Sociology Exam 2

Mores vs. Folkways

"A man who walks down a street wearing nothing on the upper half of his body is violating a folkway; a man who walks down the street wearing nothing on the lower half of his body is violating one of our most important mores..."

Appeal to Higher Loyalties

"I did it to help my friend" - Appealing to higher authorities to justify actions.

Denial of Responsibility

"Its not my fault because..." - Denial of responsibility when we break a norm. - Ex: hurt sibling but say you didn't meant to so it's not your fault that they got hurt.

Denial of Injury

"No one got hurt..." - Ex: speeding.

Denial of a Victim

"They deserved it" thus there is no "victim" - Ex: rape culture (she shouldn't have been drinking or wearing what she was wearing or walking down that street at night along so it's her fault).

Condemnation of the Condemners

"Who are you to judge me?" "You're a hypocrite" - Ex: politics.

Invisible Inequalities

Two styles: concerted cultivation and natural growth. There can be a mixture of the two styles (concerted cultivation and natural growth).

Values

Values: the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly. We judge things based on our personal opinion. Ex: what is good to eat, to wear, etc.

Normative Influence

We meet normative expectations to either gain rewards or avoid punishment. Ex: mean girls.

Breaking Social Norms Exercise: Take a few moments to reflect on the experience. Consider how you thought others might react or how you would likely feel. Were your assumptions close? Did your feelings change as time progressed? Do you feel that this activity helped you better grasp the power of even the most 'inconsequential' social norms?

We stood completely still in the middle of a walkway for 15-20 min. I thought people would stare, point, be confused, etc. which was pretty accurate of what happened during the exercise. We use social media as a crutch so that we are never alone and are always doing something. When we actively do nothing, everyone gets confused about what we are doing and what's wrong with us. My feelings did not change as time progressed. Except at first it was more funny and a joke, but it got more awkward. Yes it did help me better grasp the power of even the most 'inconsequential' social norms.

Contradictory Class Locations

When a person's position in the class structure generate contradictory interests. Ex: individual born into a good name but don't have any money, gay men vote republican prioritizing other issues over sexuality, etc.

Labeling Theory Applied to Deviance & Crime

When applied to deviance and crime, labeling theory asks two main questions: 1. How do those with substantial power in society label people with less power and their behaviors deviant? 2. What effects do those labels have on the future lives and behaviors of the people being labeled?

The Uses of Poverty (376-382) & Wealth, Power, Privilege (395-406): The readings for today covered a range of topics- from the 'uses' of the poor, social mobility, and the US upper class. Using today's readings, give an example for how social class 'matters' for either: workplace opportunities or educational opportunities.

Workplace opportunities: lower class always did the dirty work, fast food workers, minimum wage (not enough to live on), medical care, poor are a target for research because they cannot afford better care. Educational opportunities: can't afford to go to college or grad school or medical school, religious or private schools.

Gender Neutralization Theory

'Gender Neutralization Theory' suggests that (heterosexual) women and men in 'household circumstances' that contradict normal expectations of gender take actions to 'neutralize' their deviance by 'normative' displays of gender via household labor (chores and tasks). - Men in female dominated occupations engage in more hours of 'male typed' household tasks. The wives of men in female dominated occupations engage in more hours of 'female typed' household tasks. Male household tasks maintain masculinity, while female household tasks reestablish gender norms. - This pattern does not hold for couples in which the woman is in a male dominated occupation. - Femininity is not as fragile as masculinity.

Procedural Hassles

'Hurdles' to dismissal of the mark: stress, lost work, difficulties with child care, lost opportunities. - Procedural hassles hit those with lower wages harder. - Markings can be used in future police actions or interrogations. - Ex: bring someone in for parking tickets to talk to them about another crime.

Racial Measurement in the US Census: (canvas) Snipp notes that between 1950 and 1960 the American Indian population increased by 48%, while the total US population increased only 18%. What lead to this increase?

- 1950 census was flawed due to enumerator identification leading to undercounting of particular racial groups. - To fix this problem the Census Bureau changed the procedures of racial identification by enumerators to self-identification by the respondents. Procedural change lead to the important clarification of the definition of race. - People counted in the American Indian population reflect cultural affiliation and personal assessment. - Dramatic increase in the American Indian population could be due to the fact that some people did not look phenotypically American Indian or due to some people self-identifying themselves as American Indian when given the chance to do so.

Who is poor in the United States?

- 25.2% of African Americans are in poverty, while only 12.9% of whites, 10.0% of white non-Hispanics, and 13.1% of Asians are in poverty. Hispanics also have a high percentage in poverty (24.7%). - Feminization of poverty: women are more likely to be in poverty. 16.3% of women are in poverty compared to 13.2% of men are in poverty. - Children under the age of 18 are more likely to be in poverty (21.5%), while only 13.3% of individuals aged 18 to 64 and 10.2% of individuals aged 65+ are in poverty. - In total, 14.8% of individuals are below poverty or are poor in the United States.

How long does poverty last?

- 59% one year or less - 17% 2 years - 8% up to 3 years - 5% up to 4 years - 12% five years or more

Racial Measurement in the US Census: (canvas) Directive No. 15 has impacted social science research in a number of ways. Some of these impacts were positive, others were problematic. Identity one way in which Directive No. 15 aided social science research, and one way in which it complicated social science research.

- Aided social science research by adding five categories for race: (1) American Indians and Alaska Natives, (2) Asians and Pacific Islanders, (3) Non-Hispanic Blacks, (4) Non-Hispanic Whites, and (5) Hispanics, which allowed for statistics to be obtained with more specific groups. - Established what racial information were available to scientists. - Impacted how society defined race and the racial landscape or composition of the United States. - Changed the way the government collected racial data and established a standard for all government agencies. - Extremely influential in social administration. - Left out other racial groups such as Arab Americans. - Concealed the diversity within many racial groups such as Asians, Hispanics, and American Indian Tribes. - Created fixed racial boundaries and forced individuals to have one singular racial identity. - Failed to keep up with changing racial complexities in America.

Culture

- All the symbols, meanings, and values shared by members of a group. - The language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and material objects that characterize a group and are passed from one generation to the next. - 'Material culture': the material objects that distinguish groups of people (art, buildings, clothing, etc.). - 'Nonmaterial culture': a group's ways of thinking and doing (also called symbolic culture). - A process of meaning making.

Showing My Color: (360-368)

- Code switching different identities in different situations. - Page experienced segregation harshly in his life with things such as separate water fountains, bathrooms, picnics, and restaurants as young child. He realized his white friends couldn't see the difference because they lived life in a vantage point in society. He discovered a false superiority our society has for being white. Discussed growing up in parallel societies when socializing with white people as a posed to his family. Believed that to fix this Americans shouldn't be color blind but respectful to racial differences in society. - To be socially mindful we have to realize in Pages experiences that being a minority has huge effects physically and mentally in the social life of being an African American in this country. Being a minority leads to identity confusion and things like this are not realized by white people because they are in in a vantage point in the American society.

Informal Social Control: Control Theory

- Control theory argues that the stronger our bonds with society, the more effective our inner controls are. - Inner controls and outer controls.

Neutralization of Deviance

- Deviance is what is uncommon or what goes against norms. Deviance can be good or bad. - One sociological approach to gender takes the position that we 'do' gender by engaging in behavior that is consistent with gender schemas (which include norms) - Thus, engaging in non-normative gender displays *may* be considered deviant by the actor or others. - Ex: if a guy wears a dress or nail polish, which could be seen as deviant, then he will be punished by society. Wearing a dress and nail polish is considered feminine. Girls can't wear tank tops because that's too distracting for boys.

If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger: (269-278) What motivated Stanley Milgram's experiment, and what did he find?

- Stanley Milgram was Jewish, which motivated him to do this experiment. Milgram wanted to prove that Germans were more obedient and determine what makes some individuals more obedient than others. Believed Germans had a basic character flaw and wanted to prove that Americans would never do what Germans did during the Holocaust. - Originally believed that Americans were more independent than Germans who were rule followers. However, Milgram found that the opposite was true. - Results: individuals in the experiment would electrocute others if told to do so by an authority figure. Discovered that most people would have acted similarly to Germans. - Milgram's experiment had a lot of pushback because people were upset with his methods. However, Milgram believes that they were more upset with the results.

On Being Sane in Insane Places: (322-334) What otherwise normal or average behavior did researchers engage in, and how did the context or 'definition of the situation' shape how others perceived these normal or average behaviors?

- Experiments participated in involving psychological disorders on the patients admitted to the hospitals. - Results: labels associated with mental illness (particularly schizophrenia) have a significant impact on the way patients were treated. Labels change the lens of how behaviors are interpreted. - Exhibited abnormal schizophrenic behavior. Once admitted into the hospital they stopped exhibiting any abnormal behaviors. Everything they do may be interpreted as symptomatic of their disorder. - Behaviors that are traditionally considered normal were interpreted by hospital staff as being part of the pseudo patients' pseudo condition. - Ex: Each participant was asking to keep a notebook or journal to record their experiences. In the real world, one may be inclined to ask what they were writing about, but the hospitals assumed that it was a nervous habit associated with schizophrenia. Other patients noticed but claims were always overlooked, since they were coming from someone labeled as "insane." - Another Ex: Relationship with family members that have changed over time indicates schizophrenia. Waiting for lunch or meal was seen as strange. - Similar to ex-convict example, where the ex-convicts will always be seen as ex-convicts, the identity follows them throughout their entire life.

The Saints and the Roughnecks: (299-315) Apply labeling theory to 'The Saints and The Roughnecks'. Consider what factors resulted in the labeling of the groups as deviant or not deviant. How these labels may have impacted their behavior. What authority figures were involved in labeling, and how these labels may have directly or indirectly shaped life outcomes for the boys.

- Factors resulting in labeling: power, status in society, wealth, caught or not caught, who caught them, degree of the crime committed, were labeled or not labeled, how they dressed, how they looked, etc. - Saints committed more vandalism, which isn't as bad as violent crimes. Roughnecks' got into physical fights, which is much more dangerous than thefts. Saints begged for mercy and were polite and kind when caught, while Roughnecks' fought and talked back to authority figure. Saints were from nice/good families and dressed nice, while the Roughnecks' were not. - Behavior: try to fix label and conform, internalize it and do more deviant behavior, try other ways to commit crime without getting caught, find similar deviant groups to be accepted, etc. - Police played a role in labeling. Authority figures and individuals with power played a role in labeling.

Employment and Economic Mobility

- In 2012, of about 54 million managerial or professional positions in the U.S., blacks held only 8.7% an Hispanics 8.4% - Compared to their white counterparts, black Americans have a lower rate of socioeconomic mobility

'Devience'

- In sociology deviance has no value judgement. 'Deviance' is behavior that violates norms or expectations of others. - Norms are socially constructed, thus deviance is too. - What is 'deviant' is context dependent: what is the definition of the situation and who is the audience (significant other and/or generalized other)? - Ex: how does your behavior when your parents come to visit differ from when they are not around?

'Normal'

- In sociology normal has no value judgement. 'Normal' behavior is behavior that is in line with norms. - Normal is neither good nor bad, it is what is common or the average. - What is 'normal' is context dependent: what is the definition of the situation and who is the audience (significant other and/or generalized other)? - Ex: how does your behavior when your parents come to visit differ from when they are not around?

Misdemeanors as Social Control

- Marking - Procedural Hassles

Mobility

- Mobility is possible, but increasingly more difficult. - Income heritability is the degree to which our relative income is correlated to our parent's relative income. In 1987 income heritability was about 20%. In 2001 income heritability was around 50-60%. - The United States has lower overall mobility rates than many other developed nations. - The US has a greater rate of income heritability (and thus lower mobility): Denmark, Australia, Norway, Finland, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Spain, and France, Japan, Switzerland, Pakistan, and Singapore.

Racial Measurement in the US Census: (canvas)

- Race and ethnicity are influenced by society, such as politics. Societies views of race and ethnicity have changed over time. Race and ethnicity are socially constructed. - Consequences and implications of census's in regards to race and ethnicity. An example of a consequence is classification error for American Indians: society teaches us how to classify race, but this often leads to problems. - Government and politics, which hold power in our society, have influenced our perception of race and ethnicity. The government changed census's over the years influencing public opinion. Throughout history the government has tried to measure race, changing the way the government obtains information on race and ethnicity. Laws motivated census change.

Formal Social Control: Conflict Theory

- Regards power and social inequality as the key characteristics of society. - Takes the position that formal systems of control, such as the criminal justice system, are tools created by the powerful to maintain power and privilege. - Limited resources that we fight over.

The Saints and the Roughnecks: (299-315) How can we use 'The Saints and the Roughnecks' to approach these questions? When applied to deviance and crime, labeling theory asks two main questions: 1. How do those with substantial power in society label people with less power and their behaviors deviant? 2. What effects do those labels have on the future lives and behaviors of the people being labeled?

- Saints were white, middle-class, suburban teenagers. Everybody in their school, including teachers, viewed them as good guys, and they were always given extra chances. Saints would often ditch school, drink, and pull pranks. Roughnecks were not so rich, and they came from a small neighborhood. Roughnecks also committed some of the same things that the Saints did. Despite the fact that these 2 groups committed similar crimes, they were given different punishments. - Labels dictated future jobs and future outcomes. Labels followed them for the rest of their lives. If they were not caught, then are not seen as deviant. - Ex: Saints go to places where cops couldn't find them to avoid being caught in deviant acts, while Roughnecks don't have as many resources and are much more likely to be caught (money plays a role). Higher positions or more money in society makes it less likely to be caught and be labeled as deviant.

Eating Your Friends is the Hardest: (277-286) What was the role of social construction in Eating your Friends...? What meanings were in place, and how did they shift during their time stranded in the mountains? What influenced these changes? Explain why God was brought into the discussion. What were the rules, and why did they have them?

- Survivors skinned people and made socks out skin. Food was given based on need not class. Individuals carving the bodies took a little extra, which was seen as acceptable because they were doing the dirty work. Women were not eaten, showing that gender still played a large role in the society. Eating your own family members was seen as a step to far. - Meaning around the human body, saw it as a sacred thing. Their view of the human body had to change to be able to eat other people and survive. They eventually started to look forward to eating other people. - Certain parts of the body were more acceptable to eat than others. This changed over time due to less acceptable body parts tasting better. Elaborate rules made it more "acceptable." Rituals made things that were originally not acceptable become acceptable. - Medical student used status to make reasons or excuses for why they should be eating people. Used status to make it more "acceptable" to eat bodies. Influenced other survivors to view human body differently. Medical field played a key role in the shift during their time stranded in the mountains. - Survivors heard on the radio that they were calling off the search. All hope was lost and they decided that they had to do whatever it took to survive. - The survivors were catholic. Religious arguments: the sole has left the body so it can be viewed in a different way, used god to justify both actions, similar to communion (body and blood of Christ to become the body of Christ). When they were rescued, the church said that what they did was right and needed, therefore society welcomed them with open arms. If the church would have said they were monsters then they would have been shunned from society. - They did not want to share what had happened and what they had done (the changed definition) with other people after being rescued.

Education Attainment

- The 'achievement gap' is narrowing overall, but not quickly. - 2013 NAEP assessment: % of 8th graders scoring 'proficient' In math: 45% of white students, 14% of black students, 21% of hispanic students. - 2011 College graduation rates by race/ethnicity (bachelor's degree): 34% non-Hispanic white, 19.9% black, 14.1% Hispanic.

Health

- The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality finds that: - Blacks, American Indians, and Alaska Natives (AI/AN), Asians, and Hispanics receive worse quality care than non-Hispanic Whites. - Blacks, Asians, AI/AN, and Hispanics have worse access to care than non-Hispanic Whites.

Social Control Without Conviction

- The largest arrest categories are for crimes below a felony level, which do not elicit a prison sentence. - The majority of these cases do not result in a guilty finding or any formal punishment. - Misdemeanors as social control.

USA & Incarceration Rate

- We have incredibly longer prison sentences in the US compared to other countries (private prison systems make money for profit). - The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world, imprisoning about 730 out of every 100,000 citizens. - Our incarceration rate is almost 3.5 times larger than the next highest incarceration rate in the Czech Republic.

Racial Measurement in the US Census: (canvas) The racial and ethnic categories included on the US Census have changed over time, often reflecting the political climate of the time. In your own words, briefly describe two ways (two events or pieces of evidence) that politics influence how we think about race and ethnicity in the United States.

1. 1890 census was influenced by the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), the Indian Wars, and the worry of racial purity. 1890 census provided information regarding immigrants due to the concerns of the nations on the impact of immigration. Census found that majority of population increase was due to an increase in immigration, which provided fuel for anti-immigration movement and for individuals concerned with the breakdown of American stock. 2. 1900 census was influenced by the Jim Crow legislation. Jim Crow laws caused the Census Bureau to stop separating the Black population into groups, but they still wanted to differentiate the black population. Census classified mixed individuals as black. Saw Black as Black no matter what percentage was involved.

Techniques of Deviance Neutralization

1. Denial of Responsibility 2. Denial of Injury 3. Denial of a Victim 4. Condemnation of the 5. Condemners 6. Appeal to Higher Loyalties

Natural Growth

1. Flexible free-time, child-directed play. 2. Interactions are with adults and children of a wide are range. 3. Parents use directives. 4. Children less comfortable in interactions with authority/institutions. 5. Children display creativity, independence in the use of their free time.

Factors Affecting Obedience to Authority

1. Legitimacy of the authority: if the authority figure is legitimate, then more likely to conform. The legitimacy of an authority figure will be different for each person. 2. Overt symbols of authority: symbols of authority increase obedience. Ex: policeman badge, doctor (MD, PHD, etc.), podium, or military uniforms. 3. Ability to punish: if someone has the ability to punish, then more likely to conform. 4. Proximity: if they are closer in proximity, then more likely to conform. 5. Surveillance: if they are watching, then more likely to conform.

Classical Sociological Approaches

1. Marx's model only had two social classes. Capitalists (Bourgeoisie), Workers (proletariat), and 'inconsequential others.' 2. Weber's model allowed for greater variation. Class was comprised of property (investing money), power (political power and access to people), and prestige. Education was not a factor.

Concerted Cultivation

1. Numerous scheduled, formal activities. 2. Most interactions are with adults or children of the same age. 3. Parents 'negotiate' with their children. 4. Emerging sense of entitlement particularly evident in interactions with authorities/institutions. 5. Children may have difficulty directing their own free time.

Social Class Impacts

1. Physical health: as wealth increases, life span increases. 2. Mental health: as SES increases, mental health increases. 3. Family life: choice of spouse, likelihood of divorce, and childrearing practices. 4. Education: SES is related to both amount and type of education acquired. 5. Crime and Criminal Justice: how crimes are handled and their consequences differ between classes.

Factors That Increase Conformity

1. Size of the majority: the larger the group majority the more likely to conform. 2. Unanimity: if the group is unanimous, then more likely to conform even in smaller groups. 3. Attraction to the group: if there is an attraction to the group, then more likely to conform and follow groups norms. 4. Commitment to future interactions: if there will be future interactions, then more likely to conform. 5. Lack of competence: persons who believe themselves more competent at a task than the majority will resist conformity.

Concepts Related to Labeling

1. Stereotypes 2. Confirmation Bias 3. Syb-Typing 4. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

Contemporary Sociological Approaches

4 major components and the social class 'ladder': 1. Education: what type of education did you receive? 2. Occupational (prestige): prestige does not always match income. 3. Income: how much money do you make per year? 4. Wealth: poverty, stock, or assets. These all effect/determine socioeconomic status (SES).

What is Race?

A group of people who perceive themselves and are perceived by others as possessing distinctive hereditary traits. Race: a Socially Constructed Category. The combination of a person's hereditary traits, such as skin color, hair texture, size and shape of facial features or body structure, is their phenotype. Ex: Obama and his grandfather.

Racism Without Racists. What is Structural Racism?

A system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity. It identifies dimensions of our history and culture that have allowed privileges associated with "whiteness" and disadvantages associated with "color" to endure and adapt over time. Structural racism is not something that a few people or institutions choose to practice. Instead it has been a feature of the social, economic and political systems in which we all exist.

What might be some folkways other societies?

Addressing others directly when saying hello or goodbye (kiss cheek), Europeans stand really close to one another (not a lot of physical space), manners, not pointing, revealing clothes, elevator conversations.

What might be considered taboo in the United States?

Cannibalism, incest, bestiality, pedophiles (strongest and worst taboo you can commit in society), necrophilia.

Invisible Inequality Social Class and Childrearing: (canvas) In 'Invisible Inequality, Lareau identifies ways in which poor and middle class parents differ in parenting practices. These differences can be sorted into three categories: organization of daily life, language use, and social connections. Give examples from the reading that illustrate these categories.

Concerted Cultivation: numerous scheduled formal activities, most interactions are w/adults or children of the same age, parents 'negotiate' with their children, emerging sense of entitlement particularly evident in interactions with authorities/institutions, children may have difficulty directing their own free time. Natural Growth: flexible free-time, child-directed play, interactions are with adults and children of a wide age range, parents use directives, children less comfortable in interactions with authority/institutions, children display creativity and independence in the use of their free time.

Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias: the tendency to favor information that confirms our beliefs and to disregard information that contradicts them (belief perseverance). Take information that confirms or supports label. Ex: being sane in insane places.

Conformity

Conformity is the adherence to group norms and standards. Some categories of conformity are: majority influence, normative influence, and informational influence.

What might be considered taboo in other societies?

Covering body (don't show body), eating dogs, eating horses.

Cultural Capital

Cultural capital, like financial capital, can be mobilized by individuals to signal status, group membership, and to gain access to benefits. - Higher test scores, access to accommodations or privileges, increased ability to navigate the higher education system, access to more prestigious/higher paying jobs. - Cultural capital can lead to economic capital.

Colorism

Discrimination based on skin color, known as colorism, is a form of prejudice or discrimination in which people are treated differently based on the social meanings attached to skin color.

Discrimination

Discrimination: behaviors (actions) directed against another group.

What is Ethnicity?

Ethnicity: a group of people who share cultural traits such as language, religion, family customs, food preferences. Ethnic groups include Latinos, Jewish, Chinese American, African American, Mexican American, Korean American, Native Americans, etc.

The Pathology of Imprisonment

Experiment done on college students randomly assigned to be guards or prisoners. Had to be shut down the experiment after 6 days because the participants were no longer able to differentiate between self and role playing. Underestimated the power and pervasiveness of situational controls over behavior. Assigning labels to people and putting them into a situation where those labels acquire validity and meaning is sufficient to elicit pathological behavior. Impact on participants: lowered feelings of self-worth, debased humanity, potential, adjustment problems.

Folkways

Folkways: norms that are not strictly enforced.

Functionalism (Macro Scale)

Functionalism (macro scale) argues that deviance contributes to social order in 3 ways: - Clarification of moral boundaries, affirmation of norms. - Deviance encourages social unity (Ex: 9/11). - Deviance promotes social change (Ex: me too movement or black lives matter).

Intergenerational Mobility

Intergenerational mobility is change in SES from one generation to the next.

Inner Controls

Internalized morality, conscience, religious principles, etc. Stems from society and is then internalized. Fear of punishment. Desire to be 'good person.'

Labeling Theory (Micro Scale)

Labeling theory (micro scale) takes the view that reactions to a norm violation are a critical element in deviance. - Only after an act is discovered and labeled 'deviant' does the act become deviant. - If the same act is not discovered and labeled, it is not deviant. - Labeling is triggered by a behavior, but it results in a redefinition or typing of the actor. - Labels people are given affect their own and other perception of them. This can channel a person toward deviance or conformity.

Invisible Inequality Social Class and Childrearing: (canvas)

Looks at differences in childrearing strategies, finding that class differences were more important than racial differences. Lareau argued that childrearing methods are one way in which class-based advantages are reproduced. Middle-class parents use a "concerted cultivation" model, which involved high levels of involvement in extracurricular activities. Working-class parents engaged in an "accomplishment of natural growth" model, which emphasizes loving children and providing for them and giving children much more leisure time that is self-directed and unstructured. Downsides to the concerted cultivation model: range of activities children are involved in "dominate family life and create enormous labor, particularly for mothers" (p. 748). Emphasis on organized activities led to generally weak family ties, as well as weak social ties more generally, since they were based on participation in activities (extracurricular sports, classes, etc.) that have high turnover rates in membership and often last a few weeks regardless. Concerted cultivation model ultimately transmits class advantages, given that the behaviors and assumptions it socializes children into prepare them well for a social world dominated by other middle-class professionals.

Majority Influence

Majority influence is the process by which a group's majority pressures an individual to conform. Ex: conform to group answers.

Mores

Mores (pronounced MORE-rays): norms thought to be essential to core values which require conformity. Mores are more likely to involve breaking laws (overlap with our laws but not absolutely or always). Ex: can be arrested for public nudity in the USA or infidelity in other societies

Negative Sanctions

Negative sanctions: an expression of disapproval for breaking norm, ranging from a mild, informal reaction such as a frown to a formal reaction such as a prison sentence. Ex: financial sanctions or trade sanctions to punish other countries, glare or dirty look, resting bitch face, call you out on social media, read receipts, prison, dirty look, etc.

Norms

Norms: the expectations for 'right' behavior that develop out of a group's values. Levels of norms: local/group, subcultural, societal. Norms can vary in intensity. Norms are not universal and can run counter to dominate culture. Categories of Norms include: folkways, mores, and taboos. Ex: mean girls or cults.

Obedience

Obedience is the act of obeying an authority. - We have roles within a group and accept that one or more persons has authority over the group with respect to certain acts, and can issue orders to others, which group members are expected to obey. - Depends on the setting or the authority figure.

Outer Controls

People who influence us not to deviate. Ex: friends and family

Positive Sanctions

Positive sanctions: reward for following norms. May be material or immaterial. Immaterial positive sanctions are much more common. - Material sanctions ex: wedding gifts, money, invitation to a birthday party, gold star or some reward, etc. - Immaterial sanctions ex: when you hold the door for someone and they say thank you, parents are proud of you, manners, laughing, being included, trust, compliments, acceptance, approval, etc.

Prejudice

Prejudice: inflexible attitudes and opinions held about members of a group.

Race Frames

Race frames include: 'color-blind frame' and 'multicultural frame' to ignore inequalities. - 'Color-blind frame' - ignore problem to solve it. - 'Multicultural frame' - all cultures in same melting pot.

Racism

Racism: prejudice or discrimination based on the belief that one race is superior to another. Power dynamic. Ex: only white people are racist.

Status Inconsistency

Ranking high on some dimensions of SES but low on others. Ex: professors, celebrities (Ex: Kim Kardashian), technical workers (Ex: electricians or plumbers), clergy individuals, etc.

Status Consistency

Ranking high or low on all dimensions of SES. Ex: doctors, lawyers, etc.

Sanctions

Sanctions are the reactions people receive for following or breaking norms. Sanctions can be both positive or negative.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

Self-fulfilling prophecies: when persons behave toward another person according to a label and cause the person to responds in ways that confirm the label.

Self-Labeling Theory

Self-labeling theory: by taking the role of the generalized other, individuals can assess the meaning of their impulses and actions. Circumstances that may lead to self-labeling: 1. Emotions that violate 'feeling rules' 2. Conflicting identities 3. Threatening environmental cues/contextual dissonance 4. Unusual identity transitions

What is Social Class?

Social class is a division of a society based on social and economic status. Social class is complicated. Social capital is based on the connections or networks we make with other people. Components of social class: education, occupation, income, wealth.

The Racist Mind: (369-375)

Social scientists have done studies on American Klansmen and Neo-Nazis. It attempts to provide sociological and psychological insights into White supremacist groups and their members. Racism is examined and more closely explored to why people would join hate groups. He was interested in understanding the world that these racist leaders lived in and what caused them to feel and hate the way they do.

Social Structure

Social structure is the ordered and persisting relationship among positions in a social system. Socially constructed categories like gender, race, and social class are part of the social structure. Ex: nationality, sexuality, ability/disability, etc. People occupy one or more positions in the structure, and each position brings with it expectations and stereotypes.A person's social networks are determined by their location in the social structure. Location within the social structure is linked to status. Some positions have greater prestige. Ex: social networks at Emory.

Sociological Approaches to Deviance

Sociologists approach the study and explanation of deviance through many different theoretical frameworks: - Functionalism (macro scale) - Labeling theory (micro scale)

What might be some folkways in the United States?

Speaking english, tipping, saying thank you (manners), holding the door open (gender norms as well), respecting elders, waiting in line.

Stereotypes

Stereotypes are characteristics can become associated with other social markers such as race or gender. - Stereotypes: labels come with associated stereotypes. Roles, attributes, social groups, etc. Take on the behavior that is labeled on you. - Stereotypes make it possible for us to view those different from ourselves as less individualized, and less human. - If several bad characteristics become associated with a social marker, we may perceive people who have that social marker to be generally bad overall. - Stereotypes are reified (made real or concrete) through outlets such as the media, and are internalized - often unconsciously (from a young age). - Ex: "Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery" vs. "A young man walks through chest deep flood water after looting a grocery store in New Orleans." White people found food, while African Americans looted.

Implicit Bias

Stereotypes can lead to implicit bias. Implicit bias is the judgement or behaviors that are the result of subtle, unconscious attitudes and beliefs. - Different treatment in schools can support self-fulfilling prophecies and stereotype threat. - Implicit bias is one possible cause of the race effects seen in Devah Pager's research on the effects of race and criminal record on hiring for entry level jobs. - Implicit bias is one possible cause of disparities in the use of force by police against whites and non-whites.

Structural Inequalities

Structural inequalities are defined as a condition where one category of people are attributed an unequal status in relation to other categories of people.

Structural Mobility

Structural mobility is movement up or down the social class 'ladder' as a result of changes in structure of society, rather than the actions of individuals.

Sub-Typing

Sub-typing: seeing members of a stereotyped group who disconfirm stereotypes as exceptions and placing them in a subcategory.

Taboos

Taboos: a norm so strongly ingrained that even the thought of its violation is greeted with revulsion. Those who break taboos are at risk of being judged as unfit to live in the same society as others. Sanctions are severe.

Markings

Temporary rap sheet allows for monitoring, restricts movement. - Publicity available information (at least in the state of NY). - Ex: sex offenders in your area.

What does it mean to be poor in the United States?

The US Census Bureau determines who is poor by calculating a set-dollar threshold that varies by family size. The threshold is three times the amount of money the government estimates is necessary for a "thrifty food basket".

Eating Your Friends is the Hardest: (277-286)

The article presented the story of how the starvation of the survivors of a plane crash drove them to the point of cannibalism. The story really emphasizes the idea of social construction of reality. Our society gives different objects arbitrary definitions through social construction of reality, but we're very capable of changing these definitions. Usually changes in the circumstance make our society more accepting of changes in the definition of these objects. A critical point in the story is when the survivors hear on the radio that the search for them has stopped. Before this point many of the people thought the Canessa's idea of eating the corpses as purely wrong, but as they grew weaker and weaker the meaning of the human body changed from a being a person that deserves respect to being a means of survival and food.