The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology- Exam 2 (ch. 6-9)

Labeling Theory

Howard Becker's idea that deviance is a consequence of external judgments, or labels, that modify the individual's self-concept and change the way others respond to the labeled person

Ascribed status

a form of social stratification in which status is determined by one's family history and background and cannot be changed

Simplicity movement

a loosely knit movement that opposes consumerism and encourages people to work less, earn less, and spend less, in accordance with nonmaterialistic values

Socioeconomic status

a measure of an individual's place within a social class system; often used interchangeably with "class"

Wealth

a measure of net worth that includes income, property, and other assets

Men's Liberation

a movement that originated in the 1970s to discuss the challenges of masculinity

In-group Orientation

among stigmatized individuals, the rejection of prevailing judgments or prejudice and the development of new standards that value their group identity

Retribution

an approach to punishment that emphasizes retaliation or revenge for the crime as the appropriate goal

First Wave

the earliest period of feminist activism in the United States, including the period from the mid-nineteenth century until American women won the right to vote in 1920

Third Wave

the most recent period of feminist activity, focusing on issues of diversity and the variety of identities women can possess

Vertical social mobility

the movement between different class statuses, often called either upward mobility or downward mobility

Intra-generational mobility

the movement between social classes that occurs during the course of an individual's lifetime

Suffrage Movement

the movement organized around gaining voting rights for women

Instrumental Role

the position of the family member who provides the family's material support and is often an authority figure

Social Learning

the process of learning behaviors and meanings through social interaction

Prestige

the social honor people are given because of their membership in well-regarded social groups

Social reproduction

the tendency of social classes to remain relatively stable as class status is passed down from one generation to the next

Homogamy

the tendency to choose romantic partners who are similar to us in terms of class, race, education, religion, and other social group membership

Homosexuality

the tendency to feel sexual desire toward members of one's own gender

Digital divide

the unequal access to computer and Internet technology, both globally and within the United States

Social inequality

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society

Second Shift

the unpaid housework and child care often expected of women after they complete their day's paid labor

Cyberbullying

the use of electronic media (web pages, social networking sites, e-mail, instant messengers, and cell phones) to tease, harass, threaten, or humiliate someone

Constructionists

those who believe that notions of gender are socially determined, such that a dichotomous system is just one possibility among many

Discrimination

unequal treatment of individuals based on their membership in a social group; usually motivated by prejudice

White Collar Crime

crime committed by a high-status individual in the course of his occupation

Violent Crime

crimes in which violence is either the objective or the means to an end, including murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery

Property Crime

crimes that did not involve violence, including burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson

Individual Discrimination

discrimination carried out by one person against another

Institutional Discrimination

discrimination carried out systematically by institutions (political, economic, educational, and others) that affect all members of a group who come into contact with it

Culture of poverty

entrenched attitudes that can develop among poor communities and lead the poor to accept their fate rather than attempt to improve their lot

Microaggression

everyday uses of ordinary language that may send denigrating messages to members of certain social groups

Primary Deviance

in labeling theory, the initial act or attitude that causes one to be labeled deviant

Secondary Deviance

in labeling theory, the subsequent deviant identity or career that develops as a result of being labeled deviant

Innovators

individuals who accept society's approved goals but not society's approved means to achieve them

Ritualists

individuals who have given up hope of achieving society's approved goals but still operate according to society's approved means

Rebels

individuals who reject society's approved goals and means and instead create and work toward their own (sometimes revolutionary) goals using new means

Inter-generational mobility

movement between social classes that occurs from one generation to the next

Asexuality

involves the lack of sexual attraction of any kind; asexual people have no interest or desire for sex

Differential Association Theory

Edwin Sutherland's hypothesis that we learn to be deviant through our associations with deviant peers

Stigma

Erving Goffman's term for any physical or social attribute that devalues a person or group's identity and that may exclude those who are devalued from normal social interaction

Double-Consciousness

W.E.B. DuBoi's term for the dividing identity experienced by blacks in America

Deviance

a behavior, trait, belief, or other characteristic that violates a norm and causes a negative reaction

Criminal Justice System

a collection of social institutions, such as legislatures, police, courts, and prisons, that create and enforce laws

Intersectionality

a concept that identifies how different categories of inequality (race, class, gender, etc.) intersect to shape the lives of individuals and groups

Pluralism

a cultural pattern of intergroup relations that encourages racial and ethnic variation and acceptance within a society

White collar

a description characterizing lower-level professional and management workers and some highly skilled laborers in technical jobs

Blue collar

a description characterizing skilled and semi- skilled workers who perform manual labor or work in service or clerical jobs

Relative deprivation

a relative measure of poverty based on the standard of living in a particular society

Racism

a set of beliefs about the superiority of one racial or ethnic group, used to justify inequality and often rooted in the assumption that differences between groups are genetic

Rape culture

a set of beliefs, norms and values that normalizes sexual violence against women.

Status Inconsistancy

a situation in which an individual has differing levels of status in terms of wealth, power, prestige, or other element

Open system

a social system with ample opportunities to move from one class to another

Closed system

a social system with very little opportunity to move from one class to another

Ethnicity

a socially defined category based on common language, religion, nationality, history, or another cultural factor

Race

a socially defined category based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people

Mertitocity

a system in which rewards are distributed based on merit

Binary

a system of classification with only two distinct and opposite categories.

Feudal system

a system of social stratification based on a hereditary nobility who were responsible for and served by a lower stratum of forced laborers called serfs

Social class

a system of stratification based on access to such resources as wealth, property, power, and prestige

Transgender

a term used when gender identity and/or expression is different from the sex assigned at birth.

Crime

a violation of a norm that has been codified into law

Outsiders

according to Howard Becker, those labeled deviant and subsequently segregated from "normal" society

Positive Deviance

actions considered deviant within a given context but are later reinterpreted as appropriate or even heroic

Deterrence

an approach to punishment that relies on the threat of harsh penalties to discourage people from committing crimes

Incapacitation

an approach to punishment that seeks to protect society from criminals by imprisoning or executing them

Upper class

an elite and largely self-sustaining group who possess most of the country's wealth; they constitute about 1 percent of the U.S. population

Situational Ethnicity

an ethnic identity that can be either displayed or concealed depending on its usefulness in a given situation

Symbolic Ethnicity

an ethnic identity that is only relevant on specific occasions and does not significantly impact everyday life

Prejudice

an idea about the characteristics of a group that is applied to all members of that group and is unlikely to change regardless of the evidence against it

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

an inaccurate statement or belief that, by altering the situation, becomes accurate; a prediction that causes itself to come true

Sex

an individual's membership in one of two biologically distinct categories- male or female

Gender Identity

an individual's self-definition or sense of gender

Gender expression

an individuals behavioral manifestations of gender

Absolute deprivation

an objective measure of poverty, defined by the inability to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, or health care

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

an official measure of crime in the United States, produced by the FBI's official tabulation of every crime reported by more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies

Men's Rights Movement

an offshoot of male liberationism whose members believe that feminism promotes discrimination against men

Pro-Feminist Men's Movement

an offshoot of male liberationism whose members support feminism and believe that sexism harms both men and women

Just-world hypothesis

argues that people have a deep need to see the world as orderly, predictable, and fair, which creates a tendency to view victims of social injustice as deserving of their fates

Everyday Class consciousness

awareness of one's own social status and that of others

Feminism

belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes; also the social movements organized around that belief

Cisgenderism

belief in the superiority of cisgender persons and identities.

Heterosexism

belief in the superiority of heterosexuality and heterosexuals

Working poor

poorly educated manual and service workers who may work full-time but remain near or below the poverty line; they constitute about 13 percent of the U.S. population

Passing

presenting yourself as a member of a different group than the stigmatized group, racial or ethnic group you belong to or were born into

Deviance Avowal

process by which an individual self-identifies as deviant and initiates her own labeling process

Middle class

social class composed primarily of white collar workers with a broad range of education and incomes; they constitute about 30 percent of the U.S. population

Upper-Middle class

social class consisting of mostly highly educated professionals and managers who have considerable financial stability; they constitute about 14 percent of the U.S. population

Working class or lower-middle class

social class consisting of mostly blue collar or service industry workers who are less likely to have a college degree; they constitute about 30 percent of the U.S. population

Minority Group

social group that is systematically denied the same access to power and resources available to society's dominant groups though they are not necessarily fewer in number than the dominant groups

Queer Theory

social theory about gender identity and sexuality that emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects as restrictive the idea of innate sexual identity

Intersex

term to describe a person whose chromosomes or sex characteristics are neither exclusively male nor exclusively female

Cisgender

term used when gender identity and/or expression aligns with assigned at birth

Gender Nonconforming

term used when gender identity and/or expression differs from societal expectations about gender roles.

Heteronormativity

the belief that heterosexuality is and should be the norm

Sexism

the belief that one sex, usually male, is superior to the other

Sexuality

the character or quality of being sexual

Capital Punishment

the death penalty

Genocide

the deliberate and systematic extermination of a racial, ethnic, national, or cultural group

social stratification

the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy

Internal Colonialism

the economic and political subjugation of the minority group by the dominant group within a nation

Feminization of Poverty

the economic trend showing that women are more likely than men to live in poverty, caused in part by the gendered gap in wages, the higher proportion of single mothers compared to single fathers, and the increasing costs of child care

Population Transfer

the forcible removal of a group of people from the territory they have occupied

Social Control

the formal and informal mechanisms used to increase conformity to values and norms and thus promote social cohesion

Residential segregation

the geographical separation of the poor from the rest of an area's population

Sexual Orientation Identity

the inclination to feel sexual desire toward people of a particular gender or toward both genders

Second Wave

the period of feminist activity during the 1960s and 1970s often associated with the issues of women's equal access to employment and education

Segregation

the physical and legal separation of groups by race or ethnicity

Gender

the physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers normal for its male and female members

Underclass

the poorest group, comprising the homeless and chronically unemployed who may depend on public or private assistance; they constitute about 12 percent of the U.S. population

Expressive Role

the position of the family member who provides emotional support and nurturing

Racial Assimilation

the process by which racial minority groups are absorbed into the dominant group through intermarriage

Cultural Assimilation

the process by which racial or ethnic groups are absorbed into the dominant group by adopting the dominant group's culture

Disfranchisment

the removal of the rights of citizenship through economic, political, or legal means

Cultural Capitol

the tastes, habits, expectations, skills, knowledge, and other cultural assets that help us gain advantages in society

Embodied Identity

those elements of identity that are generate through others' perceptions of our physical traits

Essentialists

those who believe gender roles have a genetic or biological origin and therefore cannot be changed

Coming Out

to openly declare one's true identity to those who might not be aware of it: short for "coming out of the closet," a phrase used to describe how gays and lesbians have felt compelled to keep their sexual orientation secret

Assimilation

a pattern of relations between ethnic or racial groups in which the minority group is absorbed into the mainstream or dominant group, making society more homogenous

Rehabilitation

an approach to punishment that attempts to reform criminals by imprisoning or executing them

Structural mobility

changes in the social status of large numbers of people as a result of structural changes in society

Heterogamy

choosing romantic partners who are dissimilar to us in terms of class, race, education, religion, and other social group membership

Homophobia

fear of or discrimination toward homosexuals or toward individuals who display purportedly gender-inappropriate behavior

Transphobia

fear of or discrimination toward transgender or other gender-nonconforming people.

Same-Sex Marriage

federally recognized marriage between members of the same sex; made legal in the United States in 2015

LGBTQ

lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer; sometimes "A" is added to include "allies"

Patriarchy

literally meaning "rule of the father"; a male-dominated society

Hypogamy

marrying "down" in the social class hierarchy

Hypergamy

marrying "up" in the social class hierarchy

Tertiary Deviance

redefining the stigma associated with a deviant label as a positive phenomenon

Miscegenation

romantic, sexual, or marital relationships between people of different races

Bisexuality

sexual attraction to both genders; bisexuals are sexually attracted to both males and females

Heterosexuality

sexual desire for the other gender

Pilfering

stealing minor items in small amounts, often again and again

Gender Role Socialization

the lifelong process of learning to be masculine or feminine, primarily through four agents of socialization: families, schools, peers, and the media

Slavery

the most extreme form of social stratification, based on the legal ownership of people

Horizontal social mobility

the movement of individuals or groups within a particular social class, most often a result of changing occupations

Social mobility

the movement of individuals or groups within the hierarchical system of social classes