Midterm Flashcards
1.1: What is sociology?
The systematic study of human society
1.1: What is the sociological perspective?
a special point of view of sociology that identifies general patterns of society in particular people’s lives.
Being an outsider or experiencing a social crisis encourages the sociological perspective!!
AKA: “seeing the general in the particular”
1.1: What does the sociological perspective tell us about the selection of a partner?
that social factors such as age, race, sex, and class guide our selection of a partner
1.1: Who is C. Wright Mills?
He coined the “sociological imagination,” which transforms personal troubles into public issues.
1.1: What is global perspective?
the study of the larger world and our place in it.
1.1 Which 3 types of change were important to the development of sociology?
- New industrial economy
- Growth of cities
- Political change
1.1 Who coined the term sociology?
Auguste Comte
1.1: What were Comte’s 3 stages of society?
- Theological Stage (church & middle ages)
- Metaphysical Stage (the enlightenment)
- Scientific Stage (modern physics/chem/sociology)
1.1: What was Comte’s approach?
POSITIVISM = the scientific approach based on “positive” facts
1.1: What are some reasons why global awareness is an important part of the sociological perspective?
- Where we live shapes the lives we lead.
- Societies throughout the world are increasingly interconnected.
- What happens in the rest of the world affects life here in Canada.
- Many social problems that we face in Canada are far more serious elsewhere.
- Thinking globally helps us learn more about ourselves.
1.2: What are 3 benefits of the sociological perspective?
- It’s used by government agencies when developing laws and regulations that guide how people in communities live and work.
- Helps us understand the barriers and opportunities in our lives.
- Is an advantage in many fields of work that involve working with people
1.3: What’s a theoretical approach?
A general basic image of society that guides thinking and research
- sociologists make use of 3 of them (structural functional, social-conflict, and symbolic-interaction)
1.3: What is the structural-functional approach?
MACRO LEVEL!
a framework for building a theory that sees society as a COMPLEX SYSTEM that WORKS TOGETHER to promote SOLIDARITY AND STABILITY.
1.3: Who is Robert Merton?
he distinguished between latent and manifest functions!
1.3: What are manifest functions?
The recognized and intended consequence/outcome of a social pattern
(ex. cars manifest function is to get people from point A to point B)
1.3: What is a latent function?
The unrecognized and unintended consequence/outcome of a social pattern
(ex. cars latent function is car accidents aka death)
1.3: What are social patterns?
patterns that tie people together/keep society going
(ex. handshake, thumbs up)
1.3: What are social dysfunctions?
any social pattern that may disrupt the opperation of society
1.3: Who helped develop the social-functional approach?
- Auguste Comte
- Emile Durkheim
- Herbert Spencer
1.3: What is the social-conflict approach?
MACRO LEVEL!
a framework for building theory that sees society as an ARENA OF INEQUALITY that generates conflict and change
Sociologists use this approach to look at dominant & disadvantaged categories of people (ex. rich to poor, white to ppoc)
1.3: What are the 2 types of conflict theories from the social-conflict approach?
- Gender-conflict theory (also called feminist theory): inequality and conflict between men and women
- Race-conflict theory: inequality between people of different racial/ethnic categories
1.3: Who helped develop the social-conflict approach?
Karl Marx
1.3: What is the symbolic-interaction approach?
MICRO LEVEL!
framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS of the individuals
1.3: Who helped develop the symbolic-interaction approach?
Max Weber and George Mead
1.3: What is the difference between macro level and micro level orientation?
Macro level is a broad focus on social structures (ex. how housing differs from rich to poor neighbourhoods)
Whereas Micro level is a close-up focus on social interaction in specific situations (ex. how rich people treat homeless people outside their building)
1.4: What are the 3 ways sociologists do research?
- Positivist Sociology
- Critical Sociology
- Interpretive Sociology
1.4: What is positivist sociology?
the study of society based on SCIENTIFIC observation of social behaviour:
- tries to establish cause and effect
- demands that researchers try to be objective
- is loosely linked to structural-functional theory
1.4: What is empirical evidence?
info we can verify through our SENSES
What is a concept?
a mental construct that represents some part of the world in simplified form
(used to label parts of social life –> ex. the family)
How do sociologists use stats?
They use DESCRIPTIVE stats to state the average for a given population
(mean, median, mode)
What is correlation cause & effect?
a relationship in which change in one variable causes change in another.
Reliability vs. Validity
Reliability: consistency in measurement (same results every time)
Validity: if it measures what was actually intended
What is a spurious correlation?
an apparent, BUT FALSE, relationship between 2+ variables that is caused by some other variable.
What 3 things need to be made sure to have a cause and effect relationship?
- variables are correlated
- the independent variable occurs before the dependent variable
- there is no possible 3rd variable (spurious correlation)
What is objectivity?
personal NEUTRALITY in conducting research (allows facts to speak for themselves without ones values/bias)
*Max Weber noted that people typically chose value-relevant research topics (aka. topics they care about), yet once work begins they must be value-free and openminded to what comes from the research.
What is interpretive sociology?
the study of society that focuses on discovering the MEANINGS PEOPLE ATTACH to their SOCIAL WORLD.
linked to the symbolic-interaction theory
Who is the pioneer of interpretive sociology?
Max Weber
He claimed that Verstehen was the key to interpretive sociology (learning how people understand their world)
Verstehen = understanding (in german)
How does interpretive sociology differ from positivist sociology?
- Favours qualitative data (Positivist sociologists value quantitative data)
- Focuses on people’s understanding of their actions (positivest sociology focuses on the actions alone)
- Claims we learn more interacting with people and by trying to make sense of people’s everyday lives (positivists do research in labs, experiments, standing back, carefully measuring)
What is critical sociology?
the study of society that focuses on a need for SOCIAL CHANGE
*rejects the idea that society exits as a “natural” system and that society has always been “fixed” supporting the status quo.
What do critical sociologists argue as politics?
THAT ALL RESEARCH IS POLITICAL
What approach is positivist sociology linked to?
Structural functional approach
(both concerned with the scientific goal of understanding society)
What approach is interpretive sociology linked to?
Symbolic-Interaction Approach
(both focus on the meanings ppl attach with the world)
What approach is critical sociology linked to?
Social-conflict approach
(both focus on the goal of reducing social inequality)
Who identifies 5 ways gender can shape research?
Magrit Eichler
What are the 5 ways in which gender can effect research?
- Androcentricy
(approaching issues from a male perspective) - Overgeneralizing
- Gender Blindness
- Double Standards
- Interference
(when the subject reacts to the sex of the research –> sees a woman rather than a researcher)
Sociologists must ensure that subjects in a research project are….
NOT HARMED!
and include int heir published results all sources of financial support.
What are some basic research ethics sociologists must follow? (name 3 main ones)
- disclose all research data without omitting anything specific
- make sure their results are available to other sociologists
- never accept funding from any organization that seeks to influence the results
What are the 4 most common research methods?
- Experiments
- Surveys
- Participant observation
- The use of existing data
What is survey research?
uses questionnaires or interviews to gather subjects’ responses to a series of questions
What are hidden populations?
individuals that cannot be reached easily:
- no list of known members
- acknowledgement of belonging to the group is threatening
- members are distrustful to nonmembers (ex. sex workers)
Longitudinal research design
collecting data from the same people over a long period of time
What is respondent-driven sampling?
a method of recruiting participants!
—> where a small # of participants act as “seeds” with recruitment coupons to give to people who may be interested. The seeds are paid for each person they recruit
What is participant observation?
a research method in which investigators systematically observe people while joining them in the routine activities.
it is INTERPRETIVE sociology that produces mostly qualitative data
(William Foote example –> did 4 years of participant observation in Boston in Cornerville)
What is the definition of a stereotype?
a simplified description applied to every person in the same category
What are the 4 sociological “lenses”?
- conflict theory
- feminist theory
- symbolic interaction
- functionalism
What does social structure refer to?
social patterns that guide our behaviour in everyday life. The building blocks of social structure are status and role
What did George Simmel point out about sociology?
(he’s one founder of sociology)
pointed out that before we deal with anyone, we need to know who the person is (aka social status)
What is a status set?
all the statuses a person holds at a given time
ex. daughter, student, sister, and waitress (all at the same time)
Ascribed status vs achieved status?
Ascribed: a social position a person has at birth or takes on involuntary later in life (ex. widow, being white, being a daughter, being Canadian)
VS.
Achieved: a social position one takes voluntarily that reflects their ability/effort (ex. being on honour roll, doctor, teacher, etc.)
What is a master status?
a social status that has particular importance in ones life (ex. serious illnesses, being a woman, having a famous last name)
*master status take over ones life
What is a role?
a behaviour that is expected and influences of someone who holds a specific status
What is a role set?
the number of roles attached to a single status (ex. as a student, I attend classes, study, participate in student social events, etc.)
What is a role conflict?
conflict among the roles connected to 2+ statuses (ex. putting off having children in order to stay on the “fast track” for career success)
What is role strain?
tension among the roles connected to a single status (ex. having a hard time leaving work in the workplace when at home)
What is the social construction of reality?
the process by which people creatively shape reality through social interaction
What did Thomas Theorem claim?
that situations defined as real are real in their consequences
What is Ethnomethodology and who came up with it?
Harold Garfinkel
term for the study of the way people make sense of their everyday souroundings
What is a primary group?
a group who’s members share personal and lasting relationships that view each other as special and irreplaceable (commonly FAMILY)
What is a secondary group?
large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a specific goal/activity (ex. students enrolled in the same soci101 class)
What are the 2 leadership ROLES and describe them
- Instrumental Leadership: group leadership that focuses on the COMPLETION OF TASKS
- Expressive Leadership: group leadership that focuses on the groups WELL BEING
What are the 3 leadership STYLES?
- Authoritarian (“take charge” style thatdemands obedience)
- Democratic (includes everyone in the decision making)
- Laissez-faire (“leave it alone” –> basically lets the group function on it’s own)
What is group conformity?
conforming your behaviour to “fit in” to a group because it provides a secure feeling of belonging whereas group pressure can be unpleasant and dangerous
What researchers demonstrated group conformity?
- Solmon Asch (line experiment)
- Stanley Milgram (teacher vs. learner shocking)
What are reference groups?
social groups that serves as a point of reference for making evalutations and decisions, including IN GROUP (members feel respect, loyalty and superiority) and OUT GROUPS (people feel a sense of competition)
ex. settlers saw Indigenous peoples as an out-group and subordinated them socially, politically, etc.
What is a dyad and a triad?
Dyad (greek for pair): social group with 2 members
Triad: social group with 3 members
*George Simmel described the dyad as intense but unstable; the triad, he said, is more stable but can dis-solve into a dyad by excluding one member.
What did Peter Blau claim?
claimed that:
- larger groups turn inward
- socially diverse groups turn outward, and
- physically segregated groups turn inward
What is a formal organization?
a large secondary group organized to achieve its goals efficiently
What are the 3 formal organizations?
- Utilitarian Organization (ex. business, gov. agency)
- Normative Organization (ex. community service groups, religious groups, political parties)
- Coercive Organization (prison, psychriatric hospitals
–> anything involuntary!)
What is meant by the rationalization of society?
the historical change from tradition to rationality as the main type of human thought (deliberate, matter of the frat calculation, most efficient way to complete something)
What is bureaucracy?
an organizational model rationally designed to PERFORM TASKS EFFICIENTLY
(Max Weber saw as the dominant type of organization in modern societies)
What are the 6 elements of the ideal bureaucratic organization?
- specialization
- hierarchy of positions
- rules and regulations
- technical competence
- impersonality
- formal, written communications
What is an organizational environment and what is it influenced by?
it’s all factors outside the organization that effect it’s operation
An an organizational environment is influenced by:
- technology
- political and economic trends
- current events
- population patterns
- other organizations
What are the problems with bureaucracy?
- Bureaucratic alienation
- bureaucratic inefficiency and ritualism (focus on rules too much that it undermines an organizations goals)
- bureaucratic inertia (the organizations perpetuate themselves)
- oligarchy (the rule of the many by the few)
What does modernity refer to?
changes made by the industrial revolution
What are the 4 main characteristics of modernization?
- the decline of traditional communities
- the expansion of personal choice
- increasing social diversity
- a focus on the future
How did Ferdinard Tonnies view modernity?
described modernization as the transition from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft (human community), characterized by the LOSS OF TRADITIONAL HUMAN COMMUNITY and the RISE OF INDIVIDUALISM.
*people began to associate with others simply for their own self-interest/gain
How did Emilie Durkheim view modernity?
Saw modernization as a society’s EXPANDING DIVISION OF LABOUR. (specialized economic activity)
Mechanical solidarity (based on shared activities and beliefs) is gradually replaced by organic solidarity (where specialization makes people interdependent)
** did think that societies would grow to become too diverse that society would collapse into ANOMIE (where a society provides little moral guidance to people)
How did Max Weber view modernity?
*very critical of modern society –> viewed it as an “iron cage”
RATIONALIZATION:
Weber feared the dehumanizing effects of modern rational organization. That bureaucracies would erode the human spirit with endless rules and regulations
How did Karl Marx view modernity?
CAPITIALISM!
Saw it as a capitalist revolution –> as the triumph of capitalism over feudalism
He thought capitalism draws population away from farms + small towns into expanding market system in cities.
Marx underestimated the dominance of bureaucracy
What are all societies built on?
Kinship!
^ a social bond based on common ancestry, marriage, or adoption
extended vs. nuclear family?
extended family: family composed of parents, children, and other shared blood (also known as consanguine family)
nuclear family: family composed of 2 parents, and usually 2 children (also known as conjugal family)
endogamy vs exogamy?
Endogamy = marriage between people of the SAME social category (age, race, class, religion, etc.)
Exogamy = marriage between people of DIFFERENT social categories
**links distant communities and encourages the spread of culture!
How do higher income and lower income families differ with marriage?
Some low-income nations permit polygamy, of which there are two types: polygyny and polyandry
high-income countries are typically always monogamous.
What role do families have according to the Structural-functional theory?
shows how families help society operate smoothly!
socialization of the young, regulation of sexual activity, social placement, and providing material and emotional support
What role do families have according to Social-conflict theory and feminist theory?
That families perpetuate social inequality by introducing gender roles and transmit opinions bases on class, inequality, race and gender.
What role do families have according to Symbolic-interaction theory and social-exchange theory?
They highlight the variety of family life as experienced by various family members
(MICRO LEVEL THEORIES FOR FAMILY LIFE)
What is homogamy?
marriage between people with the same social characteristics (ex. education)
What are “skip-generation” families?
children in households with no parents/middle generation present, ONLY GRANDPARENTS
What is the “most violent group in society” (apart from the military/police)
FAMILY
family violence = emotional, physical, or sexual abuse of ones family member by another
(members who abuse their children were most likely abused as children themselves)
Who divorces the most often?
typically young couples (especially those who married quickly) and lack $$$ and emotional maturity.
What is cohabitation?
the sharing of a household by an unmarried couple
What is socialization?
the lifelong social experience where humans develop their full potential and learn culture
**It develops our humanity as well as our particular personalities.
Why is socialization so important?
because we can see through cases (Genie, Anna, etc.) that extended periods of social isolation result in permanent damage for life.
Is socialization a matter of nature or nurture?
NURTURE!
A century ago, most people thought human behaviour resulted from biological instinct because of CHARLES DAWIN’s study!
Why was Charles Darwin’s study of nature vs. nurture problematic?
it led people to believe that behaviour is not instinctive but learned (thought people were born criminals, naturally emotional, etc.)
DANGEROUS MINDSET
Who discovered behaviorism?
John B. Watson
discovered that behaviour is not instinctive but learned!
*can’t fully exclude nature, but nurture matters way more in shaping human behaviour
What does Harlow’s monkey experiment show us about social isolation?
that social isolation can result in permanent irreversible damage.
confirmed how important it is for adults to cradle infants!
What is Sigmund Freud’s theory of socialization?
Elements of Personality:
1. ID: human beings basic drives (survival). they are unconscious and demand satisfaction
- EGO: balances out the ID and SUPEREGO (mostly in adulthood), a person’s conscious effort to balance pleasure seeking drives with the rules of society.
- SUPEREGO: cultural values and norms internalized by the individual (develops as we get older –> “do the right thing”)
What were the 2 basic needs/drives that are present at birth according to Freud?
EROS (love): need for sexual & emotional bonding (“life instinct”)
THANATOS (death): aggressive drive known as the “death instinct” (in what way’s do we chase death? —> substance abuse, adrenaline, etc.)
What is sublimation?
redirects selfish pleasure-seeking drives into more socially acceptable behaviour
What was Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?
He believed that human development involves both biological maturation and gaining social experience. He identified four stages of cognitive development:
- SENSORIMOTOR (infant): level of development where you only experience though the 5 senses.
- PREOPERATIONAL (2-6 y/o): starting to use language and other symbols (can identify favourite toy but not the types of toys they like)
- CONCRETE OPERATIONAL (7 - 11y/o): individuals understand causal connections in their surroundings (can also attach more than 1 symbol to an event –> ex. birthday and a friday)
- FORMAL OPERATIONAL (12+ y/o): individuals can think abstractly and critically
What was Lawrence Kolberg’s theory?
Theory of MORAL Development:
applied Piaget’s approach to stages of moral development
PRECONVENTIONAL (childhood); experience the world according to pain and pleasure/personal needs. “what feels good to me”
CONVENTIONAL (early teens): loose some of the selfishness and learns to define right and wrong in terms of what pleases their parents and cultural norms
POSTCONVENTIONAL (middle/late teens): can criticize society itself and think abstractly about ethical principals
What was Carol Gilligan’s theory?
Theory of GENDER and Moral Development:
- concluded that the 2 sexes use different standards:
Boys: Justice perspective (formal rules)
Girls: Care & responsibility perspective (judging considering relationships and loyalties)
What was George Mead’s theory?
Theory of the Social Self:
developed a theory of social behaviourism, his central concept is the SELF (part of our personality and includes self-awareness and self-image)
He claimed that:
1. The self is part of our personality and includes self-awareness and self-image
2. The self develops only as a result of social experience.
3. Social experience involves the exchange of symbols.
4. Social interaction depends on understanding the intention of another, which requires taking the role of the other.
5. the “i’ and the “me”
6. We gain social experience through imitation, play games, and understanding the generalized other.
What did Mead mean by the “I” and the “ME”?
“I” = the active side of the self, how we initiate action
“ME” = how we continue the action based on how others respond to us
What does “looking glass self” mean? Who came up with it?
Horton Cooley!
used the phrase to refer to a self image bases on how we believe others view us (ex. if you think people view you as smart, we will think of ourselves as smart)
What does “generalized other” mean according to Mead?
widespread cultural norms and values we use as examples in evaluating ourselves
What was Erik Erikson’s theory?
The 8 Stages of Development: identified the challenges individuals face at each stage of their life:
1. Infancy: trust vs. mistrust
2.Toddlerhood: autonomy vs. shame
3. Preschool: initiative vs. guilt
4. Preadolescence: industrious vs. inferiority
5. Adolecense: gaining identity vs. confusion
6. Young adulthood: intimacy vs. isolation
7. Middle adulthood: making a difference vs. self absorption
8. Old Age: integrity vs. dispair
What is the cultural capital?
material objects, values and knowledge acquired by the members of the elite culture
(sports activities, travelling, music lessons all build cultural capital)
*only the wealthy have the privilege of giving this to their children.
What is a peer group?
a social group whose members have interests, social position and age all in common.
What is anticipatory socialization?
learning that helps a person achieve a desired position
ex. learning slang that people say in a friend group to be accepted by them
What types of societies are most effective by the mass and social media?
High income societies
What is gerontology?
the study of aging and the elderly
What is a cohort?
a category of people with something in common (typically age)
How does a person typically face death?
- denial
- anger
- negotiation
- resignation
- acceptance
(these stages are part of socialization for the elderly)
What are total insitutions?
a setting where people are isolated from the rest of society and manipulated by administrative staff (orphanages, psychiatric wards, prisons, boarding schools, monasteries, etc.).
What is resocialization?
radically changing an inmates personality by carefully controlling the environment.
*the purpose of total institutions
What are some examples of voluntary resocialization?
people chose to participate –> rehab
Who recognized 5 different types of insitutions?
Goffman!
1. inst. for harmless/helpless members (retirement homes)
2. inst. that pose an unintended threat to society (psych wards)
3. inst. that protect the community against those that threaten it (jail)
4. inst. that pursue instrumental tasks (boarding schools)
5. inst. that pursue normative tasks (religious monasteries)
What is dramaturgical analysis? Who came up with it?
Goffman!
term for the study of social interaction in terms of theatrical performance: a status operates as a part in a play, and a role is a script.
*how Goffman viewed the world –> like actors performing on stage
What is the presentation of self?
Goffman’s term for a person’s efforts to create specific impressions in the minds of others (aka. impression management)
What is one of the key elements in the presentation of self?
GENDER:
- Demenour: men have more social freedom for how they act
- Use of Space: men typically take up more space than women
- Staring and touching; generally done BY men TO women
- Smiling: a way to please someone, usually done more by women.
What does idealization mean according to Goffman?
we try to convince others that our actions reflect ideal culture rather than selfish motives from our “performances”
What is “loss of face”?
Embarrassment
according to Goffman when we feel embarrassment we are “losing face”
What did Paul Ekman do?
identified the 6 emotions where facial expressions are the same in every society
(happiness, anger, disgust, sadness, fear, and surprise)
What term did Arlie Russell Hochschild use?
Emotional Labour
*suppressed of induced feelings produced by an employee in accordance with the rules of an organization
ex. having to smile at work because it’s expected as a server, don tells me to.
What is focused on in western society schools?
Equal opportunity and practical learning (knowledge to prepare for the real world)
Structural-functional theory applied to education?
Highlights major functions of schooling, including
- socialization
- cultural innovation
- social integration
- placement of people in the social hierarchy
**a latent function of school is providing child day care and also building social networks
Symbolic-interaction theory applied to education?
Shows us that stereotypes can have important consequences for how people act.
**Students who think they are academically superior are likely to perform better and those who think they are inferior are likely to perform less well
(the idea that students create the reality they experience day-to-day)
Social-conflict theory applied to education?
Links schooling to the hierarchy involving class, race, and gender.
- social control (hidden cirruculum)
- standardized testing (unfairly transforms privilege into personal merit)
- Tracking (assigning students to different types of educational programs)
What is the hidden curriculum?
Subtle presentations of political or cultural ideas in the classroom
What does the bureaucratic character of schools foster?
high dropout rates and student passivity!
What is the school choice movement?
it seeks to make schools more accountable to the public.
*innovative school choice options include magnet schools, schooling for profit or charter schools
What’s the difference between the original reason for homeschooling when it was introduced compared to homeschooling today?
the original pioneers of homeschooling did not believe in public education because they wanted to give their children a strong religious upbringing
today, homeschooling parents simply believe they can better meet the educational needs of their children.
What is mainstreaming in education?
integrating students with special needs/disabilities into the overall education program.
^ it creates more opportunities and exposes all children to a more diverse student population
*a form of inclusive education
What did Mills believe the sociological imagination would do?
-relieve the tension from people’s live as they learned they were not alone in their troubles
-encourage individuals to take more action in influencing public policy
Explain some ideas meant by: Marriage in the Stalled Revolution
- in the period between the 1950s and 1960s, there was an increase in women’s labour
- However, women were still expected to maintain the household and raise the children
- this discordance between a changing workforce and little change for women in other spheres, led to what Hochschild called the “stalled revolution”
What does Hochschild mean by the term “gender strategy”?
a way of attempting to reconcile or resolve conflicting ideas
What is the difference between “gives” and “gives off” in terms of expression?
Expression one GIVES → ex. what somebody says
Expression one GIVES OFF → ex. subtler cues such as body language, facial expression, tone of voice, etc.
__________ does not mean _________; nor does it mean normal
PERMANENT does not mean NATURAL; nor does it define normal
When was around the time of the Industrial and Scientific Revolutions?
1750s - 1850s
What social class emerged from the revolution?
the middle class! (1850s - 1920s)
P_______ does not mean P___________ ?
POSSIBILITY does not mean PROBABILITY
almost guaranteed exam question!
Who was Jean Condorcet?
enlightenment scholar
- supported equal rights for woman
- strongly opposed slavery
- development of social welfare policies (ex. minimum wage, free health care)
What did Karl Marx want?
a revolution, due to capitalism (which he thought was the #1 problem for everything)
He was also an optimist and his #1 social force was social class —> he never saw the rising of the middle class!
Who is Mary Mollstonecraft?
the first modern feminist!
wrote “The Vindication of the Rights of Women”
^^ it claimed that girls should go to school and be able to vote & own property
What is meant by a “Sui Generis”
Emilie Durkheim believes society has a “life of it’s own”
Mechanical vs. Organic Solidarity?
Mechanical Solidarity (traditional societies) = related/knows everyone
Organic Solidarity (modern societies) = disconnected, not much of a sense of community, religon matters less, a lot of “cool relationships”
What are some characteristics of the victorian middle class family?
- a nuclear unit: working father, domestic mother, children at play
- woman focussing more exclusively on child rearing
- small growth in extended families
**Emerging values from middle class family homes: SPACE and PRIVACY
Patrilineal decent vs. bilateral decent?
Patrilineal decent = system of tracing decent through the FATHER’S side of the family
Bilateral decent = descent is traced through BOTH sides of the family
Main reason for marriage since enlightenment?
LOVEEE
What was the difference between the divorce act of 1968 and the revised act (1985)
domestic abuse was grounds for divorce.
in addition to the original grounds from the original act: adultery, desertion and 3 year seperation
What are “definitional disruptions”?
any sort of disruption that interrupts the “scene” of Goffman’s idea of dramaturgy (performance)
What did Annete Lareu believe?
That children from middle class families simply have more opportunities (compared to working-class children) due to their economic resources.
What are some latent functions of schooling in general?
- support system for students (peers & teachers)
- socializing venue
- daycare
- creation of generation gap
What is the correspondence principal in schools?
schools reflect the social, cultural, and economic capital of society (norms + beliefs)
What did Rist’s study discover?
That within a week, teachers already have divided the children into groups based on skill level
(what group your put in effects you for the rest of your life!)
Education is something done for the _____ and to the ______”
POOR and to the POOR
*mechanism of social control –> know your place on the social heirarchy
Who said “ranking a few geniuses from the rubbish?”
Jerrerson
What is streaming?
*also known as tracking
the assignment of students into different types of educational programs (Ritz study example)
What is credentialism?
the practice of evaluating people on the basis of certifications they had.
Coined by Randall Collins: “the credentialled society”
What educator was interested in the rebelling and drop out rates?
Paul Willis
Wanting to know why students thought “getting a job” was more important/seen better than “getting an education”?
