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Sociology A Down to Earth Approach Test 3 Ch 7-10 Vocabulary
Vocabulary
87
Sociology
Undergraduate 1
05/24/2011

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Term
bourgeoisie
Definition
Karl Marx's term for capitalists; those who own the means of production (p. 167)
Term
caste system
Definition
a form of social stratification in which one's status is determined by birth and is lifelong (p. 163)
Term
class consciousness
Definition
Karl Marx's term for awareness of a shared identity based on one's position in the means of production (p. 167)
Term
class system
Definition
a form of social stratification based primarily on the possession of money or material possessions (p. 165)
Term
colonialism
Definition
the process by which one nation takes over another nation, usually for the purpose of exploiting its labor and natural resources (p. 180)
Term
culture of poverty
Definition
the assumption that the values and behaviors of the poor make them fundamentally different from other people, that these factors are largely responsible for their poverty, and that parents perpetuate poverty across generations by passing these characteristics to their children (p. 181)
Term
divine right of kings
Definition
the idea that the king's authority comes directly from God (p. 171)
Term
endogamy
Definition
the practice of marrying within one's own group (p. 164)
Term
false class consciousness
Definition
Karl Marx's term to refer to workers identifying with the interests of capitalists (p. 167)
Term
globalization of capitalism
Definition
capitalism (investing to make profits within a rational system) becoming the globe's dominant economic system (p. 180)
Term
global superclass
Definition
the 6,000 people in the world with the greatest wealth/power concentration (p. 166)
Term
ideology
Definition
beliefs about the way things ought to be that justify social arrangements (p. 163)
Term
means of production
Definition
the tools, factories, land, and investment capital used to produce wealth (p. 167)
Term
meritocracy
Definition
a from of social stratification in which all positions are awarded on the basis of merit (p. 169)
Term
multinational corporations
Definition
companies that operate across many national boundaries, also called transnational corporations (p. 182)
Term
neocolonialism
Definition
the economic and political dominance of the Least Industrialized Nations by the Most Industrialized Nations (p. 182)
Term
proletariat
Definition
Marx's term for the exploited class, the mass of workers who do not own the means of production (p. 167)
Term
slavery
Definition
a form of social stratification in which some people own other people (p. 162)
Term
social class
Definition
according to Weber, a large number of people who rank close to one another in power, property, and prestige; according to Marx, one of two groups: capitalists who own the means of production or workers who sell their labor (pp. 166-168)
Term
social mobility
Definition
movement up or down the social class ladder (p. 166)
Term
social stratification
Definition
the division of large numbers of people into layers according to their relative power, property, and prestige; applies to both nations and to people within a nations, society, or other group (p. 162)
Term
world system theory
Definition
economic and political connections that tie the world's countries together (p. 180)
Term
anomie
Definition
a condition resulting from status inconsistency (p. 195)
Term
contradictory class locations
Definition
Erik Wright's term for a position in the class structure that generates contradictory interests (p. 196)
Term
culture of poverty
Definition
the assumption that values and behaviors of the poor make them fundamentally different from other people, that these factors are largely responsible for their poverty, and that parents perpetuate poverty across generations by passing these characteristics on to their children (p. 208)
Term
downward social mobility
Definition
movement down the social class ladder (p. 202)
Term
exchange mobility
Definition
the same number of people move both up and down the social class ladder, such that, on balance, the social class system shows little change (p. 202)
Term
feminization of poverty
Definition
a trend in U.S. poverty where most poor families are headed by women (p. 206)
Term
Horatio Alger myth
Definition
the belief that due to limitless possibilities anyone can get ahead if he or she tries enough (p. 209)
Term
income
Definition
a flow of money (p. 188)
Term
intergenerational mobility
Definition
the change that family members make in social class from one generation to the next (p. 202)
Term
poverty line
Definition
the official measure of poverty; calculated to include those whose incomes are less than three times a low-cost food budget (p. 203)
Term
power
Definition
the ability to carry out your will, even over the resistance of others (p. 192)
Term
power elite
Definition
C. Wright Mills' term for the top people in U.S. corporations, military, and politics who make the nation's major decisions (p. 192)
Term
prestige
Definition
respect or regard (p. 192)
Term
property
Definition
material possessions: animals, bank accounts, bonds, buildings, businesses, cars, furniture, land, and stocks (p. 188)
Term
social class
Definition
according to Weber, a large number of people who rank close to one another in wealth, power, and prestige; according to Marx, one of two groups: capitalists, who own the means of production or workers, who sell their labor (p. 188)
Term
status
Definition
social ranking; the position that someone occupies in society or in a social group (p. 193)
Term
status consistency
Definition
people ranking high or low on all three dimensions of social class (p. 193)
Term
status inconsistency
Definition
ranking high on some dimensions of social class and low on others (p. 193)
Term
structural mobility
Definition
movement up or down the social class ladder that is due to changes in the structure of society, not to individual efforts (p. 202)
Term
underclass
Definition
a group of people for whom poverty exists year after year across generations (p. 198)
Term
upward social mobility
Definition
movement up the social class ladder (p. 202)
Term
wealth
Definition
property and income (p. 188)
Term
assimilation
Definition
the process of being absorbed into the mainstream culture (p. 227)
Term
authoritarian personality
Definition
Adorno's term for people who are prejudiced and rank high on scales of conformity, intolerance, insecurity, respect for authority, and submissiveness to superiors (p. 223)
Term
compartmentalize
Definition
to separate acts from feelings or attitudes (p. 227)
Term
discrimination
Definition
an act of unfair treatment directed against an individual or a group (p. 218)
Term
dominant group
Definition
the group with the most power, greatest privileges, and highest social status (p. 217)
Term
ethnic work
Definition
activities designed to discover, enhance, or maintain ethnic and racial identification (p. 218)
Term
ethnicity/ethnic
Definition
having distinctive cultural characteristics (p. 217)
Term
genocide
Definition
the systematic annihilation or attempted annihilation of a people based on their presumed race or ethnic group (p. 225)
Term
individual discrimination
Definition
the negative treatment of one person by another on the basis of that person's perceived characteristics (p. 222)
Term
institutional discrimination aka systematic discrimination
Definition
the negative treatment of a minority group that is built into a society's institutions (p. 222)
Term
internal colonialism
Definition
the policy of economically exploiting a minority group (p. 227)
Term
minority group
Definition
people who are singled out for unequal treatment on the basis of their physical and cultural characteristics, and who regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination (p. 217)
Term
multiculturalism aka pluralism
Definition
a philosophy or political policy that permits or encourages groups to express their individual, unique racial and ethnic identities (p. 228)
Term
pan-Indianism
Definition
a movement that focuses on common elements in the culture of Native Americans in order to develop a cross-tribal self identity and to work towards the welfare of all Native Americans (p. 240)
Term
pluralism
Definition
the diffusion of power among many interest groups that prevents any single group from gaining control of the government (p. 228)
Term
population transfer
Definition
forcing a minority group to relocate (p. 227)
Term
prejudice
Definition
an attitude of prejudging, usually in a negative way (p. 220)
Term
race
Definition
a group whose inherited physical characteristics distinguish it from other groups (p. 214)
Term
racism
Definition
prejudice and discrimination on the basis of race (p. 220)
Term
reserve labor force
Definition
the term used by conflict theorists for the unemployed who can be put to work during times of high production and then discarded when no longer needed (p. 224)
Term
rising expectations
Definition
the sense that better conditions are soon to follow, which, if unfulfilled, creates mounting frustration (p. 234)
Term
scapegoat
Definition
an individual or group unfairly blamed for someone else's troubles (p. 223)
Term
segregation
Definition
the policy of keeping racial or ethnic groups separated (p. 227)
Term
selective perception
Definition
seeing certain features of an object or situation, but remaining blind to others (p. 224)
Term
split labor market
Definition
a term used by conflict theorists for the practice of weakening the bargaining power of workers by splitting them along racial, ethnic, gender, age, or any other lines (p. 224)
Term
WASP
Definition
white Anglo-Saxon Protestant; narrowly, an American of English descent: broadly, an American of western European ancestry (p. 229)
Term
white ethnics
Definition
white immigrants to the U.S. whose culture differs from that of WASPs (p. 229)
Term
activity theory
Definition
the view that satisfaction during old age is related to a person's level and quality of activity (p. 273)
Term
age cohort
Definition
people born at roughly the same time who pass through the life course together (p. 273)
Term
ageism
Definition
prejudice, discrimination, and hostility directed against people because of their age; can be directed against any age group, including youth (p. 272)
Term
continuity theory
Definition
how people adjust to retirement by continuing aspects of their lives, such as roles, or coping techniques (p. 274)
Term
disengagement theory
Definition
the view that society prevents disruption by having the elderly vacate (or disengage from) their positions of responsibility so the younger generation can step into their shoes (p. 273)
Term
feminism
Definition
the philosophy that men and women should be politically, economically, and socially equal; organized activity on behalf of this principle (p. 257)
Term
gender
Definition
the behavior and attitudes that a society considers proper for its males and females; masculinity or femininity (p. 248)
Term
gender stratification
Definition
males' and females' unequal access to power, prestige, and property on the basis of their sex (p. 248)
Term
glass ceiling
Definition
the invisible barrier that prevents women from reaching the executive suite (p. 265)
Term
graying of America
Definition
refers to the growing population of older people in the U.S. population (p. 269)
Term
life expectancy
Definition
the number of years that an average newborn can expect to live to (p. 269)
Term
life span
Definition
the maximum possible length of the life of a species (p. 271)
Term
patriarchy
Definition
a society or group in which men dominate women; authority is invested in males (p. 254)
Term
sex
Definition
biological characteristics that distinguish females and males, consisting of primary and secondary sex characteristics (p. 248)
Term
sexual harassment
Definition
the abuse of one's position of authority to force unwanted sexual demands on someone (p. 265)
Term
testosterone bonus
Definition
similar to the "glass ceiling" concept, where men start jobs with higher salaries than women (p. 265)
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