Social Structure and Demographics Flashcards
Social Structure
system of people within a society organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships
Functionalism or Functional Analysis
Study of the structure and function of each part of society
Function
beneficial consequence of people’s actions
Dysfunctions
harmful consequences that undermine a social system’s equilibrium
Manifest Function
action that is intended to help some part of the system
Latent Functions
unintended positive consequences on other parts of society that come from a manifest function
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
Focuses on how individuals put together their social reality
Rational Choice Theory
focuses on decision-making in an individual and attempts to reduce this process to a careful consideration of benefits and harms to the individual
Exchange Theory
extension of above theory. This theory focuses only on interactions within groups
Feminist Theory
Attempts to explain social inequalities that exist on the basis of gender
Gender Roles
behaviors expected of a given gender
Glass Ceiling
women 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 culture
Patterns of kinship
tend to change over time and area
Teacher expectancy
idea that teachers tend to get what they expect from students
Religiosity
how religious one considers themselves to be
Secularization
shift away from religion as society moves towards rationality and scientific thinking
Fundamentalism
maintenance of strict adherence to religious code
Beneficence
physician has a responsibility to act in the patient’s best interests
Nonmaleficence
do no harm; physician has a responsibility to avoid treatment or interventions in which the potential for harm outweighs the potential for benefit
Respect for Patient Autonomy
physician has responsibility to respect patients’ decisions and choices about their own healthcare
Justice
physician has a responsibility to treat similar patients with similar care, and to distribute healthcare resources fairly
Culture
encompassing the entire lifestyle for a given group. Culture is what makes human societies unique from one another
Ethnography
study of cultures
Artifacts
material items that are made, possessed and valued
Material culture
- physical items that are associated with a given group
- tangible embodiment of the underlying ideas of symbolic culture
Symbolic culture
- Informs cultural values and belief
- Informs cultural norms and communication styles
- usually slower to change than material culture
Culture Lag
created due to this difference in pace
Values
what a person deems important in life
Belief
something that an individual accepts to be truth
Cultural Barriers
When cultural differences impede interaction with others
Norms
societal rules that define boundaries of acceptable behavior
Ritual
formalized ceremony that involves specific material objects, symbolism, and additional mandates on acceptable behaviors
Demographics
- statistics of populations and are the mathematical applications of sociology
- common demographic categories: age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, immigration status
Race
social construct based on phenotypic differences between groups of people
Racialization
definition or establishment of a group as a particular race
Racial formation theory
suggests that racial identity is fluid and dependent on concurrent political, economic, and social factors
Ethnicity
social construct that sorts people by cultural factors
Symbolic Ethnicity
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 everyday life
Kinsey Scale
Describes sexuality on a scale of 0 (heterosexuality) to 6 (homosexuality)
Intersectionality
the interplay between multiple demographic factors, especially when it leads to discrimination or oppression
Population Pyramids
provide a histogram of the population size of various age cohorts
Crude rate
total rate for a population
Migration
Immigration is the influx of population into a new geographic space
Emigration
movement away from a geographic space
Demographic Shifts and Social Change
Changes in the makeup of a population over time
Demographic Transition
specific example of demographic shift which refers to changes in birth and death rates in a country as it develops from a preindustrial to industrial economic system
Demographic Transition: Stage 1
preindustrial society; birth and death rates are both high
Demographic Transition: Stage 2
improvements in healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, and wages causes death rates to drop
Demographic Transition: Stage 3
Improvements in contraception, women’s rights, and shift from agriculture to an industrial economy causes birth rates (births per 1000 individuals per year) to drop
Demographic Transition: Stage 4
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 thus lead to social degradation and disorder
relative deprivation
decrease in resources, representation, or agency relative to the past or to the rest of society
Proactive Social Movements
promote social change
Reactive Social Movements
resist social change
Globalization
Process of integrating the global economy with free trade and the tapping of foreign markets.
Urbanization
Dense areas of population that create a pull for migration
Ghettos
areas where specific racial, ethnic or religious minorities are concentrated
Slums
more extreme case that is an extremely densely populated area with low-quality housing and poor sanitation
