Ch 8.3-8.4 Flashcards
culture
shared wa of life including beliefs and practices that a social group shares
symbolic culture
consists of symbols that are recogized by people of same culture
symbols conve
agreed upon meaning can communicate vlaues and norms of culture including rituals, gestures, signs and words and help people within a society communicate and understand each other
ex of symbol in US
band on ring finger of left hand indicating marriage or engagement if ring has diamond
language
symbolic system that is codified for communication
letters ina n alphabbet have specific meaning and combine to form ords and sentences
language evolves
constantly and is vital for shaping ideas about who we are relative to each other in society
sapir whorf hypothesis
asserts people understand world thru heir language and that language shapes how we experience the world
material culture
involves physical objects and artifacts
includes clothing , hairstyles, food and design of homes
ex of material culture
american dream often includes a car a symbol of mobility and independence
non material culture
specific to social thoughts and ideas such as vlaues
popular culture
phrase used to describe features of culture that appeal to the masses , often those communicated thru mass media such as radio and TV
high culture
describes features often limited to the consumption of the elite ex ballet or pera
cultural icons
signs that represent their meaning in a given culture
culture universals
patterns or traits that are common to all people
pertain to basic human eperiences including brith death and illness
cultural differences are more common than these
values
defined as a culture’s standard for evaluating what is good and bad
often define how people in society should behave but do not atcually reflect how people behave
beliefs
convictions or principles that poeple hold
in order to promote societal values
laws, sanction or rewards may be in place to encourage behavior inline with social values and discourage behavior counter to values
norms
visible and invisible rules of social conduct in society
help define what types of behaviors are acceptable and inacceptable in accordance with society’s values and beleifs
sociobiology
study of how biology and evolution affected human social behavior
appliles darwin’s principle of natural selctio to socila behavior, suggesting there is a biological basis for behavros
particular social behaviors persis
over generations because they are adaptive for survival
for ex sexual behavior may vary between genders because men have a lower investmentin reproduction than women , who have to carry the abby for nine months
socio and biological predisposition
argue biological predisposition influenced by social factors
ex socio and bio predisposition
agressive individual may learn to channel these tendencies away from socially unacceptable acts ex assault and toward socially accepted activities like cae fighting
orgins of culture
lie in evolution
humans in various societies evolved the ability to categorize and communicate human experience thru symbols
cultural diffusion
transfer of elements of culture social ideas and processes such as religious traditions from one social group to another contributes to cultural similarities between diff societies
diffusion in 1 culture
lead in similarities in belief even in different levels of societies such as among diff classes
can be direct, indirect or forced such as in cultural imperialism
rate of diffusion and modern
increased as a result of modern conveniences which offer opportunities for cross cultural communication like modern media and transportation
cultural competence
effective interactions between people from diff cultures
media and transportaions are important
cultural transmission
process thru which info is spread across generations or mechs of learning
ex of cultural transmission
meme element of culture that spreads from personto person, cutltural transmission is concerned with how this occurs
learning social process
occurs when individual experiences in whcih we attach meanings to diff things and learn to remmeber and responnd to these meanings
social construction suggests
our realities are produced and reproduced; elements of culture are not static
social change
in which soiceties experience a change of state
can be subtle or radical
revolutions
social changes which involve fundamental changes and social restructuring
transformative social changes
such as technological innovations often chalange our understanding of the world
cultural lag
efers to the notion that culture takes time to catch up with technological innovations, and that social problems and conflicts are caused by this lag. Subsequently, cultural lag does not only apply to this idea only, but also relates to theory and explanation. It helps by identifying and explaining social problems to predict future problems
period of cultural lag
can cause social problems such as protests because the process of adaption is difficult
foundational work on cultural lag
explained that material culture changes much faster than non material culture which often resists change
ex of cultural lag
medical advances in surgical procedures now provide option of permanent contraception such as vaasectomies for mena nd tubal ligations for women
raise ethical questions about reporudction that are not concern for past gens
technologies progressed but new rules are still less clear
transition shock occurs and is a result of
ocurs when ind experiences changes such as social changes that necessitate a period of adjustment
culture shock
when this disorientation is result of individual being subjected to alt cultures and foreign environements , such as thru leisure travle or permanent relation
involves deeper emotions than homesickness can challenge ind assumptions about their social surroundings
reverse culture shhock
involves same experiences as culture shock but upon return to initial environment
experienced when returning to a place that one expects to be home but actually is no longer, is far more subtle, and therefore, more difficult to manage than outbound shock precisely because it is unexpected and unanticipated
sociocultural evolution
set of theories describig processes thru which societies and cultures ave progressed over time
individual behaviro and social structures continuously transform in response to complex needs
changes due to social factors such as interactions rather than biological factors
socio evol less concerned
with evolution of human bodies but questions how human minds have evolved for us to suceed as beings with natural social tendencies
2 theories of sociocultural evolution
modernization
soicobiology
modernization
used to explain the process of modernization within societies. Modernization refers to a model of a progressive transition from a ‘pre-modern’ or ‘traditional’ to a ‘modern’ society
sociobiology
field of scientific study that is based on the hypothesis that social behavior has resulted from evolution and attempts to examine and explain social behavior within that context.
population
collection of poeple in a defined geographical area and also refers to the number of people in the area
factors which influence population growth and decline
brith rates, detah rates and migration rates
world is currently experiencing a period of
population growth with an annual growth rate of 1.2% expected to continue for many decades
popultion growth rate
rate of population change in a specified time period reported as percent of initial population
positive indicates increase negative indicates decrease
used to measure population growtha dn decline
overpopulattion
when there are more people than can be sustained
concern in societies that are growing
carrying capcity
total possible population that can be supported with relevant resources without significant negative effects in a given area
population equilibrium
is met at maximum load
poppulations tend to increase and decrease until they reahc this point
population projections
estimates of future populations made from math extrapolations of previous datas
traditional projectiosn are based on
birth rates, death rates and migration rates and do not consider unpredicted effects of population such as catastrophes
global population in 2011
reached 7 billion
experts project an increase in population
until at least 2050 wih upper estimates ranging from 9 to 11 billion despite decreases in worldwide fertility rates
projections suggest that the greatest contributions are made from
less devloped reions
9 countries expected to
contribute to more than 50% ofthe world’s population,
ins ome developed regions,
death rate exceeds birth rate , which coupled with the increasing life exppectancies suggest poulation declines; however migration is expected to balance this unchanged population
projected declines in some countries such as Eastern European countreis where there are high death rates and high emigration rates as the result of devestating genocides
population pyramids
graphical illustrations which are used to represent population distributions in particular age and sex distributions
population pyramids create cohorts
create age and sex specific groups ( cohorts ) using either total population ( number of people in each group ) or percentages ( percentage of total population in each group )
x axis represents
the population
y axis
seperates men and women with the traidtion positioning of men on L and females on R
expansive population
wide at base, representing high birth rate and high death rate
clear and distinct hape that describes social structure
population pyramid can help predict
population trends and determine social needs for dependents such as children and people of retirement age
crude birth rate
annual number of births per 1000 people in a population
crude birth rates low and high
10-20 low
40-50 high
crude death rate
annual number of deaths per 1000 people ina poulation
crude death rates low and high
below 10 low
above 20 is high
death rates are highest in
subsaharan African nations
rate of population change
difference beween crude birtha nd death rate
age specific birth and death rates
annual number of births and deaths per 1000 people in an age group
fertility
ability of women to reproduce
fecundity
potential reproductive capacity of a woman
general fertility rate
annual number of births per 1000 women in a complication
total fertility rate
predicts total umber of births per single woman in a population with the assumption that the woman experiences the current recorded age specific fertility rates and reaches the end of her reproductive life
most women are capable of reproduction
between age of 15 and 45 childbearing years
replacement fertility rate
fertility rate at which the population will remain balanced
sub replacement fertillity
indicates birth rate is less than death rate thus the population size will not be sustained
population lag effect
refers to the fact that changes in total fertility rates are often not reflected in the birth rate for several generations
result of population momentum
population momentum
which children produced during periods of higher fertility rates reproduce, there are more women of reproductive age and thus more births overall , regardless of the number of births per women
clearer idea of demographic trends
fertility rates offer a clearer idea
crude births rates do not consider age or sex differences
mortality
death rate in a population
also includes both general and specific measures
morbidity
refers to the nature and extent of disease n a population
prevalence rate
measures the number of individuals experiencing a disease
incidence rate
number of new cases of a disease
case fatality rate
measures deaths as the result of a set diagnosis or procedure sometimes specific to beginning or late stages
reference to death rates in medicine often concern these
current leading cause of death worldwide
ischemic heart disease
correlation between GDP and nation’s crude death rate
inverse correlation
crude death rate is not sensitive to factors
with a natural correlation to death such as age sturcture
infant mortality rate
annual number of deaths per 1000 infants under 1 year of age
lowest in European countries such as ICeland at a low of 5 and highest in sub Saharan regions of Africa such as Sierra Leone at a high of 170
life expectancy
number of years that an individual at a given age can expect to live at present mortality rates
estimates of global life expectancies
range from 36 to 79 years
life expectancies highest and lowest
Malawi lowest
Canada , Iceland, Sweden and Switzerland highest
developed regions tend to have
lower birth rates and detah rates
factors contributing to decreasing crude birth rates
access to contraception , costs associated with raising a child and other social changes
decreasing crude death rates are caused by
improvements in agriculture, medicine and sanitation
historic exs of dramatic population declines
european black death and great irish famine
which is less problematic in modern world
ossible to be sliht increases in death rate as the prevalence of prevnetabl diseases increases dueto poor fitness and nutrition and other poor health behaviors like substance abuse
migration
geographical movemnet of indiviudals familiesor other small or large groupsof pople
implies intetion of permanent re location
nomadism
traditional method of continuous travel in search of natural resources as a method of sustenance ( hunting and gathering)
not considered migration because there is no settle
external migration
cross border or internation migration involves migration to another nation
motivations for external migration
often economic or political in nature
internal migration
migration to another region of the same nation
motivatioons for internal migration
economic in nature as individuals pursue better organizations such as education
voluntary migration
result of internal factors such as personal decision
involuntary migration
forced migration
result of external factors that pose a threat to the inidviudal in their initial environment and are often a form of social control such as ethnic cleaning
settlers
those who migrate to unsettled areas
refugees
those who migrate to settled areas as a result of displacement
colonization
which involves migration to settled areas in which dominance is exerted over the foreign state
often exploitation of indigenous peoples with the use of harsh tactics such as divide and conquer of territories as well as disregard for existing social structures
original inhabitants are often marginalized
immigration
involves entering a new area and these people are called immigrants and can be either legal or illegal residents
emigration
leaving of old area and these people are called emigrants
reverse migration
return migration return of inidviduals to their former homes
Everett Lee
differentiated between push and pull factors tin migration
push factors
things that are unattractive about an A and push people to live
often economic political or religious in form: active oppression of social groups , additional forms of prejudice and discrimination such as housing discrimination; insufficient access to social resources such as education or social services to meet basic needs such as shelter widespread inequalities such as health dispairities
genocide
ass execution with intention of eliminating a specific social group
pull factors
things that are attractive about the area which pull people there
opposite of push factors, include positive opportuinties for economic, political , relgious freedom and sucess
interaction between push and pull factors
contribute to rates of migration
social geography
interested the distribution of individuals and social groups
urbanization
refers to growth of urban areas as people move from rual to urban areas as the result of global change
urbanization is tied to
industrialization
industrialization
process thru which societies transform from agrarian to industrial in nature
industrialized countries have more people living in urban areas than non inustrial lized countries
global urbanization rate
US urbanization rate
global: 50%
US: 80%
reasons people live in urban areas
for economic advancements cities provide
more employment opportunities as well as being places where money and weath are localized
more social services
rual flight
rual exodus
studies migration from rual areas to urban areas from other perceptives
emigration from rual areas is often related to
decreasing emphasis on agricultural processes
suburbanization
leads to urban decline
refers to population growth on fringes of urban areas as people move from urban areas to suburban areas
suburbs
residential satelite comunities located in peripheral region of major urban centerss that are often connected to the cities in some fashion
people living in suburbs US
more in suburbs than cities but suburbs individual tend to be less populated than cities