Ch. 11- Social Structures Flashcards
status
any social category used to identify people
achieved status
a status that you have to work to get (ie. physician)
ascribed status
a status that you get voluntold into (ie. race, ethnicity, sex)
master status
overshadows other statuses you might have, your “main” status
roles
expectations that come with a certain status
role strain
competing demands within a role
role conflict
competing demands between roles
role exit
process of disengaging from a role
role engulfment
role dominates someone’s life
primary groups
long-lasting interactions with deep bonds
secondary groups
short-lasting interactions and superficial bonds
peer groups
self-selected and usually consist of people who are largely similar
family groups
genetic or non-genetic relationships such as partners, marriage, or adoption
in-groups
categories that someone feels like they are a part of
out-groups
groups someone does not feel like they belong in
reference groups
the groups we compare ourselves to
social networks
all connections and relationships someone had, regardless of their type
formal organizations
contain defined rules for entering and exiting, usually have hierarchies, and will continue to exist even without the members.
3 options that organizations can be:
- coercive
- normative
- utilitarian
coercive organization
you have no choice but to be part of it- ie. prison, military/mandatory draft
bureaucracies
a rational, well-organized, impersonal, and usually large administrative systems. This is a subtype of organizations
normative organization
shared ideals/goals- ie. volunteer organizations
utilitarian organization
people join to get rewards/money- ie. employees in a company
Max Weber’s ideal bureaucracy has: (5, HWORM mnemonic)
- hierarchical structure
- well-defined roles
- organization by specialty
- responsibilities and chain of command
- merit-based recruiting, employment, and promotion.
iron law of oligarchy
decision-making that starts out as democratic w/ everybody will be taken over by a few people
McDonaldization
organizational approach that focuses on efficiency, calculability, uniformity, and technological control.
microsociology
smaller-scale interactions (ie. how individuals navigate society)
macrosociology
larger-scale interactions (ie. interactions of major social institutions)
functionalism (Emile Durkheim)
components of society all perform some function and work together as a whole
manifest functions
intended functions
latent functions
functions that weren’t intended and/or don’t show up until later
dysfunctions
harmful functions
conflict theory (Marx)
social groups will compete for resources, the focus is on power differences and social inequality. doesn’t have anything to do with actual fighting or conflict.
symbolic interactionism
interactions using shared symbols (which are things we’ve collectively ascribed meaning to, like a smile or a wave)
rational choice theory
people have goals and choose actions to get closer to those goals
social exchange theory
social interactions are exchanges with costs and benefits
feminist theory
understanding and remedying gender injustices
hidden curriculum
habits, values, and norms imparted without being an explicit part of the curriculum
segregation
separation and unequal distribution of people by race, ethnicity, or other demographic factors
stratification
division of society into layers of socioeconomic status
symbol
something you assign meaning to within a culture (ie. smile, wave, frown, handshake, etc.)
social constructionism
the meaning of a social structure or concept comes from how we think about those concepts and communicate with each other about them (ie. holidays)
kinship of descent
kinship based on shared ancestry
kinship of affinity
kinship based on non-shared ancestry, like marriage and adoption
primary kin
people who you’re related to through very close bonds (parents, children, siblings, spouses)
secondary kin
primary kin of your primary kin (sibling’s spouse)
tertiary kin
secondary kin of your primary kin, or primary kin of your secondary kin (sibling’s in-law or child’s spouse’s siblings, etc.)
religiosity
measure of how religious a person considers themselves to be
religious organizations include (4):
churches, denominations, sects, and cults
sects
smaller, dissident split-off groups from churches that advocate for a different form of the religion. reverse churches.
denominations
subtypes of churches, stable and consensus-promoting, slightly different interpretations of the same set of religious beliefs and different traditions
cults
small, tightly-controlled groups with unorthodox beliefs that usually involve a charismatic leader and some degree of isolation of cult members from the rest of society
modernization
cumulative impact of the technological advances that have been made in the last century-ish.
secularization
modernization is decreasing people’s religiosity, less belief in religion and its institutions
fundamentalism
literalist, uncompromising, extreme approach to religion, emphasizing the superiority of fundamentalism over other faith communities
3 types of government systems
monarchy, authoritarianism, and democracy
3 types of economies
capitalism, socialism, and communism
medicalization
social construction of illnesses (ie. viewing addiction as a disease vs. viewing it as a moral failure)
monarchy
one ruler passed down by direct succession
constitutional monarchy
the monarchy’s power is restricted by a constitution, so the monarch usually coexists with an elected government
absolute monarchy
the monarch is the sole person in charge
authoritarianism
citizens have no input into the government and have to obey whatever it decides. (ie. there are elections but not any real options)
totalitarianism
authoritarianism, but worse. government regulates everything and if you disagree, they’ll kill you. ie. Nazi Germany and Stalinist Soviet Union.
democracy
people vote other people into power
direct democracy
people vote for laws themselves
democratic republic
people vote other people to represent them to make laws
capitalism
private ownership of property and companies that make goods and provide services
socialism
social ownership and worker self-management, can be collectively owned or owned by the government
communism
utopian society in which there are no classes, states, or hierarchies. has not been achieved yet and everyone who’s tried has gone off the rails.
libertarianism
a movement that tries to minimize the role of the government
division of labor
allows everyone to do something well and combine together to produce things
sick role
the rights and responsibilities granted to a sick individual
paternalism
physicians not letting patients make their own decisions or deliberately underinforming them
medical ethics (4 main principles)
beneficence, nonmaleficence, respect for patient autonomy, and justice
beneficence
acting for the patient’s benefit
nonmaleficence
do no harm (harm of treatment is outweighed by benefits of treatment)
respect for patient autonomy
patients have the right to make their own decisions even when it contradicts medical advice
justice
doctors are obligated to provide care to patients equally and fairly, equitably allocating healthcare resources
illness experience
the illness as a social construct from the afflicted individual’s perspective
epidemiology
studying patterns of illness in populations
social epidemiology
studying how social factors contribute to illness and health
