Ch 11 - Social Structure and Demographics

Question 1

What is functionalism?

Answer 1

focuses on the function of each component of society and how those components fit together

Question 2

What is the difference between manifest and latent function?

Answer 2

• manifest: deliberate actions that serve to help a given system
• latent: unexpected, unintended, or unrecognized positive consequences of manifest functions

Question 3

What is the conflict theory?

Answer 3

focuses on how power differentials are created and how these differentials contribute to the maintenance of social order

Question 4

What is the difference between symbolic interactionism and social constructionism?

Answer 4

• symbolic: the study of the ways individuals interact through a shared understanding of words, gestures, and other symbols
• social: how individuals put together their social reality (how we as a society construct concepts and principles)

Question 5

What is the rational choice theory and how does it relate to the exchange theory?

Answer 5

• states that individuals will make decisions that maximize potential benefit and minimize potential harm
• exchange theory applies rational choice theory within social groups

Question 6

What is the feminist theory?

Answer 6

explores the way in which one gender can be subordinated, minimized, or devalued compared to the other

Question 7

What are social institutions and the most common?

Answer 7

• well established social structures that dictate certain patterns of behavior or relationships are are accepted as a fundamental part of culture
• common: family, education, religion, government and the economy, and health and medicine

Question 8

What are the 4 key ethical tenets of American medicine?

Answer 8

• beneficence: actin in the patient’s best interest
• nonmaleficence: avoiding treatments for which risk is larger than benefit
• respect of autonomy
• justice: treating similar patients similarly and distributing healthcare resources fairly

Question 9

What is culture?

Answer 9

encompasses the lifestyle of a group of people and includes both material and symbolic elements

Question 10

What is the difference between material and symbolic culture?

Answer 10

• material: includes the physical items one associates with a given group, such as artwork, emblems, clothing, jewelry, foods, buildings, and tools
• symbolic: includes the ideas associated with a cultural group

Question 11

What is cultural lag?

Answer 11

the idea that material culture changes more quickly than symbolic culture

Question 12

What is a cultural barrier?

Answer 12

social difference that impedes interaction

Question 13

What does language consist of?

Answer 13

spoken or written symbols combined into a system and governed by rules

Question 14

What is a value?

Answer 14

what a person deems important in life

Question 15

What is a belief?

Answer 15

something a person considers to be true

Question 16

What is ritual?

Answer 16

• formalized ceremonial behavior in which members of a group or community regularly engage
• governed by specific rules, including appropriate behavior and a predetermined order of events

Question 17

What are norms?

Answer 17

societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior

Question 18

What are demographics?

Answer 18

• the statistics of populations and are the mathematical applications of sociology
• one can analyze 100s of demographic variables; some of the most common are age, gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and immigration status

Question 19

What is ageism?

Answer 19

prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a person’s age

Question 20

What is gender?

Answer 20

the set of behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with a biological sex

Question 21

What is gender inequality?

Answer 21

the intentional or unintentional empowerment of one gender to the detriment of the other

Question 22

What is race?

Answer 22

• a social construct based on phenotypic differences between groups of people
• may be either real or perceived differences

Question 23

What is ethnicity?

Answer 23

• a social construct that sorts people by cultural factors, including language, nationality, religion, and other factors

Question 24

What is symbolic ethnicity?

Answer 24

recognition of an ethnic identity that is only relevant on special occasions or in specific circumstances and does not specifically impact everyday life

Question 25

What is sexual orientation?

Answer 25

can be defined by one’s sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes

Question 26

What is the difference between immigration and emmigration?

Answer 26

• im: the movement into a new geographic area

- em: movement away from a geographic area

Question 27

What is the difference between fertility, birth, and mortality rate?

Answer 27

• fertility: average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime in a population
• birth: relative to a population size over time, usually measured as the number of births per 1000 people per year
• mortality: average number of deaths per population size over time, usually measured as the number of births per 1000 people per year

Question 28

What is migration and how is the migration rate calulated?

Answer 28

the movement of people from one geographic location to another
- migration rate = immigration rate - emigration rate

Question 29

What is demographic transition?

Answer 29

the model used to represent drops in birth and death rates as a result of industrialization

Question 30

What are social movements?

Answer 30

organized to either promote (proactive) or resist (reactive) social change

Question 31

What is globalization?

Answer 31

the process of integrating a global economy with free trade and tapping of foreign labor markets

Question 32

What is urbanization?

Answer 32

the process of dense areas of population creating a pull for migration or, creating cities

Question 33

What happens to mortality and birth rates during demographic transitions?

Answer 33

they both decrease

Question 34

What is the Kinsey scale and how does it work?

Answer 34

• describes sexuality on a scale of 0-6, 0 being exclusive heterosexuality and 6 being exclusive homosexuality

Question 35

What are the 4 stages of demographic transitions?

Answer 35

• 1: pre industrial society; birth and death rates are both high
• 2: improvements in healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, and waves cause death rates to drop
• 3: improvements in contraception, women’s rights, and shift from agricultural to an industrial economy cause birth rates to drop
• 4: industrialized society; birth and death rates are both low