soc100 final Flashcards
the existence of structured inequality between groups in society in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards
social stratification
a large-scale grouping of people who share common economic resources that strongly influence the type of lifestyle
class
money received from paid wages and salaries or earned from investments
income
money and material possessions held by an individual or group - usually measured in terms of net worth (all assets one owns (e.g. house) minus one’s debts (e.g. loan)) some argue that _____________ is the real indicator of social class because it is less sensitive to fluctuations due to work hours, health, and other factors in a given year
wealth
traditionally, income and wealth are measures of class location; recent measures include cultural factors such as _________ and consumption patterns; distinction on the basis of cultural tastes and leisure pursuits
lifestyle
own the means of production (= capitalists)
bourgeoisie
earn their living by selling their labor to the capitalists
proletariat
a social system based on the common ownership of the means of production and sharing the wealth it produces (= socialist system) technology replaces much of human labor with everyone working together for the common good
communism
the social honor or prestige a particular group is accorded by others
status
the upward or downward movement of individuals or groups between different social positions through changes in occupation, wealth, or income
social mobility
social movement across generations (e.g., child vs. parents)
intergenerational mobility
social movement during their working life
intragenerational mobility
a political system that allows the citizens to participate in political decision making or to elect representatives to government bodies
democracy
the belief that politics should reflect the needs and interests of ordinary people rather than those of elite individuals or groups
populism
a political system in which the governing bodies or leaders use force to maintain control
authoritarianism
political communities with delimited borders and shared culture
nation-state
the ability of people or groups to realize their will over the will of others
power
power that people do not accept as legitimate (illegitimate, unjust)
coercion
power that is accepted as legitimate (just)
authority
legal rights held by all citizens in a given national community (e.g., freedom of speech and religion, the right to own property, etc.)
civil rights
rights of political participation, such as the right to vote in elections and run for public office
political rights
rights of every individual to enjoy a minimum standard of economic welfare and security (e.g., unemployment benefits, sickness payments)
social rights
power that is legitimized on the basis of a leader’s exceptional personal qualities or the demonstration of extraordinary insight and accomplishment that inspires loyalty and obedience from followers
charismatic authority
power that is legitimized by law or written rules and regulations in organizations
rational-legal authority
power that is legitimized on the basis of long-standing customs, handed down from generation to generation
traditional authority
a group organized to pursue specific interests in the political arena, operating primarily by lobbying the members of legislative bodies (e.g., NRA)
interest group
a measure of how much a society’s values and beliefs divide along political or ideological lines
polarization
processes of social change involving the mobilizing of a mass social movement, which, by often using violence, overthrows an existing regime and forms a new government
revolution
collective attempts to further a common interest or secure a common goal through action outside the sphere of established institutions
- some argue that is not absolute deprivation that leads to protest but relative deprivation
social movement
the discrepancy between people’s actual lives and what they think could realistically be achieved, by comparing themselves with peers in a group (e.g., Robert Merton – an important element in deviant behavior)
relative deprivation
the physical differences of the body that distinguish males from females
sex
Social expectations about behavior regarded as appropriate for the members of each sex
gender
- gender alone does not shape our life experiences
- our multiple group memberships affect our lives; gender intersects with other traits, such as race or social class
intersectionality
the view that differences between men and women are natural and inevitable consequences of the intrinsic biological natures of men and women
biological essentialism
the process by which we learn about male – and female – typed roles and practices from socialization agents (e.g., family, peers, schools)
gender role socialization
the assessment (positive or negative) of a person’s gender (class race) performance by others, based on normative conceptions and attitudes about what is “appropriate”
accountability
engaging in behavior at the risk of gender assessment by others (either positive or negative)
doing gender
women hold occupations of lower status and pay, such as secretarial and retail positions, and men hold jobs of higher status and pay, such as managerial and professional positions
gender typing
a promotion barrier that prevents a woman’s upward mobility within an organization
glass ceiling
men’s rapid ascent up the hierarchy when they work in female-dominated professions
- employers single out male workers and promote them to top administrative jobs
glass escalator
classifying people as black if they have some black ancestry
one drop rule
a group of people in a given society who, because of their distinct physical or cultural characteristics, find themselves in situations of inequality compared with the dominant group within that society
- not simply a numerical category
minority group
A socially constructed category rooted in the belief that there are fundamental differences among humans, associated with phenotype and ancestry
- fixed and biological
race
a source of identity based on society and culture
ethnicity
- one specific form of prejudice, focusing on physical variations among people
- a special form of discrimination against the members of a racial group by a powerful other
- racial attitudes become entrenched during the Western colonial expansion
racism
holding preconceived ideas about a person or group; it can be conscious or unconscious
prejudice
actual behavior that denies the members of a group resources or rewards available to others; it involves power dynamics
discrimination
thinking in terms of fixed and inflexible categories
stereotyping
patterns of discrimination based on race that have become structured into existing social institutions: the idea that racism occurs through the respected and established institutions of society rather than hateful actions of some bad people
institutional (systemic) racism
a means of maintaining racial inequality without appearing racist
color-blind racism
the movement of persons from one locality to another (within a country)
migration
the movement of people into one country from another for the purpose of settlement
immigration
the movement of people out of one country to settle in another
emigration