Final Exam Flashcards
What is a racial group?
A group set apart based on physical differences that have social significance
What is an ethnic group?
A group set apart based on national origin or distinctive cultural patterns
What is a minority group?
A subordinate group who has significantly less control and power over lives than the dominant group has over theirs
What are the 5 properties of the minority group?
Unequal treatmet
* Ex: denying rent to certain groups of people
Physical or cultural traits
* Ex: society defines what features are most important
Ascribed status
* People born into this group
Solidarity
* In- vs. out-group / us vs. them
In-group marriage
* Unwillingness to marry outside race; fits in with solidarity
How is race a social construct?
- Process to define groups as a race based in part of physical characteristics but also historical, cultural, and economic factors
- Powerful and privileged benefit
What is racial formation?
- How racial definitions are cemented
- The way in which racial categories are created and transformed
- Those in power define the groups
What is prejudice?
A negative attitude toward an entire category of people, usually racial or ethnic minority
(Perpetuates false narratives and based in ethnocentrism)
What forms does prejudice come in?
- Open expression
- Stereotyping - unreliable generalizations about all members of a goup that don’t recognize individual differences (created by dominant majority)
- Hate crimes
What is racism?
- The belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior
- Class and citizenship become proxies for race
What is color-blind racism?
- Principle of race neutrality to defend a racially unequal status quo
- Claim everyone is treated equally
What is discrimination?
The denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice
What was Devah Pager’s experiment?
- Studied racial discrimination in hiring
- 2 black and 2 white students applied, one of each with a prior record
- White with criminal background got more callbacks than Black without criminal record
What is white privilege?
Rights or immunities granted to people as a particular benefit or favor because they’re white
Who is Peggy McIntosh?
A sociologist who studies white privilege
What is institutional discrimination?
Denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that result from the normal operations of a society
What is redlining?
Pattern of discrimination against people who try to buy homes in minority and racially changing neighborhoods
What is affirmative action?
Positive efforts to recruit minority groups or women to jobs, education, and promotions
What is the functionalist view on race/ethnicity?
- Dominant majority benefits from the subordination of racial minorities
- Moral justification for unequal society and discourage questioning status quo
- Dysfunction - aggravates problems, undercuts diplomatic relationships
What is the conflict view on race/ethnicity?
- Vested interests perpetuate racial inequality through economic exploitation
- Racism keeps minorities in low paying jobs and rich then have low wages for all
What is the labeling view on race/ethnicity?
- People are profiled and stereotyped based on their racial and ethnic identity
- Racial profiling by police, airport security, and customs
What is the interactionist view on race/ethnicity?
- Cooperative interracial contacts can reduce hostility
- Contact hypothesis - in cooperative circumstances interracial contact will reduce prejudice
What is genocide?
The deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation
Ex: the Holocaust; Native Americans in the US
What is expulsion?
An effort to push individuals out of the nation
Ex: Myanmar killing the Muslim minority in effort to remove them from the country
What is succession?
Drawing formal boundaries of land between groups
Ex: succession of Pakistan from India (Muslims and Hindus)
What is segregation?
The physical separation of two groups of people
Ex: Apartheid - South African policy designed to maintain the separation of Blacks and Non-Whites from Whites from 1948 to 1990
* Nelson Mandela - 1st Black President of South Africa in 1994 after 28 years in prison for activism
What is segregation in the suburbs?
A concept from the book American Apartheid by Massey and Denton that talks about segregation in US based on concentration of US neighborhoods
Ex: Ferguson, MO - over 20 years went from 25% black to 65%
What is amalgamation?
When a majority group and minority combine to form a new group
A + B = C
Ex: intergroup marriage over generations creates this
What is assimilation?
The process through which a person forsakes his or her cultural traditions to become part of a new one (follow dominant culture)
A + B + C = A
Ex: Italians, Polish, and Germans changed last names in US
What is pluralism?
Mutual respect for one another’s culture among the various groups in society
Also called multiculturalism
A + B + C = A + B + C
Problem is it is an ideal, not a reality
* Ex: need to learn English and mus have a consensus on ideals, values, and beliefs for a society
Why is there a massive racial disparity in the Criminal Justice System?
Black individuals are overrepresented in system - spike since the 1980s because of an era of mass incarceration
* Has been referred to as the New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander wrote a book on it
War on Drugs started by Nixon heightened policies which target certain groups of people
What is the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986?
Created mandatory minimum sentences
Created 100-to-1 rule
* 10 years minimum for 5,000g of coke is the same as 50g of crack
* Disparity from who uses each drug (white-coke, black-crack)
What are gender roles?
- Expectations of proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females
- People judged by masculine and feminine qualities
Why do gender roles start early in life?
Rooted in homophobia
* Fear and prejudice of homosexuality
* Stray from gender norms then presumed lesbian or gay
* Stigma attached pushes men to be masculine and females to be feminine
What is gender identity?
How people see themselves as male or female or something else
* Can differ from biological sex at birth
What is sexual identity?
Self-awareness of being romantically or sexually attracted to a defined group of people
What is the functionalist view on gender?
Say that gender contributes to stability in society by creating a division of labor in families
Talcott Parsons - big name in this
Women display expressiveness
* Concerns the maintenance of harmony and internal emotional affairs of the family
Males display instrumentality
* Emphasis on tasks, a focus on more distinct goals, and a concern for the external relationship between family and institutions
What is the conflict view on gender?
Focus on the power relationship of men and women
Roles of men and women are not equal
Instrumental skills are more valued than expressive skills in terms of money and presitge
Cultural beliefs perpetuate this as beliefs ingrained
* Support social structure with men at top
Subjugation of women by men
* Men’s work valued and women’s work devalued
What is intersectionality?
The overlapping and interdependent system of advantage and disadvantage that positions people in society
Race + Gender + Class = compound disadvantage
What is a matrix of domination?
Cumulative impact of oppression because of race, ethnicity, genders, and class + sexual orientation, age, and disability
Created by intersectionality
What is sexism?
The ideology that one sex is superior to the other
What is the main idea of institutional sexism?
All major institutions are run by men and perpetuate sexism
Women face both sexism and institutional discrimination
What does the glass ceiling do?
Prevents upward vertical mobility
Prevents horizontal mobility by limiting fast track jobs that lead to leadership roles
What is the gender pay gap?
Women make 83 cents for every $1 that a man makes
Hard to break glass ceiling
However, when men enter female dominated fields, they rise quickly up ranks (glass elevator)
Who is Lilly Ledbetter?
An american activist for equal pay
Worked for Goodyear Tires as a supervisor
* Found out she was paid thousands less than men in the same position
* Filed a sex discrimination lawsuit and won but lost on appeal so she went to SCOTUS where she lost on a timeline technicality
What is the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009?
Lessen the timeline restrictions on filing discrimination suits - now unrestricted
President Obama’s 1st piece of legistlation signed
What is the second shift?
The double burden of work that many women face and few men
* Work outside home + childcare and housework
* Women are twice as likely to oversee running household and 8x more likely to take time off for sick child than men
Coined by Arlie Hochschild
What is feminism?
The ideology that favors equal rights for women
What was the first wave of feminism?
- Started in 1848 in NY
- Fought for equal legal and political rights (voting)
- Susan B. Anthony arrested for voting in election
What was the second wave of feminism?
- Started in 1960s and 70s
- Feminine Mystique written by Betty Friedan
- Civil rights movement allowed women to examine their powerlessness
- Started to form a consciousness like class consciousness
What is sexual harassment?
The unwanted or unwelcomed sexual advance that interferes with ability to perform and enjoy job
What was Meritor Saving Bank vs Vinson?
SCOTUS case that affirmed sexual harassment cases
What was Vance vs Ball State U?
Made it difficult to win harassment cases if perpetrator does not have firing ability
What is the economic system?
Social institution through which goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed
What is the political system?
Social institutions that are founded on a recognized set of procedures for implementing society’s goals
What are preindustrial societies?
Hunter-gatherer or agrarian societies that are no longer common
What are industrial societies?
Mechanization to produce goods and services
Industrial revolution - focus on factory work
What are the 3 types of industrial societies?
Capitalist, Socialist, and Communist
What is Capitalism?
Means of production are held largely by private hands and main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profit
What is Laissez-faire?
“Let them do”
People compete freely, with minimal government intervention in the economy
Adam Smith (Father of economics) is a big proponent
What is contemporary capitalism?
Still focus on profit and ownership but with regulations
Regulations help consumers and not endanger workers
Monitor prices, set safety standards, and environmental protection, and regulate collective bargaining with unions
What is a monopoly?
- Control of the market by a single business firm
- Allows 1 firm to control price, quality, and availability
- Violate the principle of free competition and laissez-faire capitalism
- Outlaw monopoly via antitrust laws
- Current monopoly - Ticketmaster + Live Nation
What is socialism?
Means of production and distribution in society are collectively owned rather than privately owned
Developed by Marx and Engels
Objective is meet people’s needs rather than profit
* Believe government should make economic decisions
* Government owns the means of production
What is communism?
All property is communally owned and no social distinctions are made based on people’s ability to produce
What is power?
The ability to exercise one’s will over others
Overcome resistance to control individuals’ behavior
What are the three basic sources of power?
Force - actual or threat of coercion to impose one’s will
Influence - exercise of power through persuasion
Authority - institutionalized power that is recognized by the people who it exercised
What are the three classifications of authority (Weber)?
Traditional
* Power is conferred by custom and accepted practice
* King or Queen
Rational-Legal
* Power conferred from law (constitution)
* President or Prime Minister
Charismatic
* Power legitimate by leader’s exceptional personal appeals to their followers
What is a monarchy?
Head of state is a single member of a royal family
What is an oligarchy?
Few individuals rule (rich)
In modern times rule by military or party
What is a dictatorship?
Government which is ruled by 1 person who has nearly all the power to make and enforce laws
Rule through coercion and fear
Seize power instead of freely elected
What is totalitarianism?
Virtually complete government control and surveillance over all aspects of society’s social and political life
What is democracy?
Government by the people
Everyone has a voice (better in smaller societies)
What is a representative democracy?
Certain individuals are selected to speak for the people
Vote for members of Congress and in State Legislatures
What is the Power Elite Model?
Power elite - small group of military, industrial, and government leaders who control the fate of the US
3 Levels of PEM
* Top - corporate rich, military leaders, and executive branch
* Middle - legislators, opinion leaders, and interest groups
* Bottom - exploited masses, majority of population
Developed by C. Wright Mills
What is the Pluralist Model?
Many competing groups within the community have access to government, so that no single group is dominant
What is deindustrialization?
Widespread withdrawal of investment in basic aspects of productivity such as factories and plants
Targets and locations of investment change and need for labor decreases
Move from US to other countries (outsourcing)
What is downsizing?
Reductions taken in a company’s workforce
What is sharing economy?
Connecting owners to underused assests with others willing to pay to use them
Ex: Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and Pet Care
What is temporary workforce?
Individuals have precarious work - employment that is poorly paid, insecure, and unprotected
Workers usually cannot support household, vulnerable to poverty, and lack benefits
Ex: part-time job
What is offshoring?
The transfer of work to foreign contractors
Turn to locations in developing countries
Main purpose is to raise profits
Reshoring - bring jobs back to US (uncommon)
What is health?
A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being
What is the sick role?
Social expectations about the attitudes and behaviors of an ill person
* Exempt from responsibilities
* Obligation to seek care
* Physicians are gatekeepers of sick role
Developed by Talcott Parsons
What is the medicalization of society?
Regulating society and manifesting social control
Physicians determine the illness and disease, the appropriate treatment, and patients’ views
* Apply the medical model
What is the Brain Drain?
Immigration to the US and other industrialized nations of skilled workers, professionals, and technicians who are needed in home country
What is epidemiology?
The study of distribution of diseases, impairment, and general health status across the population
What is morbidity, mortality, and comorbidity?
Morbidity - rate of disease in a given population
Mortality - rate of death in a given population
Comorbidity - presence of more than 1 disease
What is the Harrison Narcotics Act?
Those who import or manufacture opium or physicians must register and pay a tax to government
What is the Anti-Heroin Act?
Makes heroin illegal in 1924
What is the Controlled Substance Act?
Legal foundation to combat drug use and abuse in the US
Regulate the manufacture, distribution, and dispensing of substances
Establishes 5 schedules of drugs based on 3 criteria:
* Acceptable medical use
* Abuse potential
* Dependency potential
What are Food Stamp and Welfare bans?
Give states abilities to give lifetime ban to drug offenders
What are driver’s license suspension laws?
Suspends license even if vehicle is not involved
What is the warfare approach?
Focus on criminal justice interventions and punishments
Ex: Crack Epidemics
* Crack epidemic = “Poor, crime ridden areas”
* Crack users = “Offenders”
What is the welfare approach?
Focus on public health and treatment
Ex: Opioid Epidemic
* Opioid epidemic = “Crisis next door”
* Opioid users = “Victims”
What is the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010?
Reduces crack-to-powder disparity (18-to-1)
Eliminated mandatory minimums for simple possession of it
What is the medicalization of marijuana?
Sets certain medical conditions that grant use
37 states have medicalized
What is the legalization of marijuana?
Removes criminal liability and in most states open dispensaries
Allows possession and many states growing
21 states and DC have legalized
What is Ballot Measure 110?
Oregon’s decriminalization of hard drugs
1 gram of heroin = fine ($100) or health assessment
Steer addicted individuals to treatment
Funds addiction treatment from state Cannabis Tax
What is family?
A set of people related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other agreed upon relationship
What are the two types of family?
Nuclear family - Married couple and their unmarried children living together
Extended family - Family which includes other relatives who live in the same house as parents and children
What is monogamy?
Only having one partner
The norm in the US
What is serial monogamy?
Having several spouses in a lifetime, but only one at a time
What is polygamy?
Having several wives/husbands at the same time
What is polygyny?
Marriage of 1 man and multiple wives (sister wives)
What is polyandry?
Marriage of 1 woman and multiple husbands
What is kinship?
The state of being related to someone
* Not totally based on biological or marital ties
* Culturally learned
* Do not always live together
* Creates obligations
What are the 3 ways to determine descent?
Bilateral - both sides of family equally important
Patrilineal - father’s relatives are significant in property, inheritance, and emotional ties
Matrilineal - mother’s relatives are significant
What is a patriarchy?
Society in which men make all family decisions
What is a matriarchy?
Society in which women make all family decisions
What is an egalitarian family?
Authority pattern in which spouses are regarded as equal
Wives hold authority in some areas and men have authority in others
What is the functionalist view on the family?
The family is a contributor to social stability
* Roles of family members
What is the conflict view on the family?
The family is a perpetuator of inequality
* Transmission of poverty through the generations
What is the interactionist view on the family?
Emphasis on relationships among family members
What is the femenist view on the family?
The family is a perpetuator of gender roles
* Female-headed household
What is endogamy?
Specifies the group which spouse must belong and prohibits marriage with other groups - race and religion
What is exogamy?
Mate selection of person outside group - no incest
What is homogamy?
Conscious or unconscious tendency to select a mate that has similar characteristics to own self - personality and interest
What is adoption?
Transfer of rights from biological parent to adoptive parent
What are dual-income families?
Both partners work
What are single-parent families?
Raised by mother only - large racial differences
What is Obergefell v. Hodges?
Case that legalized same sex marriage in the US
Constitution guarantees same-sex marriage - 14th amendment
Why has the marriage rate in the US declined?
Marriage is no longer a rite of passage
People postponing marriage
Deciding to form partnerships without marriage
Why do people cohabit?
- Get benefits of love and companionship
- Do it for financial reasons and convenience
What is the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993?
Entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid job-protected leave for health reasons for 12 weeks
You get to keep your health insurance for this period
To be eligible employee must have worked 12 months and employers must have at least 50 employees
What are the 4 characteristics of online dating?
Absence of Gating
* Characteristics that limit you from getting in relationships
Strangers on a Train Effect
* Can trust strangers because info will not get out to people that you know
Disposable Generation
* See potential partners as disposable because attention span of society is being shorter
Boom and Bust
* People get close quickly but don’t know them well enough to sustain the relationship
