Demographics & Social Structure Flashcards
In-group
Group to which an individual identifies or belongs
Other in-group members viewed favorably
Out-group
Group to which an individual does not identify or belong
Out-group members viewed unfavorably
Reference group
Comparison group to which an individual compares self
Individual may or may not belong to this group
Primary group
Group of individuals who are emotionally close
Smaller in size, high degree of interaction (eg, family)
Secondary group
Group of individuals who comes together to accomplish something
Larger in size, more impersonal (eg, coworkers)
Determinants of individual health
Physical, social, & economic environments and lifestyle
Ambient stressors
Include anything in the environment that causes a physiologically or psychologically negative reaction such as noise, pollution, bad smells, flashing lights, etc
Can promote chronically elevated cortisol levels, which have been correlated to poorer health
Environmental injustice
When lower-income areas are subjected to more environmental risk factors
McDonaldization (social process)
Describes when rationalization, the replacement of traditional practices with predictable logical rules, is valued as the main tenet of society
Sampling bias
Occurs when nonrandom subject selection produces a sample that inaccurately reflects the population from which it was drawn
Role strain
Competing expectations within a single role create tension
Role conflict
Competing expectations for two or more roles create tension
Role exit
Individual disengages from a social role, often replacing it with a new social role
Normative organization
Membership is based on shared goals and/or values
Utilitarian organization
Membership is driven by compensation
Coercive organization
Membership is not freely chosen and/or maintained
Intersectionality
Describes how individuals hold multiple, interconnected, marginalized social identities (eg, gender, race, age) that impact their lives, perspectives, and treatment in society
Racialization
The process by which one group designates another group with a racial identity, often based on shared group qualities, such as physical attributes or behaviors
Social loafing
Occurs when an individual expends less effort when working as part of a group than when working alone
Structural functionalism
A macro-level sociological perspective that compares modern society to a biological organism
Manifest functions: intended, obvious purpose of a social structure
Latent functions: unintended result of a social structure
Intragenerational social mobility
Occurs within a single generation
Horizontal (same social status) or vertical (up or down in social status)
Intergenerational social mobility
Occurs over multiple generations
Social constructionism
Social actors define what is real
Knowledge about world based on interactions
Rational choice/social exchange
Individual behaviors & interactions attempt to maximize personal gain & minimize personal cost
Symbolic interactionism
Meaning & value attached to symbols
Individual interactions based on these symbols
Frustration-aggression theory
Contends that individuals exhibit violence as a result of having a goal or effort blocked or defeated
Class consciousness
Involves the recognition of class structure and an identification with one’s own social class such that individuals understand that people from other classes have needs and interests different from their own
False consciousness
Results when individuals from lower classes adopt the misleading views of the upper class and accept the status quo
Secularization
Reduced power of religion as religious involvement declines
Modernization
Reduced importance of religion as society industrializes
Fundamentalism
Renewed commitment to traditional religion as a reaction to secularization
Religiosity
Incorporation of religion into an individual’s life
Traditional authority
Comes from longstanding patterns in society
Charismatic authority
Stems from the personal appeal and/or extraordinary claims of an individual
Rational-legal authority
Arises from the professional position a person holds
Ethnography
Qualitative methods for the scientific study of human social phenomena; studying people in their natural environments
Content analysis
Involves the systematic coding and interpretation of human communication for research
Social movement
Long-term collective action toward a social goal, which is meant to produce a social change
Consanguineal
Based on genetic relationship (eg, biological parents)
Affinal
Based on marriage (eg, spouses)
Fictive
Social ties that are not consanguineal or affinal (eg, adopted children)
Spatial inequality
Results from the uneven distribution of wealth and resources across a geographic area
Social support
Studies suggest that those with strong social support networks tend to have better health, possibly because social support lessens the impact of stress
Theories of development: personality
Freud: psychosexual (5 stages, unresolved childhood conflict impacts adult personality)
Erikson: psychosocial (8 stages, unresolved crisis at any age impacts adult personality)
Theories of development: cognition
Vygotsky: sociocultural cognitive (child’s cognitive development based on social interaction)
Piaget: cognitive (four universal stages of childhood cognitive development, cognitive development is based on age)
Theories of development: morality
Kohlberg: moral (6 stages of lifespan moral development, most individuals do not progress past stage 3 or 4)
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Occurs when a belief about oneself causes behavior that makes belief come true
Attributional biases
Just world phenomenon, fundamental attribution error, and self-serving bias
Teacher expectancy effect
Describes what occurs when a teacher’s preconceived ideas about a student result in student performance that ultimately meets the teacher’s expectations
Sick role theory
Rights: (1) exemption from normal social roles & responsibilities (2) lack of accountability for illness
Obligations: (1) must attempt to get well (2) must seek & comply with treatment
Bipolar disorder (BD)
Characterized by mania, defined as abnormally elevated or irritable mood and increased energy
Symptoms: feelings of sadness or hopelessness, lack of interest in activities, sleep disturbances, and frequent thoughts of death or suicide
Borderline personality disorder
Characterized by instability with mood, sense of self, and relationships
Symptoms: extreme mood reactivity, fear of abandonment, impulsive or reckless behavior, and suicidal or self-harming behaior
The biomedical approach to mental illness
Suggests that physiological causes result in psychological symptoms, and therefore medical treatment is advised to fix the underlying problem
Availability heuristic
How easily something comes to memory
Representative heuristic
How well something matches a mental prototype
Major sociological approaches to aging
- Activity: remaining physically and socially active
- Continuity: older adults attempt to maintain the habits and behaviors from their youth
- Disengagement: older adults withdraw from social relationships/society as society withdraws from them
- Life course: aging viewed holistically in terms of social, biological, cultural, & psychological contexts
The dependency ratio
The proportion of unproductive (ie, too old or too young) to productive (working-age) members in a society
Demographic transition model
Refers to the transition of a society from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates and occurs in 5 stages
Social exclusion
Inability to participate:
Economically (income earner or consumer), socially (limited/no interaction with others in society), civically (community and political involvement)
Social stratification
Social class (economic assets)
Social status (prestige)
Power (ability to exert control over the actions of others)
