Psch/Soc Content Review Flashcards
What is social reproduction?
The generational wealth or poverty extending to future generations
Intersectionality considers?
All aspects of discrimination.
What is an example of the social disorganization theory?
The broken window hypothesis.
Maintaining and monitoring urban enviroments prevent small crimes such as vandalism to creat the atmosphere of order and to deter more serious crimes
What is the general theory of Functionalism?
Every structure has a function that meets the needs of a society and all the structures work together to maintain social equilibrium
What is one of the problems with Functionalism?
It focuses completely on institutions with little regard for the importance of the individual and is unable to explain social change
What is Conflict theory?
A theory that focuses on the inequalities on society, especially between the bourgeoise and the proletarat. There is always a thesis (someone is happy) and an antithesis (someone is upset) and even if they synthesize a new antithesis will be formed.
What is class conciousness?
A sense of solidarity within one’s own class and if struggling the class with obtain the means of production.
*Marxist theory
What is false conciousness?
Workers are not able to see their own opposition/oppression. Owners generally feeding this to workers, even giving the idea that one or two can break through
(Think American’s current capitalism even though this is a Marxist theory)
What are the problems with Conflict theory?
It doesn’t explain how society can be functional
What is the theory of social constructionism?
Knowledge that the things around us are not ‘real” in and of themselves, but instead only exist because we give them reality based on social agreements
What are the two threads of social contructionism?
1) Weak thread which relies on brute facts
2) Strong thread which the whole of reality is dependent on language and social habits and does not consider brute facts
What are the problems with social constructionism?
It doesn’t consider the effect of natural phenomenon in society
What is symbolic interactionism?
Explains the indivdual and their interactions with others
What are the 3 tenets of symbolic interactionism?
1) We act based of the meaning we have given something
2) We give meaning to this things based of our social interactions
3) The meaning we give something is not permanent and can change with everyday life
What us the rational choice theory?
The idea that everything people do is fundamentally rational
What are the 3 assumptions of rational choice theory?
1) Every action can be ranked
2)Transivity- if A>B and B>C then A>C
3) Independence of irrelavent alternitives
If A>B, but I suddenly have choice X, it won’t change the ranking of the first three options
What is Exchange theory?
Looks at society as a series of interactions between individuals that weigh the pros and cons of each decision
What are the considerations of Exchange theory?
1) People maximize the profits
2) Rewarding behavior is repeated
3) Operates within social norms
What are the problems with rational choice exchange theory?
They assume that people make rational choices, and also cannot explain any sort of altruism
What is the Life course theory?
Aging is a social, psychological and biological process that begins from birth until death
What is age stratification?
Looks at age as a way of regulating the behavior of a generation
What is disingagement theory?
A theory that says that older adults and society separate (like when someone retires) and it assumes that people become more self absorbed as they age and this seperation allows for self reflection
What is continutity theory?
A theory that suggests that people try to maintain the same basic structure for their lives over time
An ethnic group is defined as?
groups with shared language, religion, nationality, history, or some other cultural factor
What is the definition of a minority?
A minority consists of a group that makes up less than half the total population and treated differently because of it
What are the 5 different topics when discussing sex, gender, and sexual orientation?
Biological, identity, expression, attraction, and fornication
What is cultural relavitism?
Refers to not judging a culture to our own standards of what is right or wrong, strange or normal
