sociology 2 Flashcards
What is George Hebert Meads symbolic interactionist interpretation of the I and me ?
the I = active spontaneous autonomous self.
The me is the socialized sense of self derived from others.
Functionalism (durkheim) : what is the theory? what unique ways does it explain social groups? real life example?
- Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole society.
- looks at interdependence of institutions
- look at religious and medical institutions for example
Conflict Theory (Marx): what is the theory? what unique ways does it explain social groups? real life example?
- social life as characterized by inequality where groups and individuals compete for scarce resources. This results in various levels of wealth, power and prestige across society. Social inequality effects everyday interaction at the micro level and more macro phenomena (race and ethnicity, social class, sexuality). This perspective is interested in how inequality is reproduced. Typically, those who are advantaged want to stay advantaged, whereas those disadvantaged continue to struggle to get more for them.
- An example of this theory is analyzing the American educational system and how inequality is reproduced generation to generation. Young people from advantaged backgrounds are tracked toward college. Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, on the other hand, are tracked toward vocation.
Social constructionism or phenomenology or phenomenological sociology: what is the theory? what unique ways does it explain social groups? real life example?
- The theory is interested in how individuals perceive, think and talk about social life. Central to the theory is the concept of the social construction of reality – how individuals assign meaning to perceptions and experiences through interaction.
+ life groups- how routines and habits shape a person’s interactions.
-ex: Her construction of reality was feeling alone and afraid. On several occasions she told her few friends of being
rejected and bullied because of her sexuality. Leelah wrote a note on social media that was released after her death that said, “The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgendered people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans with valid feelings and human rights”. She continued, “My death needs to mean something”. The consequences of her social construction of reality resulted in her tragic death.
Exchange Theory: what is the theory? what unique ways does it explain social groups? real life example?
- explains that people act rationally to get what they need by exchanging goods and services with others
- If the outcome is either neutral or positive, meaning the individual gets more from the interaction that it costs, the relationship is likely to continue. If, however, the outcome is consistently negative, this theory predicts the relationship is likely to end as the relationship costs more than the individual benefits from it.
- An example of applying this theory facilitates an understanding of why some people stay married and others divorce. Those who stay married perceive they get as much as they give or get more from the relationship than they give over the years. Those who get divorced perceive they give more than they receive over the years.
Rational Choice theory: what is the theory? what unique ways does it explain social groups? real life example?
sees all actions as fundamentally rational and people ascertain the costs and benefits of any action prior to acting. Actions are rationally motivated, despite appearing otherwise. It is related to social exchange theory including the same sort of cost benefit analysis, but differs with its emphasis on the individual acting rationally. -Rational choice theory claims that voting behavior is governed less by race/ethnicity, age, gender, social class or party loyalty than by rational calculations of self-interest.
Symbolic Interactionism: what is the theory? what unique ways does it explain social groups? real life example?
- An example of using this theory helps us understand why teens continue smoking cigarettes despite their knowing the detrimental health effects. Research shows that teens think smoking is cool, they will escape the dangers of smoking and their peers will think more positively about them.
- sees society as the product of everyday interactions among Individuals. Unlike functionalism and conflict theories that take a macro approach, symbolic interactionism is a micro level theory meaning that its focus is on social interaction in specific situations.
What is hidden curriculum?
agent of socialization-
The hidden curriculum is a concept that describes the unacknowledged, unarticulated curriculum students are taught in school that contribute to how the educational system creates and recreates social inequality.
What is teacher’s expectancy?
(the impact of a teacher’s expectations on a student’s performance) have found that student background and socioeconomic status were more important in determining educational achievement than were differences in school resources.
Which are examples of teacher expectancy? a) Students learn that most knowledge and learning comes via reading textbooks. b) Teachers are to be given the utmost respect as dominant authority figures. c) Johnny is absent and the teacher believes his parents have probably taken him out of school for a family event or vacation; Pablo is absent and the teacher believes he has skipped class to hang out with friends. d) Students are expected not to speak out of turn. e) One student scores an 80 percent on an exam and is told: “You can do better, Sarah, I know you can.” Another student earns the same score and is told: “Excellent work David, you did it.” f) The higher level of performance by boys in one particular science class may not be based on actual aptitude differences between the boys and girls in that class.
a) Publicized curriculum – it is what students are supposed to learn and how teachers are supposed to teach. b) Publicized curriculum – we all have a general understanding that teachers are to be given respect as authority figures. c) Teacher expectancy – Johnny is from an upper-middle class family whose parents travel to educational places. Pablo is from a poor family whose parents do not value education and don’t provide adequate supervision for him. d) Publicized curriculum – we all have a general understanding that students are not to speak out of turn while in the classroom. e) Teacher expectancy – the teacher has higher expectancies for Sarah than they do for David based on unknown factors. f) Hidden curriculum – boys have been treated differently than girls in science, technology, engineering and math. Boys have been advantaged by this preferential treatment and therefore more boys have engaged in upper level classes and college majors resulting in more men in those careers than women.
What is educational segregation ?
Students tend to be segregated into different schools, based on race socioeconomic class or similar differences.
what is educational stratification?
students tends to be separated into different classes or schools that have stratified curriculum of unequal difficulty. Ex: private schools generally have harder curriculum but are mostly restricted to children from upper- income families. In public schools, children, are often stratified into remedial and, normal, and gifted or talented tracks and/or classes.
1) Social media is of interest to sociologists because it has become its own social structure, developed its own social norms, and even has its own language. The cooperative way in which “social media” was created by companies like Facebook and Twitter, combined with users, mass media, and other social participants, is an example of: A) social deviance B) social constructionism C) symbolic interactionism D) social exchange theory
Social constructionism refers to the cooperative construction of realities between people and is thus Answer B is the best answer. Answer A is incorrect, information in the stem does not suggest social media is displaying deviant behavior. Answer C is incorrect, symbolic interactionism refers to how an individual alone interacts with objects to construct a reality. Answer D is incorrect, social exchange theory majorly deals with cost benefit analysis of choices, not group constructs.
What are primary, secondary and tertiary kins?
Primary kin is a person belonging to the same nuclear family as ego.
Secondary kin is the primary kin of ego’s primary kin.
Tertiary kin is the primary kin of the secondary kin.
What is sociological definition of religion?
formal beliefs, doctrines, values taught or associated with a specific church or group.
what is sociological religiosity?
a more broad term encompassing any guiding belief or behavior by an individual regarding ultimate or transcendent issues.
Differentiate between a church, a sect, and a cult?
-Church is one type of religious organization that is a part of the larger society. It possesses the following traits:
Attempts to appeal to everyone
Has a formalized worship style
Leaders are educated, trained and ordained
Long-term established and organized
Attracts members that are mainstream.
-A sect is one type of religious organization that stands apart from the larger society. It possesses the following traits:
Holds rigid religious convictions and does not have universal appeal
Has a spontaneous and emotionally charged style of worship
Leaders are charismatic
Less stable than church, typically splitting off from other groups
Attracts social outsiders.
-A cult is another type of religious organization that stands apart from the larger society. It differs from sect because it is outside of a society’s cultural traditions. Cults can be seen as deviant. One prominent example was the Heaven’s Gate cult in California where 39 members committed suicide as a group in 1997. They claimed this was the way to a higher existence.
What is modernization in terms of religion and social change?
societal transformation away from a traditional rural agrarian society and toward a secular urban industrial society.
What is secularization in terms of religion and social change?
A societal transformation away from close identification with religious values or institutions, and toward non-religious, secular values or institutions.
What is fundamentalism in terms of religion and social change?
Religious movements focused on “returning to” or “preserving” pure, original, or unchanged values, teachings or behaviors. This is often a direct reaction to social change, especially modernization and secularization. Fundamentalists tend to have stronger levels of commitment, be more absolute in their beliefs, less tolerant of opposing views, and in some cases resort to extremism or terrorism.
Force, coercion, and tyrannical forms of government, such as totalitarianism, are
examples of …. and are said to have ….
power without consent, and are said to have little or no legitimacy.
Authority-dependent uses of power, such as democratic forms of government that require the consent of the governed, are examples of
power with consent, and are said to have a high level of legitimacy.
What is capitalist society?
Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned. In an ideal capitalist economy, there are three distinct features:
- Private ownership of property
- Pursuit of personal profit
- Competition and consumer choice
what is socialism?
Socialism is an economic system in which the means of production are collectively held. In an ideal socialist economy, there are three distinct features:
- Collective ownership of property
- Pursuit of collective goals
- Government control of the economy
what is monarchy?
Monarchy is a political system in which a single family rules from generation to generation. There are 26 monarchies in the world today. Of the monarchies in Europe, all are considered to be constitutional monarchies with the royal families being figureheads with the actual governing power vested in elected officials.
what is democracy?
Democracy is a political system in which power is given to the people. It is unrealistic for all citizens to have a voice, so most nations claiming to be democracies are actually representative democracies where elected officials act on their behalf. The United States along with most high- income nations are democracies.
what is authoritarianism?
Authoritarianism is a political system that denies the people participation in government. Authoritarian governments control the lives of the people and there is no freedom of speech. An example of a contemporary authoritarian government is Iran.
what is totalitarianism?
Totalitarianism is the most extreme type of authoritarianism and is a political system that is highly centralized and extensively regulates people’s lives. The government has economic, political, social and cultural control. In other words, the reach of the government is endless. An example of contemporary totalitarianism is North Korea.
what’s an oligarchy?
Oligarchy is a social system under the control of a small elite. The iron law of oligarchy (Robert Michel) claims all large, complex societies become oligarchies because of the following:
People prefer to let others make decisions for them.
The system is so complex that people can’t possibly know enough to intelligently
participate in the decision-making.
Those in power tend to stay in power and are unwilling to give any of that power up.
what a plutocracy?
Plutocracy is a social system where the wealthy rule, in other words power by wealth. It refers to the disproportionate influence the wealthy has on the political process.
what is egalitarianism?
Egalitarianism is a social system where equality of all people in political, economic and social life exists. Although a noble belief, in reality this does not occur anywhere in the world, nor has it in history
what’s medicalization?
The process by which all human illness, disability, discomfort, or related problems, are assumed to have a medical or clinical cause and/or solution.
what is the difference between the medical model of disability and the social model of disability?
The medical model sees the illness or impairment as the problem. The illness or disability is the target of cure and the individuals are the passive receivers of services. Diagnosis and treatment is the primary approach. Often these individuals receive more health care than they need, receiving one expensive diagnostic test after another.
The social model sees the structures within a society as the problem. The ill or people with disability are active participants working in partnership with others. Prevention and integration rather than treatment is the primary approach. This approach benefits everyone, pushing society to evolve.
What is the sick role in society?
A theory that explains a sick person as having a unique role in society that includes both rights and obligations. Being sick is seen as a temporary form of deviance that prevents the person from being a productive member of society during their illness.
So they are exempt from normal social roles and expectations; not responsible or to be blamed for their condition, but their obligation is to get well asap.
what is epidemiology?
A branch of medicine focused on the incidence, prevalence, and wide-spread
control of diseases and other factors relating to public health.
what is the difference between incidence and prevalence?
Incidence is a measure of disease that allows the determination of a person’s probability of being diagnosed with a disease during a given period of time. In other words, incidence is the number of newly diagnosed cases of a disease. An incidence rate is the number of new cases of a disease divided by the number of persons at risk for the disease.
Prevalence is a measure of disease that allows us to determine a person’s likelihood of having a disease. Therefore, the number of prevalent cases is the total number of cases of disease existing in a population. A prevalence rate is the total number of cases of a disease existing in a population divided by the total population.
