Social Structure and Demographics Flashcards
Functionalism
Focuses on the function of each component of society and how those components fit together
Manifest functions
Deliberate actions that serve to help a given system
Latent functions
Unexpected, unintended, or unrecognized positive consequences of manifest functions
Conflict theory
Focuses on how power differentials are created and how these differentials contribute to the maintenance of social order
Symbolic interactionism
Study of the ways individuals interact through a shared understanding of words, gestures, and other symbols
Social constructionism
Explores the ways in which individuals and groups make decisions to agree upon a given social reality
Rational choice theory
Individuals will make decisions that maximize potential benefit and minimize potential harm
Exchange theory
Applies rational choice theory within social groups
Feminist theory
Explores the ways in which one gender can be subordinated, minimized, or devalued compared to the other
Social insitutions
Well-established social structures that dictate certain patterns of behavior or relationships and are accepted as a fundamental part of culture. Examples are family, education, religion, government, economy, health and medicine
The four key ethical tenets of American medicine
Beneficence, nonmaleficence, respect for autonomy, justice
Beneficence
Acting in patient’s best interest
Nonmaleficence
Avoiding treatments for which risk is larger than benefit
Respect for autonomy
Respecting patients’ rights to make decisions about their own healthcare
Justice
Treating similar patients similarly and distributing healthcare resources fairly
Culture
Encompasses lifestyle of a group of people and includes both material and symbolic elements
Material culture
Physical items one associates with a given group, such as artwork, emblems, clothing, jewelry, foods, buildings, and tools
Symbolic culture
Ideas associated with a cultural group
Cultural lag
Idea that material culture changes more quickly than symbolic culture
Cultural barrier
Social difference that impedes interaction
Langauge
Spoken/written symbols combined into a system and governed by rules
Value
What a person deems important in life
Belief
Something a person considers to be true
Ritual
Formalized ceremonial behavior in which members of a group or community regularly engage. It is governed by specific rules, including appropriate behavior and a predetermined order of events
Norms
Societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior
Culture and evolution relationship
There is evidence that culture flows from evolutionary principles, and that culture can also influence evolution
Demographics
Statistics of populations and are the mathematical applications of sociology. One can analyze hundreds of demographic variables; some of the most common are age, gender, race, and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and immigration status
Ageism
Prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a person’s age
Gender
Set of behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with a biological sex.
Gender inequality
Intentional or unintentional empowerment of one gender to the detriment of the other
Race
Social construct based on phenotypic differences between groups of people’ these may be either real or perceived differences
Ethnicity
Social construct that sorts people by cultural factors, including language, nationality, religion, an dother factors.
Symbolic ethnicity
Recognition of an ethnic identity that is only relevant on special occasions or in specific circumstances and does not specifically impact everyday life
Sexual orientation
Defined by one’s sexual interest towards members of the same, opposite, or both sexes
Immigration
Movement into a new geographic area
Emigration
Movement away from a geographic area
Fertility rate
Average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime in a population
Birth rate
Relative number to a population size over time, usually measured as the number of births per 1000 people per year
Mortality rate
Average number of deaths per population size over time, usually measured as the number of deaths per 1000 people per year
Migration
Movement of people from one geographic location to another
Demographic transition
Model used to represent drops in birth and death rates as a result of industrialization
Social movements
Organized to either promote (proactive) or resist (reactive) social change
Globalization
Process of integrating a global economy with free trade and tapping of foreign labor markets
Urbanization
Process of dense areas of population creating a pull for migration; in other words, creating cities
