Sociology 1020 Final Exam
Conflict theorists believe opium was outlawed in the United States because it was associated with what?
It was associated with the Chinese
What is the postindustrial stage?
the population grows very slowly, if at all. In this stage, a decreasing birth rate is coupled with a stable death rate.
What is differential association theory?
States that individuals have a greater tendency to deviate from societal norms when they frequently associate with people who tend toward deviance rather than conformity
What are social movements that attempt to bring about change by working within the existing organizational structures of society called?
1. Alterative social movements: Seeks only to alter some specific behavior (MADD). 2. Redemptive social movements: This movement also targets individuals, but here the aim is total change (conversion in a specific religion). 3. REFORMATIVE social movements: Seeks to reform some specific aspect of society (environmentalists). 4. Transformative social movements: Seeks to transform the social order of a society itself (revolutions - American, Russian).
How many hours did the average U.S. adult spend reading newspapers in 2009?
158
The highest rate of serious mental illness among U.S. adults is for persons of what age group?
18-25
According to a study conducted by the Center for Communications and Social Policy at the University of California at Santa Barbara, violent television shows made up what percentage of all television programming during the three years of the study?
60% does
Most people have left paid employment by which age?
70 years
What is life expectancy at birth in the U.S.?
78.4 years
What is the definition of grand theft?
A category of larceny—the offense of illegally taking the property of another—in which the value of the property taken is greater than that set for petty theft.
What is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) occur?
A condition characterized by mental retardation and craniofacial malformations that may affect the child of an alcoholic mothers--occurs during the first three months of pregnancy
What is a mental disorder?
A condition that makes it difficult or impossible for a person to cope with everyday life
What is a mental illness?
A condition that requires extensive treatment with medication, psychotherapy, and sometimes hospitalization
What is assault?
An intentional act by one person that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent harmful or offensive contact.
What are Ponzi schemes?
A form of fraud in which belief in the success of a nonexistent enterprise is fostered by the payment of quick returns to the first investors from money invested by later investors.
What is the definition of the traditional family?
A group of people who are related to one another by blood, marriage, or adoption and who live together, form an economic unit, and bear and raise children. According to this definition, families are created through childbearing, and it is the parent-child relationship that links generation
What is Medicaid?
A health care program for persons who are low income or disabled and certain groups of seniors in nursing homes
Define prejudice
A negative attitude based on faulty generalizations about members of selected racial and ethic groups.
Define scapegoat personality
A person or group that is blamed for some problem causing frustration and is subject to hostility or aggression by others.
What is the theory of limited effects?
A person who carefully evaluates information from the media and disregards bad information
Define hate crimes
A physical attack against a person because of assumptions regarding his or her racial group, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or ancestry.
Define amalgamation
A process in which the culture attributes of diverse racial-ethic groups are blended together to form a new society incorporating the unique contributions of each group.
What is Medicare?
A program that covers most people age 65 and over.
What is drug addiction?
A psychological and/or physiological need for a drug to maintain a sense of well-being and avoid withdrawal symptoms
What is a disability?
A restricted or total lack of ability to perform certain activities as a result of physical limitations or the interplay of these limitations, social responses, and the social environment
What is meritocracy?
A social system in which status is assumed to be acquired through individual ability and effort
What is the functionalist theoretical explanation of population?
A view of families, schools, and churches as being key institutions that should encourage minority acceptance of dominant US culture patterns.
Retreatism
Abandons both approved goals and the approved means to achieve them
Rebellion
Abandons society's goals but continues to conform to approved means
Ritualism
Abandons society's goals but continues to conform to approved means
Innovation
Accepts culturally approved goals; adopts disapproved means of achieving them
Conformity
Accepts the culturally approved goals; pursues them through culturally approved means
What are the different theoretical explanations of the media proposed by functionalists?
According to some functionalist anaalysts, the media fulfill several important functions in contemporary societies, including providing news and information, facilitating public disclosures on social issues and policies, passing on cultural traditions and historical perspectives, and entertaining people.
What are the different theoretical explanations of the media proposed by symbolic interactionists?
According to the theory of limited effects, the media has a minimal effect on individuals attitudes and perceptions. The use and gratification theory suggests that people are active audience participants who make conscious decisions about what they will watch, listen to, and read and where they will surf on the internet. However, social learning theory is based on the assumption that people are likely to act out the behavior they see in role models and media sources. The audience relations approach states that people interpret what they hear and see in the media by using their own cultural understandings as a mental filtering device.
How great a problem is homelessness? Are there any solutions?
Accurate data in the actual number of the homeless are extremely difficult to get because homeless people avoid interviews with census takers and social researchers. Annual surveys conducted by the US Conference of Mayors continue to show that low-income individuals and persons of color are overrepresented in the homeless population, and the fastest growing segment of the homeless population is families and children. Most experts agree that ant long-term, successful solution to homelessness must take structural factors into account, especially low-income housing and mental health care.
What is the definition of discrimination?
Actions or practices of dominant group members that harm members of subordinate groups.
Which racial group is most likely to be homeless?
African Americans
What is the functionalist theoretical explanation of racial and ethnic inequality?
Alack of assimilation, amalgamation within the country.
What are the major problems in global cities?
Almost one out of every two people in the world today lives in a city. Rapid urban growth brings a wide variety of problems, including overcrowding, environmental pollution, and the disappearance of farmland. The exploitation of semi-peripheral nations by core nations serves to increase the urban problem in these nations. Core nations are dominant capitalist centers that are characterized by high levels of industrialization and urbanization. Peripheral nations depend on core nations for capital, have little or no industrialization (other than what is brought on by core nations), and have uneven patterns of urbanization. Semi-peripheral nations are more developed than peripheral nations but less developed than core nations.
How did early Christian leaders such as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas view prostitution?
Argued that prostitution was evil but encouraged tolerance toward it. Prostitution served a basic need that, if unmet, would result in greater harm than prostitution itself. Later leaders believed that prostitution should be abolished on moral grounds
What is tracking?
Assigning students to specific courses and educational programs on the basis of their test scores, previous grades, or both
What is the definition of a living organism?
August Comte compared society to a living organism. Just as muscles, tissues, and organs of the human body perform specific functions that maintain the body as a whole, the various parts of society contribute to its maintenance and preservation.
What are a conflict theorists' theoretical explanations of gender inequality?
Based on the assumption that social life is a continuous struggle in which members of powerful groups (males) seek to maintain control of scarce resources such as social, economic, and political superiority. By dominating individual women and commanding social instructions, men maintain positions of privilege and power. Men in the upper classes have greater economic power because they control elite positions in corporations, universities, the mass media, and government. Conflict theorists using a Marxist approach believe that gender inequality results primarily from capitalism and private ownership of the means of production.
What is functional illiteracy?
Being unable to read and/or write at the skill level necessary for carrying out everyday tasks
What are the different theoretical explanations of education proposed by functionalists?
Believe that education contributes to the smooth functioning of society when it fulfills its manifest functions. Education has at least five major manifest functions: socialization, transmission of culture, social control, social placement, and change and innovation. Schools also fulfill a number of latent functions
Liberal feminist approach towards gender equality
Believe that gender inequality is rooted in gender-role socialization, which perpetuates women's lack of equal civil rights and educational opportunities.
What are the different theoretical explanations of education proposed by conflict theorists?
Believe that schools, which are supposed to reduce inequality in society, actually perpetuate inequalities based on class, race, and gender. The sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, for example, says that children from low-income and poverty-level families come to school with less cultural capital than middle and upper income children have. Conflict theorists also think that elites manipulate the masses and maintain their power in society through a hidden curriculum that teaches students to be obedient and patriotic and thus perpetuates the status quo in society
What do analysts using the social stress framework to examine mental disorders believe?
Believe that stresses associated with lower-class life lead to greater mental disorders
What are the different theoretical explanations of homosexuality proposed by conflict theorists?
Believe that the group in power imposes its own attitudes, beliefs, and values about sexual orientation on everyone else. Thus, norms enforcing compulsory heterosexuality reflects the beliefs of dominant-group members in the government, military, and other social institutions. Social change can occur only if people demand that laws be changed to bring about greater equality
Black feminist approach towards gender equality
Believe that women of color face inequalities based on the multiplicative effect of race, class, and gender as simultaneous forces of oppression.
What is the group of massive corporations that control the news and entertainment industry known as?
Big Six
What is the conflict theoretical explanation of population?
Emphasize that solutions to the problem of inequality will be found only through government programs that specifically attack racial inequality and actively reduce patterns of discrimination.
What are the different theoretical explanations of the media proposed by conflict theorists?
Conflict theorists argue that members of the capitalist class own and control the media, which, along with other dominant social institutions, instruct people in the values, beliefs, and attitudes that they should have.
How do symbolic interactionists think poverty-related problems can be reduced?
Change the way we think about poor people
How is education related to current smokers?
Cigarette smoking is less prevalent among adults who are college graduates compared with those with fewer years of former education
What is true regarding migration to the United States?
Colonization migration, forced migration.
What is the conflict theoretical explanation of racial and ethnic inequality?
Conflict between groups in inevitable in racial and ethnic relations. Economic stratification and unequal access to power. Members of the capitalist class benefit from a split-labor market that fosters racial divisions among workers and suppresses wages. (split-labor market theory). Gendered racism. Internal colonialism. Theory of racial formation.
Hegemony theory as it relates to the media can best be categorized under which of the following perspectives?
Conflict theorists
What are the conflict perspectives on urban problems?
Conflict theorists believe that cities grow or decline according to decisions made by capitalists and the political elite. In other words, conflict theorists use a political economy model. Urban problems can be reduced through political activism and organized resistance to oppressive conditions.
Equity feminist approach towards gender equality
Contend that the radical, anti-male school of thought based upon demonizing an entire group of people because of a certain physical characteristic must be held to be highly suspect they argue that women's achievements should be celebrated and seek, in partnership with men, to make required adjustments.
How do functionalists think poverty-related problems can be reduced?
Create more jobs instead of providing more government benefits and paying people to stay poor. Promote private-sector job creation, improve our schools, and strengthen our families, churches, and communities
Which is true about population growth in high-income nations versus low-income nations?
Critics of family planning programs argue that most policies are developed by political leaders in high-income nations who are motivated by race and class issues rather than by a genuine concern about world hunger or overpopulation. They say that high-income nations- such as England, France, and the US- encourage births among middle and upper income white women in their own countries but advocate depopulation policies in low-income regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, where most residents are people of color.
What is labeling theory?
Delinquents and criminals are people who have been successfully labeled as such by others
Define dominant personality
Direct and decisive, prefers to lead rather than follow.
What is reverse sexism?
Discrimination against women is in our culture, being replaced by discrimination against men
What are the different theoretical explanations of crime proposed by symbolic interactionist?
Emphasize that criminal behavior is learned through everyday interaction with others. According to differential association theory, individuals have a greater tendency to deviate from societal norms when they frequently associate with people who are more likely to deviate than conform. Labeling theory says that delinquents and criminals are those people who have been successfully labeled by others as such
What are the different theoretical explanations of age inequality proposed by functionalist?
Dramatic changes in such social institutions as the family and religion have influenced how people look at the process of growing old. Given this, both the stability of society and the normal and healthy adjustment of older people require that they detach themselves from their social roles and prepare for their eventual death. They also use the disengagement theory
What are a functionalist's theoretical explanations of gender inequality?
Examine employment opportunities and the wage gap between men and women. Gender inequality in inevitable because of the biological division of labor.
What is desertification?
Excess removal of trees.
Define authoritarian personality
Excessive conformity, intolerance, insecurity, stereotypical thinking.
What are the different theoretical explanations of crime proposed by conflict theorists?
Explain criminal behavior in terms of power differentials and/or economic inequality in society. One approach focuses on the relationship between authority and power and crime; another focuses on the relationship between economic inequality and crime. Feminist approaches offer several explanations of why women commit crimes: gender discrimination, patriarchy, and a combination of capitalism and patriarchy
How do conflict theorists think poverty-related problems can be reduced?
Federal and state governments must play a larger role by enacting and implementing social policies that stimulate the economy, create new jobs, and provide workers with a living wage. We must not blame people for being poor. Fund social service programs and cut excessive corporate welfare programs
Which are the different types of research methods most used by social scientists?
Field research, survey research, and secondary analysis of existing data
Which of the following is the main motivation for media concentration?
Financial gain
What are the functionalist perspectives on urban problems?
Functionalists believe that today's urban problems ae the result of mass migration from rural areas during the Industrial revolution, large scale immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and mass suburbanization. One solution is to create metropolitan governments.
What are the different theoretical explanations of homosexuality proposed by functionalists?
Focus on how social norms and laws are established to preserve social institutions, such as the family, and to maintain stability in society. They also analyze reasons why societies find it necessary to punish sexual conduct that violates social norms prohibiting nonmarital sex and same sex sexual relations. Homosexual conduct is punished because it undermines social institutions and jeopardizes the society
What are the different theoretical explanations of prostitution proposed by conflict theorists?
Focus on the intersection of race, class, and gender believe that the criminalization of prostitution is a form of discrimination against poor women, particularly poor women of color
What are the different theoretical explanations of age inequality proposed by conflict theorist?
Focus on the political economy of aging in analyzing the problems of older people in contemporary capitalistic societies. From this perspective, class constitutes a structural barrier to older people's access to valued resources and dominant groups attempt to maintain their own interests by perpetuating class inequalities. Aging itself is not the social problem. The problem is rooted in societal conditions that older people often face without adequate resources such as income and housing. People who were poor and disadvantaged in their younger years become even more so in old age
What are the different theoretical explanations of age inequality proposed by symbolic interactionist?
Focus on the relationship between life satisfaction and levels of activity. The interactionist activity theory is based on the assumption that older people who are active are happier and better adjusted than are less active older persons. Activity provides new sources of identity and satisfaction later in life
Where is the focus of microlevel analysis?
Focuses on small group relations and social interactions among individuals.
What are a symbolic interactionist's theoretical explanations of gender inequality?
Gender inequality can be reduced only when people redefine social realities and eliminate problems such as linguistic sexism. Language should be modified so that it no longer conveys notions of male superiority and female inferiority. Media representations must be modified before people will truly accept the wider range of roles and responsibilities that should be available to women as well as men.
Who are the vast majority of prostitutes in the United States?
Girls between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four. Many are runaways who left physically and/or psychologically abusive homes. Others are throwaways thrown out of their homes by parents or other family members. Lower-income and poverty level women are more likely to become prostitutes
What is men's rea?
Guilty mind
What were Robert Merton ideas about society's goals?
He identified five ways in which people respond to cultural goals: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion.
Why is health care a crisis in US cities?
Health care is a problem in big cities because hospitals and other medical facilities are subject to cutbacks nd closing when cities face economic problems. Also, people in impoverished sections of cities are more likely to become ill or injured because poverty is associated with many medical problems. Drug-related problems and HIV/AIDS put an added burden on facilities.
According to the text, what is the most widely abused narcotic?
Heroin
Why are solid, toxic, and nuclear wastes a problem?
High-income nations are running out of space for the amount of solid waste produced by their "disposable societies'" Toxic waste causes death and disease if it is not disposed of properly. Nuclear, or radioactive, waste is a problem because of the length of time it remains deadly.
What is the largest subordinate racial-ethnic group in the US?
Hispanics/Latinos
What is the hidden curriculum?
How certain cultural values and attitudes, such as conformity and obedience to authority, are transmitted through implied demands in the everyday rules and routines of schools
What is the cultural explanation for poverty?
How cultural background affects people's values and behaviors
What is HIV?
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
What were the ideas of sociologist Elijah Anderson?
It is possible for diverse people to get along with one another in settings where racial and ethnic boundaries are deemphasized, and individuals have a chance to encounter one another in a relaxed context.
Why does residential segregation exist even if it is illegal?
In some cases, housing segregation continues through custom. Sometimes landlords, homeowners, and white realtors perpetuate residential segregation through steering- guiding people of color to different neighborhoods than those shown to their white counterparts. Unequal property taxation is another kind of residential segregation problem. In the 2010s, demographers have suggested that residential segregation continues to exist because many white Americans are unwilling to live in neighborhoods that have 40, 50, or 60 percent African American population.
What are the different theoretical perspectives on environmental and population problems proposed by conflict theorists?
In the classical Marxist view, there would be enough food for all people if poverty were alleviated, and poverty exists because capitalists skim workers' waged for profits. Contemporary conflict theorists believe that the two main power institutions in society- corporations and the government- make economic decisions that result in environmental problems. An approach known as ecofeminism says that patriarchy is a root cause of environmental problems: Nature is viewed as something to be possessed and dominated. The environmental justice approach examines how race and class intersect in the struggle for scarce environmental resources.
According to the text, how was cocaine introduced to the U.S.?
In the nineteenth century, cocaine was introduced in the US as a local anesthetic in medical practice and a mood enhancer in patent medicines
Why are many cities in fiscal crisis?
In the past, large numbers of middle and upper income people moved out of the central cities to the suburbs, and retail businesses and corporations followed them to the suburbs and moved their operations abroad. The shrinking central cities were left with reduced sources of revenue. Many remaining central cities residents were poor, unemployed, or older people living on fixed incomes who could not afford higher taxes. The global economic crisis in 2008-2009 contributed to the existing problem of cities, and the federal debt crisis on 2011 brought with it even more reduction in funding for local and state services and programs.
What is a manifest function?
Intended and recognized consequences of an activity or social process.
What does the Employment Non-Discrimination Act say?
It bans workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It fills gaps in previously existing state civil right laws that made many LGBT people and their families vulnerable to employment discrimination
What are the theories of Robert Butler to describe misconceptions and myths that led to age-based discrimination?
Just as racism and sexism perpetuate stereotyping and discrimination against people of color and all women, ageism perpetuates stereotyping of older people and age-based discrimination.
How is life expectancy is calculated?
Life expectancy is calculated using a statistical tool called a life table. A life table is generated from current age- and sex-specific death rates in a given population. The resulting values are used to estimate the likelihood of someone in a hypothetical population dying before their next birthday.
At what level would the study of social problems involving the economy or the government take place?
Macrolevel analysis
What is the symbolic interactionist theoretical explanation of population?
Maintain that prejudice and discrimination are learned and can be unlearned.
Believe that stresses associated with lower-class life lead to greater mental disorders
Many of these illnesses began in childhood or adolescence with the most common problems being: anxiety disorders, mood disorders, impulse control disorders, and substance abuse disorders
What contributes to the likelihood of becoming divorced?
Marriages at any early age A short acquaintanceship before marriage Disapproval of the marriage by relatives and friends Limited economic resources and low wages A high school education or less Parents who are divorced or have unhappy marriages The presence of children at the start of the marriage
What are dual-earner marriages?
Marriages in which both spouses are in the labor force
How did mass suburbanization occur and what were the results?
Mass suburbanization began with government efforts to correct the housing shortage that followed WWII. The Housing Act of 1949 gave incentives to builders to develop affordable housing, while government agencies made it possible for returning veterans to qualify for home mortgages. Other factors included the availability of inexpensive land, low-cost mass construction methods, new federally financed highway system, inexpensive gasoline, racial tension in cities, and consumers' pent up demands for single family homes on individually owned lots. Mass suburbanization brought about a dramatic shift in the distribution of the US population and set up an ongoing economic and racial division on interest between cities and suburbs.
What is cross-media ownership?
Media companies owning more than one type of media property.
What is a felony?
More serious crimes, such as murder, rape, or aggravated assault, that are punishable by more than a year's imprisonment or even death
What are the different theoretical explanations of homosexuality proposed by symbolic interactionist?
Most people acquire the status of heterosexual without being consciously aware of it. For LGBT persons, sexual orientation can be a master status because it largely determines how individuals view themselves and how they are treated by others. They identify several stages in the process of accepting the identity of lesbian, gay, or bisexual: 1. experiencing identity confusion, 2. seeking out others who are openly lesbian or gay and sometimes engaging in sexual experimentation, and 3. attempting to integrate self-concept and acceptance of a label such as homosexual, gay, or lesbian
The Big Three television networks in the 1970s were
NBC, CBS, and ABC.
In the United States, legal brothels (houses of prostitution) are located where?
Nevada
What does the U.S. Supreme Court say graphic depiction of sexual behavior through pictures and/or words- including by electronic or other data retrieval systems can be considered obscene?
Obscenity is the legal term for pornographic materials that are offensive by generally accepted standards of decency. In Miller v. California (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court held that material can be considered legally obscene only if it meets three criteria: The material as a whole appeals to the prurient interests (lustful ideas or desires) The material depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way as defined by state or federal law The work as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
What are the different theoretical perspectives on environmental and population problems proposed by functionalists?
On the subject of the environment, functionalists say that the latent dysfunctions of technology cause problems but that new technologies can solve these problems. Most functionalists take a neo-Malthusian perspective on population but believe that social institutions, especially education and the government, can cooperate to solve population and environmental problems.
What is the definition of a suburb?
Outlying areas near big cities.
What are Jim Crow laws?
Passage of laws that systematically enforced the physical and social separation of African Americans from whites in all areas of public life, including schools, churches, hospitals, cemeteries, buses, restaurants, water fountains, and restrooms.
What is the control theory?
People are constantly pulled and pushed toward deviant behavior. Environmental factors (pulls)- such as adverse living conditions, poverty, and lack of educational opportunity- draw people toward criminal behavior while at the same time internal pressures (pushes)- such as feelings of hostility or aggressiveness- make people not what to act according to dominant values and norms.
What is the learned helpfulness theory?
People become depressed when they think they have no control over their lives
What is the working class composed of?
People who work as semiskilled machine operators in industrial setting and unionized workers in goods-producing industries. Others include people employed in routine, semiskilled positions such as daycare workers, checkout clerks, cashiers, and counter help at fast-food restaurants
What is a theoretical framework, overall approach, or viewpoint towards some subject?
Perspective
How does population growth affect a society?
Population growth affects population composition, the biological and social characteristics of a population, including such attributes as age, sex, race, marital status, education, occupation, income and size of household. In the US, for example, the age distribution of the population affects the need for schools, employment opportunities, health care, and age-appropriate housing.
What is the individualistic explanation for poverty?
Poverty is the result of either attitudinal or motivational problems that cause individuals to be poor/the amount of human capital a person possesses
What is Title IX?
Prohibits discrimination of the basic of sex on any educational program or activity receiving financial assistance from the US government.
What is the strain theory?
Proposition that people feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals that they cannot reach because they do not have access to a culturally approved means of achieving those goals
How did ancient Greeks deal with prostitution?
Prostitution was widely accepted. Upper-class prostitutes were admired and frequently became the companions of powerful citizens, the prostitutes themselves were refused the status of wife--the ultimate affirmation of legitimacy for women in society--and were negatively compared with so-called virtuous women in a bad woman-good woman dichotomy
What is the symbolic interactionist theoretical explanation of racial and ethnic inequality?
Racial socialism to feelings of solidarity with ones own racial ethnicity group and hostility toward all others.
What is the Symbolic Interactionist solutions to violence?
Reducing violence requires changing those societal values that encourage excessive competition and violence.
What are pink-collar occupations?
Relatively low-paying, non-manual, semiskilled positions that are held primarily by women.
What is a misdemeanor?
Relatively minor crimes that are punishable by a fine or less than a year in jail. Ex: public drunkenness, shoplifting, traffic violations
What is the trajectory of grief approach?
Resilience, Recovery, Chronic Dysfunction, Delayed grief or trauma
Which three major programs were expanded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009?
SNAP (food stamps), unemployment insurance benefits, and Social Security
What did the Supreme Court rule in Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas?
Separate but equals schools are unconstitutional because they are inherently unequal, racial segregation or resegregation appears to be increasing in education rather than decreasing
What are the different theoretical perspectives on environmental and population problems proposed by symbolic interactionists?
Symbolic interactionists see population and environment in micro level-individual-terms. Through socialization, children learn core values that are ;often detrimental to the environment. However, there is some indication that concern for the environment is becoming a core value in the US.
What does Sociologist Patricia Hill Collins say about prostitution?
She suggests that African American women are affected by the widespread image of black women as sexually promiscuous and therefore potential prostitutes. She traces the roots of this stereotype to the era of slavery when black women were at the mercy of white male slave owners and their sexual desires. According to her, prostitution exists within an intertwining web of political and economic relationships whereby sexuality is conceptualized along intersecting axes of race and gender
What is sympathetic framing?
Shows the societal and individual problems with poverty. Generally it is used when discussing children, the elderly, or the disabled. It may produce some degree of empathy for the viewer/reader for the plight of people who are living in conditions that are assumed to be beyond their control
How are societies classified by their predominant type of work?
Societies are classified as preindustrial, industrial, or postindustrial. Preindustrial societies engage in primary-sector production-the extraction of raw materials and natural resources from the environment. Industrial societies engage in secondary-sector production- the processing of raw materials. Postindustrial societies engage in tertiary-sector production- providing services rather than goods.
What is the term that describes a large number of individuals who share the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations?
Society
What is true regarding racial and ethnic stereotyping and the media?
Some media may reinforce existing racial, ethnic, and gender stereotypes as well as create new ones
What ideas were proposed by Oscar Lewis?
Some, but not all poor people develop a separate and self-perpetuating system of attitudes and behaviors that keeps them trapped in poverty
What does the text say regarding social class and alcohol consumption?
Studies show that people who earn more than $50,000 a year tend to drink expensive special or imported beers and more wine than liquor, whereas those who earn less than $20,000 tend to consume less expensive domestic beers and drink more beer than wine or liquor. Alcohol consumption and abuse tend to be higher in the middle and upper classes than in the lower class
What are the different theoretical explanations of education proposed by symbolic interactionists?
Study classroom dynamics and how practices such as labeling affect students' self-concept and aspirations. If students are labeled learning disabled for example, the label might become a self-fulfilling prophecy
What is disengagement theory?
Suggests that older people want to be released from societal expectations of productivity and competitiveness. At the same time, disengagement facilitates a gradual and orderly transfer of statuses and roles from one generation to the next instead of an abrupt change, which might result in chaos
What is the symbolic interactionist perspective on urban problems?
Symbolic interactionists look at how people subjectively experience urban life. According to German sociologist Georg Simmel, urban life is so stimulating that people have no choice but to become somewhat insensitive to people and events around them. On the other and, urban living gives people opportunities for individualism and autonomy. Sociologist Louis Wirth expanded on Simmel's ideas, saying that urbanism produces feelings of alienation and powerlessness. Herbert Gans concluded from his research that city life is a pleasure for some and a nightmare for others. The way to avoid alienation is to develop subcultural ties.
What are school voucher systems?
Tax dollars are provided to parents so they can pay their child's tuition at a private school of the choice
What posed a major threat to the newspaper and radio industries?
Television
The poverty line is based on what assumption?
That the average family must spend about one-third of its total income on food
What did the Supreme Court hold in Roe v. Wade?
That women have a constitutionally protected right to choose abortion, and the state cannot unduly interfere or prohibit that right
What was the significance of the Housing Act of 1949 by Congress?
The Housing Act of 1949 gave incentives to builders to develop affordable housing, while government agencies made it possible for returning veterans to qualify for home mortgages.
Describe C. Wright Mills' Sociological Imagination?
The ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society. Connect the private problems of individuals to public issues.
Define discrimination
The actions or practices of dominant group members that have a harmful impact on members of subordinate groups
What is the theory of racial formation?
The government substantially defines racial and ethic relations. Racial bias and discrimination tend to be rooted in government actions ranging from passage of race-related legislation to imprisonment of members of groups that are believed to be a treat to society.
Define ethnic pluralism
The coexistence of diverse racial-ethic groups with separate identities and cultures within a society.
Which part of the brain is most closely associated with violent behavior?
The cortex
What is "the second shift"?
The domestic work that many employed women perform at home after completing their work day on the job
What is gender-segregated work?
The extent to which men and women are concentrated in different occupations and places of work.
What is the best definition of the family of orientation?
The family into which a person is born and in which early socialization takes place
Who pays for the bulk of public education in the United States?
The federal government
What are the different theoretical explanations regarding the division of labor in families proposed by functionalist?
The husband in an ideal nuclear family was fulfilling an instrumental role meeting the family's economic needs, making important decisions, and providing leadership. The wife as fulfilling an expressive role, running the household, caring for children, and meeting family member's emotional needs
What is hegemony theory?
The idea that a ruling class is using the media to control the working class peoples' thoughts
What is the cathartic effect hypothesis?
The idea that television shows, videos, motion pictures, and other forms of media offer people a vicarious outlet for their feelings of aggression, and therefore, may reduce the amount of violence engaged in by the media consumer.
What is age stratification?
The inequalities, differences, segregation, or conflict between age groups--occurs throughout the life course
What does Potentation refer to?
The interaction that takes place when two drugs are mixed together to produce a far greater effect than the effect of either drug administered separately
What is the structural explanation for poverty?
The level of social organization that is beyond an individual's ability to change. Considers how changes in the economy have altered employment opportunities or how inequality and exploitation are inherent in the structure of class relations in a capitalist economy
What is the major source of air pollution and what are its effects?
The major source is fossil fuel pollution, especially from vehicles but also from industry. One of the most serious consequences of air pollution is the greenhouse effect.
What is convergence?
The melding of communications, computers, and electronics industries that has occurred in the United States.
Define manifest functions?
The open, stated, and intended goals or consequences
How is cohabitation defined?
The practice in which partners live together in a sexual relationship where they assume the same responsibilities as a married couple but are not considered by law to have all of the rights and privileges of those who are considered to be legally married
Define racial intolerance
The refusal to tolerate other races. (racist)
What are gender roles?
The rights, responsibilities, expectations, and relationships of women and men in society.
What are the different theoretical explanations of how the "drug problem" might be reduced as proposed by conflict theorists?
They believe people in positions of economic and political power make the sale, use, and possession of drugs abused by the poor and the powerless illegal. They point out that powerful corporate interests perpetuate the use and abuse of legal drugs
What are the different theoretical explanations of how the "drug problem" might be reduced as proposed by symbolic interactionist?
They believe that drug behavior is learned behavior that is strongly influenced by families, peers, and other people.
What is the definition of property crime?
The taking of money or property from another without force, the threat of force, or the destruction of property
What is the definition of robbery?
The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of violence and/or by putting the victim in fear
What is hypodermic needle theory?
The theory that audiences are made of passive individuals who are equally susceptible to the messages of the media.
What is the social learning theory?
The theory that is based on the assumption that people are likely to act out the behavior they see in role models and media sources.
What is a latent function?
The unintended consequences of an activity or social process that are hidden and remain unacknowledged by participants.
What is the definition of aggravated assault?
The unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily harm
What is the definition of burglary?
The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft
What is the definition of murder?
The unlawful, intentional killing of one person by another
What is gender stereotyping?
The working-class male character on a prime-time sitcom is portrayed as rude and uneducated.
What are the different theoretical explanations of prostitution proposed by Symbolic interactionist?
They believe that prostitution, like other forms of deviance, is socially constructed. Entering a deviant career such as prostitution is like entering any other occupation, but public labeling--and the individual's acceptance or rejection of that label--determines whether a person stays in a deviant career
What are the different theoretical explanations regarding the division of labor in families proposed by conflict theorists?
They believe women are dominated by men in the home just as workers are dominated by managers and capitalists in factories. As wives and mothers, women contribute to capitalism by producing the next generation of workers and providing the existing labor force with food, clean clothes, and emotional support. Not only does women's work in the family benefit the capitalist class, it also reinforces women's subordination because the work is unpaid and often devalued.
Using a liberal feminist framework, what do conflict theorists believe about prostitution?
They consider prostitution a victimless crime, involving a willing buyer and a willing seller, that should be decriminalized
What are the different theoretical explanations regarding the division of labor in families proposed by symbolic interactionists?
They examine how husbands, wives, and children act out their roles and react to the parts played by others.
What are the different theoretical explanations of prostitution proposed by functionalist?
They point out that prostitution, like other forms of deviance, is functional for society. Prostitution continues because it provides people with 1. quick, impersonal sexual gratification without emotional attachment; 2. a sexual outlet for those who have no ongoing sexual relationships; 3. the opportunity to engage in nontraditional sexual practices; 4. protection for the family as a social institution; and 5. jobs for low-skilled people
What are the different theoretical explanations of how the "drug problem" might be reduced as proposed by functionalist?
They point out that social institutions such as the family, education, and religion, which previously kept deviant behavior in check, have become fragmented and somewhat disorganized. It is now necessary to use formal mechanisms of social control to prohibit people from taking illegal drugs or driving under the influence. They believe that activities in society continue because they serve important societal functions
What did the U.S. Supreme Court say about sodomy?
They upheld the constitutionality that criminalized oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults whether or not the conduct was between persons of the same sex. For homosexuals, the ruling virtually eliminated protection for sexual activities and created the impression that gay or lesbian couples had no privacy rights. In 2003 they reversed their decision.
What are the different theoretical explanations of crime proposed by functionalists?
They use several theories to explain crime. Strain theory: people are socialized to desire cultural goals, but many people do not have institutionalized means to achieve the goals and therefore engage in criminal activity. Control perspectives, such as social bond theory, suggest that delinquency and crime are most likely to occur when a person's ties to society are weakened or broken
What are the primary factors that affect population growth?
Three factors affect population growth: fertility, mortality, and migration.
How is immigration changing the population composition of the US?
Today, the proportion of US immigrants in the population is the highest that it has been since 1940. If immigration continues at the present rate, it will account for two-thirds of the expected population growth in the next fifty years. (The US is otherwise almost a zero population growth- a stable population.) Immigration leads to higher taxes, but it also brings substantial economic benefits.
How is AIDS transmitted?
Transmitted primarily through bodily fluids, such as semen or blood. It can also be transmitted by blood transfusions and by infected mothers before or during birth or while breast-feeding
What is transnational corporation, and why do they pose social problems?
Transnational corporations are large scale business organizations that are headquartered in one country but operate in many countries. Transnationals lack accountability to any government or regulatory agency. They are not dependent on any one country for labor, capital, or technology. They can play important roles in the economies and governments of counties that need them as employers and accept their practices.
What solutions do we have for world hunger?
Two of the most far-reaching initiatives have been the green revolution (the growing of high yield "miracle" crops) and the biotechnological revolution, which involves " improving" plants or animals or using microorganisms in innovative ways. However, some social analysts believe that the solution is not to produce more food but to control fertility.
What do psychological approaches examine regarding sexual orientation and social equality?
Until fairly recently, some psychologists associated homosexuality with maladjustment or mental illness. Today, however, social psychologists believe that genetic and social factors combine to produce sexual orientation. According to Bem's theory, the best predictor of sexual orientation is the degree to which children are gender-conforming or nonconforming; children who fit in sometimes but not at other times are likely to become bisexual
How did urbanization come about?
Urbanization began with industrialization. Before the Indus-trial Revolution, most people lived in sparsely populated rural areas, where they farmed. Industrialization led to the growth of cities, and urbanization brought about profound changes in societies and spawned new social problems such has housing shortages, overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, environmental pollution, and crime.
What is the term used to describe the decrease in take-home pay of workers since the 1980s?
Wage squeeze
What water, soil, and forest problems do we face?
Water scarcity is increasing around the world, and water pollution further diminishes the available water supply. One of the major water polluters in the US is the paper manufacturing industry. About 15 million acres of soil are lost each year to desertification and deforestation. Desertification is greatest in middle and low income nations.
What is one of the reasons why it is impossible to determine how many human lives have been lost in wars throughout history?
We would need a more precise definition of what constitutes war, and we would have to assume that there would always be survivors available to count the dead.
What is/was "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"?
When President Clinton attempted to overturn an existing ban on gay service members, the outcry forced the administration to promulgate a compromise policy which was made law in 1993. Under this policy, commanders could no longer ask about a serviceperson's sexual orientation, and gay men and lesbians could serve in the military as long as they did not reveal their sexual orientation and refrained from homosexual acts
Why is there a housing crisis in the US and what is being done about it?
When city agencies demand that a landlord comply with safety standards and building codes, many landlords abandon their buildings rather than make the investment. A biger reason, however, in that the US has yet to find a way to provide safe, livable, low-income housing. The urban homesteading program, for example, has been criticized for promoting the interests of the building industry try instead of actually helping people to get good housing. Federal housing projects have characteristically been monolithic high rises that intensify many problems and create new ones. In recent years, high rates of mortgage foreclosures and long-term unemployment have contributed to the housing crisis. Fewer people are able to own their own home, and the nation is still trying to dig out of the deep hole created by the subprime mortgage debacle.
How does race play a part in prescription drug abuse?
White Americans had the highest percentage of drug use and Mexican Americans had the lowest
What are life expectancy rate for different minority groups?
White Males: 76.5 White Females: Black Males: 70.2 Black Females: 77.2
Define submissive personality
Yield to authority, humbly obedient.
What is the definition of a city?
a city is a relatively dense and permanent settlement of people who secure their livelihood primarily through nonagricultural activities.
What is megalopolis?
a continuous concentration of two or more cities and their suburbs that have grown until they form an interconnected urban area.
What is subculture?
a group of people who share a distinctive set of cultural beliefs and behaviors that set them apart from the larger society.
What is the term for a person who has been granted lawful permanent residence in the United States?
a legal permanent resident or "green card" holder
What is an edge city?
a middle to upper middle class area that has complete living, working, shopping and leisure activities so that it is not dependent on the central city or other suburbs.
What is democracy?
a political system in which the people hold the ruling power either directly or though elected representatives.
What is an oligopoly?
a situation in which a small number of companies or suppliers control an entire industry of service.
What is a monopoly?
a situation that exists when a single firm controls an industry and accounts for all sales in a specific market.
What is elite model?
a view of society in which power in political systems is concentrated in the hands of a small group, whereas the masses are relatively powerless.
What are the characteristics of the federal bureaucracy?
also known as permanent government, refers to the top-tier civil service bureaucrats who have a strong power base and play a major role in developing and implementing government policies and procedures.
What is greenhouse effect?
an environmental condition caused by excessive quantities of carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere.
What is a political party?
an organization whose purpose is to gain and hold legitimate control of government.
What are the three major economic systems present in modern societies?
capitalism, socialism, and mixed economies
What is the preindustrial stage?
characterized by little population growth: High birth rate are off set by high death rates.
What is the transitional of early industrial stage?
characterized by significant population growth as the birth rate remains high but the death rate declined because of new technologies that improve health, sanitation, and nutrition.
What are the different theoretical explanations of politics proposed by conflict theorists?
conflict theorists us an elite model, believing the power in political systems is concentrated in the hands of a small group, whereas the masses are relatively powerless.
What is environmental degradation?
disruptions to the environment that have negative consequences for ecosystems. Human beings, particularly as they pursue economic development and growth, cause environmental degradation.
What are "core" nations?
dominant capitalist centers characterized by high levels of industrialization and urbanization.
According to the functionalist perspective, when do social problems arise?
dysfunctions create social disorganization, which in turn causes a breakdown in the traditional values and norms that serve as social control mechanisms.
What is steering?
guiding people of color to different neighborhoods than those shown to their white counterparts.
One proven result of violence on television is?
high revenue from ad sales
What was Thomas Malthus's view on global population?
if left unchecked, would exceed the available food supply. The population would increase in a geometric (exponential) progression, but the food supply would increase only by an arithmetic progression. Thus the population would surpass the food supply, ending population growth and perhaps eliminating the world population.
What are the stages in demographic transition theory?
the preindustrial stage, the transitional of early industrial stage, the advanced industrialization and urbanization, and the postindustrial stage.
What is acid rain?
is rainfall containing large concentrations of sulfuric and nitric acids (primarily from the burning of fuel and car and truck exhaust).
What are the characteristics of mixed economies?
it combines elements of both capitalism (a market economy) and socialism (a command economy).
Profits in the media industries are typically higher compared to those in the?
manufacturing sector.
What do media scholars believe that media convergence reduces?
message pluralism
What is semi-peripheral nations?
nations that are more developed than peripheral nations but less developed than core nations.
What is peripheral nations?
nations that depend on core nations for capital, have little or no industrialization (other than what may be brought in by core nations), and have uneven patterns of urbanization.
What is urbanization?
the process by which an increasing proportion of a population lives in cities rather than rural areas.
What is gentrification?
the process by which people renovate or restore properties in city centers.
What is industrialization?
the process by which societies are transformed from a dependence on agriculture and handmade products to an emphasis on manufacturing and related industries.
What is secondary-sector production?
the processing of raw materials into finished products.
What are the main economic sectors of the economy?
primary-sector production, secondary-sector production, and tertiary-sector production.
What are characteristics of capitalism?
private ownership of the means of production, from which personal profits can be derived through market competition and without government intervention.
What is tertiary-sector production?
providing services rather than goods as the primary source of livelihood.
What are the characteristics of socialism?
public ownership of the means of production, the pursuit of collective goals, and centralized decision making.
What is the definition of the political economy?
refers to the interdependent workings and interests of political and economical systems.
What is power elite?
rulers of the US, which at the top is composed of business leaders, the executive branch of the federal government, and the military.
What is organic solidarity?
social bonds based on interdependence and an elaborate division of labor (specialization).
What is mechanical solidarity?
social bonds based on shared religious beliefs and a simple division of labor.
What is political action committees (PACs)?
special-interest groups that fund campaigns to help elect (or defeat) candidates based on their positions on specific issues.
Which of the following terms refers to the process that is used in capitalizing on a product to make all the profit possible?
synergy
Some analysts have suggested that continual depictions of violence does what?
tends to desensitize viewers
What kink of economic system does the US have?
the US has a capitalist economy. Ideally, capitalism is characterized by private ownership of the means of production, pursuit of personal profit, competition, and lack of government intervention.
What is population composition?
the biological and social characteristics of a population, including such attributes as age, sex, race, marital status, education, occupation, income, and size of household.
What is the advanced industrialization and urbanization?
the birth rate declines as people control their fertility with various forms of contraception, and the death rate declines as medicine and other health care technologies control acute and chronic diseases.
What is gender gap?
the difference between a candidate's number of votes from men and women.
What is primary-sector production?
the extraction of raw materials and natural resources from the environment.
What are the different theoretical explanations of politics proposed by functionalists?
the functionalists use a pluralist model, believing that power is widely dispersed through many competing interest groups in our political system. Functionalists therefore believe that problems can be solved by identifying dysfunctional elements and correcting them.
What is a military-industrial complex?
the interdependence of the military establishment and private military contractors.
What is demography?
the movement of people from one geographic area to another for the purpose of changing residency.
What is migration?
the movement of people from one geographic area to another for the purpose of changing residency.
What is fertility?
the number of children born to an individual or a population.
What is mortality?
the number of deaths that occur in a specific population.
What is crude birth rate?
the number of live births per 1000 people in a population in a given year.
What is unemployment rate?
the percentage of unemployed persons in the labor force actively seeking jobs.
What is economy?
the social institution that ensures that a society will be maintained through its production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
What is the best definition of politics?
the social institution through which power is acquired and exercised by certain individuals and groups.
What is media concentration?
the tendency of media industries to cluster in groups with the goal of increasing profitability.
What is a permanent government?
the top-tier civil service bureaucrats who have a strong power base and play a major role in developing and implementing government policies and procedures.
What is the definition of terrorism?
the use of calculated, unlawful physical force or threats of violence against a government, organization, or individual to gain some political, religious, economic, or social objective.
What is a pluralistic model?
the view that power is widely dispersed throughout many competing interest groups in our political system.
What is global population and why is population growth a problem?
the world's population has now reached 7 billion, and it continues to grow rapidly. The concern is whether the earth's resources can support this rapid population growth.
What is zero population growth?
there is a total stable population, one that neither grows nor decreases from year to year because births, deaths, and migration are in perfect balance.
According to Tamotsu Shibutani, what do prolonged conflicts turn into?
they tend to be turned onto a struggle between good and evil.
The average U.S. person spends most of his or her waking hours doing what?
using some media-related activity
In regard to violent TV shows, recent studies have found that
violent television shows constitute more than half of all television programming.
According to Sigmund Freud, why does violence occur?
when three aspects of the human personality come into conflict with one another. If the individual's id unconscious drives and instincts) conflicts with the superego (internalized social values), and the ego (the mediator between the id and superego) is unable to resolve the conflict, violent behavior might ensue, particularly if the individual has an overdeveloped id, which contains the aggressive drive, or an underdeveloped superego.