Sociology Exam 2 Content Flashcards

1
Q

social stratification

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

social differentiation

A

perceiving and differentiating people into distinct categories and/ or social roles

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

social inequality

A

people of certain categories or roles have unequal access to valued resources, services, and positions in society

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Import things about Social Stratification

A

1.) not a reflection of individual differences but a trait of society
2.) carries over from generation to generation
3.) also involves beliefs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Castes

A

reincarnation
the belief that caste and ascriptive differentiation is justified inequality
no social mobility ( moving up or down)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

class

A

meritocracy
emphasis on achievement -> justified inequality
social mobility possible

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

meritocracy

A

the belief that achievement overcomes ascription

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

social mobility

A

moving up or down in a system
can be intergenerational or intragenerational

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

intergenerational

A

what your children do or what you do relative to your parents

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

intragenerational

A

what you do, or what has been possible for you or your generation to do in your specific lifetime

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

plutocracy

A

government by the wealthy
an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Weber

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Socioeconomic status (SES)

A

hallmark variable in sociology
composite metric that refers to a person’s ranking along several dimensions of inequality - education, occupational prestige, and income

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

upper class

A

upper upper
lower upper
corporate class

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

upper upper

A

top 1%
seeing the biggest gains in wealth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

lower upper uppers

A

2-3%
have to work to maintain lifestyles

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

corporate class

A

high corporate positions, supplanting family capitalism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

middle class

A

35% or so of the population and is shrinking
consists of the:
upper-middle
avg-middle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

upper-middle

A

120-220K a year
college educated professionals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

avg middle

A

less prestigious white collar, skilled blue collar
depend heabily on earnings to maintain lifestyle
50 - 120K

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

working class

A

another 35% or so of the population
30-50k
little to no property
conformity and adherence to rules

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Lower Class

A

20-25% of population and growing
instability
poverty - absolute or relative

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

absolute poverty

A

condition where household income is insufficient to afford basic necessities of life
criteria do not change by economic growth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

relative poverty

A

when households recieve 50% less median income than the average median incomes
criteria will change with economic growth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
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
26
Common Critiques of the functionalist view
1.) difficulty of specifying value 2.) suffocating the talents of those that might otherwise benefit the society
27
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
28
critiques of the conflict view
1.) unequal rewards motivate people 2.) presence of a middle class 3.) decentralization of corporate structures 4.) labor gains
29
industrialism vs. post-industrialism
movement from factory style labor to service sector work
30
capitalism vs socialism
modes of industrialism
31
capitalism
means of production are privately owned and market forces determine production and distribution
32
socialism
means of production are collectively owned and the state directs production and distribution
33
social groups
collections of people who take each other's behavior into account as they interact, and develop a sense of togetherness
34
primary affinity
intimate cooperative, face-to-face personally oriented, defined by "who" the group is
35
secondary affinity
limited participation, impersonality, formal, associative ties, goal-oriented, defined more by "what" the group seeks to accomplish
36
in group
people feel belonging
37
out group
people do not feel belonging
38
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
39
expressive leaders
focused on group well-being solidarity , cohesion, and morale
40
instrumental leaders
focused on the completion of tasks
41
groupthink
intense social pressure within a group to conform to group norms and abandon individual critical thinking
42
reference groups
groups whose values, norms, and beliefs serve as a standard for one's own behavior
43
formal organizations
a cornerstone of the modern world and large secondary groups organized around achieving goals
44
utilitarian organization
people join for material incentives
45
normative organization
people join for moral causes (NRA, PETA)
46
Coercive organization
membership is involuntary
47
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
48
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
49
ritualism
preoccupation with rules that get to a point where it thwarts an organization's goals
50
alienation
people feel alienated from organizations designed to serve them
51
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
52
efficiency
the optimum way of getting from one point to another, or the way that is quicker to achieve a goal
53
calculability
the quantitative aspects of products sold, services offered, dimensions of interaction
54
predictability
the assurance that a product or interaction will be the same in all places
55
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
56
deviance
violation of the norm, criminally sanctioned or not
57
crime
legal violation, socially sanctioned or not
58
social controls
mechanisms that monitor behavior and sanction the violation of social norms
59
internal social controls
seated within the individual and learned through the socialization processese
60
external social controls
rely on societal mechanisms
61
biological deviance
genetic factors or biological makeup explain deviance
62
personal/psychological deviance
some individuals lack social controls
63
social deviance
cultural context explains deviance
64
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
65
stigma
a powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person's self-concept and social identity
66
primary deviances
provoke only a slight reaction that holds an impact on a persons conception of self
67
secondary deviances
strong reaction, where a deviating person takes on a deviant identity
68
retrospect
reinterpreting past in light of present behaviors
69
projective
deviant identity extrapolated into the future
70
saints and roughnecks
"headed for diaster" vs. "headed for success"
71
functionalism and deviance
deviance is necessary for social organization deviance affirms cultural values deviance brings people together in repudiation of it
72
laws and conflict perspective
disempowered groups' deviances are formally codified into laws that criminalize their deviances magnitudes more than privileged groups
73
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
74
reasons for punishment
retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, recidivism
75
retribution
an act of moral vengence in which a society makes the offender suffers as much as the suffering caused by the crime
76
deterrence
attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment reform measure
77
rehabilitation
a program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses
78
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
79
occupational
crimes committed exclusively for personal gain without the support of the formal organization
80
organizational
crimes committed with the support and encouragement of an organization whose goals the crime is intended to advance