Ch. 11: Social Structure and Demographics Flashcards
what is the difference between sociology and psychology?
sociology = focus on the way groups organize and interact (the study of society)
psychology = focus on the behaviors of individuals
describe the micro, meso, and marco levels of a sociologist’s view on society?
MICRO = family groups and local communities
MESO = organizations, institutions, and ethnic subcultures
MACRO = national and international systems
defn and func: theoretical approaches to sociology
many models to help analyze and explain aspects of human social behavior
they each explain certain aspects of society and are inadequate to analyze other aspects
so they aren’t necessarily competing models!
defn: symbol
any object, image, sound, or action that carries meaning to humans (need not be physical)
defn, char, weakness: symbolic interactionism
sociological approach, micro to meso, reflects on how we use symbols to interact with eachother
the three main assumptions are:
- humans act toward symbols based on the meanings that these symbols carry
- the meanings symbols carry come from social interaction
- humans interpret the meaning of symbols, and this interpretation influences action
overlooks macro structures like cultural norms and class interactions
defn + examples: social construct
any idea that has been created and accepted by the people in a society
may include symbols, abstract ideas, physical objects, work ethic, acceptable dress, gender roles
defn, weakness: social constructionism
sociological approach, micro to meso, reflects on how we, as a society, construct concepts and principles
cannot account for macro-level phenomena
defn, char, weakness: rational choice/exchange theory
sociological approach, micro to meso, focuses on individual decision making
humans will make rational choices to further their own self-interests
people weight the costs and benefits when making choices, ranking their options based on maximizing perceived benefit
views all social interactions as transactions that take into account the benefits and harms to the individual
social rewards: accolades, honor, prestige, approval
punishments: embarrassment, humiliation, sanctions, stigmatization
people evaluate whether there is reciprocity and balance in social relationships
does not explain charitable, illogical, unselfish, or altruistic behavior
defn, char, result, weakness: conflict theory
sociological approach, macro, examine the inevitable conflicts between groups
those with power = attempt to preserver power by shaping the structure of society
- uses influence to dictate laws, customs, cultural norms
MAINTENANCE OF STATUS QUO
if those who are lower recognize power differential and see that others are also dissatisfied –> they can organize interest groups and can use tools (protesting, voting) to enact change and equalize power
DISRUPTION AND REVOLUTION
weakness: individuals, social cohesion, cooperation, altruism
defn, char: capitalism
an economic system in which individuals and corporations, rather than governments, own and control what Marx called the means of production (property, machinery, factories, means of creating saleable good or service)
leads to a small, wealthy capitalist (bourgeoisie) class = control production means
rest of society = lower, worker (proletariat) class
disparity in power and resources leads to conflict
defn, weakness: structural-functionalism
sociological approach, focus on how large societies survive over time, focus on social cohesion and stability
the inverse of conflict theory
each group in society has a role to play in the overall health and operation of society (think of society as an organism, and each group as organs or cells)
the different groups work together in an unconscious, almost automatic way toward maintenance of equilibrium
weakness: explaining social change, how individuals interact within a group
defn: function (structural-functionalism)
each social group’s role
the contribution made by that group to the system
who are the important people behind
- symbolic interactionism
- conflict theory
- structural functionalism
- George Herbert Mead = symbolic interactionism
- conflict theory = Karl Marx
- structural functionalism = Emile Durkheim
defn: latent vs. manifest function
MANIFEST FUNCTION = an intended consequence of the actions of a group within society
LATENT FUNCTION = unintended but beneficial consequences of an organization or institution
defn: dysfunctions
negative consequences of the existence of an institution, organization, or interaction
defn: feminist theory
sociological theory
critiques the institutional power structures that disadvantage women in society
from a conflict theory perspective: men seek to preserve power (patriarchal)
defn: glass ceiling
processes that limit the progress of women to the highest job positions because of invisible social barriers to promotion
defn: glass escalator
even in cases where men do not seek to climb the job ladder, invisible social forces sometimes push men up to higher positions
defn: social instituions
well-established social structures that dictate certain patterns of behavior or relationships and are accepted as a fundamental part of culture
regulate the behavior of individuals in core areas of society
meso
what are 5 examples of social institutions? + their defn/roles on a large sociological scale
- family = closely tied to individual, food, shelter, security, intimacy, life rituals; regulate reproduction, socialize and protect children
- education = provide population with a set of skills that will be useful to them or society
- religion = a pattern of social activities around a set of beliefs and practices that seek to address the meaning of existence
- government and economy = systematic arrangements of political and capital relationships, activities, and social structures that affect rule making, representation of the individual in society, rights and privileges, division of labor, and production of goods and services
- healthcare and medicine = aimed at maintaining or improving the health status of the individual, family, community, and society
defn: hidden curriculum
the social latent function of education of transmitting social norms, attitudes, and beliefs to students
defn: teacher expectancy
teachers tend to get what they expect from students
defn: religiosity
how religious one considers oneself to be
includes strength of religious beliefs, engagement in religious practices, and attitudes about religion itself
what are the 5 major religions?
- Buddhism
- Christianity
- Hinduism
- Islam
- Judaism
defn: cult
a religious sect takes on extreme or deviant philosophies and transforms
defn: secularization
movement from a world dominated by religion toward rationality and scientific thinking
defn: fundamentalism
maintenance of strict adherence to religious code
defn: democracy vs. monarchy vs. dictatorship vs. theocracy
DEMOCRACY = every citizen has a political voice, usually through. elected representatives
MONARCHY = a royal ruler whose powers may be limited by the presence of a constitution, parliamentary system, or other legislative body
DICTATORSHIP = a single person holds power, usually includes mechanisms to quell threats to this power
THEOCRACY = power is held by religious leaders
defn: charismatic authority
a leader with a compelling personality
defn: capitalist vs. socialist economies
CAPITALIST
- free market trade and laissez-faire policies
- business success or failure is driven by consumerism with little intervention from government
- private owner or corporation maintains and profits from the business
- division of labor = specific components of a larger task are separated and assigned to skilled and trained individuals (specialization and efficiency)
SOCIALIST
- large industries are collective, shared business
- compensation provided based on work contribution of each individual to the system
- profit is distributed equally to the workforce
what are 8 key goals of healthcare?
- increased access
- decreased costs
- prevention of disease
- association of patients with PCP
- increased education with public health outreach
- decreased paternalism (doctor knows best)
- reduced economic COI’s for drs.
- life course approach to health
defn: life course approach to health
maintaining and considering a comprehensive view of the patient’s history beyond the immediate presenting symptoms
defn: medicalization
behaviors are now defined and treated as medical conditions
defn: illness experience
the ways in which people define and adjust to changes in their health (not doctors)
defn: social epidemiology
epidemiology = the study of health and its determinants within a society
social epidemiology = the study of the effects of institutions, social structures, and relationships on health
what are the 4 key tenets of medical ethics? define them.
- BENEFICENCE = the physician must act in the patient’s best interest
- NONMALEFICENCE = do no harm (avoid treatment or interventions in which the potential for harm outweighs the potential for benefit)
- RESPECT FOR PATIENT AUTONOMY = respect patient’s decisions and choices about their own healthcare
- JUSTICE = treat similar patients with similar care, distribute healthcare resources fairly
defn: culture
encompasses the entire lifestyle for a given group
defn: ethnography / ethnographic methods
ETHNOGRAPHY = the study of cultures and customs
ETHNOGRAPHIC METHODS = experimental methods used to study the ethnicity or culture of a group
defn: material culture vs. symbolic culture
MATERIAL = physical items one associates with a group (artwork, emblems, clothing, jewelry, foods, buildings, tools) –> often the tangible embodiment of the underlying ideas of symbolic culture
SYMBOLIC (nonmaterial) = focuses on the ideas that represent a group of people (encoded in mottos, songs, catchphrases, themes) –> cognitive and behavioral components, informs our cultural values and beliefs, norms, and communication styles
defn: culture lag
symbolic culture is usually slower to change than material culture
ex: we still prize individuality and prizes, but our devices are beyond that
defn: value vs. belief
VALUE = what a person deems important in life (dictates one’s ethical principles and standards of beahvior)
BELIEF = something that an individual accepts to be true
defn: cultural barriers
when a cultural difference impedes interaction with others
defn: norms
societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior
defn: ritual
a formalized ceremony that usually involves specific material objects, symbolism, and additonal mandates on acceptable behavior
defn: demographics + what are the 5 main demographic categories
population statistics; the mathematical applications of sociology
- age
- gender
- race and ethnicity
- sexual orientation
- immigration status
defn: life course perspective/approach
considering an individual’s age and cumulative life experiences when analyzing their personality, social status, health, and other social metrics
defn: dependency ratio
the ratio of the number of members of a population who are NOT in the workforce : number of members that ARE in the workforce
depends on the youth ratio and the age dependency ratio
quantifies the economic burden felt by the working age population in order to support those outside the workforce
defn: youth ratio
the number of people under 15 / the number of people aged 15 - 65
defn: age dependency ratio
the number of people over 65 / the number of people aged 15 - 65
defn: stable population
the distribution of the population among the age cohorts remains fairly constant
when a population’s fertility rate and mortality rate remain relatively consistent over a long period of time
defn: gender identity
the gender the individual wishes to portray
defn: gender segregation vs. gender inequality vs. gender stratification
GENDER …
SEGREGATION = the separation of individuals based on perceived gender (think bathrooms)
INEQUALITY = the intentional or unintentional empowerment of one gender to the detriment of others
STRATIFICATION = any inequality in access to social resources that is based on gender
defn: race vs. ethnicity
RACE = socially constructed groupings of people based on inherited phenotypic characteristics
ETHNICITY = socially constructed groupings of people by shared language, cultural heritage, religion, and/or national origin
defn: symbolic ethnicity
a specific connection to one’s ethnicity in which ethnic symbols and identity remain important, even when ethnic identity doesn’t play a significant role in daily life (think St. Patrick’s Day)
defn: Kinsey scale
a scale describing sexuality made by Alfred Kinsey with 0 = heterosexuality and 6 = homosexuality
defn: generational status
the place of birth of a specific person or that person’s parents (first generation …)
defn: intersetionality
the interplay between multiple demographic factors, especially when it leads to discrimination or oppression
defn: demographic shifts vs. demographic transitions
demographic shifts = changes in the population makeup over time; can be measured by population density
demographic transitions: a specific example of a demographic shift that occurs as a country develops from a preindustrial to an industrial economic system
defn: population density
the number of people per square km of land area
defn: population pyramids
a histogram of the population size of various age cohorts which aid in population projects (which predict changes in population size over time)
what are the 4 main demographic statistics? define them
- FERTILITY RATE = children per woman per lifetime
- BIRTH RATE = children per 1000 people per year
- MORTALITY RATE = deaths per 1000 people per year
- MIGRATION RATE = immigration rate minus emigration rate
defn: crude rate
the total rate for a population adjusted to a certain population size over a specific period of time and multiplied by a constant to give a whole number
defn: immigration vs. emigration
immigration = movement into a new geographic space
emigration = movement away from a geographic space
defn: push and pull factors of migration
pull factors = positive attributes of a new location that attract new residents
push factors = negative attributes of the old location that encourage existing residents to leave
defn and stages, char: demographic transition theory
explains the link between economic development and demographic shift
STAGE 1 = preindustrial society = high birth and death rates, stable population
STAGE 2 = economic progress = improvements in healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, wages = decrease in death rates = population increases
STAGE 3 = improvements in contraception, women’s rights, shift from agricultural to industrial = birth rates drop = birth and death rates equalize = population growth hits inflection point and begins to level off
STAGE 4 = industrialized society = low birth and death rates = relative constant population
defn: Malthusian theory
focuses on how the exponential growth of a population can outpace growth of the food supply and lead to social degradation and disorder
resulting hypothetical mass starvation = Malthusian catastrophe
what is the theoretical fifth stage of demographic transition?
birth rates continue to drop and fall below the death rate –> decline of total population
func: social movements
organized either to promote or resist social change
often motivated by a group’s perceived relative deprivation (decrease in resources, representation, or agency relative to the whole of society or relative to what the group is accustomed to)
defn: proactive vs. reactive social movements
proactive = promote social change
reactive = resist social change
defn: globalization
the process of merging of the separate nations of the world into a single sociocultural entity
spurred on by improvements in global communication tech and economic interdependence
defn: urbanization
dense areas of population creating a pull for migration
