Social Institutions, Demographics, and Inequality Flashcards
what are social institutions?
standardized sets of social norms organized to preserve a societal value
Social institutions systemically preserve the collective ethic of a society. Stability of these institutions help guard against ____.
anomie
Name several examples of social institutions
education, family, religion, government, economy, politics, health and medicine
What are ways that education can promote both equality (2) and inequality (3)?
Promtes equality:
- average years of schooling and income inequality show a negative correlation
- more education, on average, is associated with less inequality
Promotes inequality:
- hidden curriculum: unintentional lessons about social norms, values, and beliefs
- teacher expectancy: students tend to match teacher expectations (positive and negative)
- Educational segregation and stratification
Distinguish between nuclear family and extended family
nuclear family: consisting of direct blood relations: mom, dad, sister(s), brother(s)
extended family: direct blood relations inc. grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.
Distinguish between polygamy, polygyny, and polyandry
Polygamy: the generic term that refers to an individual having multiple wives or husbands
Polygyny: refers to a man that has more than one wife
Polyandry: refers to a woman that has more than one husband
Distinguish between endogamy and exogamy
endogamy: refers to an individual marrying within a one’s own group
exogamy: refers to an individual outside of one’s own group
What is kinship?
this is how we think about who we are related to. Kin don’t have to live together and kin is considered a cultural group rather than a biological one
Distinguish between patriarchy and matriarchy
patriarchy: men have more authority than women
matriarchy: women have more authority than men
What is an egalitarian family?
spouses are treated as equals and, thus, may be involved in more negotiation when making decisions
What is educational segregation?
the widening disparity between children from high-income neighborhoods and those from low-income neighborhoods i.e. schools from high income neighborhoods have more funding than schools from low-income neighborhoods, which results in providing worse teachers and education to students.
What is teacher expectancy theory?
students will perform in accordance with their teachers’ expectations, whether it be positive or negative
What is educational stratification?
refers to the educational system reinforcing and perpetuating social inequalities (in contrast to the thought that education being thought of as a path toward upward mobility)
What is ecclesia refer to?
the dominant religious organization that includes most members of society
Distinguish between a church, a sect, and a cult/new religious movement
- church: a type of religious organization that is well-integrated into the larger society
- sect: a religious organization that is distinct from that of the larger society
- cult/new religious movement: a religious organization that is far outside society’s norms and often involves a very different lifestyle
What is secularization?
the process through which religion loses its social significance in modern societies
What is fundamentalism?
a response to modernist societies in which there is strong attachment to traditional religious beliefs and practices and a strict adherence to basic religious doctrines resulting from a literalist interpretation of these texts
What is religiosity?
refers to the extent of influence of religion in a person’s life
the extreme form of religiosity come from fundamentalists, who adhere strictly to religious beliefs
What is hidden curriculum?
refers to the things that students are not directly taught in school, which can also affect their learning experience i.e. medical students learn the sanctity of patient care in school, but then encounter hospital staff that treats patients as nuisances
Distinguish between rational-legal authority, traditional authority, and charismatic authority
All refer to how that particular government derives its power
- rational-legal authority: legal rules and regulations are stipulated in a document like the Constitution.
- traditional authority: gov’t derives its power from custom, tradition, or accepted practice
- charismatic authority: gov’t/leader derives its power from their power of persuasion
What are aristarchic gov’ts? Name 2 types of gov’t that fall under this category
aristarchic gov’t: consists of a small group of people that are selected based on specific qualifications and have decision making power (pubic is not involved in decision making)
2 types inc. aristocracies and meritocracies
What is an autocratic gov’t? Name 2 types of gov’t that fall under this category.
autocratic gov’t: controlled by a single person or selective small group and has absolute decision making power
2 types inc. dictatorships (1 person) and facists (small group)
What is a monarchic gov’t?
controlled by a single person, or selective small group, who inherited their leadership role
Distinguish between Authoritarian, Democratic, and Oligarchic gov’ts
These types of gov’t refer to how leadership is elected
Authoritarian: consist of unelected leaders; the public might have some individual freedoms but have no control over representation
Democratic: consists of elected leaders; the public has some degree of political decision making power
Oligarchic: leaders can be elected or unelected; the public might have power to elect representation, but ppl have little influence in directing decisions and social change
Distinguish between command/planned economies, market economies, mixed economies, and traditional economies
- command/planned: means of production are often public (aka state)-owned; economic decisions are based on a plan of production i.e. communism and socialism
- market economies: means of production are private-owned; economic decision are based on the market (aka supply and demand) i.e. free market
- mixed: contain both private and public ownership i.e. U.S.
- traditional: consider social customs in economic decisions; most common in rural areas and often involve bartering and trading
Distinguish between welfare capitalism and state capitalism
welfare: most of the economy is private with the exception of extensive welfare programs
state: companies are privately run, but work closely with gov’t in forming laws and regulations
What is the iron law of oligarchy?
it states that all forms of gov’t will eventually develop oligarchic tendencies, and therefore inevitably succumb to rule by an elite few (an oligarchy)
What is medicalization?
the process by which a human condition comes to be recognized as a disease, which is then treated as a medical condition
What is the social model of disease?
emphasizes the effect one’s living situation, life style, and etc. can have on a his/her health
i.e. one’s social class, employment status, neighborhood, exposure to environmental toxins, diet, and many other factors
What is McDonaldization?
refers to the principles of the fast food industry dominating other sectors of society:
- efficiency
- calculability
- predictability
- increased control
- automation
What are the characteristics of an ideal bureaucracy according to Max Weber?
Hierarchal Structure Division of Labor Written Rules and Expectations Officials hired and promoted on technical competence Neutrality/Impersonality
What is social epidemiology?
refers to the study of sociology that focuses on how social condition/social-structural factors affect health, whether that is a positive or negative effect; and also includes the belief that the distribution of advantages and disadvantages in a society reflect the distribution of health and disease
What is a food desert?
an area where healthy, fresh food is difficult to find because there are no proper grocery stores (which then make ppl in that area eat high calorie, low-nutrient dense food)
What is the sick role?
a theory that all ill individuals have 2 rights and 2 responsibilities/obligations, and if an ill individual cannot fulfill the same duties that a person in good health can, society allows for a reasonable amount of deviant behavior
- Rights: the sick person is exempt from normal social roles; the sick person is not responsible for his/her conditions
- Obligation: the sick person should try to get well; the sick person should seek tx and cooperate with the medical professional
Differentiate between availability and accessability
availability: the mere presence of resources
accessibility: the ability to obtain existing resources
_____ discrimination is when a social structure engages in discriminatory practices against an individual or group
institutional
What is a social condition?
Refers to the social determinants of health i.e. availability of food supplies, drug use, access to quality education, unemployment, crime rates, and access to health care
What is socioeconomic gradient in health?
- the belief that there is a proportional increase in health and health outcomes as socioeconomic status increases
- both context and level matter: poor ppl living in poor neighborhoods are likely to have poorer health than equally poor people living in more affluent neighborhoods
Name some demographic factors (5)
Race and ethnicity Age Gender Immigration status Sexual Orientation
What is Malthusian Theory?
- Thomas Malthus hypothesized that unchecked population growth would quickly exceed carrying capacity, leading to overpopulation and catastrophes such as famine or war (known as a Malthusian catastrophe).
- He hypothesized this because he thought that population growth was exponential while food and resources were linear, but this is wrong because population growth actually plateaus during post-industrial revolution
What is the Demographic Transition Theory?
societies transition from high birth and high death rates to low birth and low death rates
- pre-industrial stage: high birth and death rates
- industrial revolution: high birth rates but death rates fall, leading to population growth
- post-industrial stage: low birth and death rates; population stabilizes
What is the Kinsey scale?
The scale that compares homosexual to heterosexual attractiveness. It illustrates this attraction along a continuum rather than people being categorized as exclusively hetero or homosexual
Distinguish between race and ethnicity
Race: more about shared biological traits; divides ppl into populations or groups on the basis of various sets of physical characteristics (i.e. skin color, facial type, etc), which can result from genetic ancestry. racial categories result from shared genealogy d/t geographical isolation
Ethnicity: more about shared culture; population group whose members identify with each other on the basis of common nationality or shared culture traditions. ethnicity is belief in shared genealogy, whether actual or presumed
____ segregation is the physical separation of groups into different areas, typically along the lines of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status
residental
____ injustice can occur when low SES and minority groups tend to live in areas where environmental hazards and toxins are disproportionally high
environmental
Distinguish between prejudice and discrimination
prejudice: a belief (not a behavior) involving preconceived judgments toward ppl based on their group membership
discrimination: biased treatment of an individual based on group membership
____ segregation is the tendency of ppl from the same social groups to interact with each other and have minimal contact with individuals from other social groups
social
____ status is the social standing or class of an individual or group and often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation
socioeconomic status (SES)
SES is measured by the 3 P’s. What are these 3 P’s
Power, Property, and Prestige
i.e. a nurse has a higher SES than a flight attendant. Both occupations make the same, but a nurse has higher prestige and can also obtain more opportunities to work wherever they want
Distinguish between absolute and relative poverty
absolute: cannot afford or obtain the basic necessities of life: food, water, shelter, etc
relative: can afford the basic necessities of life, but has the inability to meet the average standard of living defined by a given society
Distinguish between the Caste System, Class System, and Meritocracy
All systems are in regard to social stratification and SES within society
Caste: individuals have lower social mobility because social mobility is not dependent on effort, but rather defined by birth
Class: there is some degree of social mobility; social status is determined by both birth and individual merit
Meritocracy: higher social mobility; dependent on effort and social status is based on individual merit
What is social reproduction?
refers to the reproduction of the social class; social inequality is transmitted from one generation to the next
Distinguish between physical, social, and cultural capital
physical: money, property, land, and other physical assets
social: whom you know, social networks
cultural capital: non-financial attributes evaluated by society; involves how society evaluates you and what category they put you into
Distinguish between master status, ascribed status, and achieved status
master status: the role or position that dominates; this tends to determine you general place in society
ascribed status: one assigned to you by society regardless of your effort
achieved status: one that is earned
Distinguish between role conflict, role strain, and role exite
role conflict: occurs when there is conflict among the expectations for multiple social positions i.e. male nurse or gay priest
role strain: occurs when there is tension in the expectations of a single social position i.e. a gay man may feel pressure to avoid being “too gay” or “not gay enough”
role exit: the transition from one role to another i.e. transitioning from the workforce to retirement
Distinguish between an in group, out group, and reference group
in group: any group a person belongs to and identifies with
out group: any group or person that doesn’t belong to or identify with.
reference group: any group that one identifies with and compares themselves to; they may or may not actually be a member of this group
What is cultural transmission?
the process by which cultural information is spread across generations, and includes mechanisms of learning (culture is not passed on biologically, but rather learned through experience and participation)
What is counterculture?
Refers to a way of life and a set of attitudes that are opposed to, or at a variance with the prevailing social norm
Distinguish between culture assimilation, multiculturalism, ethnocentrism, and cultural relativism
assimilation: the process by which a person or a group’s culture comes to resemble those of another group
multiculturalism: the preservation of various cultures or cultural identities within a single unified society
ethnocentrism: the belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture
cultural relativism: the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual’s own culture
Distinguish between material culture and nonmaterial culture
material culture: consists of the concrete visible/physical parts of a culture i.e. food, clothing, cars, weapons, and buildings
nonmaterial culture: specific to social thoughts and ideas i.e. morals, values, and symbols within the society
What is cultural lag?
refers to the social changes that lag behind technical innovations; when a new innovation exists, there is no social consensus on how to treat that new innovation, so there must be new creation of social rules; material culture changes must faster than nonmaterial culture
What is culture shock
the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration, a visit to a new country, or move between social environments
