MCAT: Demographics
ethnicity
identity with a group of people that share distinct physical and mental traits as a product of common heredity and cultural traditions.
demographic transition
movement from a high birth rate, high death rate to a low birth rate, low death rate as a result of a movement to industrial economic systems
immigration
movement of individuals into a population
emigration
movement of individuals out of an area
youth ratio
the number of people under the age of 15 divided by the number of people aged 15-65
relative deprivation
the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself
globalization
the process of merging of the separate nations of the world into a single sociocultural entity
gender segregation
the separation of individuals on the basis of gender
Kinsey scale
a 7-point scale of sexual orientation devised by Alfred Kinsey
pull factors
a factor that draws or attracts people to another location (i.e. religious freedom)
demographic transition theory
a four stage theory that explains the link between economic development and demographic shift
race
a group of human beings distinguished by physical traits, blood types, genetic code patterns or genetically inherited characteristics
social movements
a large group of people who are organized to promote or resist some social change
life course perspective
a perspective that sees age-related transitions as socially produced, socially recognized, and shared- a product of social structure, historical forces, culture, and personality
crude rate
a population adjusted metric for measuring fertility and mortality rates in different nations
stable population
a species whose population size fluctuates slightly above and below its carrying capacity and fertility rates and death rates are pretty close
malthusian theory
a theory asserting that population is controlled through positive checks (war, famine, disease) and preventive checks (measures to reduce fertility)
symbolic ethnicity
an ethnic identity that is only relevant on specific occasions and does not significantly impact everyday life
urbanization
an increase in the percentage and in the number of people living in urban settlements
gender stratification
any inequality in access to social resources that is based on gender
demographic shifts
changes in the makeup of a population over time
push factors
factors that induce people to leave old residences, negative attributions (i.e. the war in Ukraine)
migration
form of relocation diffusion involving permanent move to a new location
age cohorts
people who were born at roughly the same time and who pass through the life course together; i.e, baby boomers
ageism
prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a person's age
fertility rate
refers to the average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime in a population; in the US, this is trending downwards
generational status
refers to the place of birth of a specific person or that person's parents; for example, first generation
demographics
refers to the statistics of populations and are mathematical applications of sociology
mortality rate
refers to the total number of deaths in a population per unit time
gender roles
sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one's status as male or female
proactive
social movements that promote social change
reactive
social movements that resist social change
gender identity
the individual's sense and identification of being male or female
gender inequality
the intentional or unitnetional empowerment of one gender at the expense of the other
intersectionality
the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage
population density
the number of individuals in an area of a specific size
dependency ratio
the number of people under age 15 and over age 64 compared to the number of people active in the labor force
age dependency ratio
the number of people under the age of 15 and over the age of 65 as a proportion of the working-age population