Soc 270 Midterm 1
What are some of the key factors of the 2008-2010 recession?
$50 trillion was lost in the 2009 world market, the US lost 7 million jobs, and corporate profits expanded while there was little job creation.
C Wright Mills was a ______________ theorist who wrote explored ____________.
Conflict Perspective, how power elites have control over government and economy
Oliver and Shapiro were...
Conflict perspective theorists
Massey and Denton were...
Conflict theorists
What are the 4 characteristics of a social problem?
1. It's incompatible with the desired quality of life 2. It's caused, facilitated, or prolonged by factors that operate at multiple levels of social life 3. It involves intergroup conflict 4. It requires social action to be resolved
Veterans make up what fraction of the homeless population?
1/3
How long does the average "poverty spell" last for an individual?
2-4 months
What age group has the highest rates of homelessness?
31-50
What percentage of homeless veterans are people of color?
56%
What percentage of homeless veterans suffer from alcohol or drug abuse?
70%
WEB Dubois was a ______________ theorist who wrote about ___________
Conflict Perspective, causes and consequences of racial Inequality
Robert Merton focused on the value of _______ and says the outcomes of social change are ____________.
Achievement, Manifest and Latent functions
Oscar Lewis believed that poor people....
Adapt to their deprived condition, and this lifestyle keeps them poor.
List the races/ethnicities in order of median household income, highest to lowest.
Asian, white (non-hispanic), all races (average income), Hispanic (any race), and lastly Black.
Define Roles
Behavior associated with particular positions in the social structure
William Julius Wilson focused on the....
Black underclass + hyper-segregation by looking at it economically + as a result of deindustrialization
What numbers are used to determine the poverty threshold?
Census numbers
Ivan Light wrote a piece that....
Compared Asian American businesses with African American businesses; Asian Americans had rotating credit associations (where a group of businesses would help one business at a time)
Karl Marx was a...
Conflict Perspective Theorist
Jane Addams was a __________ theorist who wrote about __________.
Conflict Perspective, Urban Social Problems (in Chicago)
Critiques of structural functionalism:
Consensus is not society wide, people have their own special needs, and individual interests are always in conflict each other
Marieka Klawitter wrote about...
Credit and Debt
People in which 3 institutions are not included in poverty and employment stats?
Criminal justice system, mental institutions, and the military
Rotating credit associations worked because of...
Cultural kinship ties, similar values, and foundation built on trust
In Bogard's reading, its mentioned that the difference between NYC and DC's solutions for the homeless are:
DC sort of focused on short term solutions to ensure the survival of the homeless (kind of a religious orientation) In NYC, crime was associated with homelessness, so advocates pursued a nonpublic political strategy, pushing medicalization.
What are the 4 structural causes of homelessness?
Decline in low-cost housing, increase in poverty, deindustrialization, and deinstitutionalization (these are structural causes)
What are the key assumptions of conflict theory regarding social problems?
Different segments of society have contradictory interests, they see inequalities between social groups, and look at the resulting conflict/competition that arises.
In the US, poverty is _____________ in relation to race.
Disproportionate
Explain Micro in the context of the four theories.
Explores how values/norms form and influence the social problem, focuses on the individual
What are the two categories of income poverty?
Extreme and overall
What factors contribute to the gender pay gap specifically?
Occupational sex segregation, motherhood penalty, socialization
Why has Oscar Lewis' view been criticized?
For racism and ignoring history, structural limitations, available resources, etc.
Robert Reich
From 'Inequality for All', Focuses on consumer spending, which makes up 70% of the economy
What are the 3 dimensions of international poverty?
Health, education, and living standard
What are the 4 key foci of symbolic interactionism?
Humans are symbol-manipulating, process and emergance, the social world is interactive, and underlying patterns/forms of social life
Critiques of symbolic interactionism
Ignores social structure, because it focus on micro-level interaction, Ignores power, and ignores history legacy of marginalization, racism, sexism, etc.
What is a defining feature of CEO pay?
In 1975, CEOs made 24x more than the average worker, and in 2009 they made 185x more.
What are the two "overall" measurements of poverty (not threshold or guidelines)?
Income (includes money earned and non-cash benefits like food stamps), and the "need" poverty level, which is similar to the poverty threshold.
What is the difference between income and wealth?
Income is the amount of money someone earns, wealth is a measure of what someone owns.
What are the two main types of poverty
Income poverty and human poverty
What are some key terms of symbolic interactionism?
Individuals attitudes and ideologies
What does the UN Human Development Index measure?
Life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, and gross national income.
More "developed" or wealthy countries have higher _______________ rates.
Literacy
Macro or micro: Conflict theory
Macro
Macro or micro: Structural functionalism
Macro
Herbert Gans did not actually believe but observed that....
Many people suggested that some may argue that the poor offer a labor pool for "dirty work" and create jobs for non-poor
Karl Marx argued that...
Many social problems in society arise because of an unequal distribution of resources; In order to solve social problems, change has to come through revolution, overhauling a structure, or reestablishing consensus
What gender has the highest rates of homelessness?
Men
Macro or micro: Social constructionism
Micro
Macro or micro: Symbolic interactionism
Micro
Nick Hanauer
Millionaire who spoke on the myth of job creators and trickle-down economics
Race + ethnicity often influence promotion chances, because...
Most high-level managers are white men who feel most comfortable with those like themselves.
What are the 4 parts of society according to structural functionalists?
Norms, roles, institutions, and values
What are the 10 indicators of poverty (used internationally)
Nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, water, electricity, floors, assets
Herbert Mead did a lot of ___________ work because _____________________.
Observational work, he found meaning through interactions
According to Robert Reich, what are the causes for the rise in inequality?
Outsourcing, technological revolutions, deregulation, and decline of unions
What groups have a higher chance of being in poverty even as rates fluctuate?
People of color, children, and single-parent families
What is the education wage gap premium?
People who graduate from college and people who graduate from high school make different amounts of money.
Which measurement of poverty does the Department of Health and Human Services use to determine benefits?
Poverty guideline
How does the conflict theory attempt to "solve" social problems?
Reestablishing a consensus, changing the system
What is the difference between relative and absolute poverty?
Relative poverty is insufficiency so severe that it is life threatening (people are unable to get basic needs). Absolute poverty means the insufficiency is substantially greater that that of most others in society, but not life threatening.
Critiques of conflict theory:
Relies heavily on economic factors, sees people as passive objects
Define Norms
Shared expectations or behaviors
Marieka Klawitter was a ___________ theorist who ___________.
Social Construction/Structural Functionalism, researched how low-income families differ from other families and tried to understand existence of poverty and differential access to credit markets
Bogard was a _______________ theorist who wrote about
Social Constructionist, different perceptions of homelessness in DC vs NY
Race is a _____________ used for _____________ and _____________ reasons.
Social construct, social, political
Leicht was a ___________ theorist who wrote about ____________.
Social construction and/or Structural functionalism, the 2008 recession and how it may have been a result of political decision rather than economic inevitability. He talks about redistributing income by focusing more on the bottom half of Americans rather than the top 10-15%
Scott Allard was a __________ theorist who wrote about ___________.
Social construction, poverty in the suburbs vs. urban areas. He explored the disconnect between where poverty was perceived to be and where it actually was, which leads to unequal distribution of funds to aid these people.
Which theory investigates the production of reality and examines how particular claims gain authority? What are some key terms of this theory?
Social constructionist, Claims and Claims-makers
Main assumption of structural functionalism:
Social institutions are structured to maintain stability + order in society
Main assumption of social constructionism:
Social problems arise as people define conditions as undesirable and in need of change
E. Durkheim argued that...
Social problems in society arise when there's a lack of trust + solidarity between people. He critiques Spencer's theory, saying Spencer doesn't take observable feelings, sentiments, or trust into account
Main assumption of symbolic interactionsm:
Society is structured + maintained through everyday interactions + people's subjective definitions of their worlds
E. Durkheim was a...
Structural Functionalist
Herbert Gans was a...
Structural Functionalist
Robert Merton was a...
Structural Functionalist
William Julius Wilson was a...
Structural Functionalist
H. Spencer was a _________ who saw society as __________.
Structural Functionalist, an organism; everything works together to make it work
What are the different types of research methods?
Surveys, statistical analysis, experiments, participant observation, interviews, and focus groups
Herbert Mead believed humans are ___________________.
Symbol-manipulating
Herbert Mead was a...
Symbolic Interactionist
Ivan Light was a...
Symbolic Interactionist
Oscar Lewis was a...
Symbolic Interactionist
Define deinstitutionalization
The 1960s and 1970s release of mentally ill and the decrease in public hospitals for treatment
Main assumption of conflict theory:
The various institutions in society promote inequality and conflict among groups of people
Robert Merton created the ______________, which states that __________________.
Theory of Differential Access, we are supposed to use the approved route/method to achieve something, but those without access to it then try to through illegitimate means (e.g one desires success but has no access to college, so they resort to crime/illegal activities)
In experiments, what's a control group?
The group of participants that receive no treatment.
Define manifest functions
The intended outcome of social change
Oliver and Shapiro argued that....
The lack in black wealth stems from structural blocks implemented by whites through things like education and jobs → racialization of state. It was a combination of race and economic factors
What is human poverty
The lack of basic human capabilities like literacy or nourishment
Define extreme poverty
The lack of income necessary to satisfy basic food needs (absolute)
Define overall poverty
The lack of income necessary to satisfy basic non-food needs (relative)
What is a defining feature of wage inequality (generally)
The lower end of the spectrum had wages decline from 1973-2009, while the top earners had increasing wages.
Who are the real job makers in a capitalist society?
The middle class
Define social mobility
The movement of individuals or families within or between layers/tiers in a system of social stratification
Define a stratification system
The patterns of inequality, wealth, power, and prestige that exist in societies, usually as a ladder or hierarchy
Define deindustrialization
The shift from manufacturing to outsourcing, creating lower-paying and less stable jobs
Which region of the US has the highest poverty rates?
The south
Define latent functions
The unintended outcome of social change
How do social constructionists approach the study of social problems?
They investigate how problems get defined, addressed, or ignored as a result of socially interpreted realities.
Define values
Things preferred because they are defined as worth having
What 2 broad categories of people are not included in poverty and employment stats?
Those in institutions and those not on the job market
What age group has the highest poverty rates?
Those under 18
__________________________ Tend to be more concentrated in small geographic areas to a greater extent than _______________________.
Unemployed black people, unemployed white people.
Explain Macro in the context of the four theories.
What leads to the social problem? Focuses on the group and their conflicts, what are the structures involved? Results of changes in the social structure can lead to new social problems
What is the virtuous cycle?
When wages increase, people buy more, companies hire more often, taxes are generated, the government invests back into the people, and then there's more access to education.
List homelessness rates from highest to lowest by race.
White (non-Hispanic), Black, White (Hispanic), those who are multiple races, and lastly other single races.
What race and gender has the highest labor force participation and highest employment rates?
White men
What are the 6 racial categories the US uses?
White, Black/African-American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian (including Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and other), Native Hawaiian (or Guamanian, Chamorro, Samoan, other Pacific Islander), and some other race.
________ and ________ females have higher _________________ than white and black males.
White, black, life expectancies
Massey and Denton argued with....
Wilson, saying that there are deliberate structures put in place by whites to hold back blacks, and that hyper-segregation could hold down blacks in poor conditions and allow white immigrants to transition out of the same situation
What gender has the highest poverty rates?
Women
Worldwide, do women or men tend to live longer?
Women
What gender tends to make less money?
Women tend to make less than men.
Define institutions
collective means of dealing with basic social functions
Is it true or false that most poor people that unemployed?
false
What are the 4 basic necessities?
food, shelter, medical care, clothing
Black people are less likely to earn a _____________ diploma than white people.
high school
What factor helps explain persistent wage gaps between men and women, as well as whites and blacks + Hispanics?
occupational segregation
Studies have found that many soft skills are evaluated based on factors such as...
racial stereotypes, personal biases, and social biases (this particularly disadvantages black men).
Define dependent variable
the variable that is influenced
Define independent variable
the variable that is manipulated
