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Final
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63
Sociology
Undergraduate 1
12/10/2012

Additional Sociology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Economy 
Definition
a system of producing and distributing goods and services 
Term
Capitalism
Definition

the primary economic system in the world today, has three essential features 

 

1. private ownership of the means of production

2. market competition

3. the pursuit of profit

 

Term
Capitalism's Primary criticism 
Definition
Leads eto social inequality violates the basic human right of freedom from poverty
Term
Welfate capitalism 
Definition
a system in which private citizen own the means of production and pursue profits, but do so within a vast system of laws designed to protect the public
Term
Socialism 
Definition

the worlds secondary economic system, also the three essential features

1. the public ownership of the means of production

2. central planning of production

3. the distribution of goods witout a profit motive

 

Term
Socialism's primary criticism 
Definition
violates individual rigts of freedom and opportunity is inefficient, leads to an overall lower standard of living 
Term
second effect of socialism
Definition
although there is less income inequality in socialist countries, tese nations still find it necessary to offer higher salaries for some jobs in order to entice people to take on greater responsibilities 
Term
Convergence theory
Definition
despite their criticism of each other, capitalist and socialist economies are growing more similar
Term
How has the change in the global economy affected the U.S?
Definition

1. Fierce global competition --> plant closure and movement to other nations 

2. downsizing the temporary workers

3. Stagnant paychecks

4. increasing social inequality

5. the influence of multinational corporations

6. economic and political consolidation

 

Term
Max weber identified three sources of autority, or legitamite power
Definition

1. Traditional authority --based upon custom

2. rational-legal authority -- based upon written rules and vested in positions

3. charismatic authority -- results when an individual with exceptional qualities develops a personal following

Term
What are the three primary forms of goverment in the world today?
Definition

1. monarchy - a government headed by a king or queen

2. democracy - a government that derives its autority from its citizens

2a. Direct democracy

2b. representative democracy

3. dicatorsip/oligarchy - a government in which power is seized and held by an individual or group that dictates its will onto the people and that often practices totalitarianism

Term

Max Weber pointed out that government, or the state, claims a monopoly on the legitimate use of force in society, and sociologist Peter Berger stated, “Violence is the ultimate foundation of any political order.”

Definition

1.      War and terrorism are two violent means of pursuing political objectives. 

2.      Terrorism, the use of violence to create fear, is most often employed by weaker and less organized groups that would have little chance of defeating their enemies on the battlefield.

Term
The democrats and Republicans have served as the two primary parties in the US politics since the time of the civil war
Definition

1. Fundamental similarities

2. Basic differences in social and economic policies

third parties

Term
Voting patterns in the US are consistant from year to year
Definition

1. those who are more likely to vote are: older, female, white or african american, more educated, married, employed, and wealthier

2. people are more likely to vote when they are socially integrated and less likely to do so when they feel alienated

3. as a result of vote apathy, nearly one-half of eligible american voters do not vote from president; even fewer vote for other offices

4. voting patterns reflect economic circumstances and other life experiences 

Term
Especially important in American politics are special-interest groups people who think alike on particular issue and who can be mobilized for political action
Definition

1. Lobbyists

2. political action committees PAC's

3. Do these groups buy votes?

Term
Who rules the United States?
Definition

1.  Functionalism -- pluralism and the checks and balance of the american political system prevent any one group from ruling and make politicians reponsive to their constituents 

2.  Conflic theory -- the nations major decision are made by the power elite, a select group of the most powerful military, political, and especially corperate leaders

Term
Define Family
Definition
The term family is difficult to define because families come in many different forms, but a broad definition is two or more people who consider themselves related by blood, marriage, or adoption
Term
Despite widespead differences in family forms, the family as a social intitution is found universally and exhibits common themes across cultures, including those related to:
Definition

1. mate selection

2. system of decent

3. right of inheritance

4. patriarchal authority

Term

Sociological theries of family

 

Functionalist perspective

Definition
Family is universal because it fulfills a number of basic needs, including economic production, socialization of children, care of the sick and aged, recreation, sexual control, and reproduction
Term

social theories of family

 

Conflict perspective

Definition
Families experience a variety of power struggles
Term

sociological theories of family

 

symbolic interactionist perspective

Definition
families are currently undergoing widerspead change in gender roles and expectation 
Term
Romantic love provides the ideological context in which most americans seek mates and form families; however, mates selection still tends to follow lines of age, education, social class, and race-ethnicity -- often due to propinquity
Definition
Term
After the early stages of marriege, the birth of a child generally ushers in a period of decreased marital satisfaction and a focus on childrearing
Definition

1. Time with children

2. Child care arragements 

Term
Later stages of family life bring both pleasure and problems
Definition

1. The empty nest and boomerang children

2. the sandwich generation

3. widowhood 

Term
American families display diversity 
Definition
primary based upon differences in social class, but with some racial and ethnic influence as well
Term
Upper class
Definition
Late marriage, few children, mate selection issues
Term
Middle class
Definition
achievement and respectability, college and careers
Term
Lower class
Definition
Single parenthood, out-of-wedlock births, and divorce 
Term
family structure 
Definition
single mothers more common among african americans, native americans, and latinos, 
Term
Family orientation
Definition
extended family and respect for elders among minority groups
Term
The average age of first marriege and first childbirth are the highest that they have ever been, but young people are not postponing setting up housekeeping
Definition

1. cohabitation is twelve times more common than it was 40 years ago, and 60% of couples who marry have lived together first

2. commitment is the essential difference between cohabitation and marriege, with marriege assuming permanence 

Term
There have been sharp increases in the numbers of families without children, blended families, and single-parent families
Definition

1. about one-fifth of US familes are childless -- many by choice

2. Blended families often experience complicated relationships 

3. single-parent families tend to be poor, and children raised by one parent are more likely to drop out of school, to get arrested, to have emotional problems, to become teenage parents, and to get divorced as adults

4. almost all industrialed nations have experienced sharp increases in birth to unwed mothers, with the US rate of 37% falling slightly above the middle of the range

Term
Annually about 2% of all married couples divorce, but over a lifetime just under half of all marriages fail
Definition

1. after rising for a century, the US divorce rate has leveled off since 1980 and has begun to decline

2. chances of getting divorced are lower for those who are Asian American, who have greater amount of education and income, who marry at a later age and wait longer to have children, who are religious and who come from intact families 

3. more man than woman remarry

Term
Each year about one million US children are affected by their parents divorce
Definition

1. children of divorce are more like to experience emotional problems, to become juvenile delinquents, to drop out of school, and get divorced; however, 75-80% of children of divorce function well as adults

2. a third of children of divorce have less than monthly contact with their father and another third have no contact at all

3. a pattern of serial fatherhood has begun to emerge

Term
two sides of family life
Definition

a. spousal battering, child abuse, incest represent the dark side of family life

b. despite the difficulties experienced by families, about 60% of americans indicate that they are very happy in their marriages, with the happiest couple reporting that they think of their spouse as their best friend, like their spouse as a person, view marriage as a sacred and long-term commitment, share goals and hobbies, and get along with each others' families 

Term
Define Religion
Definition
Emily Durkheim defined religion as a system of beliefs and practices that seperate the sacred from the profane and that unite adherents into a moral community
Term
functionalist stress that religion is universal because it meets many basic human needs, including:
Definition

1. answering question of ultimate meaning

2. uniting believers into a community of shared values

3. providing guidelines for life

4. providing emotional comfort

5. promoting positive social change

 

Functionalists point out that religion can also serve dysfunctional puposes, as ecemplified by persecuting, war and terrorism in the name of religion

Term
Symbolic interactionists examine the meaning that people attach to 
Definition

1. symbols

2. rituals

3. beliefs

4. religious experiences 

Term
Conflict theorists believe that religion legitimates social inequality by teaching that existing social arrangements are God's will
Definition
Term

There are four types of religious groups, which vary in terms of there acceptance by and integration into society

 

1. Cult

Definition
a new or different religion with few followers usually with a charismatic leader and a strong focus on evangelism
Term

There are four types of religious groups, which vary in terms of there acceptance by and integration into society

 

2. sects

Definition

A larger than cult, but they still feel substantial tension from and toward mainstream society

 

Term

There are four types of religious groups, which vary in terms of there acceptance by and integration into society

 

Churches

Definition
large, highly organized, more accepted religion groups
Term

There are four types of religious groups, which vary in terms of there acceptance by and integration into society

 

state religion

Definition
a citizens are members, is called an ecclesia
Term
Compared to citizens of other industrialized nations, americans are highly religious
Definition
62% belonging to a church of some kind
Term
There are several distinguishing characteristics of religion in the US including
Definition

1. remarkable diversity

2. stratification and segragation by social class and race/ethnicity 

3. competion for followers

4. the electronic church 

Term
Religion will always exist 
Definition
Because only religion can adress questions such as those regarding the existence of God and an afterlife and the purpose of life
Term
Education varies wwidely arounf the world, but its always reflects a nations culture and economy
Definition
from hunting and gathering societies with no formal education programs to credential societies with extensive public education systems 
Term
Functionalists asser that education serves a number of functions, including:
Definition

1. teaching the knowledge and skills needed by future workers

2. cultural transmission of values

3. child care and moral education

4. political and social integration, including mainstreaming 

5. gatekeeping

Term
Conflict theorists view the education system as a tool used by the elite to perpetuate existing social class and racial-ethnic structures through
Definition

1. the hidden curriculum - the attitudes and unwritten rules that schools teach that stress obedience to authority and conformity

2. culturally biased standardized tests

3. unequal school funding

 

Term
symbolic interactionists have found that expectation of teachers are especially significant in determining students education success
Definition

1.  sociologist ray Rist determined that children are labeled by teachers as fast or slow learners by the eight day or kindergarten

2. sociologist George Farkas found that asian americans and female receive better grades that other groups because they show eagerness to learn and to cooperate, which teachers notice and reward

Term
one of the major problems facing the US education system is mediocrity 
Definition
which is reflected in falling test scores, grade inflation, social promotion, and functional illiteracy 
Term
Demography 
Definition
the study of the size, camposition, growth, and distribution of human population
Term
population studies began in the 1700's when after Spanish explorers introduced the potato to Europe, the continent populaton doubled 
Definition
Term
Malthus theorem 
Definition
if birth rates are kept in check, there will be too little food feed the population
Term
New mathusians continue to support the tenets of this theorem pointing to the fact that the worlds population is growing exponetially with a net increase of 224,000 people per day
Definition
Term
Anti malthusians believe that population growth goes through stages and they suggest a four-stage model known as the Demographic transition theory 
Definition

Stage 1 - faily stable population with both high birth and death rate

stage 2 - population explosion with high birth rates and low death rates

stage 3 - population stability with low birth and death rates

stage 4 - population shrinkage with high death rates and low birth rates

5. they point out that birth rate decrease with industrialization, as economic opportunities increase and childrearing becomes more expensive 

Term
what are the main reasons that people starve to death
Definition
Droughts, wars, and maldistribution of food -not overpopulation and food shortage -  
Term
Today the population of the Least Industialized Nations are growing at thirteen times the rate of the Most Industrialized nations, largely because a number of factos lead families in poor nations to have many children
Definition

1. status as parents 

2. communitty values

3. economic benefits throughout life

Term
Countries experience different population dynamics based upon the age and sex of their citazens, with nations with many young female growing the fastest
Definition

1.The population of many poor nations are predicted to double in 40 years

2. If nations with quickly growing populations dont increase their numbers of jobs, hospitals, schools, transportation systems, grocery stores, and the like almost everyones standards of living will decline

3. Conflich theorists point out that a declining standard of living may result in political instability, followed by repression by the government 

Term

The population growth rate is based upon three variables (fertility, mortality, and migration) and is represented by the equation: Birth - death + net migration

 

Definition

1. economic changes goverment policies, famines, and plagues all affect these rates, making it difficult to predict popuation growth

2. People tend to migrate from least industrialized to the Most industrialized Nations, with the US admitting more immigrates each year than all the other nations of the world combined

Term
A city is a place in which a large number of people are permanently based who do not produce their own food and urbanization is the process by which an increasing proportion of people live in cities increasing their influence
Definition

1. the industrail revolution provided an infrastructure for urbanization and drew large crowds of people to cities to work

2. peopl are currently attracted to cities because they offer more jobs variety, and enonymity

Term

There are a number of trends and changing population petterns currently developing in the US

 

Definition

1. Urbanization

2. migration

3. suburbanization

4. gentrification

5. rural reound 

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