soci quiz 3 Flashcards
status
-a recognized social position that a person occupies
-contributes to a persons social identity
-imposes responsibilities and expectations that defines that persons relationship to other
status set
- a collection of statuses people have over a lifetime
-ex. mother, daughter, wife
-statuses and our status set change as we age
Achieved status
-a status you entered at some stage of your life
-you weren’t born into it
-ex. academic standings, professional positions
ascribed status
-status one is born into or enter involuntarily
-ex. daughter, son, teenager, cancer survivor
social mobility
- the degree to which your status is achieved or ascribed
- the extent to which peoples social and economic statuses can change
sexual orientation and status
-sexual orientation is primarily an ascribed status
-more complicated than being seen as either an ascribed or achieved status
- it has to do with the way ones own sexuality is recognized by others
-status then lies in what you do and not in what you feel
master status
-Everett C. Hughes- concept of master status
-dominates all of an individuals statuses in most social contexts
-plays the greatest role in formation of a persons social identity
-ex. race, ethnicity, gender, occupation
status hierarchy
-status can be ranked from high to low based on prestige and power
-in social categories such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, class. one status tends to be valued above others
-ex. male over female, white over black
status consistency
-condition a person experiences when all of their statuses fall in the same range in the social hierarchy
-ex. male, white, rich, straight, able
status inconsistency
-result of marginalization
-occurs when a person holds social statuses that are ranked differently and do not align
role
-a set of behaviours and attitudes associated with a particular status
-status may be associated with more than one role
role set
-according to Robert merton- all the roles that are attached to a particular status
-ex. professors play the role of teachers colleagues, employees, etc..
role strain
-develops when there is a conflict within the role set of a particular status
-ex. a student catching another classmate cheating
role conflict
- occurs when a person is forced to reconcile incompatible expectations from two or more statuses they hold
-ex. conflicting demands of being a mother and a student
role exit
-process of disengaging from a role that was central to ones identity and trying to establish a new one
- involves shifting ones master status
-ex. divorce, death
-we all experience this throughout our lives
pecking order
-in small groups, statuses can be a valuable way to establish the pecking order- who is in charge
-ex. criminal gangs have a hierarchy of statuses ranging from president to associate to soldier to wannabe
William I Thomas
-symbolic interactionist
-coined the concept :definition of the situation
- individuals define situations bases on their subjective experiences
-interpretations and definitions produce reality: a process known as Thomas theorem
-“ situations we define as real become real in their consequences”
interaction process analysis
-rober f bales
-developed a system of coding interactions in small groups called interaction process analysis (IPA)
-identifies patterns of behaviour such as dominant/submissive, friendly/unfriendly….
social organization
-social and cultural principles around which people and things are structured,, ordered and categorized
-ex. cultures, institutions or corporations are all socially organized around principles
organizational structure
-comprised of the principles that are upheld by shared cultural beliefs and maintained through a network of social relations
-based on understandings and knowledge of the world
study of organizations
-started with max Webbers work on bureaucracy
-shifted from the examination of social institutions to that of business corporations in search of effective and efficient management practices
organizational ritual
- a form of social action where a groups values and identity are publicly demonstrated
three models of feminist organizations
- Formal social movement organizations: professionalized, bureaucratic, inclusive with few demands made on members- ex. women’s rights groups
- Small groups or collectives: organized informally, require time, loyalty, and resources from its member- ex. women’s publishing houses
3.service- provider organizations: combine elements of both formal and small group organizations- ex. domestic violence shelters
bureaucracy
-arose out of states and writing systems 5,000 years ago
-according to webber bureaucracy is marked by formal rationalization and its 4 elements
1. efficiency
2.quantification
3.predictability
4.control
substantive rationalization
focuses on values and ethics
formal rationalization
leads to disenchantment and alienation
mcdonaldization
-coined by George Ritzer
-the process by which the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world
-
formal rationalization in the digital age
- the internet allows fro an enormous degree of formal rationalization
social order through social organization
-organizational structure promotes social order ( social cohesion and how the organizations and systems are held together)
deviance
- behaviour that strays from what is “normal”
-does not mean bad
-it is different than the norm
-category that changes with time, place, and culture
-contested across culture
-differs from culture to culture - also contested within culture
-a social or cultural contrust
overt characteristics of deviance
actions or qualities taken as explicitly violating the cultural norm
covert characteristics of deviance
unstated qualities that might make a group a target for sanctions
-ex. age, ethnic background, “race” and sexual orientation etc..
conflict deviance
a disagreement among groups over whether something is deviant or not
-ex. marijuana
social constructionism
proposes that certain elements of social life , such as deviance, are not natural and are created by a society or culture
essentialism
argues that there is something natural, true, universal and therefor objectively determined about these characteristics
stigma
human attribute that is seen to discredit an individuals social identity
1. Bodily stigmata: physical deformities
2. Moral stigmata: blemishes of individual character
3: Tribal stigmata: transmitted through group association
The other/ othering
- image constructed by the dominant culture to characterize subcultures
- can be depicted as mysterious, mystical or mildly dangerous, ultimately cast as inferior
-deviant behaviour , once associated with otherness, is often subject to negative sanctions or punishment
moral panic
a campaign designed to arouse concern over an issue or group
moral entrepreneur
a person who tries to convince others of the need to take action around a social problem that they have defined
radicalizing deviance
-linking ethnic groups, especially visible minorities- with certain forms of deviance
- making ethnic background a covert characteristic of deviance
-treating these groups differently because of that connection
-ex. Muslims wearing a niqab are seen as deviant, their faces are covered
race and deviance continued
-canada is multicultural
-still racialized minorities feel pressured to assimilate
-not assimilating can be viewed as deviant
-deviance is racialized through racial profiling
-visible characteristics used to predict illegal activity
gender and deviance
in patriarchal society- male is normal and female is treated as other and seen as inherently deviant
-misogyny: means hating women
-patriarchal construct: social conditions that favour men/boys over girls/women
class and deviance
to be poor is deviant
-poverty can be considered a covert characteristic of deviance
-ex. drug or alcohol use are considered deviant in poor people but less in those who are rich
-lower class is over represented in the stats on criminal convictions
- due to lack of social resources (lack of knowledge of law and legal sys, ability to pay for lawyer)
- poor schools are often located in racialized neighborhoods
white collar crime
- a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his/her occupation
-2 types- occupation and corporate crimes
occupation crimes
benefit the individual at the expense of other individuals who work for the company
ex. sexual harassment
corporate crimes
benefit the corporation and its executives at the expense of other companies and the general public
sexual orientation and deviance
-homosexuality is socially constructed as deviant to varying degrees around the globe
-homosexuality is sanctioned in various ways - from informal(social scrutiny) to formal (law)
disability and deviance
people with disabilities often suffer negative sanctions by society not accommodating differences in physical ability
- punished not by being singled out but by omission
-targeted because of their differnce
criminal deviance
not all criminal behaviour is deviant
-criminology is the study of patterns in criminal behaviour to learn more about how crime can be predicted, prevented and sanctioned
3 theories of criminal deviance
1. strain theory
2. subcultural theory
3. labelling theory
strain theory
-explains why some individuals choose to be criminally deviant
- the American dream: anyone has the opportunity to be successful regardless fi their background or circumstances as long as they work hard
-disconnect between culturally defined goals and the uneven distribution of means to achieve those goals
- those without the necessary resources to achieve culturally defined goals turn to criminal deviance
subculture theory
individuals from lower class backgrounds experience status frustration
- failure to succeed in middle class institutions
- can become socialized into a delinquent subculture
-develops values in opposition to mainstream society
labelling theory
-how subcultural beliefs, values, and practices become defined as deviant by mainstream society
- how labels become internalized by both majority and deviant group
