Sociology Final : multiple choice
Bias
prejudice/unsupported judgements in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared to another
Political polarization - state level
state level: all government institutions; measure of two parties overlap; america has high polarization as we are on either extremes
Intersex - definition and prevalence
umbrella term for differences in sex traits or reproductive anatomy at birth or developed in childhood / puberty; social assumptions about the uniqueness of men and women have shaped how we study, measure, and define sex from a biological standpoint, we look for more differences than actually exist, blind to diversity that does exist
How is race socially constructed?
we develop an understanding of racial difference through socialization and reinforce racial differences through our culture/interactions. Institutional processes create racial categories and assign rights to certain groups based on these categories. Racial categorizations change as societies change and each society has different definitions/categories of race.
Identity politics
when groups of people with partcular shared racial, religious, ethnic, social, or cultural, identity seek to promote their own specific interests or concerns; powerful claims on both sides about threats to identity and marginalization in mainstream society.
Students in which racial/ethnic group are most likely to attend a school where more than 50% shares their race/ethnicity?
white
Transgender
A person whose gender identity and assigned sex at birth do not correspond. also used as an umbrella term to include gender identities outside male and female.
Socioeconomic status
A person's position in society as determined by income, wealth, occupation, education, place of residence, and other factors
How America compares in views on individualism
Americans are more likely to believe that hard work pays off. - 73% of Americans said it was very important or a "10" compared with a global median of 50% among the 44 nations.
How America compares in views of mobility/meritocracy
Americans are more likely to think that people are rewarded for their intelligence and skills and are less likely to believe that family wealth plays a key role in getting ahead. Americans are more likely to believe that hard work pays off.
Mental health benefits of using affirming pronouns
youth who have support are less likely to attempt suicide
Overall percent of children living in poverty over time (about what percent today and is it higher or lower than in the past?)
Lower from the past
The gender binary
Social assumptions about the uniqueness of men and women have shaped how we study, measure, and define sex from a biological standpoint. We perceive, and therefore look for, more difference than actually exists; and, we are generally blind to the diversity that does exist.
Political polarization - individual level
divergence of political attitudes to idealogical extremes
Androcentrism
favoring of masculinity over feminity; assumption male is default - causes women to be subordiante and men to be held to strict standards
Disparities in parole by race (Black, Hispanic, and White men)
fewer than one in six black or hispanic men was released at his first hearing, compared with one in four white men
Why is the category of "middle class" so variable?
"Because people tend to live in communities with similar incomes, they view themselves as being near the middle because their neighbors' circumstances are similar to their own even if their incomes are significantly below or above the U.S. median."
Emergent norm theory
"keynotes" (Important or influential people, people whos actions become copied by an entire group) model baheavior that is replcated by other group members
Living wage vs Minimum wage
- According to researchers at MIT: the living wage in the United States is $16.54 per hour, or $68,808 per year, in 2019, before taxes for a family of four (two working adults, two children). - Across all family sizes, the living wage (as calculated by a variety of researchers) exceeds the poverty threshold. - The Federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009. - minimum-wage earners with families of four fall more than $11,100 below the poverty line of $26,500.
Income - distribution by quintile (what share is held by top quintile?)
51.6% of income controlled by highest quintile
De Facto vs De Jure discrimination
- De Facto discrimination: through daily operations - De Jure discrimination: written into laws
Examples of how health care is segregated
- De jure segregation (black codes and Jim Crow laws) applied to health care: many hospitals, clinics, and doctor's offices were totally segregated by race or had separate facilities for Black patients. - Education segregation meant (and continues to mean) there is a deficit of trained Black medical professionals. The number of Black physicians has never come close to matching their demographic share of the total population. - Redlining and ongoing residential segregation (by both poverty and race) has left hospitals that served Black people deeply segregated, understaffed, and under-resourced. - More segregated neighborhoods are more likely to have hospitals that close (usually with no hospital reopening in their place).
Working class - definition, attributes
- Generally work in blue-collar jobs such as factories, construction, the service industries, and retail; typically do not have 4-year college degrees. - Often live "paycheck to paycheck" or in risk of unemployment. - Have a higher debt-income ratio than higher classes. - Less likely to have full-time jobs (more likely to work multiple jobs). - Less likely to receive health insurance, retirement, or other work-provided benefits.
Why is poverty so persistent?
- Institutional inequalities: between poor and more affluent communities. - Economic changes: such as globalization, mechanization of industry, and the increasing prevalence of part-time/non-benefits jobs. - Discrimination: based on intersecting social hierarchies such as race/ethnicity, gender identity, immigration status, and physical ability. - Vulnerability: to chronic health problems, disease, natural disasters, violence, unsafe housing conditions, and environmental hazards. Stigma and Stereotypes related to poverty - both socially enforced and internalized - create barriers to mobility. Intersecting Systems of Oppression - especially, but not limited to, the intersections of social class with race/ethnicity, immigration status, and gender/gender identity.
Social mobility - intergenerational vs intragenerational
- Intergenerational mobility: mobility from one generation to the next - Intragenerational mobility: mobility within one's own lifetime
Mean vs median when measuring economic inequality
- Mean: average can be a good overall indicator (but susceptible to outliers) - Median: tells to use a "true" middle (better measure for highly skewed distributions)
The geographic concentration of poverty & race (how much more likely are poor/Hispanic or poor/Black adults in the US to live in poverty compared to poor/white adults?)
- Poor+Hispanic = 3x more likely - Poor+Black = 5x more likely
Link between school funding and residential segregation
- Public school districts largely on property taxes to fund schools, which can vary widely between wealthy and poor areas. Affluent areas end up with well-funded schools and low-income areas end up with poorly funded schools. - Although there are some offsets (such as state and federal grants for schools with more students under the poverty line), school resources, safety, and quality are highly correlated with the affluence of the surrounding neighborhoods.
How is discrimination a social determinant of health?
- Stress is a significant predictor of poor mental and physical health. The unequal distribution of stressors - including stress due to discrimination- is a key mechanism that explains health disparities between racial groups in the US. - Institutional discrimination in the areas of housing, education, healthcare, and employment exacerbates existing inequalities and creates a bigger gap in access. - Discrimination can also take the form of violence and bodily harm, leading to chronic health issues and death at higher rates for especially vulnerable populations
Middle class - definition, attributes
- Tend to hold college/professional degrees, - live in suburbs or more developed urban areas - work in non-manual jobs / in the professional sector. **highly contested/relative category
The welfare state
- The idea that the state is responsible for the well-being (or welfare) of its citizens. - The welfare state guarantees us the basic social rights to protection in the basic areas of housing, employment, health, and education in addition to political rights and civil rights.
Residential segregation
- The spatial separation of two or more social groups within a specified geographic area
Parenting of middle class families - "concerted cultivation" - attributes, class benefits
- lots of structured extracurricular activities - parental oversight of grades/homework - parents talk and negotiate with kids - children learn to challenge authority - emphasis on time management
Parenting of working class and poor families - "accomplishment of natural growth" - class consquences
- unstructured and unsupervised time - large communities and extended families - parents tell children what to do - children do not question authority
Mental health disparities for transgender youth
1 out of 5 transgender/ non- binary young people are likely to attempt suicide, 3/4 have high anxiety symptoms, and 2/3 have high depression symptoms
How have the culture wars changed of time?
1990's (evangelical conservatism vs. progressivism) - abortion, same sex marriage, religion in schools / society and 2020's (driven by conservatism vs. liberalism as identies) - abortion, transgender rights, race, climate change, vaccines
How does turnout for 18-29 year old voters compare to other age groups?
27% of eligible voters 18-29 years old actually voted, In the 2022 midterm, elections, 12% of voters were under 30.
What are the culture wars?
A Partisan strategy for politicizing rights-based political issues and dividing supporters/dissenters into two sharply divided sides
Social movemets
A form of collective behavior motivated by a social or political aim and intended to create or prevent social change
Meritocracy as an ideology
A social order based on the idea that if one works hard, one can get ahead in society and in which those with the most talent rise to the top and are appropriately rewarded for their contributions. Meritocracy as an ideology hides social inequality behind the assumption that everyone who works hard gets an equal chance.
Modified patriarchy
A society in which women have been granted formal gender equality but where the patriarchal conflation of power with men and masculinity remains a central part of the daily life
Meritocracy definition
A society where status and mobility are based on individual attributes, ability, and achievement.
Gender
A status within a set of social arrangements and gender roles that are built around social assumptions about normative sex categories Male-female
Ethnicity
A system for classifying people who are believed to share common descent based on perceived cultural similarities.
Race
A system of classifying people who appear to share common descent based on perceived innate physical similarities. A group of people who share common traits-typically physical ones- and are believed to have a common bloodline.
Institutional Discrimination
Actions or policies within social institutions that exclude, disadvantage, or harm members of particular groups.
Collective action - crowd vs mass
Behavior that takes place in groups and diverges from the social norms of the situation or challenges an institution in some way. Crowd collective action: takes place face-to-face among members of a group. Mass collective action: people participate without being together physically
Distribution of wealth by race (what percent of wealth do Black families hold compared to white families?)
Black and Hispanic families have considerably less wealth than White families. - White families: $188,200 - Black families: $24,100 (less than 15 percent that of White families)
Examples of social inequality in voting
Black and hispanic people are disproportionatly effected by voter disenfranchisment laws. *1 in 16 black Americans cannot vote due to past criminal convictions. **25% of black Americans do not have government issued photo ID's. ***Geographic isolation prevents indigionous voters from accessing polling places in more rural environments. ****nearly 2/3 of polling places had at least one impedement for people with disabilities.
Prejudice
Built into our institutions - assumptions that whiteness is superior or default - creates socioeconomic/political system in which white people experience structural advantages/rights that other racial/ethnic groups do not
"Cash - creditials - culture" model of social class
Cash: economic resources, especially income, wealth, freedom from poverty Credentials: educational achievements and qualifications, occupational status Culture: attitudes, mindset, behavior, self-definition
Civic participation
Civic participation defines a parties in engagement in political and social events like protests, attending council meetings. From data we can that groups that are less engaged in a political party are less likely to engage civilly.
Contagion theory
Contagion theory: people's behavior tends to conform to the norms of those around them - crowds develop their own norms of behavior that spread among members.
White supremancy - in daily life/institutions
Embraces the belief that white people are culturally and/or biologically superior to all other people, glorify the past where all white people lived in white-controlled society, claims about "invasion" or "flood" of non-whites, pushback against diversity and multiculturism efforts.
Generation Z and political party identification
Gen Z voters often don't align democrat or republican, 47% Gen Z believes no party aligns with their political affiliation
"Doing gender"
Gender is not simply what a person is, it is what a person does, in interaction with others- it is something we accomplish in everyday life and into which we are socialized. We communicate our gender through behavior and interactions.
Social mobility - horizontal vs vertical
Horizontal mobility: transitioning from one social position to another but staying at the same rung of the socioeconomic ladder Vertical mobility: rise or fall from one social stratum to another (upward and downward mobility)
Relationship between masculinity and violence
Hypemasculinity normalizes and socializes male violence
Link between redlining and health resources/outcomes (in general)
In neighborhoods rated "c" or "d" by federal redlining policies (the 1930s-1960s): - Longer average distance from grocery stores with fresh food - Longer average distance from the hospital - Fewer medical providers and dentists - Increased prevalence of poor mental health - Lower life expectancy at birth - Higher rates of pre-existing conditions like asthma, COPD, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, kidney disease, obesity, and stroke (which are linked to a greater likelihood of severe illness or death from COVID-19).
Mental health disparities for men
Less likely to utilize mental health services due to masculine gender socialization; higher suicide rates in men due to untreated/unaddressed mental health challenges
Institutionalization of social movements
Institutionalization is a formal structure developed to promote a cause. In terms of social movements, there are lots of organizations and institutions centered around the different types of movements. It focuses on how social movements have become structured institutions led by leaders to formalize staff and resources.
Change in US prison population over time (and what led to these changes)
It rose exponentially from 1980 to 2010 (war on drugs). It has begin to decline in recent years.
Intersection of race and gender in gender pay gap
Latina, Native American, and Black mothers are paid significantly less than non-Hispanic fathers
Formal gender equality
Laws that treat men and women as equal citizens.
Binary assumptions about sex
Male and female bodies are far more similar than they are different; even for physical characteristics on which there is a clear difference, we see a great deal of overlap. Heteronormativity is common assumption which assumes that heterosexuality is natural, default, or superior.
Heterosexism
Marginalization and/or oppression or people based on heternormative assumptions; a system of attitudes, bias, and discriminations in favor of opposite- sex sexuality and relationships
Masculinity hierarchy
Men are ranked based on how masculine they seem
Health disparities for men
More likely to engage in behaviors that put their physical health at risk (drunk driving, motorcycle accidents, etc); less likely to seek healthcare for routine needs; more likely to caus eharm through workouts/physical activities; less likely to wear masks/get vacccinated
Gender as an ascribed status
Once gender is ascribed, social order holds us to strongly gendered norms and expectations: we must be perceieved as different even if we are doing the same thing
Cigender
Person whos gender corresponds with the one assigned at birth
Sex
Physiological/biological distinctions between male and female based genetics, anatomy, and hormones.
Link between "poverty segregation" and resdiential segregation as it applies to education
Public school districts largely on property taxes to fund schools, which can vary widely between wealthy and poor areas. Affluent areas end up with well-funded schools and low-income areas end up with poorly funded schools.
Student academic outcomes - what matters more? Racial or poverty segregation?
Racial achievement gaps are largely due to segregation by poverty, rather than segregation by race (Reardon 2019).
Social hierarchies
Ranked structures of social differentiation that systematically confer privileges for some and penalties for others.
Explanations for gender pay gap (three hypotheses)
Socialization hypothesis-men and women respond to gender stereotypes when planning, training, and applying for jobs/ Employer Selection hypothesis-employers tend to prefer men for masculine jobs and women for feminine jobs, slotting applicants into gender-consistent roles during hiring and promotions/ Selective Exit hypothesis- workers' abandonment of counter stereotypical occupations due to workplace conditions, social pressures, and discrimination
How the US compares to other countries in terms of share of GDP dedicated to social welfare programs
The U.S. allocates a smaller proportion of its GDP to social welfare programs than virtually any other industrialized country.
US incarceration rate - what is it, how does it compare to other nations?
The U.S. has an incarceration rate higher than any other nation. 639/100,000 people are incarcerated in the US (compared to just over 700 in 2015).
How does the US compare to other countries - paternity leave
The U.S. is one of 83 countries without paid paternity leave. The average length for those that have it is 16 weeks.
How does the US compare to other countries - maternity leave
The U.S. is one of the 7 countries without paid maternity leave. the average length for those that have it is 29 weels
Income inequality in the US compared to other countries - how many times more, on average, does the top 10% of households earn compared to the bottom 10%?
The US has a broader range of income inequality than any other nation in the world. Our rich are much richer than our poor.
Wealth inequality in the US compared to other countries - how much larger is the median wealth of the top 5% compared to the median US family?
The US leads any country by far for top 5% of wealth. The median top 5% household wealth has more than 90 times more the wealth of the median U.S. family.Hispani\\\\\\\\\\
Heteronormativity
The cultural construction of heterosexuality as the default sexuality; centers heterosexual attraction as an essential aspect of gender normativity.
Gender pay gap - definition, amount
The difference between incomes of the typical man and woman who work full time. Among workers employed full-time, women make 83 cents for every dollar men make.
Gerrymandering
The drawing of voting districts to include or exclude voters, allowing politicians to pick their constituents, rather than the other way around.
Upper class - definition, attributes
The economic elite -high income, wealth, power, and influence. - Belong to socially-exclusive groups that convey high social status. - Have high levels of access to institutions and decision-makers. - Have more income from returns on investments than from wages.
Ideal worker norm
The idea that employees should commit their energies to their job without the distraction of family responsibilities
Social constructionist approach to gender
The meanings we give to gender differences, and the ways we perceive them, are product of socialization, interaction, discrimination, and institutionalized norms
Gendered job segregation
The process of filling occupations with mostly men or mostly women workers, as jobs filled by women are seen as disproportionately lower paid
Racial formation
The social process by which racial categories are created and by which certain groups come to be designated as being part of a particular race; the sociohistorical process by which racial identities are created, lived out, transformed, and destroyed
Share of voters who are generation Z and millennial
The two youngest generations (millennials and generation Z) make up the largest number of eligible voters in the United States. Gen Z is 10% of voters, and millenials make up 27%
Intersectionality - definition
The understanding that social hierarchies interact and overlap, compounding each other's effects in unique and contextualized ways.
Genetic variation (or lack thereof) between races
There is 8.6 time more genetic variation within traditionally defined racial groups, more variation between any given individual.For example, only 3 studies out of 68 total show a significant difference in cardiovascular diseases between people of African versus European descent.
Why don't genetics explain health disparities?
There is 8.6 time more genetic variation within traditionally defined racial groups, more variation between any given individual.For example, only 3 studies out of 68 total show a significant difference in cardiovascular diseases between people of African versus European descent.
Hegemonic masculinity
There is an "ideal" type of masculinity to which all masculinities compare; this is an idea rather than reality - a set of instructions for how men perfrom gender
Political participation
any event or activity that has the intent or effect of influencing government action
Relationship between race of police officers, likelihood of using gun, and racial composition of neighborhoods (study of 1.2 million 911 calls)
White officers are more likely to use a gun in black neighborhoods than black officers
Racial inequalities in incarceration (Black, Hispanic, and White men)
White people make up the largest share of the total prison population but are underrepresented as a group. Black people and hispanics make up larger shares of the prisoners than their share of the U.S. population
White supremacy - extremist ideologies
White supremacist movements/identities embrace the belief that white people are culturally and/or biologically superior to all other people; they explicitly support and advocate for the superior status of white people in society.
Relationship between gender role expectations and family
Women are assumed to be natural caregivers and men are are assumed to be less adept at child rearing, but beyond teh biological realities of birth and breastfeeding, all of this is socialized
How does being a mother impact the gender pay gap?
Women are assumed to be natural caregivers while men are assumed to be less adept to caregiving. Result of socialization. The gender pay gap is the difference between the incomes of the typical man and woman who work full-time. Women earn $0.83 for every dollar made by men.
Wealth - definition
a family or individual's net worth (everything a household owns, minus debts); this includes property and finances accumulated across the life course; often measured in quintiles (20% increments)
Non-binary
a person whose gender identity falls outside / beyond / between the traditional gender binary of male or female
Sexual orientation
a persons identity relating to the gender they are sexually atractted to.
Mandatory minimum sentencing
a policy created by Congress (in the late 1980s) or a state legislature, which the court must give to a person convicted of a drug-related crime, no matter the unique circumstances of the offender or the offense.
Redlining
a practice in which banks refuse to make loans to people living in certain geographic locations
Emergence of social movements
a problem is identified as a "public issue". collective concern, support, or attention is intentionally or organically gathered.
Wealth - distribution by quintile (what share is held by top quintile?)
all members of a population lined up from lowest to highest, then divided into 5 even groups (20 percent each)
Prevalence of transgender youth in the US (and why is this hard to measure?)
around 2 and 3% of young adults around ages 18-29 identify as transgender or non-binary. But this data is hard to get exact because the questions beinging asked are not clear or hard to answer.
Essentialist approach to gender (biological determinism)
assumes gender differences are explained by natural, innate factors; explains social behavior using
Race/ethnicity/gender and low wages - which groups make up the largest share of low-wage workers?
black and hispanic women
Social construction of sexuality
categories we have for describing, labeling, and identifying our sexualities are socially constructed; ideas concerning sexual orientation have changed over time, meaning what is considered "normal" has also changed
Convergence theory
convergence theory: collective action happens when people with similar ideas, values, and tendencies gather in the same place. **people no longer have to be in the same physical place to "gather" as a collective!
Symbolic ethnicity
cultural practice of identifying with a nationality/culture without constraint or stigma - ethnicities that are not racialized
Relationship between implicit bias/stereotypes and structural/institutional racism
decisions that people make upholds insitutional racism; redlining - stereotypes of racism leads to people assessing homes to value home of a white person greater than that of a Black person
Collateral consequences of incarceration (examples, why do they matter?)
denial of employment or occupational licensing. Ineligibility for federal student loans or government assistance. Denial of access to housing or property rights. Restrictions on family relationships and living arrangements, such as child custody, fostering and adoption. Registration, lifetime supervision and residency requirements. Publication of an individual's criminal record or mandated notification to the general public or to particular private individuals. Denial of the right to vote (depending on state).
Mental health benefits of recieving gender-affirming health care
gender affirming care significantly reduces depression, suicidal attempts, and thoughts. A study involving 100 youth found that gender affirming care yielded a 60% reduced rate of moderate to severe depression and a 73% reduction in suicidality.
Relationship beteen the culture wars and group polarization
groups in American becoming more hateful; culture wars fuel group polarization by making postive and negative generalizations about parties
Which racial/ethnic groups have the highest percent of children living in poverty?
hispanic
Distribution of income by race (general differences)
in order it goes, asian, white, hispanic, black
Status symbols
indicators of a status, especially items in that display prestige
absolute poverty
measure based on the point at which a household's income falls below the necessary level to purchase necessities to sustain its members ($26,500 for a family of four in 2021).
Income - definition
money received by a person for work, from transfers of money, or returns on investments; measured within a certain time period (e.g. annual)
Implicit Bias
occurs automatically/intentionally, but nevertheless affects judgements, decisions, and behaviors; can result in actions/decisions that may be at odds with one's conscious beliefs about fairness/equality
Rate of police use of force - comparison between White/Black citizens
officers employ force in less than 2 percent of all police-civilian interactions, but use of police fore is disproportionately high for african-americans: 3.6 times higher than the rate for white residents and 2.5 times higher than the overall rate
Gender identity
our innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both, or neither - how we identify, feel, and what we call ourselves
Sexism - overt vs covert vs subtle
overt: clear and obvious ex. rape; covert: unequal and harmful treatment of women in a concealed way ex. lower pay scale for women; subtle: elusive and abstract discrimination ex. microagression
social status
person's position in the community
What industry employs the most near-minimum-wage workers?
resturant/ food service
relative poverty
situation in which some people fail to achieve the average income or lifestyle achieved by the rest of society - usually based on percentage of median income in a given location.
Patriarchy
social system in which only men control society and have political/social rights
Stigma and subculture as they relate to LGBTQ+ communities
stigma: negative labels associated with deviance and stereotypes; subculture: a group united by sets of concepts, values, and shared meaning specific to the members of the group and unique enough from mainstream culture to distinguish it in a meaningful way
Coalescence of social movements
the concrete action taken around the problem.
Social determinants of health (general definition)
the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.
Gender expression
the cultural construction of heterosexuality as the default sexuality; centers heterosexual attraction as an essential aspect of gender normativity.
Political polarization - group level
the extent to which citizens dislike affiliates of other parties; based in emotions of ordinary citizens rather than on support/opposition to specific policies
Fatherhood premium
the increase in wage once a man becomes a father
Cultural capital
the knowledge, habits, and tastes learned from parents and family that individuals can use to gain access to scarce and valuable resources in society
Motherhood penalty
the loss in wage once a woman becomes a mother
Social capital
the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively.
