Psych/Soc: Social Institutions, Culture, and Health Flashcards
Polygyny vs polyandry
Polygyny -> husband with many wives
Polyandry -> wife with many husbands
polygamy is defined as marriage between one person and two or more spouses simultaneously and polygyny and polyandry are more specific to men and women
Endogamy
Marrying within a particular group
Exogamy
requirement to marry outside a particular group (norm to not marry family members)
Kinship
cultural group rather than biological one
Ex. extended fam, close family friends that are almost considered fam
Bilaterial descent
Patrilineal descent
Matrilineal descent
Bilaterial descent - if kin groups involve men and women relations
Patrilineal descent - if kin groups involve men relations
Matrilineal descent - if kin groups involve women relations
Egalitarian family
(Opposed to patriarchal fam)
This is when spouses are treated as equals
Cohabitation
When men and women live together but not married and may have children/do things married ppl do
*Hidden curriculum
Conflicts with the manifest curriculum (like medical students learning from other doctors that patients are nuisances)
*Teacher Expectancy theory
Student tend to match teacher expectations (pos and neg)
Teachers form expectations for students and students will follow them if they seem reasonable
Ecclesia
a dominant religious organization that includes most members of society, is recognized as national or official religion and tolerates no other religions, often integrated into politics
Ex. Iran -> Islam is official state religion, Sweden and Lutherism
Sect
Religious organization that is distinct from that of the larger society. Sects are often formed by breaking away from larger religious institutions
Ex. US Mormon community and the Amish community
Fundamentalism
Strong attachment to traditional religious beliefs (response to modernist societies)
Rational-legal authority
The U.S. gov is based on rational-legal authority, legal rules and reg stipulated in a document: Constitution
Traditional authority
Charismatic authority
Traditional authority from custom, tradition, or accepted practice
Charismatic authority - they get power by their persuasion
Aristarchic governments/Aristarchies
Controlled by a small group of ppl, selected on specific qualifications, with decision-making power; the public is not involved in most political decisions
Aristarchies include aristocracies
those ruled by elite citizens, like those with noble birth
Aristarchies include meritocracies
Those ruled by the meritorious, like those with a record of meaningful social contributions
Autocratic governments
controlled by a single person, or a selective group with absolute decision-making power
Autocracies include dictatorships and fascist government
dictatorships - rules by one person
fascist government - ruled by a small group of leaders
Monarchic governments
controlled by single person, or a selective group of people, who inherit leadership role like kings and queens
Authoritarian governments
unelected leaders; public may have some individual freedoms but have no control over representation. Include totalitarianism (those in which unelected leaders regulate both public and private life through coercive means of control
Direct democracies
governments in which there is direct public participation
representative democracies
governments in which there is indirect public participation through elections of representatives
Oligarchic governments
Less clear as leaders can be elected or unelected; the public might have the power to elect representation, but ppl have little influence in directing decisions and social change
Online: power rests with a small number of people.
Broadly speaking, an oligarchy is a form of government characterized by the rule of a few persons or families. More specifically, the term was used by Greek philosopher Aristotle in contrast to aristocracy, which was another term to describe rule by a privileged few. However, to Aristotle, an aristocracy signified rule by the best members of society, while an oligarchy was characterized by the rule of the few for corrupt and unjust purposes.
Although the term has, generally, fallen out of favor, oligarchy is sometimes used to describe a government or society in which rulers are selected from a small class of elites. These elites exercise power on behalf of their class rather than for the greater good. German-born, Italian sociologist Robert Michels coined the phrase “iron law of oligarchy,” which holds that there is an inevitable tendency of organizations to become less democratic and more oligarchic over time.
Republican governments
Consider their countries to be public concerns and are thus democratic in nature, meaning ppl have supreme power
power is held by the people and their elected representatives
Federalist government
include a governing representative head that shares power with constituent groups. There is a division b/w the central government or federalist government, and the constituent governments, or the state, provincial, and local governments
Parliamentary governments
include both executive and legislative branches that are interconnected; members of the executive branch (ministers) are accountable to members to the legislature.
Presidential governments
Us! include organizing branches and a head of state
Command/planned economies
economies decisions are based on plan of production and the means of production are often public (state-owned); include socialism and communism
Market economies
Economic decision dependent on supply and demand and means of production are often private
Mixed economies
Blends element of command economies and market economies with both public and private ownership
Traditional economies
consider social customs in economic decisions, common in rural areas and often involves bartering and trading
Welfare capitalism
system in which most of the economy is private with the exception of extensive social welfare programs
Ex. most Western Europe bc have capitalism but also universal healthcare is provided by the state
State capitalism
System where companies are privately run but work closely with the government in forming laws and regulations.
In the U.S. most businesses are privately owned but the gov runs schools, postal service, and the military.
Durkheim contributed to our understanding of the division of labor and differentiated b/w two forms of social solidarity in relation to economic approaches:
Mechanical solidarity
Organic solidarity
Mechanical solidarity:
Allows society to remain integrated bc individuals have common beliefs that lead to each person having the same fundamental experience
Organic solidarity:
Allows society to integrate through a division of labor, which leads to each person having a different personal experience; thus, each movement is distinguishable and separate
*Medicalization
Medicalization - process through which human conditions are defined and treated as medical conditions ex. baldness, depression ,etc
The process of medicalization can be driven by new info or discoveries regarding conditions, changing social attitudes or economic consideration, the development of new medications or treatments
The process by which a condition come to be reconceptualized as a disease with a medical diagnosis and a medical treatment
When medicalization results in medical explanations for social problems, the physician can act as the expert on a variety of issues including child development, criminality, drug addiction, and depression
Medical model of disease
which emphasizes physical or medical factors as being the cause of all illness, it charcaterizes all illness as having a physiological or pathological basis
Social model of disease
Emphasizes the effect one’s social class, employment status, neighborhood, exposure to environmental toxins, diet, and other factors have on a person’s health
ultimate cause vs proximate cause of a person’s illness
Ultimate cause = someone working from the medical model of disease may look for ultimate cause
Someone from a social model may look for the proximate cause- something about the patient’s life circumstances
*Social epidemiology
Study of social determinants of health and the use of social concepts to explain patterns of health in the population
Can explain healthcare disparities
The field that studies how social organization contributes to the prevalence, incidence and distribution of disease across and within populations
Focus on using social concepts to explain patterns of health and illness in population
Food desert
Area where fresh food is difficult to find bc there are no proper grocery stores, making ppl more likely to eat high-calorie foods that have low nutritional value
Sick role
Theory that individuals who are ill have certain rights and responsibilities in society (can’t serve customers in restaurant if sick); if an individual cannot fulfill the same duties that a person in good health can, society allows for a certain amount of deviant behavior (if person doesn’t go to work bc sick so not performing responsibility to society)
Responsibilities: seek doctor, don’t have to work
Food desert
Area where fresh food is difficult to find bc there are no proper grocery stores, making ppl more likely to eat high-calorie foods that have low nutritional value
Iron law of oligarchy
The “iron law of oligarchy” states that all forms of organizaton develop oligarchic tendencies, especially in large groups and complex organizatons, some power will be concentrated, thereby establishing a new ruling class. The few come to rule the many
*Ideal Bureaucracy
Weber conflict theorist talked about increasing rationalization of society, leading to bureaucracies which are categorized by:
Hierarchal structure, division of labor, written rules/expectations, officials hired on competence, neutral/impersonality
*McDonaldization
McDonaldization refers to principles of the fast-food industry dominating other sectors of society
Similar example - privitized hospitals and patients treated as profit
*Institutional Discrimination
When a social structure engages in discriminatory practices against an individual or group (but in practice we crossed out choices against an individual)
Availability
Accessibility
Availability - Does this resource even exist in your vicinity?
Accessibility - Do you have sufficient insurance, money, transportation, and/or social support to obtain resource (when available)
Social condition
Favorable conditional factors
Social determinants of health
Favorable conditional factors improve overall quality of life (near organic supermarket, safe neighborhood, etc) vs social problems (only fast food restaurants nearby)
