Social Structure and Demographics Flashcards
Sociology
The study of society: how we create society, how we interact with it, how we define what is normal and abnormal in society
Macrosociology
Focuses on large groups and social structures
Microsociology
Focuses on small groups and the individual
Social structure
A system of people within a society organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships
Functionalism aka functional analysis
The study of the structure and function of each part of society
Function of society
The beneficial consequences of people’s actions. They help keep a society in balance
Dysfunctions of society
The harmful consequences of people’s actions as they undermine a social system’s equilibrium
Manifest function
A functioned intended to help a part of a system
Latent function
An unintended positive consequence of an action
Conflict theory
Based on Marx. Focuses on how power differential are created and how these differential contribute to the maintenance of social order
Symbolic interactionism
The study of the ways individuals interact trough a shared understanding of words, gestures, and other symbols. Symbols are the key to understanding how we view the world and communicate with one another
Symbols
Things we attach meaning to
Social constructionism
How individuals put together their social reality
Rational choice theory
Based on decision-making in an individual and attempted to reduce this process to a careful consideration of benefits and harms to the individual. A mental pros and cons list
Exchange theory
An extension of rational choice theory. While rational choice theory focuses on the individual, this theory is based on interactions in groups.
Feminist theory
Attempts to explain social inequalities that exist on the basis of gender. Focuses on the subordination of women through social structures and institutional discrimination
Gender roles
The behaviors that are expected of a given gender
Objectification
Being viewed as a sexual object
Glass ceiling
The phenomenon in which women are less frequently promoted in the workplace and may have more difficulty attaining top-level administrative positions within a company
Social institutions
Well established social structures that dictate certain patterns of behavior or relationships and are accepted as a fundamental part of the culture
Hidden curriculum
A side effect of education. A way of transmitting social norms, attitudes, and beliefs to students
Teacher expectancy
The idea that teacher tend to get what they expect from students
Religion
A pattern of social activities around a set of beliefs and practices that seek to address the meaning of existence
Beneficence
Norm of healthcare system. The physician has a responsibility to act in the patient’s best interest
Nonmaleficence
Norm of healthcare system. Do no harm.
Respect for patient autonomy
Norm of healthcare system. The physician has a responsibility to respect patients’ decisions and choices about their own healthcare
Justice
Norm of healthcare system. The physician has a responsibility to treat similar patients with similar care, and to distribute healthcare resources fairly
Ethnography
The study of culture and customs
Ethnographic methods
Experimental methods used to study the ethnicity or culture of a group
Artifacts
Material items that people make, possess, and value
Material culture
Sociological exploration of the meaning of objects in a given society
Symbolic culture aka nonmaterial culture
Focuses on the ideas that represent a group of people
Cultural lag
The result of the fact that symbolic culture is slower to change than material culture
Values
What a person deems important in life. Dictate one’s ethical principles and standards of behavior
Belief
Something that an individual accepts to be true
Cultural barriers
Situations in which a cultural difference impedes interaction with others
Norms
Societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior
Ritual
A formalized ceremony that usually involves specific material objects, symbolism, and additional mandates on acceptable behavior
Demographics
The statistics of populations and are the mathematical applications of sociology
Ageism
A prejudice of or discrimination on the basis of a person’s age
Gender
A social construct that corresponds to the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with a biological sex
Gender inequality
The intentional or unintentional empowerment of one gender to the determined of the other
Gender segregation
The separation of individuals based on perceived difference
Race
A social construct based on the phenotypic differences between groups of people
Racialization
The definition or establishment of a group as a particular race
Racial formation theory
Posits that racial identity is fluid and dependent on concurrent political, economic, and social factors
Ethnicity
A social construct that sorts people by cultural factors, including language, nationality, religion, and other factors
Symbolic ethnicity
Describes a specific connection to one’s ethnicity in which ethnic symbols and identity remain important, even when ethnic identity does not play a significant role in every day life (e.g. Irish-Americans on St. Paddy’s day)
Sexual orientation
Can be defined as the direction of one’s sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes. Generally divided into three categories: heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual
Intersectionality
The interplay between multiple demographic factors-especially when nit leads to discrimination or oppression
Demographic shifts
Changes in the makeup of a population over time
Population pyramids
Provide a histogram of the population size of various age cohorts
Fertility rate
The average number of children born per woman during her lifetime in a population
Mortality rate
The number of deaths in a population per unit time (Usually measured in deaths per 1000 people per year)
Birth rate
The number of children born per 1000 people per year
Migration rate
The immigration rate minus the emigration rate
Immigration
The movement into a new geographic space
Emigration
The movement away from a geographic space
Pull factors
Positive attributes of a new location that attract an immigrant
Push factors
Negative attributes of an old location that encourage the immigrant to leave
Demographic transition
A specific example of demographic shift referring to changes in birth and death rates in a country as it develops from pre-industrial to industrial economic system
Stage 1 Demographic transition
Pre-industrial society; birth and death rates are both high
Stage 2 Demographic transition
Improvements in healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, and wages cause death rates to drop
Stage 3 Demographic transition
Improvements in contraception, women’s rights, and a shift from an agricultural to and industrial economy cause birth rates to drop. Also, children must go to school for many years to be productive in society and may need to be supported by parents for a longer period of time than was formerly the case; families thus have fewer children
Stage 4 Demographic transition
An industrialized society; birth and death rates are both low
Malthusian Theory
Focuses on how exponential growth of a population can outpace growth of the food supply and lead to social degradation and disorder
Social movements
Organized either to promote or resist social change
Relative deprivation
Motivators of social movements. Consist of a decrease of resources, representation, or agent relative to the past or to the whole of society
Proactive social movements
Social movements that promote social change
Reactive social movements
Social movements that resist social change
Globalization
The process of integrating the global economy with free trade dn the tapping of foreign markets
Urbanization
Refers to dense areas of population creating a pull for migration. In other words, the process by which cities are formed as individuals move into and establish residency in these new urban centers.
Ghettos
Areas where specific racial, ethnic, or religious minorities are concentrated, usually due to social or economic inequities
Slums
Extremely densely populated area of a city with low quality housing and poor sanitation
