and education

social interaction

the process by which people act and react in relation to others

socialization

the process by which people learn their culture

sociology

the scientific study of social behavior and social institutions

Ethnicity

the shared social, cultural, and historical experiences, stemming from common national or regional backgrounds, that make subgroups of a population different from one another

gender

the social and cultural differences a society assigns to people based on their (biological) sex

social structure

the social patterns through which a society is organized

horizontal social structure

the social relationships and the social and physical characteristics of communities to which individuals belong

culture diversity

the state of having a variety of cultures in the same area

wealth

the total value of everything someone owns, minus the debts

sociological perspective

the view that our social backgrounds influence our attitudes, behavior, and life chances

prejudice

to a set of negative attitudes, beliefs, and judgments about whole categories of people, and about individual members of those categories, because of their perceived race and/or ethnicity

racial discrimination in education

tracking school discipline teachers expectations of students

social group

two or more people who identify with and interact with one another

independent variable

variable that can affect other variables

dependent variable

variable we think is affected by the independent variable

Frustration/Scapegoat Theory

view individuals who experience various kinds of problems become frustrated and tend to blame their troubles on groups that are often disliked in the real world (e.g., racial, ethnic, and religious minorities

unit of analysis,

which refers to the type of entity a researcher is studying

white privilege

whites benefit from being white whether or not they are aware of their advantages

Proletariat

working class