7- Social Theories and Institutions Flashcards
Functionalism
Social Perspective/Paradigm #1 out of 4
-everything in society has a function
Manifest function: action intended to help system
Latent: unintended positive functions on other parts of society
Dysfunction = neg effects; defiants
ex) Prisons
Manifest function- take prisoners out of society
Latent- Creates jobs for social workers and guards
Structural-functionalism - inverse of conflict theory- each role is important
Conflict Theory
Social Perspective/Paradigm #2 out of 4
Keep the powerful powerful and keep those without power as powerless to maintain social order
-power differential
Maintain power/wealth distribution; maintain status quo (existing social/political state)
ex) The lower class/minority and men tend to be in prison
The people who end up in prison don’t have power anyways
bourgeoisie class = wealthy, capitalist proletariat = worker class Marx = there's more workers, they can overthrow the controllers = new, classless society
Modern conflict theory looks at dominant vs powerless groups (ex- young vs old, dominant religion vs not, etc. - the group w/ power attempts to preserve power by shaping societal structure)
Symbolic interactionism
Social Perspective/Paradigm #3 out of 4
- look at how ppl interact through shared words and symbols and gestures
ex) thumbs up
ex) in a prison, tattoos for gang affiliation, uniforms
-shared meaning, body languages
Mead (I/Me)
Social constructionism
Social Perspective/Paradigm #4 out of 4
Things that exist b/c there’s more than one person in the world
ex) money
ex) morality
ex) trust
ex) crime, prison
Social construct ex) money, time zones
social constructionism - study society through social constructs
Social institutions
universal part of culture established
ex) education/school, family, govt, economy, religion, healthcare/medicine
Rational choice theory
- individual decision making
- ppl make choices that further own self-interest
ex) avoid humiliation, gain prestige
Feminist Theory
- feminist theory critiques institutional power structures that disadvantage women in society
- objectification, gender roles, patriarchal
GLASS CEILING - harder for women to rise up in company
GLASS ESCALATOR- even in cases where men don’t seek out climbing the corporate ladder, invisible social forces push them up
Social exchange theory
rational choice for a group
-there are social repercussions
Education
hidden curriculum
-latent function is social norms; how to act in class
Teacher expectancy = self-fulfilling prophecy
- if teacher gives high demand and thinks students can do it, they can (and if not, they can’t)
- teachers tend to get what they expect from the students
Family
patterns of kinship
- varies culture to culture
ex) family can be a loving term or just “ppl who live in my house” or what you call sister they may call cousin or something
Family helps meet basic needs
There are many family structures
Marital disunion = divorce
Abuse
Domestic violence = spousal abuse
Elder abuse, child abuse
Religion
- beliefs and practices address meaning of existence
- Religiosity = how religious you consider yourself to be
Religions are divided into denominations/sects
Denomination = part of church
Cult = extreme/deviant philosophies
Secularize = away from religion, towards rationality/science
Fundamentalism = strict adherence to religious code
Gov’t
Democracy = everyone has a voice; elect representatives
Monarchy = king, queen
Dictatorship = single person holds power, like Hitler
Theocracy = power held by religious leaders
Charismatic authority = a leader w/ a compelling personality
Economy
Capitalist = free market trade + laissez-faire policies
- consumerism, little gov’t interference
- division of labor
Socialist = industries are collective, shared businesses
Compensation based on work contribution
Profit distributed evenly among workforce
Life-course approach to health
maintain comprehensive view of patient’s history beyond immediate presenting symptoms
Patients= sick role; not responsible for illness = exempt from normal social roles as long as they try to get better
-now- have some ownership over health w/ exercise, diet, preventative check-ups
homosexuality and transgenderism = no longer considered a disease
Some things have become medicalized – DSM-5
illness experience = the way people (not doctors) define and adjust to changes in health
Social epidemiology = study healthcare in society, including effects of social institutions and relationships on health
