SOCL AAAS 2511 Green 1

how does ethnocentrism affect our acceptance of others?

-People usually view their own cultural values as somehow more real, and therefore superior to, those of other groups, and so they prefer their own way of doing things. -negatively affects attitudes and emotions toward those perceived as different. -

Characteristics of a Minority group:

-group receives unequal treatment from larger society. -group is easily identifiable because of distinguishing physical or cultural characteristics that are held in low esteem. -group feels a sense of group identity. -members are ascribed status (one is born into it) -practices endogamy.

three major sociological perspectives shape the study of minorities:

1. Functionalist Theory 2. Conflict Theory 3. Interactionist Theory

_______ emphasizes African culture and its influence on Western civilization and the behavior of American blacks.

Afrocentrism

Who believed that people from the same social world mutually "know" the language, customs, beliefs, symbols, and everyday behavior patterns that the stranger usually does not.

Alfred Schutz

_______ theorists focus on the inequalities that generate racial and ethnic antagonisms between groups.

Conflict

-evaluates beliefs and behavior in the context of the culture. -This is a more enlightened and positive alternative to ethnocentrism.

Cultural relativism

what will be used when referring to a minority group's relationships with the rest of society?

Dominant group

Created a measure of social difference, which measures the degree of closeness people preferred in interaction with other groups

Emory Bogardus

________ is crucial in understanding motivation, attitudes, and behavior when members of racially or ethnically distinct groups interact because it often helps explain misunderstandings, prejudice, and discrimination.

Ethnocentrism

_________ refers to people's tendency to identify with their own ethnic or national group as a means of fulfilling their needs for group belongingness and security

Ethnocentrism

________ is a variation of ethnocentrism in which the content, emphasis, or both in history, literature, and other humanities primarily, if not exclusively, concern Western culture.

Eurocentrism

People create cultural products: material artifacts, social institutions, ideologies, and so on called ________.

Externalization (social construction of reality)

what is holding attitudes that do not accurately reflect the facts of the situation—can also come into play.

False consciousness (conflict theory)

______ maintain that all the elements of a society should function together to maintain order and stability.

Functionalists

_______ emphasize that all problems regarding minorities can be resolved through adjustments to the social system that restore it to a state of equilibrium. They prefer smaller corrections in the already functioning society.

Functionalists

German sociologist -strangers represent both nearness and remoteness -strangers are unknown/unfamiliar, natives see them only generally, as representatives of a diff group -strangers perceive natives in specific, individual terms

Georg Simmel

conflict theory is influenced by :

Influenced by Karl Marx's socioeconomic view of an elite exploiting the masses.

A group to which individuals belong and feel loyal. Example - Majority groups vs. minority groups

Ingroup

who inspired the functionalist theory?

Inspired by Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton.

Subsequently, they learn these supposedly objective facts of reality through the socialization process called ________.

Internalization (social construction of reality.)

Over time, they lose awareness of having created their own social and cultural environment called _______.

Objectification (social construction of reality.)

occur when individuals believe their values are threatened.

Personal troubles

Examine the dynamics of intergroup relations:

Relationships continually change for many reasons. -Industrialization, urbanization, shifts in migration patterns, social movements, upward/downward economic trends, etc.

what theroy holds that ingroup members almost automatically think of their group as better than outgroups because doing so enhances their own social status or social identity and thus raises the value of their personal identity or self-image.

Social identity theory

________ assumes that minority groups are responsive and creative rather than passive.

Symbolic interaction (interactionist theory)

_________ _______ is the shared symbols and definitions people use when communicating with one another -Provides the focus for understanding how individuals create and interpret the life situations they experience.

Symbolic interaction (interactionist theory)

_______ refers to any inaccurate comparison based on simplistic categorizations and anachronistic judgments.

The Dillingham Flaw

peoples perception of similarity between themselves is a more powerful determinant than what?

actual similarity

what is the classification of others on the basis of limited information obtained visually and perhaps verbally?

categoric knowing

-Hold a philosophy to be true but cannot go through it based on opposing ideas -example of social identity theory

cognitive dissonance

_______ theorists insist that racism has much to do with maintaining power and controlling resources.

conflict

_______ theorists see disequilibrium and change as the norm. They examine the ongoing conflict between the dominant and subordinate groups in society.

conflict theorists

Proponents of ______ theory see society as being continually engaged in a series of disagreements, tensions, and clashes as different groups compete for limited resources.

conflict theory

Proponents of _______ theory see society as being continually engaged in a series of disagreements, tensions, and clashes as different groups compete for limited resources

conflict theory

_______ is also a macroscial theory

conflict theory

Functionalist view ________ as temporary maladjustments to an otherwise interdependent and relatively harmonious society.

dysfunctions

what is the movement of people out of a country to settle in another

emigration

the practice that group members tend to marry within their group by choice or by necessity because of their social isolation.

endogamy

_______ goes beyond racial similarity to encompass shared cultural traits and/or national origin (also religion).

ethnicity

Proponents of the ________ theory emphasize that the various parts of society have functions, or positive effects, that promote solidarity and maintain the stability of the whole. -Sometimes called structural functionalism.

functionalist theory

_____ also know as macrosocial theory focuses on society itself.

functionalist theory

in the ______ theory, Some components of the social structure have manifest functions but they often have latent functions

functionalist theory

Racism is an _________—a set of generalized beliefs used to explain and justify the interests of those who hold them.

ideology (conflict theory)

Americans pride themselves as being part of a nation of what?

immigrants

what is the movement of people into a new country to become permanent residents

immigration

The ___________ perspective can be particularly helpful in understanding some of the false perceptions that occur in dominant-minority relations.

interactionist

The ________ theory examines the microsocial world of personal interaction patterns in everyday life rather than the macrosocial aspects of social institutions and their harmony or conflict.

interactionist theory

_____ also known as A microsocial theory examines only one aspect within society.

interactionist theory

during time, strangers take on the natives perspective and their consciousness decrease because the freshness of their perceptions is lost

interactions

-Example of Social construction of Reality --External (blueprint) ---object ---internal

iphone

According to Alfred Schutz, strangers every interaction situation

is new and is therefore experienced as a crisis.

why is ranking social distance an excellent technique?

it evaluates how perceptions of similarity attract closer interaction patterns

during strangers interactions, they experience a "______________", a lack of shared memory of those with whom they live.

lack of historicity

hidden and unexpected results

latent functions

obvious and intended results

manifest functions

many still call the US a great ___________ where people of all races, religions and nationalities come to be free and improve their lives

melting pot

Georg Simmel says strangers are more objective because their geographic mobility enhances their ....

mental mobility

what is the movement of people into and out of a specified area, either within a country or from one country to another

migration

encompasses any physical or cultural trait, not just race or national origin is what? a group's relative power and status in society -social hierarchy -stresses a group's social power, which may vary from one country to another

minority group

-Someone with even a tiny portion of non-white ancestry should be classified as black -U.S purists view

one drop theory

Those who are not members of one's ingroup.

outgroup

Another approach in defining minority groups rests on the relationships between groups in terms of each group's ________________. this stresses a groups social power, which may vary country to country.

position in the social hierarchy.

(an exemplary model) an outgroup becomes this if members of the ingroup think it has a conspicuous advantage over them.

positive reference group

sociologists use the term "minority group" to indicate a group's relative

power and status

despite the importance of diversity, it is sometimes met with what?

prejudice/discrimination tension sporadic outbursts of violence

matter concerning segments of the public who believe that one of their cherished values is threatened.

public issue

_______ is a categorization in which people sharing visible biological characteristics regard themselves or are regarded by others as a single group on that basis

race

________ is a human invention, a good example of the social construction of reality.

racism

________ is the linking of biological conditions with alleged abilities and behavior to assert the superiority of one race.

racism

people make judgements and generalizations on the basis of ________ _________, confusing an individuals characteristics with typical group-member characteristics

scanty information

Through ________, sociologists seek to determine the social forces that influence behavior and to identify recurring patterns that help them better understand that behavior.

scientific investigation

Sociologists investigate many aspects of society and social behavior—including the study of minority groups, race, class, and gender—through the

scientific method.

Essential to this perspective (interactionist theory) is how people define their reality through a process called the

social construction of reality.

_______ _______ of race and ethnicity are familiar to natives, they are new realities to the stranger

social constructions

the degree of closeness or remoteness individuals prefer in interaction with members of other groups is?

social distance

the natives generalizations about the strangers become more concrete through what?

social interaction

- fails to promote the society as a whole, as evidenced by existing social patterns benefiting some people while depriving others

social structure (conflict theory)

Ex. -Industrialized world, a peasant becomes a worker; feudal lord is liquidated or becomes a businessman. -When classes rise or fall, a man is employed or unemployed -When rate of investment goes up or down, a man takes a new heart or goes broke. -when wars happen, an insurance salesman becomes a rocket launcher; a store clerk becomes a radar man; a wife lives alone; a child grows up without a father

sociological imagination

Unknown/ unfamiliar, natives see them only generally, as representatives of a "different" group Perceive natives in specific, individual terms

stranger

differences among various people cause each group to view other groups as

strangers

It is faulty logic that makes incorrect assumptions about the past and applies stereotypes to the present to compare two groups.

the dillingham flaw

how do people perceive strangers?

through categoric knowing

-Socially shared conceptions of what is good, desirable, and proper or bad, undesirable, and improper -Difficult to be completely objective

values of objectivity

when do problems arise with functionalists?

when parts of the social system become dysfunctional, upsetting the society's equilibrium. -The most frequent cause is rapid social change.

The key issue with social disorganization is

whether to restore the equilibrium to its pre-disturbed state or to seek a new and different equilibrium.