Exam 2 Review
What describes how deviance can be explained from the functionalist perspective?
Deviance clarifies moral boundaries & affirms norms.
A man tries to find unconventional & even illegal ways of making money. Into what category does this fit, according to Robert Merton's typology?
Differential association theory
A woman attributes her teenage son's deviant behavior to him "falling in with a bad crowd". Which symbolic interactionist theory of deviance does this explanation most Cleary resemble?
Diffriential association theory
Which theory argues that people learn to be deviant by interacting with others who are already deviant?
Diffriential association theory
According to Karl Marx, the social relations that matter most in a capitalist system are what?
Economic relations.
According to the author's perspective, what 3 sets of forces influence social mobility, as enablers for some & as barriers for others, all of which have changed in the decades since the 1970's?
Family, markets &public policy/social institutions.
What term did the sociologist George Ritzer use to describe the spread of rationalize & bureaucratic ways of operating into everyday life?
McDonaldization
What is one of the principal reasons people our to deviant behavior in the United States, according to the structural strain theory of deviance as articulated by Robert Merton?
The goal of success is shared by majority of people, but not everyone has equal means for achieving that goal.
Robert Putnam's research can be exemplified by his description of a decline in bowling leagues. Which of the following might serve as evidence that Putnam's concerns about anomie are overblown?
The growth of online support groups to help people who have rare disease share information & emotional support.
A black man in the United States was convicted of a felony when he was 17. He is now 58 & hasn't committed any crimes since his release. However, he is still not permitted to vote. Michelle Alexander would describe this as an example of what?
The new Jim Crow.
Money matters, but it's also about what other 2 things?
Wealth & consumption
Why does the current demographics of California challenge the way the term "minority" has been used in the past?
Whites are now less than half of the population of California.
According to the article, does money matter for opportunity & mobility, especially in America?
Yes/True
African Americans are less likely to succeed even holding multiple parental status variables constant. Research on differences in mobility between blacks & whites reveals stark variances. On average, do blacks experience less upward mobility & whites less downward mobility?
Yes/True
Is a crowd, aggregate and category all different ways of referring to a group, according to sociologists?
Yes/True
Which theory suggests that crimes committed by the upper classes are typically treated more leniently than crimes committed by the lower classes because laws represent the interests of those in power?
Conflict theorists like Richard Quinney
Samantha believes that corporations aren't punished enough for polluting the planet, manufacturing unsafe products, & manipulating prices while, at the same time, homeless people are punished too much for crimes such as stealing food. She believes we should all have access to basic needs like food regardless of wealth. Samantha has taken what perspective to explain the way deviance is viewed in society?
Conflict theory
Which theory argues that punishments for rule violators are unequally distributed, with those near the top of society subject to more lenient rules & sanctions than those at the bottom?
Conflict theory
Apartheid is a specific example of what system of social stratification?
Caste
How should all left-handed people in the United States be classified?
Category
An individual might be trying to gain what if they take adult education classes, attend lectures and concerts or travel to Europe?
Cultural capital
What are the 2 most important preventive measures that will increase family stability & child quality, as well as increase IGM according to the article?
1. Improve the economic & social prospects of the bottom half in terms of job stability, income & wage growth. 2. Provide means to reduce unplanned pregnancies & births.
Sociologically, what is the difference between a group & a crowd?
A crowd of people don't identify with each other the way a group does.
Robert Merton developed structural strain theory to explain why deviance occurs. What is the cause of the strain suggested by the name of the theory?
A strain between socially approved goals & the means that an individual has for realizing them.
What is an example of McDonaldization, as George Ritzer used the term?
A worker says, "Sometimes I felt just like a robot. You push a button & you go this way. You become a mechanical nut.
Which theorists proposed social control theory, which suggests that individuals with stronger bonds are less likely to commit crime?
Gottfredson & Hirschi.
Members of what interact with one another & think of themselves as belonging together?
Group
Robert K. Merton's typology of deviance outlines the strain that people experience as they attempt to access cultural goals through legitimate , institutionalized means. Which component of strain theory illustrates gangsters & con-artists?
Innovation
Based on the article, what does the acronym "IGM" stand for?
Intergenerational Mobility
What occurs when minority group members are prejudiced against themselves or their own group?
Internalized racism
When a politician is caught cheating on his spouse, there are usually serious consequences & sometimes the politician is forced to resign from his office when his constituents loudly express their unhappiness with such behavior. According to Emile Durkheim, what function does this reaction serve?
It helps to clarify moral boundaries, reinforcing the idea that marital infidelity is wrong.
What is one of the basic principles of social stratification?
It is maintained through beliefs that are widely shared in a society.
Do our social networks consist of just our closet friends & family?
No/False
What would a sociologist call the belief that members of 1 social group are genetically predisposed to be more intelligent than members of another racial group?
Prejudice
An individual belongs to which type of group if the members are mostly anonymous to one another?
Primary groups
Which type of group provide most of our emotional support?
Primary groups
Which type of groups are characterized by long-term, intimate and face-to-face relationships?
Primary groups
Most Brazilian racial terms don't have an equivalent in the United States. What does this tell you?
Race is a social construct.
What is a set of beliefs about the superiority of one racial or ethnic group compared to another?
Racism
Minority group is defined as what?
Social group that's systematically denied access to power & resources available to the dominant groups of society.
What term describes the unequal distribution of wealth, power or prestige among members of a society?
Social inequality.
What do sociologists call the webs of direct & indirect ties that connect individuals to others who may influence them?
Social network
According to Pierre Bourdieu, what is the tendency of social class to be passed down from one generation to another & remain stable over time?
Social reproduction
Ethnicity is defined as what?
Socially defined category based on common language, religion, nationality, history, etc.
What is the school of social thought that insists all social structures, including systems of stratification, are built out of everyday interactions?
Symbolic interactionism
What is a system of stratification commonly used in modern capitalist societies?
The social class system.
John invites his coworker to a weekly poker game and they become close. This is an example of what?
The way secondary group ties can lead to the close personal ties of primary groups.
What is the name of the author of this research?
Timothy E. Smeeding
What would sociologists consider the best definition of deviance?
Violations of social norms.
Race is defined as what?
socially defined category based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people.