Lesson 12: Society and Culture Part III

Which aspect of groupthink is exemplified by the idea, often proposed by groups at war, which states "If you're not with us, then you're my enemy"? A. Obedience B. Illusions of invulnerability C. Morality D. Conformity

D is correct. Conformity is social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. This change is in response to real or imagined group pressure. -tendency to make decisions based on ideas and solutions that arise within the group without considering outside ideas

Which of the following correctly identifies the role of observation in ethnic studies? A. It is one of the easiest tools for sociological inquiry because it requires only good note-taking. B. It is not subject to the same controls that are applied to other methods. C. It requires the involvement of the researcher in the activity being studied. D. It may be unobtrusive or participant.

D is correct. Observation is essential in science. Scientists use observation to collect and record data, which enables them to construct and then test hypotheses and theories. Scientists can observe in many ways; with their own senses as passive observers or as active participants, potentially aided by tools such as scanners or transmitters.

Sociologists: A. are exempt from the considerations of research ethics that govern biological researchers. B. have not been able to agree on a code of ethics. C. should always obtain informed consent in cases where subjects may be exposed to risk. D. should obtain informed consent in cases where subjects may be exposed to risks of research that are greater than the risks of everyday life.

D is correct. This is the only true statement regarding the ethical and proper study of social science.

The view that sociologists must not allow their personal biases to affect the conduct of their research is called: A. Verstehen. B. dialectical materialism. C. social facts. D. value-free sociology.

D is correct. This view, posited by Weber, states that sociologists should observe value neutrality while conducting social research. It means that he should exclude ideological or non -scientific assumption from research and not make evaluative judgment about empirical evidence.

Pluralism

Encourages racial/ethnic variation

Always-On Generation

Generation: 2004 - Present

tokenism

One minority character is added to a movie as a stand in for the entire group

cosmopolites

People who live in a city because of its cultural attractions, convenience, restaurants, and other features of the best that a city has to offer

baby boomers

(1946-1964) currently in their 60

Index of dissimilarity

0 = total segregation and 1 = perfect distribution

GI (greatest) generation

1901-1924 oldest people

Silent generation

1925-1945

Generation X

1965-1980 -parents

Millennials

1980s-2000s

Generation Z

1995-2003 (acronym: The kids who love their Sony xperia Z phones)

culture

4 main ideas; - People share culture within a society. - Culture is adaptive → evolves over time. - Culture builds on itself → creating culture is ongoing and cumulative. - Culture is transmitted from one generation to another.

Activists Social Movement

A group action that aims to change a structure of society often because of oppression or injustice related to that structure

Reactionary (Regressive) Social Movement

A group action that aims to resist a change to the structure of society.

The idea that one can scientifically and logically study social institutions and the individuals within them is defined by which term? A. Positivism B. Social Darwinism C. Social facilitation D. Normative

A is correct. Positivism is the theory that laws are best understood as social rules, valid because they are enacted by authority or derive logically from existing decisions.

Which mechanism of socialization is used by the military to change the behavior of new recruits? A. Resocialization B. Primary socialization C. Secondary socialization D. Tertiary socialization

A is correct. Resocialization is the process by which one's sense of social values, beliefs, and norms are reconditioned. This process is achieved through an intense social process that often takes place in a total institution.

Those aspects of social life that have to do with order, stability, and social organization that allow societies and groups to hold together and endure are called: A. social statics. B. social dynamics. C. social absolutes. D. constructed reality.

A is correct. Social statics focuses on how order is maintained in the society and social dynamics focuses on how society changes over time.

The discovery that smiling carries positive meaning in many world cultures best illustrates what sociological concept? A. Symbolic interactionism B. Societal constructs C. Conflict resolution D. Traditional values

A is correct. Symbolic interaction theory analyzes society by addressing the subjective meanings that people impose on objects, events, or behaviors. Subjective meanings are given primacy because it is believed that people behave based on what they believe, not just on what is true. As a result, society is thought to be socially constructed through human interpretation.

Stereotypes

A widely accepted cognition that overgeneralizes the qualities of a group of people. These cognitions are often spread through mass media

urban decline

As people move out of city centers, city can fall into disrepair. Buildings abandoned, unemployment/crime rises. Population of city declines

Which factor of the theory of social solidarity in a society determines the way social cohesion among individuals is maintained? A. Division of responsibility B. Division of labor C. Group polarization D. Ego defense

B is correct. In sociology, the division of labor refers to the range of tasks within a social system. This can vary from everyone doing the same thing to each person having a specialized role. It is through the division of labor that social life actually occurs.

The Hippocratic Oath requirement that doctors avoid prescribing medications that present more potential for injury than benefit is an example of which ethical standard? A. Beneficence B. Nonmaleficence C. Positivism D. Altriusm

B is correct. Nonmaleficence means non-harming or inflicting the least harm possible to reach a beneficial outcome. Beneficence is defined as an act of charity, mercy, and kindness with a strong connotation of doing good to others including moral obligation. All professionals have the foundational moral imperative of doing right.

Students at University A staged a sit-in to protest the University's decision to cancel its longstanding policy of exempting graduating seniors from final exams. Which theoretical perspective provides the strongest framework for analyzing this situation? A. Interactionist, because the University and the students didn't share the same understanding about final exams. B. Conflict, because this is an example of a power struggle between two groups with conflicting ideas and interests. C. Functionalist, because teaching college students to protest is a manifest function of education. D. None of the above

B is correct. Social conflict theory argues that individuals and groups within society have differing amounts of material and non-material resources and that the more powerful groups use their power in order to exploit groups with less power

Constructed reality is: A. the ability to control the behavior of others. B. the principle that meaning derives from social interaction in daily life. C. the observed consequences that permit the adaptation or adjustment of a system. D. an artificial explanation of culture that exists apart from any social reality or shared social meaning.

B is correct. Social constructionism (social construction of reality) examines the development of jointly constructed understandings of the world that form the basis for our shared assumptions about reality. This theory centers on the notions that human beings will rationalize their experience by creating models of the social world and share and reify these models through language.

Contemporary sociology includes: A. evolutionary relativism. B. liberal post-feminism and an uncritical examination of women's social roles and experiences. C. postmodernism, feminism, and critical theory. D. a combination of biological theory, conflict theory, and evolutionary theory.

C is correct. These are the hallmarks of modern sociology.

urban renewal

revamping old parts of cities to become better. But can lead to gentrification, which means when redone they target a wealthier community which increases property value. People there before are pushed out because they can't afford property anymore and it leads to great inequality in cities

centralization

segregation + clustering in a central area

Reverse culture shock

similar to culture shock, except this occurs when one returns to their original first culture

Social capital

social networks which allow for upward social mobility. - E.g. peer networks, family networks and community networks. - These can help either reinforce inequalities present in society or help people tap into a pool of resources!

Plutocracy

system which is ruled by the upper class

Class consciousness

the awareness of one's class position in capitalism and the fact the class is being exploited

Population transfer

the forcing of a group out of a territory

tertiary care

the most specialized care, based on consultations with a specialist and usually occurs in hospitals of facilities. - E.g. cancer hospitals and burn centers

concentration

there's clustering of different groups

Cultural Universals

traits that are part of every known culture A specific institution, trait or value that is found in every society, which suggests that the traits for this might have been selected for evolutionarily. Example of this is the medical institution, death ceremonies, and language, which all can differ greatly between societies but are always present in some form.

Cultural diffusion

transfer of element of a culture from one culture to another → leading to increased cultural similarities between groups -spread of an invention or discovery or ideas from one place to another. Spread of ideas such as Capitalism, democracy and religious beliefs have brought change in human relationships around the world

Norms

visible and invisible rules which define acceptable behavior

Skeptical perspective of globalization

we are regionalized instead of globalized → 3rd world countries aren't being integrated into the global economy

urbanization

movement of people from rural to urban areas/cities

gender fluid

moving across genders

Cultural capital

non financial assets that help promote social mobility - E.g. education!

mores

norms that are deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society and have consequences if violated. Health behaviors (like seeking help for an acute medical illness) are standards of behavior that are necessary for the well-being of everyone; if a person does not seek help, they may be shunned by family members or friends.

Folkways

norms that govern everyday behavior (like holding a door open)

nonbinary

not identifying with any specific gender

Tokenism

The use of a single minority member to create a false sense of diversity in a TV show or movie.

Evolutionary Component of Culture

The way in which natural selection is influenced by the values, beliefs, and behaviors of a society. An example of this is the gene for a lactose-digesting protein being selected for in a population that relies on drinking milk for sustenance

slum

a heavily populated urban area characterized by substandard housing and squalor, most lack reliable sanitation services, supply of clean water

secondary care

acute care as well as specialty care. - Emergency department

Age stratification theory

age is a way of regulating the behavior of a generation

ghettoes

are defined as areas where specific racial, ethnic, or religious minorities are concentrated, usually due to social or economic inequities

Rural flight

assesses why people leave rural areas (instead of why they go to urban areas)

Pansexual

attracted to people no matter what their gender is

primary care

care provider is responsible for ongoing preventative care - Urgent care centers

exurbs

communities that arise farther out than the suburbs and are typically populated by residents of high socioeconomic status

taboos

considered unacceptable by almost every culture (like cannibalism or incest).

third gender

culture recognizes nonbinary gender

Values

culture's standard for evaluating what is good or bad

primary kinship

direct relationship, such as that between a brother and sister or between a father and daughter

gender queer

don't identify as either male or female and can present (gender expression) as gender queer or male/female.

Transformationalist perspective of globalization

due to specific cause or outcome, globalization is due the world order changing

laws

established standards of behavior that are written down and have very clear consequences

culture shock

feelings of disorientation, uncertainty, or even fear when they encounter unfamiliar culture practices. Ex. Moving countries, move social environments, or travels to another type of life (urban to rural).

urban blight

functioning of the urban area abandoned decreases, causing the city to degrade.

attraction

gender one is romantically attracted to

fornication

gender one is sexually attracted to

expression

gender they express

Cultural transmission

how culture is passed from one generation to the next

Cultural imperialism

imposition of one's own cultural values onto another culture

Economic capital

individuals tangible financial assets.

False consciousness

people are not aware of their class position, they are not aware of being exploited. - These people usually believe in the idea of meritocracy, their hopes are reinforced by the owners.

Rural rebound

people no longer want to stay in the city and move back to the rural areas

Heterosexism

prejudice or discrimination against a person because they are homosexual

tertiary kinship

primary kin of one's primary kin's primary kin (three levels!) or to the secondary kin of one's primary kin, such as one's husband's grandmother

secondary kinship

primary relatives of an individual's primary relatives For example, the relationship between a grandson and his paternal grandmother would typically be secondary kinship, since the grandson is primary kin with his own father, who is primary kin with his mother (the grandmother)

Beliefs

principles that people hold

agender

reject gender categories

just world phenomenon

is an attributional bias that occurs when one believes that the world is fair and good things happen to people who are hard-working and good and that bad things happen to people who are bad or lazy. Michael's attributing Jake's failure to being "a bad person" and his own success to having taken advantage of opportunities is an example of the just world phenomenon

affinal kinship

is based upon marriage and not upon blood

Amalgamation

majority and minority groups combine to form a new group

White flight

migration of whites to a more racially homogenous suburb

Urban sprawl

migration to metropolitan areas or migration from city to more remote areas

Inter-colonialism

minorities are segregated and exploited.

Resource Motivation Theory

The idea that social change is only possible when there are necessary funds, publicity, organization, strong leadership and political influence for the movement to be successful.

Relative Deprivation Theory

The idea that social change stems from a group of people that identify an inequality in society and work together to address it. This occurs when people believe they deserve more than what the present state of society can offer.

Mass Society Theory

The idea that social movements stem from socially isolated people who join movements for refuge and to find a sense of community. This helps to explain why people join extremist, irrational movements, such as fascism or communism

Rational Choice Theory

The idea that social patterns stem from individuals that weigh the costs and benefits of certain actions and chose the action that benefits them the most

Culture Lag

The idea that technological advances often occur faster than the ideas and beliefs of society can evolve to accommodate these changes. This often results in social conflicts. -Material culture is has a shorter cultural lag compared to non-material culture -Common in societies because material culture changes rapidly, while non-material culture tends to resists change

Non-Material Culture

The ideas and beliefs of a society that resist change. This resistance contributes to culture lag

Functionalist View of Mass Media

The perspective that explains the need for various mediums through which information spreads, believing it is because these different mediums serve a purpose in society by bringing information, acting as an agent of socialization, and enforcing social norms

Interactionist Perspective to Mass Media

The perspective that explains the role of various mediums through which information spreads, claiming that these different mediums change the way people communicate with others. The common forms of communication and societal norms around communication constantly evolve as different mediums become available

Conflict Theory View of Mass Media

The perspective that explains the role of various mediums through which information spreads, claiming that these different mediums work to enforce divisions between people or act as a gatekeeper

Feminist Theory View of Mass Media

The perspective that explains the role of various mediums through which information spreads, claiming that these different mediums work to propagate stereotypes and promote the views of the dominant group of society. This focuses on the way women are underrepresented and traditional gender roles are emphasized

Material Culture

The physical objects that make up a society. This often changes more rapidly than the ideas of society which results in culture lag.

Suburbanization

The process of population movement from within towns and cities to the rural-urban fringe, but commute for work can be long and harder to get quick medical help

Gate Keeping

The process through which a small amount of companies and individuals control the information presented by the mass media -Mass media reflects the dominant ideology and gatekeepers are usually white, male and wealthy -In some countries this is decided by the government, in others decided by large media corporations -gatekeepers are predominantly white, male, and wealthy.

Social epidemiology

The question refers to the beginning of the passage, which states that some researchers have called for studies to supplement the biomedical approach with perspectives that incorporate the social determinants of disease. Social epidemiology focuses on the contribution of social and cultural factors to disease patterns in populations. It is also well positioned to supplement the biomedical approach because social epidemiology is a sub-field of epidemiology. Although potentially relevant to understanding health and illness, the perspectives in the other options do not specifically address the social determinants of disease and thus do not respond to the call made in the passage.