Intro Soc Midterm

media's influences on us

control over attention, language, and social ideas

principles of culture

culture is shared, learns, and socially constructed

deviance vs crime

deviance is breaking informal norms while crime is breaking laws (formal norms)

closed social mobility system

does not allow for movement between classes

echo chamber

environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own

ideas

ex: bigger is better, The American Dream, masculinity > femininity

macrosociology

examines large-scale social structures to see how they shape/impact groups and individuals

microsociology

examines small-group interactions to see how they impact larger institutions in society

intersectionality

idea that multiple systems of stratification play a role in an individual's life

leisure

in contrast to paid labor or other obligatory activities, or the opposite of work

physical stigma

including physical or mental impairments

sanctions

means of enforcing norms, rewards for conformity and punishments for violations

social stratification

members of a given society are categorized and divided into groups, which are then placed in a social hierarchy

tribal stigma

membership in a discredited or oppressed group

authoritative power

1 v 1 , landlord vs tenant, teacher vs student, physical power

power elite

C. Wright Mills, holding the power within few elite, the inequality that is caused by this

strain theory of deviance

Merton, some deviance is inevitable in society, individual's position in the social structure will affect his experience of deviance and conformity

psychologism

a basic mindset that you can explain behavior by looking solely at individual trait and characteristics

relative deprivation

a comparative measure of poverty from one group to another

absolute deprivation

a measure whereby people are unable to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, and health care

minority group

any group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they life for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination

religion

any institutionalized system of shared beliefs and rituals that identify a relationship between the sacred and the profane

material culture

any physical object to which we give social meaning: art, tools, utensils, machines, weapons, clothing, furniture, etc.

stigma

any physical or social attribute that devalues a person or group's identity, which may exclude people who are devalued from normal social interaction

social institution

any social situation that teaches social norms/expectations

triangulate

approach to research a question from a variety of different angles, useful in order to get multiple perspectives and more in-depth look at the data, strengthens arguments

qualitative data

based on actual data in forms of answers in word form, more detailed but more difficult to work with

quantitative data

based on numerical data, usually less detailed but more economical and statistically manageable

deviance

breaking the norms

causation

one variable causes another

functions of religion for society

organizes our feelings, gives meaning to life, group identity - provides the opportunity to come together with others to share in group activities and identity, defining factor of identity that helps define the boundaries of social groups

deviance avowal

potential deviants may actually initiate the labeling process against themselves to provoke others to do so, labeling themselves as deviant as a role rather than in one act may be beneficial

labeling theory

proposes that deviance is not inherent in any act, belief, or condition; instead, it is determined by the social context

cultural capital in relation to social mobility

social class status is passed down from generations because each generation acquires its own cultural capital which helps people to gain advantages in society

symbolic interactionism

society is produced and reproduced through our interactions with each other by means of language and our interpretations of that language

structural functionalism

society is seen as a complex system whose parts work together to promote stability and social order

generalizability

the ability to generalize the data to a wider population

vertical social mobility

the ability to move up and down between classes

socially constructed

the concept is not innate, it is a learned behavior/interaction that is created by society, not necessarily on purpose but it is ingrained in society and it'll usually take a social movement to overcome it

culture

the entire way of life of a group of people

low culture/popular culture

the opposite of high culture, normal people activities that are not what the elite do

correlation

there is an indirect connection between two variables

in-group orientation

they reject the standard that marks them as deviant and may even actively propose new standards in which their special identities are well within normal range

high culture

those forms of culture expression usually associated with elite or dominant classes

media concentration

very few companies own the vast majority of media outlets

ethnocentrism

we think of our own culture as the normal one

Weberian theory of class

wealth, power and prestige are interrelated and can be converted into the other; sometimes a person can have one of these aspects and not the others; generally, the most powerful/successful people have all three

confounding variable

3rd variable that causes the relationship between 2 other variables, making the other variables appear to be correlated; the root cause of the correlation, what causes both other variables

sociological imagination

a quality of the mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our particular situation in life and what is happening at a social level

power to control beliefs and desires

advertising/media

open social mobility system

allows for movement between classes

spurious correlation

coincidental correlation, not actually directly related although it appears as though they are

passing

concealing stigmatizing information

socioeconomic status affects life chances in terms of:

family, health, education, work/income, crime

language

form of communication

power to control the agenda

gerrymandering, making political choices to influence political outcomes

four principles of stratification

it is a characteristic of society, not a reflection of individual differences; persists over generations; different societies use different criteria for ranking their members; maintained through beliefs that are widely shared by members of society

digitizaiton

leisure now involves more technology than ever, this allows for more leisure time b/c aspects of work are easier but we also have work on our phones so the line between work and free-time is blurred

latent functions

less obvious, perhaps unintended functions of a social structure

operationalize

making a variable measurable by stating the parameters of the concept

conflict theory

marxism, emphasis on social inequality as the basic characteristic of society, helped to answer critiques of structural functionalism

material objects

material culture, things that improve or decline your ability to fit into culture from appearance/objects

manifest functions

obvious, intended functions of a social structure

factors that determine generalizability

random sampling/population sample, size of population, stratification of participants, etc.

symbolic culture

reflects the ideas and beliefs of a group of people

norms

rules and guidelines regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable, developed directly out of a culture's value system

cultural relativism

seeing each different culture as different, rather than wrong or right

pluralism

sharing the power between the whole population

moral stigma

signs of a flawed character

sociology vs psychology

sociology demonstrates how social life is patterned by social forces and emphasizes the need to consider social context when trying to explain social phenomena while psychology looks at the individuals and their thoughts/actions/motives

sociology

studies society, social interaction, and the interplay between individuals and society

cultural capital

tastes, habits, expectations, skills, knowledge, etc.

hidden curriculum

the lessons that students learn indirectly but that are an implicit part of their socialization in the school environment