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Social Structures Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What are the 2 ways to view institutions?

A
  1. the conservative view

2. the progressive view

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2
Q

What does the conservative view think about institutions?

A

institutions are natural, positive byproducts of human nature

*hospitals were created out of necessity and aid humanity

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3
Q

What does the progressive view think about institutions?

A

institutions are artificial creations that need to be redesigned if they are to be helpful to society

*business may need to be reigned in if they get too much power

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4
Q

What is the sociologist interpretation of “institution?”

A

forms of social structures:

  • businesses
  • religion
  • education
  • legal system

they continue on without regard to any individual

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5
Q

What is religiosity?

A

how religious a person is, or the degree to which religion plays a role in their life

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6
Q

What is secularization?

A

the weakening of social and political power of religious organizations, as religious involvement and “belief” decline

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7
Q

What is the reaction to secularization?

A

fundamentalism, which is when people go back to the strict teachings and beliefs

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8
Q

What is the danger of fundamentalism?

A

the extreme nature can create social problems

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9
Q

What is social epidemiology?

A

examining how social factors (age, gender, race, SES) correlates with health disparities

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10
Q

What are the core concepts behind “functionalism?”

A
  • examines society on a large scale (macro)
  • each part plays a role in keeping society stable
  • maintaining equilibrium
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11
Q

Who is associated with functionalism?

A

Emile Durkheim

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12
Q

What is “anomie?”

A

a feeling of “normlessness” that occurs when a society begins to feel fragmented and lack cohesiveness

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13
Q

What is the “sick role” theory?

A

aspect of functionalism, and developed by Talcott Parsons

it states that being sick means you are no longer the same kind of productive member of society; you cannot be blamed for being sick, but you do have certain obligations/responsibilities to get better as soon as possible

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14
Q

What is “conflict theory” and who developed it?

A

Carl Marx

-tensions and conflicts arise when RESOURCES are unevenly divided among different social classes

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15
Q

What is the theory of “social constructionism?”

A

things are real because we have socially agreed they are

*money, nation, books

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16
Q

What are the 2 types of social constructionism?

A

weak vs strong

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17
Q

What is weak social constructionism?

A

social constructs depend on

  1. “brute facts,” which are basic, fundamental, and don’t rely on other facts
  2. “institutional facts,” which are created by social conventions and DO rely on other facts
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18
Q

What is strong social constructionism?

A

the whole of reality is dependent on language and social habits

all knowledge is a social construct and there are no brute facts

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19
Q

What is the main criticism of social constructionism?

A

it does not explain natural phenomena

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20
Q

What is symbolic interactionism?

A

a small scale view of society (micro)

focuses on interactions between individuals

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21
Q

Who ushered in the start of symbolic interactionism?

A

George Herbert Mead

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22
Q

Who actually coined the term “symbolic interactionism?

A

Herbert Bloomer

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23
Q

What were the 3 tenets that Herbert Bloomer ascribed to symbolic interactionism?

A
  1. we act based on the meaning we have given something: if I decide that a tree is a nice place to rest, I will sit down and lean against it
  2. we give meaning to things based on our social interactions: a person comes up and warns me that all trees are infested with ants
  3. the meaning we give something is not permanent, it can change with everyday life: if you lean back against the tree and get bit by red ants, you may now view trees a little more cautiously in the future
24
Q

Why is symbolic interactions sometimes considered a “supplemental” to some of the bigger theories?

A

because it is restricted to studying small interactions between individuals

25
Q

What is “completeness” in regards to rational exchange theory?

A

every action can be ranked, and none of the options have an equal value to me

26
Q

What is “transitivity” in regards to rational exchange theory?

A

A > B > C

therefore A > C

27
Q

What is “independence of irrelevant alternatives” in regards to rational exchange theory?

A

if you suddenly have a 4th option, it won’t change how you ranked options 1-3

28
Q

What is “medicalization?”

A

constructing an illness out of ordinary behavior

*a kid who can’t sit still in class may not have ADD, but simply needs to get outside and run around

29
Q

What is the “life course theory?”

A

aging is a social, psychological and biological process that begins from the time you are born and continues until you die

30
Q

What is the “age stratification theory?”

A

age is a way of regulating the behavior of a generation

31
Q

What is the “activity theory?”

A

examines how the older generations view themselves

32
Q

What categorizes a “rural” area?

A

less than 1,000 per square mile

33
Q

What categorizes an “urban” area?

A

more than 1,000 per square mile

34
Q

What is “urbanization?”

A

the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas

35
Q

What is “gentrification?”

A

when areas of a city are remodeled (ie “urban renewal”), it tends to attract the wealthier community, thus raising property values and pushing the previous residents out

*Jackson Hole, Wyoming

36
Q

What are the 3 factors of population dynamics?

A
  1. fertility rate
  2. mortality rate
  3. migration
37
Q

What is the formula for the growth rate?

A

current population - initial population
—————————————————— x 100
initial population

38
Q

What is the “world systems” theory of globalization?

A

looks at the entire world as a unit, rather than individual countries; world is divided into:

  1. core countries (exports goods)
  2. periphery countries (exports resources)
  3. semi-periphery countries
39
Q

What is the “modernization” theory of globalization?

A

all countries follow a similar path of development from a traditional to a modern society

40
Q

What is the “dependency” theory of globalization?

A

poor countries (3rd world) export resources to rich countries (1st world)

41
Q

Distinguish between society and culture

A

society = organized groups of people

culture = shared way of life

42
Q

What is a “microculture?”

A

groups / organizations that affect only a segment of a person’s life

  • Girl Scouts
  • boarding school
  • college sorority
43
Q

What is a counter-culture?

A

groups with values that strongly disagree with the norms of the larger society

*Amish / Pennsylvania Dutch

44
Q

What is “culture lag?”

A

when material culture evolves faster than non-material culture

45
Q

What is “culture shock?”

A

disorientation, uncertainty and / or fear when experienced unfamiliar cultural practices

46
Q

Distinguish between power and authority

A

“power” = the ability to control and influence others

“authority” = whether people see your power as legitimate

47
Q

What are the types of authority?

A
  1. traditional authority
  2. charismatic authority
  3. rational-legal authority
48
Q

What is traditional authority?

A

longstanding patterns in society (the British Queen)

49
Q

What is charismatic authority?

A

personal appeal / extraordinary claims

*Gandhi, MLK

50
Q

What is rational-legal authority?

A

professional position / extensive training

*physicians

51
Q

What is the Approach-Approach conflict?

A

both of your options are both appealing

52
Q

What is the Avoidant-Avoidant conflict?

A

both of your options are unappealing

53
Q

What is the Approach-Avoidant conflict?

A

1 option has both (+) AND (-) aspects

54
Q

What is the Double Approach-Avoidant conflict?

A

both of your options have (+) AND (-) aspects

*jury dilemma

55
Q

What is “ingratiation?”

A

getting somebody to like you so that they will listen to you

56
Q

What are possible causes of anomie?

A
  1. rapid changes in society (lack of religion)
  2. low income levels
  3. high heterogeneity (no commonality)

Society & Culture (1 decks)

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