Chapter 11: Social Structure And Demographics Flashcards
Macrosociology
Focuses on large groups and social structure
Microsociology
Focuses on small groups and the individual
Social structure
System of people within a society organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships
Functionalism or functional analysis
Study of the structure and function of each part of society; early functionalists viewed society as a living organism
Functions
Beneficial consequences of people’s actions; help to keep society in balance
Dysfunctions
Harmful consequences of people’s actions as they undermine a social system’s equilibrium
Manifest function
If an action is intended to help some part of the system
Latent function
Unstated or unrecognized functions; often accompany manifest functions
Power
form of influence over other people
Conflict theory
Based on the works of Karl Marx; focuses on how power differentials are created and how these differentials contribute to the maintenance of social order
Symbolic interactionism
Study of the ways individuals interact through a shared understanding of words, gestures, and other symbols
Symbols
Things to which we attach meaning
Social constructionism
Focuses on how individuals put together their social reality; social constructs arise from humans communicating and working together to agree on the significance of a concept or principle
Social institutions
Well-established social structures that dictate certain patterns of behaviour or relationships and are accepted as a fundamental part of culture
Family
Influenced by a number of different factors including culture, value systems, beliefs, practices, gender, age, race, ethnicity, and others
What are the five different types of social institutions?
Family, education, religion, government and economy, and healthcare and medicine
What are the four tenets of medical ethics?
Beneficence - the physician has a responsibility to act in the patient’s best interests
Nonmaleficence - do no harm
Respect for patient autonomy - physician has the responsibility to respect patients’ decisions and choices about their own healthcare
Justice - the physician has a responsibility to treat similar patients with similar care, and to distribute healthcare resources fairly
Culture
Encompassing the entire lifestyle for a given group; it binds our nation-states, political institutions, marketplaces, religions, and ideologies
Material culture
Focuses on artifacts (material items that people make, possess and value); sociologists explore the meaning of objects of a given society
Symbolic culture
AKA nonmaterial culture; focuses on ideas that represent a group of people; includes both cognitive (informs cultural values and beliefs) and behavioural (cultural norms and communication styles) components
Language
The most highly developed and complex symbol system used by most cultures
Values
What a person deems important in life, which dictates one’s ethical principals and standards of behaviour
Belief
Something that an individual accepts to be true
Ritual
Formalized ceremony that usually involves specific material objects, symbolism, and additional mandates on acceptable behaviour
Demographics
Statistics of populations and are the mathematical applications of sociology
What are the common demographic categories?
Age, gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, immigration status
Ageism
Prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a person’s age
Gender
The behavioural, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with a biological sex
Gender inequality
Intentional or unintentional empowerment of one gender to the detriment of another
Race
Social construct based on phenotypic differences between groups of people
Ethnicity
Social construct, which sorts people by cultural factors, including language, nationality, religion, and other factors; one can choose whether or not to display ethnic identity but not racial identity
Symbolic ethnicity
Describes a specific connection to one’s ethnicity in which ethnic symbols and identity remain important, even when ethnic identity does not play a significant role in everyday life
Sexual orientation
Defined as the direction of one’s sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes
Heterosexual
Attraction to individuals of the opposite sex
Bisexual
Attraction to members of both sexes
Homosexual
Attraction to individuals of the same sex
Demographic shifts
Changes in the makeup of a population over time
Fertility rate
Refer to the average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime in a population
Mortality rate
Refer to the number of deaths in a population per unit time; usually measured in deaths per 1000 people per year
What are the trends in the United States population
Population is getting bigger, older (due to a decrease in mortality rate and fertility rate), and more diverse (through immigration, mobility, and intermarriage)
Migration
Contributor to population growth
Immigration
Defined as movement into a new geographic space
Emigration
Movement away from a geographic space
Demographic transition
Specific example of demographic shift referring to changes in birth and death rates in a country as it develops from a preindustrial to industrial economic system
What are the stages of demographic transition?
Stage 1: preindustrial society; birth and death rates are high
Stage 2: improvements in healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, and wages cause death rates to drop
Stage 3: improvements in contraception, women’s rights, and a shift from an agricultural to an industrial economy cause birth rates (births per 1000 individuals per year) to drop
Stage 4: an industrialized society where birth and death rates are low
Malthusian theory
Focuses on how exponential growth of a population can outpace growth of the food supply and lead to social degradation and disorder
Social movements
Organized either to promote or resist social change
Proactive
Promote social change
Reactive
Resist social change
Globalization
Process of integrating the global economy with free trade and the tapping of foreign markets
What are the positive effects of globalization
Availability of foods
What are the negative effects of globalization?
Significant worldwide unemployment, rising prices, and increased pollution
Urbanization
Refers to dense areas of population creating a pull for migration; cities are formed as individuals move into and establish residency in these new urban centres
Ghettoes
Defined as areas where specific racial, ethnic, or religious minorities are concentrated, usually due to social or economic inequities
Slum
Extremely densely populated area of a city with low-quality, often informal housing and poor sanitation
