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32 Cards in this Set
- Front
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Describe the Feminist Theory |
The idea that there is gender differences not due to biology but rather social, historical and cultural factors. |
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What are the three types of Feminist theories? |
1.) Marxist Theory: women exploited in roles that are of interest to men--has to do with class and economic position 2.) Liberal Feminist theory: legal restraints and customs 3.) Radical feminist theory: patriarchy--the way society is arranged to favor men needs to change |
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Describe Conflict Theory |
Idea that groups compete for scarce resources, winners and losers of these competitions create inequality and power is often concentrated leading to struggle as those in power try to enforce conformity which is resisted |
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What are the 5 assumptions of Conflict Theory? |
1.) society is made up of opposing interests and ideas that struggle against one another 2.) conflicts provide the motivation toconstruct and maintain (as well as challenge and transform) social practicesand institutions 3.) Practices and institutions arestructures of domination that promote the interests of the powerful,superordinate group while subverting the interests of relatively powerlesssubordinate groups (even though the subordinate groups are usually numerically muchlarger) 4.) The main goal of ideologies is toprotect and promote the interests of a particular class (or status or authoritygroup) 5.) Social change usually reflects theefforts of groups mobilizing to advance their own interests, often at theexpense of other groups’ interests |
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Describe Functionalism |
The idea that society is a whole unit made up of interrelated parts that all work together |
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What are the 5 basic assumptions of functionalism? |
1.) Societies to exist must address a largenumber of problems in a reasonably satisfactory way 2.) Principle of institutionalalternatives = more than one way for a society to meet its needs 3.) Practices and institutions that arise in response to one problem affect other institutions 4.) In contemporary societies with manyinstitutions, integration is a recurring but manageable problem 5.) Deviance and conflict arise fromsocial strains or contradictions within or between institutions |
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Describe Symbolic interaction-ism |
The idea that we attach meaning to objects that we interact with which affects our behaviour and attitude |
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What are the 5 basic assumptions of Symbolic interaction-ism? |
1.) Human beings act in terms of the meaning they assign to objects in their environment 2.) Social action typically involves making adjustments and readjustments 3.) meanings people assign are socially constructed 4.) different groups often assign different meanings to the same object 5.) established meanings are always subject to transformation |
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Describe Capitalism and its three main characteristics |
Capitalism is an economic and political system in which countries trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit rather than the state Its three main characteristics are: 1.) private ownership of means of production 2.) pursuit of profit 3.) market competition |
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What is market competition? |
Market competition depends on how many buyers and how many sellers, each with "perfect knowledge". The price equilibrium is reached through supply and demand--no one buyer or seller can control the price |
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What is economies of scale? |
the idea that the larger means of production the more efficiently the items can be produced |
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What is the tension between market competition and economies of scale? |
The tension is that if it reaches a point where there are few big producers, they are the ones that can then control both the selling and buying price. |
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What/who is the power elite? |
Men whose positions enable them to transcend the ordinary environments of ordinary men and women. Both when they make a decision or fail to make a decision have serious repercussions for ordinary people. |
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What is the main difference between the power elite and ordinary men? |
ordinary men: their power is limited by the everyday world in which they live power elite: have the power and are essentially the outside forces that drive/influence ordinary men |
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What does Mill's mean by the big three being interlocked? |
That military, politics and business are interrelated and no longer independent institutions. Today they are replacing education, family and religion in their importance. |
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What argument does Mills make to suggest the power elite undermine democracy? |
He believes that public opinion and discussions are centralized in the hands of very few--the mass media. Therefore, the public does not have the power, big corporations do. |
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What is Self-censorship in the media and how does it occur? |
Self-censorship is the exercising of control over what one says and what one does. It occurs by: 1.) editors getting sanctioned for presenting certain news stories which in turn gives the message to all not to present those kinds of stories. 2.) ensuring advertisers are not offended |
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How does corporate concentration in the media industry influence what stories make the news and how these stories are interpreted? |
Because even though there is a "free press", no one is allowed to print stories that go against the philosophy of the parent companies and definitely none that would hurt the parent company and its owners |
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Describe the main three themes in "Discover Canada" |
1.) Economic liberalism: highlights the role of individual responsibility--importance of hard work 2.) Socially traditional values: highlights the importance of character 3.) Law, order and protection: highlights the importance of the role of the public to support the military. |
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Define left wing idealogy |
it emphasizes the role of government in shaping society and ensuring social equality |
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Define right wing ideology |
it emphasizes the rights of the individuals where market forces control society with little government interference |
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What is some research evidence to prove that equivalency frames can change the way we think or perceive a group or issue? |
In a study which involved a scenario about an Asian Flu outbreak, people were more likely to choose a program with lower risk when the scenario and programs were framed in terms of lives saved, however, they chose a program of high risk for the identical scenario for when the programs were framed in terms of lives lost |
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What is an equivalency frame? |
Exact information is presented in different ways. The different presentation causes people to give different interpretations to equivalent information |
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What is an emphasis frame? |
Entmans definition of frames that focuses on the selection of saliencey of information in a communication |
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Name four common frames in the news media |
1.) conflict frame 2.) human interest frame 3.) responsibility frame 4.) economic consequences frame |
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What are the four locations frames have in the communication process? |
- Communicator - text - receiver - culture |
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According to Entman, what does it mean to "frame" a communication? What do frames do? |
To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text Frames: - define problems - diagnose causes - make immoral judgments - suggest remedies |
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Why are differences in groups seen as a function of social forces rather than biological differences? |
because rules/norms are applied to different groups and as a result members of the same group will experience similar social constructions that will not be experiences by people who are not members of the group |
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Why do sociologists claim that there is not one objective social reality? |
Because society did not always exist. It was created, therefore, humans created the rules and norms of behaviour which in turn makes society a social construction |
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What is the difference between a trouble and an issue? |
Troubles have to do with an individuals character and with those limited areas of social life of which he is directly and personally aware. Issues are considered to be a public matter. It has to do with matters that transcend those local environments of the individual and the limited range of his/her life. |
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What is sociological imagination? |
a way of thinking which enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society |
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What are the three questions of sociological imagination? |
1.) What are the structures and components of society and how are they related? 2.) Where does society stand in history and where is it going? 3.) What types of men and women prevail in society and what varieties are coming to prevail? |
