Sociology Flashcards
Micro sociology
Interactions between small groups or individuals in society (eg. families, schools, offices, hospitals)
Macro sociology
Studying the big picture impact of large institutions in society on individuals on a large scale, (eg. Interactions such as religion, economy, political and legal systems)
Social Systems
the interrelationships between individuals, groups, and institutions forming a coherent whole
Institutions
Government: laws, healthcare, housing, inflation
Religion: charities, child services, support groups
Economy: taxes, social benefits, redistribution of wealth
Education: afterschool care, builds career paths
Families: physical needs
Functionalism
-when society fails to create conformity through roles and norms, social control mechanisms exist to restore conformity or segregate non conforming individuals
-everyone in society exists to fulfill a purpose
-a society is stable when institutions meet the needs of society
social equilibrium
balance and stability of society through socialization or members
social control mechanisms
means of controlling society and encouraging conformity and segregating non conforming eg. Laws and prison
Social Darwinism
humans that cannot survive on their own do not deserve to live and should not waste societal resources
Eugenics
movement advocating for the improvement of a species
Eugenics
movement advocating for the improvement of a species
Norms
define how to behave in a society in accordance with what is good
values
culture’s standard for determining what is good, teaches, and transmits culture’s beliefs, embedded in society
Roles
Patterns of behaviour we recognize in each other that represent social status
Beliefs
Convictions people hold to be true, collective and individual
Conflict Theory
society is in a perpetual state of conflict due to competition over limited goods
Social class
Depends on the work that you do, and whether you belong to the bourgeoise or the proletariat
Imbalance of power leads to oppression and exploitation of working class
Defines status
Owners (bourgeoisie)
small group of elite that holds and maintains power and wealth
Working Class (proletariat)
Large group lacking power, dominated and exploited by working class
Hegemony
Social, cultural, ideological or economic influence exerted by dominant group
Liberal Feminism
Equal legal rights, outcomes, and opportunities, legal policies are the cause of women’s oppression
Radical feminism
Developing separate female culture, radical reordering of society, patriarchy divides rights and power by gender, oppressing women
Socialist feminism:
Removal of class divisions, challenging patriarchal systems, recognizing oppression based on sex, race, sexual orientation, and class are all interwoven
Intersectionality
Understanding diverse perspectives and experiences of women, how discrimination is caused by many combined factors
Symbolic Interactionism
meanings are constructed through social interaction, interaction occurs through symbols, words, definitions, gestures, roles, and rituals, emphasis on the individual within society
- Humans interact with things based on the meaning ascribed to those things
- The meaning ascribed to things comes from our interactions with others and society
- Meanings of things are interpreted by a person in specific situations
Threefold process for development of self
- We see how others react to us
- We interpret the reactions as positive or negative
- We develop a sense of self based on those interpretations
Constructivism
Extension of symbolic interaction theory that proposes reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be
How we construct meaning
Social constructs are develop based on interactions, long lasting constructs are norms, cultural scripts
We interact with things based on the meaning we ascribe to them
This meaning comes from interactions
Meaning is interpreted by an individual based on their circumstances
Symbols
Ideas that impose specific meaning on objects
Priming
Brain acts as an associative network
Ideas are activated by the stimuli they are associated with
An encounter with an object or event can prime related concepts and emotions without our awareness
Repeated expose to content can bias individuals towards thinking, feeling, and behaving in ways relevant to that content
