Sociology exam 2

Hate crime

"criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offenders bias against race, religion, disability, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation

property (wealth)

, Weber refers to owning or controlling the means of production weber

sanctions against juvenile behavior can have the effect of reinforcing deviant behavior

1. Increasing alienation from the social world 2. forcing increased interaction with deviant peers 3. Motivating juvenile delinquents to positively value and identify with the deviant status

Structural functionalist perspective on prisons

1. fulfilling the desire for revenge or retribution 2. removing dangerous people from society 3. deterring would be deviants 4. rehabilitating deviants through counseling, education, and work training programs inside prisons

power elite

Consistent with Marx, many recent conflict theorists argue that a power elite composed of top leaders in corporations, politics, and the military rules society (

status inconsistency

Some people experience high status on one trait, especially a trait achieved through education and hard work, but may experience low standing in another area. For example, a professor may have high prestige but low income. Max Weber called this unevenness in one's social standing

Deviance can be functional for society

Structural functionalist point out deviance serves vital functions by setting examples of unacceptable behavior, providing guidelines for behavior necessary to maintain social order, and bonding people together through their common rejection of the deviant behavior

Individual's status or group may be defined as deviant

The higher ones status, the less likely it is that one will be suspected of violating norms and the less likely it is that any violations will be characterized as criminal

self-fulfilling prophecy

When a belief or a prediction becomes a reality, in part because of the prediction. A false prediction of a person, perhaps based on a stereotype, can become true if it provokes behavior that fulfills that false perception or stereotype

consensus crime

When members of a society are in general agreement about the seriousness of certain crimes

horizontal mobility.

You have changed your position, but your income, power, and social prestige remain essentially the same.

White collar or occupational crime

a violation of the law committed by an individual group or a group in the course of legitimate, respected occupation or financial activity 1. against the company 2. against employees 3. against customers 4. against the general public or other organizations

victimless or public order crimes

acts committed by or between individual consenting adults

achieved stratification systems

allow individuals to earn positions through their ability, efforts, and choices. In an open class system, it is possible to achieve a higher ranking by working hard, obtaining an education, and choosing an occupation that pays well.

Strain theorist point out

almost all corporations have the goal of making greatest short-term profit possible, and one (deviant) method to do that is to cut expenses at the expense of worker safety

status inconsistency:

an individual can have a great deal of prestige yet not command much wealth

Max Weber (1864-1920),

another influential theorist, agreed with Marx that group conflict is inevitable, that economics is one of the key factors in stratification systems, and that those in power try to perpetuate their positions. However, he added two other influential factors that he argued determine stratification: power and prestige property.

institutional racial discrimination

any meso level institutional arrangement that favors one racial group over another; this favoritism may result in intentional or unintentional consequences for minority groups

Estate systems

are 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 (

Caste systems

are the most rigid ascribed stratification systems. Individuals are born into a status, which they retain throughout life. That status is deeply embedded in religious, political, and economic norms and institutions. Individuals born into caste systems have predetermined occupational positions, marriage partners, residences, social associations, and prestige levels.

world system theory

argue the cause of global crime lies in the global economy, the inequalities between countries, and competition between countries for resources and wealth

Conflict theorists see stratification

as the outcome of struggles for dominance and scarce resources, with some individuals in society taking advantage of others

victimization surveys

ask people how much crime they have experienced

self reporting surveys

asking individuals what criminal acts they have committed

prejudice

attitudes of prejudgement about a group, usually negative and not based on facts

ethnic groups

based on cultural factors: language; religion; dress; foods; customs; beliefs; values; norms; a shared group identity or feeling; and sometimes loyalty to a homeland, monarch or religious leader

split labor market theory

branch of conflict theory, characterizes the labor market as having two main types of jobs. The primary market involves clean jobs, largely supervisory roles, and provides high salaries and good advancement possibilities, whereas the secondary market involves undesirable, dirty, hard work.

stigmatize

branding the person with a negative mark that discredits the person's claim to a "normal" identity

mortification

breaks down the individuals original self

ascribed stratification systems,

characteristics beyond the control of individuals—such as family background, age, sex, and race—determine their position in society.

Conflict theorists argue that

creating a less powerful group protects the dominant group's advantages. Because privileges and resources are usually limited, those who have them want to keep them. One strategy used by privileged people, according to conflict theory, is to perpetrate prejudice and discrimination against minority group members

crime

deviant actions for which there are formal penalties imposed by the government, such as fines, jail, or prison sentences

minority groups

differ from other groups in some characteristics and are subject to less power, fewer privileges, and discrimination

conspicuous consumption'

displaying goods in a way that others will notice and that will presumably earn the owner respect (Veblen 1902). Thus, purchased products become symbols intended to define the person as someone of high status in the stratification hierarchy.

Durkheim

divided social inequalities into internal (based on people's natural abilities) and external (those forced upon people). He argued that the existence of external inequality in an industrial society indicates that its institutions are not functioning properly. Because an industrial society needs all its members doing what they do best in order for it to function most effectively, external inequality

social capitol

economic resources that enable social mobility

conformity

embracing the society's definition of success and adhering to the established and approved means of achieving success

avoidance

entails coping with minority group status through shunning all contact with the dominant groups

evolutionary theorists note that

extraordinary amounts of inequality may undermine motivation and productivity. The most talented people will not even try to attain the most demanding and important jobs if upward mobility seems impossible.

Marginalized ethnic groups

face discrimination may become involved in a quest to get ahead through organized crime

retreatism

giving up on both the goal and the means

secondary deviance

if an individual continues to violate norm and begins to take on a deviant identity because of being labeled as deviant, publicly recognized

lifestyle

includes your attitudes, values, beliefs, behavior patterns, and other aspects of your place in the world, as shaped by socialization. As individuals grow up, the behaviors and attitudes consistent with their culture and their family's status in society become internalized through the process of socialization.

ritualism

involves strict adherence to the culturally prescribed rules, even though individuals give up on the goals they hoped to achieve.

Prestige

involves the esteem and recognition one receives, based on wealth, position, or accomplishments. Chances of being granted high prestige improve if one's patterns of behavior, occupation, and lifestyle match those valued in the society weber

Inequality

is a social condition in which privileges, opportunities, and substantial rewards are given to people in some positions in society but denied to others.

. Income

is money received from work or investments whereas

wealth

is the worth of a person based on his or her financial holdings (stocks, bank accounts, investment income) and property (homes, cars) minus debt.

Strict affirmative action,

its simplest and original form, involves taking affirmative or positive steps to make sure that unintentional discrimination does not occur

Structural functional approach to deviance: anomie

lack of clear norms in the rapidly changing urban environment leads to high levels of social disorganization and deviant behavior

Chicago School

linked life in transitional slum areas to the high incidence crime

Evolutionary theory,

macro, developed by Gerhard Lenski, borrows assumptions from both structural-functional and conflict theories in an attempt to determine how scarce resources are distributed and how that distribution results in stratification (Lenski 1966; Nolan and Lenski 2014). The basic ideas are that (a) to survive, people must cooperate; (b) despite this, conflicts of interest occur over important decisions that benefit one individual or group over another; (c) valued items such as money and status are always in demand and in short supply; (d) there is likely to be a struggle over these scarce goods; and (e) customs or traditions in a society often prevail over rational criteria in determining distribution of scarce resources. After the minimum survival needs of both individuals and the society are met, power determines who gets the surplus: prestige, luxury living, the best health care, and so forth. Lenski believes that privileges (including wealth) flow from having power, and prestige usually results from having access to both power and privilege (Hurst 2006).

social control theory

macro, structural functional, examines the processes a society or group uses to ensure conformity to its norms and expectations, rooted from durkheim (suicide) based on those who are less bonded to society are more likely to do deviant acts. Contends people are bonded to others by attachment to other people who respect the values and rules of society, commitment to conventional activities, involvement in activities that keep them so busy no time for deviance, belief in the social rules of their culture

frustration aggression theory

many of those who carry out acts of racial discrimination feel angry and frustrated because they cannot achieve their work or other goals

passing

means of avoiding the prejudice and discrimination associated with minority group membership- form of assimilation

acceptance

members of a minority groups have learned to live with their minority status and don't challenge the system

Deviance is socially constructed and dependent on the time and social context

members or society define what is deviant

Symbolic Interactionist approach on devaince

micro, how our interactions with others influence whether we will commit deviant acts

Strain theory

micro, structural functional, opportunity or limitation embedded in the structures of society may contradict and undermine the goals and aspirations society encourages for its members, creating strains that lead to deviance. gap between an individual or a society's goals and the legitimate ways of attaining those goals

Rational choice approach to deviance

micro, suggest that when individual make decisions, they calculate the costs and benefits of committing the crime

Differential association theory

micro, symbolic interaction, describes how people learn to commit delinquent acts through their social relationships with peers and family members. Possibility of becoming deviant depends on 4 factors to associating with a deviant group. Duration, intensity, frequency, priority

Labeling theory

micro, symbolic interaction, explains how people can be labeled deviant after committing a deviant act, which can then lead them to carry out further acts that reflect that deviance.

Intragenerational mobility

refers to a change in position within a single individual's life. F

cultural capitol

non economic resources that enable social mobility

pluralism

occurs when an each ethnic or racial group in in a country maintains its own culture and separate sets of institutions but has recognized equality of society

forced assimilation

occurs when members of a minority group are compelled to suppress their cultural identity.

Pluralist power theorists,

on the other hand, argue that power is not held exclusively by an elite group but is shared among many power centers, each of which has its own self-interests to protect

organized crime

ongoing criminal enterprises run by an organized group whose ultimate purpose is economic gain through illegitimate means. 1. sale of illegal goods 2. infiltrating legitimate businesses and unions through intimidation 3. racketeering- extortion of funds in exchange for protection

predatory crimes

person who seeks out someone with dangerous intent

a meritocracy

positions would be allocated in a social group or organization according to individuals' abilities and credentials. One would expect cognitive ability to be the most important variable

means of production—

property, machinery, and cash owned by capitalists—the valued resources in society

Intergenerational mobility

refers to change in social class status compared with one's parents, usually resulting from education and occupational attainment.

Social stratification

refers to how individuals and groups are layered and ranked in society according to their access to and possession of valued resources. The society's culture (rules, values, beliefs, and artifacts) determines and legitimizes the society's system of sorting its members.

vertical mobility

refers to movement up or down in the hierarchy and sometimes involves changing social classes.

past - in - present discrimination

refers to practices from the past that may no longer be allowed but that continue to have consequences for people in the present

side effect discrimination

refers to practices in one institutional area that have a negative impact because they are linked to practices in another institutional area; because institutions are interdependent, discrimination in one results in unintentional discrimination in others

Social mobility

refers to the extent of individual movement up or down in the class system, changing one's social position in society—especially relative to one's parents (

population transfer

refers to the removal, often forced, of a minority group from a region or country

assimilation

refers to the social and cultural merging of minority and dominant groups. It is often voluntary process during which the members of a minority group choose to adopt the values, norms, and institutions of the dominant group

subjugation

refers to the subordination of one group to another that holds power and authority

rebellion

rejecting socially approved ideas of success and the means of attaining that success. It replaces those with with alternative definitions of success and alternative strategies for attaining new goals

aggression

resulting from anger and resentment over minority status and from subjugation may lead to retaliation or violence

race

socially created concept that identifies a group as "different" based on certain biologically inherited physical characteristics

bigot

someone who blindly insists that certain other people are so different that they are inferior

segregation

specific form of subjugation, separates minorities from the dominant group and deprives them access to dominant institutions

Some functionalists point out

that prejudice, discrimination, and institutional racism are dysfunctional for society, resulting in loss of human resources, costs to societies due to poverty and crime, hostilities between groups, and disrespect for those in power.

Power,

the ability to control others, includes not only the means of production but also the position one holds weber

recidivism rates

the likelihood that someone who is arrested, convicted and imprisoned will be again

terrorism

the planned use of random unlawful violence or the threat of violence against civilians to create fear and intimidate citizens in order to advance the terrorist groups political or ideological goals

discrimination

to differential treatment and harmful actions against members of a minority group

wage theft

underpaying or not paying workers

innovation

use of illicit means to reach approved goals

primary deviance

violation of a norm that may be an isolated act or an initial act of rule breaking.

deviance

violation of social norms

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

ways to distribute wealth, according to (1) what each person needs, (2) what each person wants, (3) what each person earns, or (4) what each person can take.

slavery

when an individual or a family is bound in servitude as the property of a person or household, bought and sold, and forced to work

scapegoating

when people cannot take out their aggression on its source so they turn it on to innocent victims

stereotyping

when prejudiced individuals use distorted, oversimplified, or exaggerated, ideas to categorize a group of people and attribute personal qualities to them

Structural-functionalists view stratification

within societies as an inevitable, and generally necessary, part of the social world. The stratification system provides individuals a place or position in the social world and motivates them to carry out their roles.

class consciousness

—a shared awareness that they, as a class, have interests that differ from those of the haves.