Sociology 2002 Midterm

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Ascribed status

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social position an individual gets at birth or involuntarily later in life, such as race, sex, widow.

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Consciousness of kind

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for minority group to become active and fight for rights, must see themselves as part of group and different from others

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Differential association theory

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we learn to deviate or to conform to society’s norms mostly by the different groups we associate with.

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Ethnicity

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refers to people who identify with one another on the basis of common ancestry and cultural heritage

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Game stage

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George Herbert- understanding of multiple roles and relationships (symbolic interactionist approach) 5 years

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General deterrence

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punishing to set example to broader society that crime doesn’t pay

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Hawthorne effect

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the change in behavior that occurs when people know they are being studied

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Intragenerational mobility

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changes in social position within a person’s adult life.

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Macro-Sociology

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sociological investigation that concentrates on large scale phenomena of entire civilizations. Big picture

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Manifest function

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functions that are intended and obvious

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Material Culture

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everything made by humans

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Primary group

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small group; members have strong emotional ties. They are lasting. Families. Identity as “we.” Care about the members on a personal level. By providing intimate, face to face interaction, they give us an identity, a feeling of who we are.

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Resocialization

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learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors to match their situation in life

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Role conflict

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incompatible expectations arise from two or more statuses an individual holds

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Sensorimotor stage

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Jean Piaget- stage where individuals experience the world only through their senses (0-2 years)

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Socioeconomic status

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An individual’s or group’s position within a hierarchical social structure, composed of income, education, and occupational prestige

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Sociological Imagination

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term coined by C Wright Mills, means we understand human behavior by placing it in broader context.

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Subculture

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a segment of society that shares a distinctive pattern of norms and values

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Thomas theorem

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if people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences

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Total institution

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a setting in which people are isolated from the rest of society and almost totally controlled by the officials who run the place

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Values

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very general statements about what is good and bad in a society

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Victimless Crime

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A term sometimes used for various acts that are considered crimes under the law but apparently have no victim, such as porn, prostitution, drugs, etc

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Wealth

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all your assets (except income) minus all your debts

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Agents of socialization

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people and groups that influence our orientations to life- our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behavior- are called agents of socialization:
The Family- first group to make a major impact on us
Neighborhood- try to move into good neighborhoods. People in affluent neighborhoods fare better, and parents watch their kids more closely than they do in poor neighborhoods. Know neighbors
Religion- by influencing values, it becomes a key component in people’s ideas of right and wrong
Day Care-
School- learn broader perspective than at home
Peer Groups- as experiences with agents of socializations broadens, influence of the family lessens. Peer pressure
Sports and competitive success- teach values
Workplace- learn skills and perspective on world

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Assimilation

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) process by which minority sheds differences and blends in with majority. 2 types:
1. Melting pot- A+B+C=D becomes a single group of Americans
2. Anglo Conformity- A+B+C=A’ lose ethnic diversity and conform with majority
Different ways assimilation happens:
1. Cultural- happens first. Minority group accepts majority’s culture, etc
2. Structural- minority groups live in same neighborhoods, etc. structurally integrated with majority
3. Biological- intermarriage
Holds forth promise of complete acceptance by majority group. Most widely embraced option in US because most possibility of equality.

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Contact hypothesis

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greater interpersonal contact between two racial-ethnic groups will lead to less discrimination and prejudice when the following five conditions hold:
1. the two groups have equal status
2. the attributes of the minority group disconfirm common negative stereotypes about it
3. members of the two groups have sufficient contact to really get to know one another
4. members work together to achieve some common goal
5. the norms of the situation in which contact occurs support equality and nondiscrimination

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Determinants of causation

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Time order (cause must come before effect), correlation(relationship between two variables that they change in unison), and nonspuriousness(hardest to establish. Means there isn’t a third variable affecting the relationship between the other two)

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Functions of deviance

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serves three functions:
1. Boundary setting- can define range of acceptable behavior and show consequences of those who fail to conform.
2. Solidarity- people united by opposition to stuff.
3. Warning- when any deviance becomes more common, warning that there’s something wrong with society and they need to do something.

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Forms of social control

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techniques and strategies we have to encourage people to adhere to society’s rules. A groups means of enforcing its norms. 3 ways:
1. Formal social control- people whose jobs involve punishing deviant behavior and enforcing norms, like cops or college dean
2. Informal social control- Positive and negative sanctions or reactions applied by friends and family. more effective than formal because the opinions of those close to us are important.
3. Internalized norms- feel bad if don’t conform to norms, feel pride if you do.

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Poverty

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Two types: relative (feel deprived relative to people around you who have more) and absolute (based on poverty line- developed by US gvt in 1960s- how much it would cost to feed nutricious meals for family of four for a year times three)
Age- young
Race- Native American
Gender- female, especially single mothers
City- 16%, Rural- 13, suburb- 8
Explanations for poverty: Cultural- people poor because of lifestyle choices and values they have. Unpopular
Structural- limited economic opportunities

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Sexual harassment

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comments, gestures, or physical contact of a sexual nature that are deliberate, repeated, unwelcome. 2 categories:
1. Quid pro Quo- blatant and forced. Threaten job, grade, etc, if refuse advances
2. Hostile Environment- more subtle. Teasing, posters, etc. may not even be intended to harass, but creates hostile environment. More complex because different interpretations of same behavior

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Social cohesion

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members of a society feel united by shared values and other social bonds.

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Two ways people have shared bonds:

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mechanical solidarity, organic solidarity

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Mechanical solidarity

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idea that people are united when they do similar work and have similar beliefs and values. Find in small, farm-based societies. Know personally

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Organic Solidarity

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modern, industrial, complex societies. Not likely people will be bound together by shared beliefs, occupations. Stick together because need one another. Complex ties of dependency.

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Weber and Marx’s views of social class

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Marx: saw great disparity between owners and workers and concluded that social class depends on a single factor- the means of production- tools, land, etc. There are only two classes of people- Bourgeoisie(those who own the means of production) and Proletariat(those who work for the owners). There were other groups, like farmers and peasants, but they weren’t social classes, because they lacked class consciousness. Rich will grow richer, poor will overthrow them.
Weber: critic of Marx. Property is only part of the picture. Social class is made of three components, property, prestige, and power.
1. Property(wealth) is significant, but ownership isn’t the only significant aspect of property(like marx thought).example, some powerful people control corporations, even though don’t own them.
2. Prestige- often derived from property, because people tend to admire the wealthy. Can be based on other factors, though.
3. Power- the ability to control others, even over their objections.
All three are interrelated.

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Labeling theory

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labels people are given affect their own and others’ perceptions of them. Designate certain people in society as deviant.

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Primary deviance

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violation of social norms

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Secondary deviance

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deviant behavior that a person adopts in response to the reaction of others to the person’s primary deviance. When people see you by label, changes you

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Native Americans’ status in American society

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most disadvantaged. High unemployment. Low education. Isolate themselves on reservations. Suicide is highest of any ethnic group.

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Outcomes of social class

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Consequences of social class: educational achievement-education increases as one goes up the social ladder. Differences in parental expectations
Health- the lower a person’s class, the more likely he will die before the expected age. Lower class more likely to smoke, eat unhealthy foods, etc. Also affects mental health. greater mental problems are part of the stress that accompanies poverty.
Status inconsistency
Values
Politics
Family and gender-upper class stresses ancestors, history, purpose. Choice of spouse important. Eligible partners is narrow. Lower class focus on getting kids to obey authority figures. Middle class emphasize creativity.
Self-esteem

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Prejudice

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a rigid and irrational belief about an entire group of people

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Discrimination

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any action that involves treating various categories of people differently:
1. individual- one on one interactions
2. direct institutional- openly biased practices of an institution. Illegal
3. indirect institutional- policies that appear to be neutral, but in reality contribute to the unfair treatment of minority groups

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Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

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language determines thought  what you say shapes how you think.

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Society’s functional pre-requisites

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society’s basic needs that each society must function if it is to survive. Five:
1. Replacing members- can’t continue to exist if it doesn’t replace its members. Reproduction is fundamental. Social institutions fulfilling the prerequisite- family and government (immigration)
2. Socializing new members- must be taught what it means to be a member of the group. Learn how to act in society. Family is essential, but others are necessary. Social institutions fulfilling the prerequisite- family, economy, education, religion
3. Producing and distributing goods and services- food, clothing, shelter, education, etc. Social institutions fulfilling the prerequisite - fam, econ, gvt, health care
4. Preserving order- internal- potential for chaos, and external- possibility of attack. Military. Police force. Social institutions fulfilling the prerequisite- fam, gvt, rel
5. Providing and maintaining a sense of purpose- for people to cooperate with others and willingly give up personal gains in favor of working with and for others, they need a sense of purpose. People must feel motivated to keep working in society. Social institutions fulfilling the prerequisite- gvt, rel.

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Structural strain theory

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deviant behavior occurs when individuals accept culturally defined goals, but don’t have the means of attaining these goals. Ex- make a lot of money. Accepted-work hard. Problems- plenty examples of rich people turning to crime; everyone who is poor doesn’t become a criminal. Not very successful theory.

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Functionalists

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society is a whole unit made up of interrelated parts that work together.

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Conflict Theorists

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society is composed of groups that engage in fierce competition for scarce resources. Today, they see conflict as inherent in all relations that involve authority, which permeates every level of society.

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Symbolic Interactionists

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analyzed how people used symbols to make sense out of their experiences. Study how people use symbols- the things to which we attach meaning- to develop their views of the world and communicate with each other.

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The concepts behind punishments for crimes

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4 motivations:
1. Retribution- when injustice is done, moral balance must be reestablished. Eye for an eye. Does little to reform the offender.
2. Deterrence- people won’t break the law if pain of punishment will outweigh pleasure of crime. 2 ways: a. General- teach society that crime doesn’t pay.
b. Specific- convince individual not to do it again
3. Rehabilitation- can reform criminal to prevent further criminal acts. If criminal learned to be deviant, can learn to obey rules and conform to society. Focus on building self-esteem, education, etc
4. Societal Protection- focuses on what’s good for society rather than criminal