Sociology Exam 2 Content Flashcards
social stratification
arrangement of society into a series of layers or strata based on unequal distribution of resources, prestige, or power, such that the stratum at the top has the most resources
social differentiation
perceiving and differentiating people into distinct categories and/ or social roles
social inequality
people of certain categories or roles have unequal access to valued resources, services, and positions in society
Import things about Social Stratification
1.) not a reflection of individual differences but a trait of society
2.) carries over from generation to generation
3.) also involves beliefs
Castes
reincarnation
the belief that caste and ascriptive differentiation is justified inequality
no social mobility ( moving up or down)
class
meritocracy
emphasis on achievement -> justified inequality
social mobility possible
meritocracy
the belief that achievement overcomes ascription
social mobility
moving up or down in a system
can be intergenerational or intragenerational
intergenerational
what your children do or what you do relative to your parents
intragenerational
what you do, or what has been possible for you or your generation to do in your specific lifetime
plutocracy
government by the wealthy
an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth
Weber
class is a continuum from high to low rather than a 2-class model with rigid boundaries
status, prestige, and power are reflected in class positioning
Socioeconomic status (SES)
hallmark variable in sociology
composite metric that refers to a person’s ranking along several dimensions of inequality - education, occupational prestige, and income
upper class
upper upper
lower upper
corporate class
upper upper
top 1%
seeing the biggest gains in wealth
lower upper uppers
2-3%
have to work to maintain lifestyles
corporate class
high corporate positions, supplanting family capitalism
middle class
35% or so of the population and is shrinking
consists of the:
upper-middle
avg-middle
upper-middle
120-220K a year
college educated professionals
avg middle
less prestigious white collar, skilled blue collar
depend heabily on earnings to maintain lifestyle
50 - 120K
working class
another 35% or so of the population
30-50k
little to no property
conformity and adherence to rules
Lower Class
20-25% of population and growing
instability
poverty - absolute or relative
absolute poverty
condition where household income is insufficient to afford basic necessities of life
criteria do not change by economic growth
relative poverty
when households recieve 50% less median income than the average median incomes
criteria will change with economic growth
functionalism
stratification and inequality is beneficial to society
individuals are rewarded for fulfilling valuable positions in society
poverty provides motivation
poverty provides a cheap labor force
poverty keeps prices down
Common Critiques of the functionalist view
1.) difficulty of specifying value
2.) suffocating the talents of those that might otherwise benefit the society
Conflict - Marxism
stratification that results from capitalism has done little for the poor
the working and upper class have opposed interests
reconstruct society to benefit all rather than a few
critiques of the conflict view
1.) unequal rewards motivate people
2.) presence of a middle class
3.) decentralization of corporate structures
4.) labor gains
industrialism vs. post-industrialism
movement from factory style labor to service sector work
capitalism vs socialism
modes of industrialism
capitalism
means of production are privately owned and market forces determine production and distribution
socialism
means of production are collectively owned and the state directs production and distribution
social groups
collections of people who take each other’s behavior into account as they interact, and develop a sense of togetherness
primary affinity
intimate cooperative, face-to-face personally oriented, defined by “who” the group is
secondary affinity
limited participation, impersonality, formal, associative ties, goal-oriented, defined more by “what” the group seeks to accomplish
in group
people feel belonging
out group
people do not feel belonging
Georg Simmel - dyad versus triad
the shift between the dyad and triad involves a:
1.) greater loss of intimacy
2.) coalition potential
3.) individual influence diminishes
expressive leaders
focused on group well-being solidarity , cohesion, and morale
instrumental leaders
focused on the completion of tasks
groupthink
intense social pressure within a group to conform to group norms and abandon individual critical thinking
reference groups
groups whose values, norms, and beliefs serve as a standard for one’s own behavior
formal organizations
a cornerstone of the modern world and large secondary groups organized around achieving goals
utilitarian organization
people join for material incentives
normative organization
people join for moral causes (NRA, PETA)
Coercive organization
membership is involuntary
modern rationality
a way of thinking that emphasizes deliberate matter of fact calculation of the most efficient and effective way to accomplish a particular task
bureaucracy
a form of organization based on explicit rules, with a clear, impersonal, and hierarchical structure
designed to execute organizational tasks and objectives more efficiently
ritualism
preoccupation with rules that get to a point where it thwarts an organization’s goals
alienation
people feel alienated from organizations designed to serve them
Mcdonaldized buisness principles
the process by which the principles of the fast-food industry are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world
- efficiency, calculability, predictability, control
efficiency
the optimum way of getting from one point to another, or the way that is quicker to achieve a goal
calculability
the quantitative aspects of products sold, services offered, dimensions of interaction
predictability
the assurance that a product or interaction will be the same in all places
Weber’s Iron Cage
irrationalities can arise to form rationality
the process of rationalization becoming so pervasive that it takes over every sphere of social life, where we are only able to move from one rationalized structure to another
deviance
violation of the norm, criminally sanctioned or not
crime
legal violation, socially sanctioned or not
social controls
mechanisms that monitor behavior and sanction the violation of social norms
internal social controls
seated within the individual and learned through the socialization processese
external social controls
rely on societal mechanisms
biological deviance
genetic factors or biological makeup explain deviance
personal/psychological deviance
some individuals lack social controls
social deviance
cultural context explains deviance
labeling theory
labels people are given affect their own and other’s perceptions of them
1.) stigma
2.) primary and secondary deviance
3.) retrospectively and projectivity
4.) difference as deviance when combined with power
stigma
a powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person’s self-concept and social identity
primary deviances
provoke only a slight reaction that holds an impact on a persons conception of self
secondary deviances
strong reaction, where a deviating person takes on a deviant identity
retrospect
reinterpreting past in light of present behaviors
projective
deviant identity extrapolated into the future
saints and roughnecks
“headed for diaster” vs. “headed for success”
functionalism and deviance
deviance is necessary for social organization
deviance affirms cultural values
deviance brings people together in repudiation of it
laws and conflict perspective
disempowered groups’ deviances are formally codified into laws that criminalize their deviances magnitudes more than privileged groups
Bruce Western
1.) Laws are being written in a way that being poor or disadvantaged come to be illegal - 100 -1 crack rule
2.) Police arrest and scrutinize the poor more frequently
3.) judges may treat defenders more harshly once in court
young black males are going to jail more compared to the recent past
reasons for punishment
retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, recidivism
retribution
an act of moral vengence in which a society makes the offender suffers as much as the suffering caused by the crime
deterrence
attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment
reform measure
rehabilitation
a program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses
white collar crime
committed by people of high social position in the course of their occupations for either personal gain or to further a formal organization’s goals
occupational
crimes committed exclusively for personal gain without the support of the formal organization
organizational
crimes committed with the support and encouragement of an organization whose goals the crime is intended to advance
