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Psychology/Sociology MCAT > 9A. : Understanding social structure > Flashcards

9A. : Understanding social structure Flashcards

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1
Q

Describe Microsociology.

A

–focuses on individual face-to-face,everyday social interactions.

-more of an inter-pretive analysis ofthe society. You lookat a sample of your society and interpret how those individual interactions would affect the larger patterns of the society, like institutions and social structures.

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2
Q

Describe Macrosociology.

A

–focuses on populations, social systems and structure.
–looks at institutions, whole civilizations or societies.
–looking for patterns of social trends.

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3
Q

Functionalism

A

–a social theory that looks at society as
a whole, and how the institutions that make up a society adapt to keep the society stable and
functioning

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4
Q

Describe Social Fact.

A

–Durkheim - there is
a necessary struc-
ture to society.
–ways of thinking
and acting formed by
the society that exist-
ed before any one in-
dividual and will still
exist after any indi-
vidual is dead.
–unique objects that
cannot be influenced
by an individual.

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5
Q

Explain Manifest Function.

A

–any function of an
institution or other
social phenomenon
that is planned and
intentional.

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6
Q

Explain Latent function.

A

–any function of an
institution or other
social phenomenon
that is unintentional
and often unrecog-
nized.

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7
Q

Explain Conflict Theory.

A

-the idea that soci-eties are made up of institutions that benefit the powerful and create inequalities, and large groups of people areat odds w/ each other until the conflict is resolved and a newsocial order is created w/ equally distributed power.

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8
Q

Symbolic Interactionism

A

social theory that
focuses on the indi-
vidual and the sig-
nificance or mean
ing they give to ob-
jects, events, sym-
bols, and other
things in their life.

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9
Q

Medicalization of Deviance

A

–the process of
changing a ‘bad’ be-
havior into a ‘sick’
behavior.

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10
Q

Demedicalization

A

-assigns new mean-
ings to a behavior,
which was judged to
be ‘sick’ or related to
the appropriate be-
havior for someone
who is sick, but is
now judged to be
normal.

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11
Q

Herbert Bloomer’s 3 Tenets to explain Symbolic
Interactionism

A
  1. we act based
    on the meaning we
    have given some-
    thing.
  2. we give mean-
    ing to things based
    on our social interac-
    tions.
  3. the meaning we
    give something is not
    permanent. It can
    change due to every-
    day life.
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12
Q

Conservative View on social institutions

A

-sees institutions as
being natural pos-
itive byproducts of
human nature.
Ex. the institution of
hospitals forms naturally from the ac-
tivities of humans
and naturally bene-
fits them.

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13
Q

Progressive View on social institutions

A

–takes the stand-
point that institu-
tions are artificial
creations that need
to be redesigned if
they are to be helpful
to humanity

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14
Q

Communism

A

–a classless, mon-
ey-less system,
where all property is
owned by the com-
munity.

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15
Q

Monarchy

A

Government system where one person is in charge by birthright I.e. King or Queen

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16
Q

Social Constructionism

A

–a theory that knowl-
edge and many as-
pects of the world
around us are not
real in and of them-
selves.
–they only exist b/c
we give them reali-
ty thru social agree-
ment.
–everything only has
value b/c we agree it
has value.

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17
Q

Weak Social Constructionism

A

–proposes that so-
cial constructs are
dependent on brute
facts, which are the
most basic and fun-
damental and don’t
rely on any other
facts.
brute facts cannot
be explained by any-
thing else. Ex. mon-
ey

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18
Q

Strong Social Constructionism

A

Strong Social Constructionism

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19
Q

Exchange Theory

A

–looks at society as
a series of interac-
tions b/w individuals.
–these interactions
are determined by
weighing the re-
wards and punish-
ments of every inter-
action.
BASICALLY, the be-
havior of an individ-
ual in an interaction
can be figured out
by comparing the re-
wards and the pun-
ishments.

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20
Q

Rational Choice Theory

A

–people make
everyday decisions
based on rational
choice (weighing the
costs, benefits, prob-
abilities) to maximize
their personal gain.
–rationality is a prop-
erty of a series,
or pattern of choic-
es, not an individual
choice.
–BASICALLY, peo-
ple act in self-inter-
est.

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21
Q

3 Assumptions of Rational Choice Theory

A
  1. COMPLETE-
    NESS (every action
    can be ranked.)
    ex. If there are 3 pos-
    sible actions I can
    take, none of the op-
    tions have an equal
    value to me.
  2. TRANSITIVITY - if
    I have 3 options, A >
    B > C, then A > C
  3. INDEPENDENCE
    of IRRELEVANT AL-
    TERNATIVES - if I
    suddenly have a 4th
    option (X), it won’t
    change the order of
    how I ranked the first
    3 options.
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22
Q

Feminist Theory

A

-focuses on the
gender inequalities
inherent to patriar-
chal capitalist soci-
eties.

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23
Q

Hidden Curriculum

A

–what schools teach
kids by accident.
ex. a rich-kids only
school teaches kids
the expectations and
privileges of being
upper class

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24
Q

Teacher Expectancy

A

–a teacher’s ex-
pectancy of a kid in-
fluences how that kid
will perform.

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25
Q

Educational Segregation and Stratification

A

–poor areas have
poor schools which have lower quality
education

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26
Q

Forms of kinship

A

Primary kins
Secondary kins
Tertiary kins

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27
Q

Primary kins

A

–next to each oth-
er on a pedigree
= husband-wife, par-
ent-child, siblings

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28
Q

Secondary kins

A

–separated by one
kin on a pedigree
= your parent’s par-
ent (grandparents),
your parent’s sibling
(aunts, uncles)

29
Q

Tertiary kins

A

–separated by two
kins on a pedi-
gree = your par-
ent’s sibling’s chil-
dren (cousins)

30
Q

Religiosity

A

= religiousness =
how religious you
are.

31
Q

Types of religious organizations (3)

A

Church
Sect
Cult

32
Q

Church

A

–stablizing, in align-
ment w/ govern-
ment, mainstream
religious teaching.

33
Q

Sect

A

–splits off from the
church to promote
a more traditional/or-
thodox version of the
religion.

34
Q

Cult

A

-splits off from the
church to promote a
novel version of the
religion.

35
Q

Power and Authority

A

power is the pos-
session of authority,
control, or influence
by which a person in-
fluences the actions
of others.
authority is the pow-
er or right to give
orders, make deci-
sions, and enforce
obedience.

36
Q

Capitalism

A

–private, profit-ori-
ented political and
economic system.

37
Q

Socialism

A

–motivated by what
benefits the society
as a whole, and fea-
tures common own-
ership of production
that focuses on hu-
man needs and eco-
nomic demand.

38
Q

Mixed-economy

A

-a political and eco-
nomic system that is
a mixture of capital-
ism and socialism.

39
Q

Division of Labor

A

–makes people spe-
cialized in their
trade, they become
really good and ef-
ficient at it, which
could not be possible
if they are required
to know everything
from every trade.
–everyone is expect-
ed to have a respon-
sibility in society.

40
Q

Medicalization

A

–human conditions
becoming disease
entities that are then
studied and treated
under medicine.

41
Q

The Sick Role

A

RIGHTS: it’s not your
fault that you’re sick,
and while you’re
sick, you’re exempt
from work (your nor-
mal social role).
OBLIGATIONS: You
should try to get well.
You should see a
doctor and cooper-
ate/comply.
ISSUES W/ THE
SICK ROLE: push-
ing a sick role
on someone. Some-
times we blame peo-
ple by saying it’s
their fault for be-
ing sick (obesity and
lifestyle).

42
Q

Illness experience

A

experiencing symp-
tom -> assuming
sick role -> seek-
ing care -> establish
doctor-patient rela-
tionship -> recover
–the process of be-
ing ill and how peo-
ple cope w/ their ill-
ness

43
Q

Epidemiology

A

= public health = inci-
dence, demograph-
ics, and control of
disease.

–looks at health dis-
parities through so-
cial indicators like
race, gender, and
income distribution,
and how social fac-
tors affect a person’s
health.

44
Q

Culture

A

–the beliefs, knowl-
edge, behaviors, ob-
jects, and other char-
acteristics shared by
groups of people.
–it is LEARNED,
and transmitted, re-
shaped from genera-
tion to generation.

45
Q

Elements of Culture (5)

A

Beliefs
Language
Rituals
Symbols
Values
–these elements
make up culture,
which is passed
down to the next
generation.

46
Q

Material Culture

A

–physical and tech-
nological aspects of
our daily lives.
–technology, cloth-
ing, architecture, etc.
–changes rapidly

47
Q

Symbolic Culture (non-material)

A

–does not include
physical objects.
–language, beliefs,
ideas etc
–tends to resist
change

48
Q

Cultural Relativism

A

–refers to not judg-
ing a culture to
our own standards
of what is right or
wrong, strange or
normal. Instead, we
try to understand
cultural practices of
other groups in its
own cultural context.

49
Q

Ethnocentrism

A

–using your own cul-
ture as the center
and evaluating other
cultures based on it.

50
Q

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (linguistic relativism)

A

–there are certain
thoughts we have in
one language that cannot be under-
stood by those who
exist in another lan-
guage context.
–states that the
structure of a lan-
guage determines
or greatly influ-
ences the modes of
thought and behav-
ior characteristic of
the culture in which it
is spoken.

51
Q

Culture Lag

A

-culture takes time
to catch up w/
technological inno-
vations and this re-
sults in social prob-
lems.

52
Q

Culture Shock

A

–refers to the feel-
ings of disorienta-
tion, uncertainty, or
even fear, that peo-
ple experience when
they encounter unfa-
miliar cultural prac-
tices.

53
Q

Assimilation

A

–integrating into a
different culture.

54
Q

Subculture

A

–a culture within the
predominant culture.
The rules and ideas
of a medium sized
community.
–distinguishes itself
from the dominant
culture of the larger
society.
–still share some
similarities to the
dominant culture. So
different, but not
completely diff.

55
Q

Counterculture

A

-a subculture that
is radically different
/ opposes the main-
stream culture.

–emerges when a conflict w/ the larger
culture becomes se-
rious, and the laws of
the dominant society
are violate.

56
Q

Mass Media

A

–media that targets
the masses.
–Often exaggerated
and modified for ef-
fect.
–Has a heavy influ-
ence on pop culture.
–brings people to-
gether.
–functions as a pro-
moter of consumer
culture.

57
Q

Gatekeeping

A

–process by which a
small number of peo-
ple and corporations
control what materi-
al is being presented
on the media.

58
Q

Describe Culture as a product of evolution.

A

–certain behaviors
can be selected for
if they contribute to
the fitness of the
species.
–people w/ culture
have stronger at-
tachments and com-
municate better, thus
more fit.

59
Q

Culture as a driver of evolution

A

–modern technolo-
gy means we’re no
longer subject to the
same selection pres-
sures as animals.

60
Q

Diffusion

A

–the spread of an in-
vention or discovery
from one place to an-
other.

61
Q

Social Groups

A

–belonging to a
group that we have
something in com-
mon with. We identify
with the group, and
the group can create
a sense of belonging
to us.

62
Q

Aggregate

A

–different from a
group, where people
are temporarily to-
gether in a space,
maybe even doing
the same things, but
do not identify them-
selves as belonging
together.

63
Q

Primary group

A

–your family and
friends make up this
social group.
–gives you an iden-
tity and a strong
sense of self (a feel-
ing of who you are)
by providing more
intimate and direct
face-to-face interac-
tions.

64
Q

Secondary group

A

–type of social group
that is much larg-
er, more anony-
mous, and imper-
sonal compared to
primary groups.

65
Q

In-group

A

–identifying yourself
as a member of
a particular social
group.

66
Q

Out-group

A

–not identifying
yourself as a mem-
ber of a particular so-
cial group.

67
Q

In-group favoritism

A

–giving preferential
treatment to those
you perceive are part
of your in-group.

68
Q

Social network

A

–the social tie that
links us together w/
other people. These
ties include fami-
ly, friends, acquain-
tances, etc.

Psychology/Sociology MCAT (12 decks)

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