Ch 11 - Social Structure and Demographics Flashcards
What is functionalism?
focuses on the function of each component of society and how those components fit together
What is the difference between manifest and latent function?
- manifest: deliberate actions that serve to help a given system
- latent: unexpected, unintended, or unrecognized positive consequences of manifest functions
What is the conflict theory?
focuses on how power differentials are created and how these differentials contribute to the maintenance of social order
What is the difference between symbolic interactionism and social constructionism?
- 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)
What is the rational choice theory and how does it relate to the exchange theory?
- states that individuals will make decisions that maximize potential benefit and minimize potential harm
- exchange theory applies rational choice theory within social groups
What is the feminist theory?
explores the way in which one gender can be subordinated, minimized, or devalued compared to the other
What are social institutions and the most common?
- 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
What are the 4 key ethical tenets of American medicine?
- 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
What is culture?
encompasses the lifestyle of a group of people and includes both material and symbolic elements
What is the difference between material and symbolic culture?
- 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
What is cultural lag?
the idea that material culture changes more quickly than symbolic culture
What is a cultural barrier?
social difference that impedes interaction
What does language consist of?
spoken or written symbols combined into a system and governed by rules
What is a value?
what a person deems important in life
What is a belief?
something a person considers to be true
What is ritual?
- 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
What are norms?
societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior
What are demographics?
- 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
What is ageism?
prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a person’s age
What is gender?
the set of behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with a biological sex
What is gender inequality?
the intentional or unintentional empowerment of one gender to the detriment of the other
What is race?
- a social construct based on phenotypic differences between groups of people
- may be either real or perceived differences
What is ethnicity?
- a social construct that sorts people by cultural factors, including language, nationality, religion, and other factors
What is symbolic ethnicity?
recognition of an ethnic identity that is only relevant on special occasions or in specific circumstances and does not specifically impact everyday life
What is sexual orientation?
can be defined by one’s sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes
What is the difference between immigration and emmigration?
- im: the movement into a new geographic area
- em: movement away from a geographic area
What is the difference between fertility, birth, and mortality rate?
- 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
What is migration and how is the migration rate calulated?
the movement of people from one geographic location to another
- migration rate = immigration rate - emigration rate
What is demographic transition?
the model used to represent drops in birth and death rates as a result of industrialization
What are social movements?
organized to either promote (proactive) or resist (reactive) social change
What is globalization?
the process of integrating a global economy with free trade and tapping of foreign labor markets
What is urbanization?
the process of dense areas of population creating a pull for migration or, creating cities
What happens to mortality and birth rates during demographic transitions?
they both decrease
What is the Kinsey scale and how does it work?
- describes sexuality on a scale of 0-6, 0 being exclusive heterosexuality and 6 being exclusive homosexuality
What are the 4 stages of demographic transitions?
- 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
