Exam 1

Question 1

Sociology

Answer 1

• the study of society
• the study of people “doing things together”
• compares the past and the present in order to understand both
• contemporary society
  considers the relationships of people to places
• examines human communication at both the social and the interpersonal levels
• looks at the individual relationship to external social forces

Question 2

sociological mindfulness

Answer 2

• practice being present in the moment
• inner stillness and stop all mental chatter
• the practice of tuning-in to how the social world works
• the practice of paying attention in these ways (learn to see what the social world is for what it is, see what makes the social world a unique phenomenon)
• paying attention to the hardships and options other people face

Question 3

individualism vs. interdependency

Answer 3

• individualism - we do what is best for ourselves; self reliant; achieve on our own; look out for ourselves
• interdependency - of two or more people or things/dependent on each other; ties to others

Question 4

Multiculturalism

Answer 4

• variety of programs and ideas that stress mutual respect for all groups and for the multiple heritages that have shaped the United States
• pluralistic views that stress inclusion, mutual respect, and celebration of group diversity

Question 5

Anglo-Conformity

Answer 5

• Also known as Americanization
• A type of assimilation in which the dominant culture pressures other groups to conform to Anglo-American culture
• The leaders of American Society, with the support of the public, designed assimilation to maintain the English language and the British-type institutional patters created during the early years of American Society

Question 6

Anti-Semitism/Anti-Catholicism

Answer 6

Ant-Semitism -> Prejudice against Jews
- Prejudice or ideological racism directed specifically toward Jews
Anti-Catholicism -> Prejudice against Catholics
- Prior to the mid-19th century, Anglo-American Society had been mostly protestant.

Question 7

Racialization

Answer 7

• the act or process of imbuing a person with a consciousness of race distinctions or of giving a racial character to something or making it serve racist ends
• political process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such. Racialization often arises out of the interaction of a group with a group that it dominates and ascribes a racial identity for the purpose of continued domination and social exclusion;

Question 8

Perspective-Taking

Answer 8

• the process by which an individual views a situation from another’s point-of-view.
• It’s putting oneself in another person’s shoes and imagining how the world appears from that point of view

Question 9

Social Construction of Reality

Answer 9

• ## The theory that the way we present ourselves to other people is shaped partly by our interactions with others, as well as by our life experiences.

Question 10

Symbolic Ethnicity

Answer 10

• An aspect of self-identity that symbolizes one’s roots in the “old country” but is otherwise minor.

Question 11

Structural Mobility

Answer 11

• Refers to rising occupational and social class standing that is a result of changes in the structure of the economy and labor market, as opposed to individual effort or “desire to get ahead”
• result of the continuing mechanization and automation of the workplace
• key to the eventual successful integration of all ethnic groups

Question 12

Stratification

Answer 12

• The unequal distribution of valued goods and services,

Question 13

Culture (Material/Nonmaterial)

Answer 13

• Refers to a large and diverse set of mostly intangible aspects of social life
• Consists of the values, beliefs, systems of language, communication, and practices that people share in common and that can be used to define them as a collective
• Material = physical artifacts of a given society
• Non Material = nonphysical products of a given society

Question 14

Prejudice

Answer 14

• The tendency of an individual to think about other groups in negative ways, to attach negative emotions to those groups, and to prejudge individuals based on their group memberships
• Cognitive Prejudice = the thinking aspect
• Affective prejudice = The feeling part

Question 15

Discrimination

Answer 15

• The unequal treatment of people based on their group membership
• Institutional Discrimination = A Pattern of unequal treatment of a group built into the daily operation of society

Question 16

Merton’s Typology

Answer 16

• In contrast to Durkheim, Merton bases his theory on sociological assumptions about human nature. Merton replaces Durkheim‘s conception of limitless needs and appetites with the assumption that human needs and desires are primarily the product of a social process: i.e., cultural socialization.
• Merton’s typology of prejudice and discrimination is an examination of the four possible personality types that exist regarding the treatment, in thought and action, of minority groups. They include the all-weather liberal, fair-weather liberal, fair-weather illiberal and all-weather illiberal.
• The “All-weather liberal” is not prejudiced and does not discriminate
• The “all-weather bigot” is prejudiced and does discriminate
• The “fair-weather liberal” discriminates without prejudice
• The “timid bigot” is prejudiced but does not discriminate

Question 17

Subcultures

Answer 17

• the beliefs, values, norms, and artifacts of a group that distinguish it from the larger culture, in a multicultural society

Question 18

Chains of Migrations

Answer 18

• settling in an area already occupied by people of the same ethnic group

Question 19

Ethnocentrism/Cultural Relativism

Answer 19

Ethnocentrism - the tendency to judge other groups, societies, or lifestyles by the standards of one’s own culture.
Cultural Relativism - the idea that the values, knowledge, and behavior of people must be understood within their own cultural context. This is one of the most fundamental concepts in sociology, as it recognizes and affirms the connections between the greater social structure and trends and the everyday lives of individual people

Question 20

Stereotyping

Answer 20

• generalizations that he or she thinks apply to group members
• A stereotype is a an exaggerated or distorted generalization about an entire category of people that does not acknowledge individual variation. Stereotypes form the basis for prejudice and discrimination. They generally involve members of one group that deny access to opportunities and rewards that are available to that group.
  Ex: women are emotional. jews are stingy, the irish are drunks, germans are authoritarian

Question 21

Scapegoating

Answer 21

• Holds that people sometimes express their frustrations against substitute targets. When the substitutes are other groups, prejudice increases
• Links prejudice to feelings of frustration and aggression

Question 22

Ethnic Enclaves

Answer 22

• parallel social institutions, clubs, restaurants, schools, organizations, and so on.
• ethnic subcultures form a cohesiveness not known in their native countries.
• For example, Italian Americans who may have initially identified with their Italian city of origin (“I’m Venetian!”) come to view themselves as Italians.
• Newcomers often rely on these ethnic enclaves to find jobs, create social networks, and survive economically.
  Ex: The cuban anerican community in south florida and chinatowns in many larger american cities

Question 23

“White Privilege”

Answer 23

I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin.
If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

Question 24

Minority/Dominant Group

Answer 24

Dominant Group - the group in society with the most social, political, and economic power
Minority Group - – less powerful groups whose members are singled out for differential treatment and exclusion (often because of their physical or cultural characteristics)

Question 25

Racism (Personal/Institutional)

Answer 25

Racism - a system that (in our society) privileges whites over non-whites
Personal Racism - the individual expression of prejudicial attitudes and/or discriminatory behavior
Institutional Racism - group-based unequal treatment that stems from the usual ways of doing things in society (rules, laws, policies, and practices); may or may not be intentional

Question 26

Redlining/Blockbusting

Answer 26

Redlining - the practice of increasing the cost of services such as banking and insurance or denying access to jobs, health care, or even supermarkets to residents in particular areas.
Blockbusting - the profiteering real-estate practice of buying homes from white majority homeowners below market value, based on the implied threat of future devaluation during minority integration of previously segregated neighborhoods.

Question 27

Race vs. Ethnicity

Answer 27

Race - term used to refer to groups of people who share physical/biological traits such as stature, skin color, and facial features – and presumed to share a common bloodline.
Ethnicity - term used to refer to groups of people whose shared histories, languages, cultural traditions, and beliefs give them a sense of common identity

Question 28

Assimilation (Cultural, Structural)

Answer 28

• Process in which formerly distinct and separate groups come to share a common culture and merge socially. As a society undergoes assimilation, differences among groups decrease
  Cultural - the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society’s majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group
  Structural - the process in which a person or a group’s language or culture come to resemble another group

Question 29

“White Privilege”

Answer 29

I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin.
If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

• privilege exists when one group
  has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the
  groups they belong to, rather than because of anything they’ve done
  or failed to do