Chapter 8: Social Structure Flashcards
society
a group of people who share a culture and live/interact with each other within a definable area
sociology
attempts to understand the behavior of groups
Four Main Sociological Frameworks
- Functionalism (also known as Structural Functionalism)
- Conflict Theory
- Symbolic Interactionism
- Social Constructionism
Functionalism
A macro level theory
Proponents: Emile Durkheim
Conceptualizes society as a living organism with many different parts, each with a distinct purpose
Social structures (schools, churches, hospitals, etc.) work together to maintain a society (manifest versus latent function)
Emile Durkheim
Proponent of functionalism
Believed that complex societies involved many different but interdependent parts working to maintain stability (dynamic equilibrium)
Believed society should be viewed as a collection of social facts rather than individuals
social facts
elements that serve some function in society (laws, morals, values, religions, customs, etc.
manifest function
the intended or obvious consequences of structure
latent function
the unintended or less obvious consequences of structure
Conflict Theory
A macro level theory
Proponents: Karl Marx, Max Weber, Ludwig Gumplowicz
Views society as a competition for limited resources (social, political, and material); those with the most power and influence will maintain their positions of power by suppressing the advancement of others
Karl Marx
A conflict theorist
Believed that capitalism produces internal tensions which leads to self destruction of capitalist societies to be replaced by socialism
Max Weber
A conflit theorist
Agreed with Mark that capitalism leads to conflict, but did not believe the collapse of capitalism to be inevitable
Argued that there could be more than one source of conflict and that several factors moderate the way people react to inequality, such as agreement with authority figures, high rates of social mobility, and low rates of class difference
The Founding Fathers of Sociology
Emile Durkheim
Karl Marx
Max Weber
Symbolic Interactionism
A micro level theory
Proponents: George Herbert Mead
Views society as socially constructed (meaning it is created by conversations, thoughts, and ideas)
Focuses on the language and symbols that help us give meaning to experiences in our everyday life
Views individuals as active in shaping society, instead of merely being acted upon by society
Considers subjective meaning to be important (people behave based on what they believe to be true, whether or not it actually is)
Holds the principle of meaning to be the central aspect of human behavior: (1. Humans ascribe meaning to things and act towards those things based on their ascribed meanings; 2. Language allows humans to generate meaning through social interaction with each other and society; 3. Humans modify meanings through the interpretive thought process)
Dramaturgical Approach
A specific type of interactionist philosophy
Assumes people are theatrical performers and everyday life is a stage
Social Constructionism
Argues that people actively shape their reality through social interactions
Social Construct
a concept or practice created by a group that everyone in society agrees to treat a certain way, regardless of its inherent value (Example: marriage, gender roles, religion, race, money, etc.)
social institutions
a complex of roles, norms, and values that contributes to social order by governing the behavior of people (Examples: educational systems, family, religions, governments, healthcare)
polygyny
refers to a man married to more than one woman
polyandry
refers to a woman married to more than one man
endogamy
the practice of marrying within a particular group
exogamy
a requirement to marry outside of a particular group (Example: most cultures prohibit marrying between relatives)
egalitarian family
a family in which spouses are treated as equals
ecclesia
a dominant religious organization that is recognized as the official religion of society and tolerates no other religion (Example: Iran)
Church
A type of religious organization that is well integrated into a larger society (Example: the Catholic Church in the U.S.)
Sect
a religious organization that is distinct from that of the larger society (Example: the Mormon or Amish religion in the U.S.)
Cult/New Religious Movement
a religious organization that is far outside society’s norms and often involves a very different lifestyle; are often deemed as crazy by society; many of the world’s dominant religions started off as cults
Rational-Legal Authority
a type of government in which legal rules and regulations are stipulated in a document like the Constitution
Traditional Authority
power is derived from customs, traditions, or accepted practice
Charismatic Authority
power is derived from a leader’s power of persuasion
welfare capitalism
most of the economy is private with the exception of extensive social welfare programs to serve certain needs within a society (e.g. most European countries)
state capitalism
a system in which companies are privately run, but work closely with the government in forming laws and regulations
culture
the beliefs and practices that a social group shares
symbolic culture
consists of symbols that are recognized by people of the same culture (Examples: the Stature of Liberty, a red octagon); language is just a formal system of symbols
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
asserts that people understand their world through language and that language, in turn, shapes how we experience our world
values
a culture’s standard for evaluating what is good or bad
beliefs
the convictions or principles that people hold
sociobiology
a study of how biology and evolution have affected human social behavior, suggesting that there is a biological basis for many behaviors
demography
the study of human population dynamics, including the size, structure, and distribution of a population due to birth, death, and migration
fertility
the ability of females to generate offspring in abundance
fecundity
the potential reproductive capacity of females
crude birth rate
the annual number of live births per thousand people
general fertility rate
the annual number of live births per 1000 women of child bearing age
replacement level fertility
refers to the number of children that a woman must have in order to replace the number of people in a population who die
social stratification
refers to the way that people are categorized in society (people can be categorized by race, income, etc)
caste system
describes a closed stratification in which people can do nothing to change the category in which they were born; there is low social mobility
class system
considers both social variables and individual initiative; people can strive to reach a higher class
meritocracy
uses merit, or personal effort to establish social standing
What defines socioeconomic status?
Power
Prestige
Property
intergenerational mobility
occurs when there is a change in social class between parents and children within a family (occurs over long periods of time)
intragenerational mobility
occurs when a change in social class occurs over a person’s lifetime
social reproduction
refers to the structures and activities in place in a society that serve to transmit and reinforce social inequality from one generation to the next
Through what three mechanisms does social reproduction occur?
- cultural capital (non financial social aspects that promote social mobility)
- social capital (the potential for social networks to allow for upward mobility)
- physical capital (money, property, and land)
global stratification
compares wealth, economic stability, and power of various countries
social epidemiology
the study of the distribution of health and disease across a population, with a focus on using social concepts to explain patterns of health and illness in a population
status
refers to all the socially define positions within a society; a person can have more than one status (Examples- president, parent, Republican)
master status
the status that dominates the others and determines a person’s general position in society (may be different from the status an individual prefers)
ascribed status
a status that is assigned to a person by society, regardless of the person’s own effort
achieved status
a status that is due largely to an individual’s efforts
social roles
expectations for people of a given social status (help to contribute to stability in society by making things more predictable)
role conflict
occurs when there is a conflict in society’s expectations for multiple statuses held by the same person (Example- male nurse)
role strain
occurs when a single status results in conflicting expectations (Example- a student should study for the MCAT but should also have fun in college)
role exit
the process of disengaging from one role to take on another
networks
a web of social relationships, including those in which a person is directly linked to others and those in which a person is indirectly linked to others
organizations
a large, more impersonal group that comes together to pursue a particular activity and meet goals efficiently; increases efficiency, predictability, control, and uniformity in society
utilitarian organization
an organization where members get paid (Example- a business)
normative organization
an organization where members are motivated by morally relevant goals (Example- MADD)
coercive organization
an organization where members do not have a choice in joining (Example- jail)
impression management (self-presentation)
the conscious or unconscious process whereby people attempt to manage their own images by influencing the perceptions of others
self handicapping
a type of defensive impression management in which people create obstacles and excuses to avoid self-blame when they do poorly (Example- when a student says she did not study before an exam)
What three factors foster attraction?
- Proximity (geographic closeness) –> repeated exposure effect
- Appearance
- Similarity
repeated exposure effect
“familiarity breeds fondness”; people prefer repeated exposure to the same stimuli
the frustration-aggression principle
suggests that when someone is blocked from achieving a goal, this frustration can trigger anger, which can lead to aggression
