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Sociology exam 2 terms
Chapters 6-11 "An Introduction to thinking like a sociologist; You May Ask Yourself"
126
Sociology
Undergraduate 1
10/27/2011

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Term
social deviance
Definition
any transgression of socially established norms.
Term
crime
Definition
the violation of laws enacted by society
Term
social cohesion
Definition
social bonds; how well people relate to each other and get along on a day-to-dau basis.
Term
mechanical/(segmental) solidarity
Definition
social cohesion based on sameness
Term
organic solidarity
Definition
social cohesion based on differences and interdependence of the parts.
Term
social control
Definition
those mechanisms that create normative compliance in individuals
Term
formal social sanctions
Definition
mechanisms of social control by which rules or laws prohibit deviant criminal behavior
Term
informal social sanctions
Definition
the usually unexpressed but widely known rules of group membership, the unspoken rules of social life.
Term
social integration
Definition
how well you are integrated into your social group or community
Term
social regulation
Definition
the number of rules guiding your daily life and, more specifically, what you can reasonably expect from the world on a day-to-day basis.
Term
Egoistic suicide
Definition
suicide that occurs when one is not well integrated into a social group
Term
Egoistic suicide
Definition
suicide that occurs when one is not well integrated into a social group
Term
Altruistic suicide
Definition
suicide that occurs when one experiences too much social integration
Term
Anomie
Definition
a sense of aimlessness or despair that arises when we can no longer reasonably expect life to be predictable; too little social regulation.
Term
Anomic suicide
Definition
suicide that occurs as a result of too little social regulation
Term
Fatalistic suicide
Definition
suicide that occurs as a result of too much social regulation
Term
strain theory
Definition
Merton's theory that deviance occurs when a society does not give all its members equal ability to achieve socially acceptable goals
Term
Conformist
Definition
individual who accepts both the goals and the strategies to achieve them that are considered socially acceptable
Term
Ritualist
Definition
individual who rejects socially defined goals in order to live within his or her own means
Term
Innovator
Definition
social deviant who accepts socially acceptable goals but rejects socially acceptable means to achieve them.
Term
Retreatist
Definition
one who rejects both socially acceptable means and goals by completly retreating from, or not participating in, society.
Term
Rebel
Definition
individual who rejects socially acceptable goals and means but wants to alter or destroy the social institutions from which he or she is alienated.
Term
symbolic interactionism
Definition
a microlevel theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people's actions.
Term
labeling theory
Definition
the belief that individuals subconsiously notice how others see or label them, and their reactions to those labels, over time, form the basis of their self-identity.
Term
primary deviance
Definition
the first act of rule-breaking that may incur a label of "deviant" and thus influence how people think about and act toward you.
Term
secondary deviance
Definition
subsequent acts of rule-breaking that occur after primary deviance and as a result of your new deviant label and people's expectations of you
Term
stigma
Definition
a negative social label that not only changes your behavior toward a person but also alters that person's own self-concept and social identity
Term
broken windows theory of deviance
Definition
theory explaining how social context and social cues impact whether individuals act deviantly: specifically, whether local, informal social norms allow deviant acts.
Term
street crime
Definition
crime committed in public and often associated with violence, gangs, and poverty
Term
white-collar crime
Definition
offense committed by a professional (or professionals) against a corporation, agency, or other instition.
Term
corporate crime
Definition
a particular type of white-collar crime committed by the officers (CEOs and other executives) of a corporation
Term
deterrence theory
Definition
philosophy of criminal justice arising from the notion that crime results from a rational calculation of its costs and benefits.
Term
recidivism
Definition
when an individual who has been involved with the criminal justice system reverts back to criminal behavior.
Term
total institution
Definition
an institution in which one is totally immersed and that controls all the basics of day-to-day life; no barries exist between the usual spheres of daily life, and all activity occurs in the same place and under the same single authority
Term
panopticon
Definition
a circular building composed of an inner ring and an outer ring designed to serve as a prison in which the detainees can always be seen and the observer, housed in the inner ring, is hidden from those being observed
Term
stratification
Definition
structured social inequality or, more specifically, systematic inequalities between groups of people that arise as intended or unintended consequences of social processes and relationships
Term
social equality
Definition
a condition whereby no differences in wealth, power, prestige, or status based on nonnatural conventions exist.
Term
dialectic
Definition
a two-directional relationship, one that goes both ways
Term
ontological equality
Definition
the notion that everyone is created equal in the eyes of God.
Term
equality of opportunity
Definition
the idea that inequality of condition is acceptable so long as the rules of the game, so to speak, remain fair.
Term
bourgeois society
Definition
a society of commerce (modern capitalist society, for example) in which the maximization of profit is the primary business incentive.
Term
Rosseau
Definition
(conflict view) argues that there are 2 forms of inequality: Physical/Natural & Social/Political
Term
Physical/Natural inequality
Definition
related to our level of physical ability, health, age, ect.
Term
Social/Political inequality
Definition
privleges enjoyed by some people that others do not like wealth power or respect
Term
Malthus
Definition
(functionalist/structuralist view) inequality is good (or at least necessary); related to people having more than needed (at the expense of others having less than they need); necessary for keeping the population in check
Term
Hegel
Definition
inequality works as a part of the master-slave dialectic both are dependent on the other in one way or another
Term
equality of condition
Definition
the idea that everyone should have an equal starting point
Term
equality of outcome
Definition
a position that argues each player must end up with the same amount regardless of the fairness of the "game"
Term
free rider problem
Definition
the notion that when more than one person is responsible for getting something done, the incentive is for each indiviual to shirk responsibility and hope others will pull the extra weight
Term
estate system
Definition
politically based system of stratification characterized by limited social mobility
Term
caste system
Definition
religion-based system of stratification characterized by no social mobility
Term
class system
Definition
economically based system of stratification characterized by relative categorization and somewhat loose social mobility
Term
proletariat
Definition
the working class
Term
bourgeoisie
Definition
the capitalist class
Term
contradictory class locations
Definition
the idea that people can occupy locations in the class structure which fall between the two "pure" clases
Term
status heirarchy system
Definition
a system of stratification based on social prestige
Term
elite-mass dichotomy system
Definition
system of stratification that has a gonverning elite, a few leaders who broadly hold the power of society
Term
meritocracy
Definition
a society where status and mobility are based on individual attributes, ability, and achievement
Term
socioeconomic status (SES)
Definition
an individual's position in a stratified social order
Term
income
Definition
money received by a person for work or from returns on investments
Term
wealth
Definition
a family's or individual's net worth (that is, total assets minus total debts)
Term
upper class
Definition
a term for the economic elite
Term
middle class
Definition
a term commonly used to describe those individuals with nonmanual jobs that pay significantly more than the poverty line-though this is a highly debated and expansive category, particularly in the United States, where broad swatches of the population consider themselves middle class
Term
social mobility
Definition
the movement between different positions within a system of social stratification in any given society
Term
structural mobility
Definition
mobility that is inevitable from changes in the economy
Term
status-attainment model
Definition
approach that ranks individuals by socioeconmic status, including income and educational attainment, and seeks to specify the attributes characteristic of people who end up in more desirable occupations
Term
Pareto
Definition
argues that elite-mass dichotomy can be positive for society if we allow those who are the most capable to run it (meritocracy)
Term
Mills
Definition
argues that power has thus become too centralized with certain institutions shaping social life (the power-elite)
Term
the power elite
Definition
economic institutions (a few hundred large corporations; political order (highly centralized federal government); military order (large expensive features of a government)
Term
female circumcision
Definition
the removal of a woman's sexually sensitive clitoris
Term
feminism
Definition
an intellectual conscioulsness-raising movement to get people to understand that gener is and organizing principle of life. The underlying belief is that women and men should be accorded equal opportunities and respect
Term
sex
Definition
the biological differences that distinguish male from female
Term
sexuality
Definition
refers to desire, sexual preference, sexual identity, and behavior
Term
gender
Definition
denotes a social position, the set of social arrangements, that are built around sex categories
Term
essentialism
Definition
line of thought that explains social phenomena in terms of natural ones
Term
biological determinism
Definition
a line of thought that explains social behavior in terms of biological givens
Term
hegemonic masculinity
Definition
dominant and privileged if invisible, category of men
Term
gender roles
Definition
sets of behaviorl norms assumed to accompany one's status as a male or female
Term
patriachy
Definition
a nearly univeral system involving the subordination of femininity to masculinity
Term
structural functionalism
Definition
theoretical tradition claiming that every society has certain structures (the family, the division of labor, or gender) which exist in order to fulfill some set of functions (reproduction of the species, production of goods, ect.)
Term
sex role theory
Definition
Talcott Parsons' theory that men and women perform their sex roles as breadwinners and wives/mothers, repectively because the nuclear family is the ideal arrangement in modern societies, fulfilling the function of reproducing workers.
Term
homosexual
Definition
the social identity of a person who has sexual attraction to and/or relations with other persons of the same sex
Term
sexism
Definition
occurs when a person's sex or gender is the basis for judgment, discrimination, and hatred against him or her.
Term
sexual harassment
Definition
an illegal form of discrimination, involving everything from inappropriate jokes on the job to outright sexual assault to sexual "barter"-intended to make women feel uncomfortable and unwelcome, particularly on the job
Term
glass ceiling
Definition
an invisible limit on women's climb up the occupational ladder
Term
glass escalator
Definition
the promotional ride men take to the top of a work organization, especially feminized jobs.
Term
race
Definition
a group of people who share a set of characteristics-typically, but not always, physical ones-and are said to share a common bloodline
Term
racism
Definition
the belief that members of separate races possess different and unequal traits
Term
scientific racism
Definition
nineteenth-century theories of race that characterize a period of feverish investigation into the origins, explanations, and classifications of race
Term
ethoncentrism
Definition
the belief that one's own culture or group is superior to others and the tendency to view all other cultures from the perspective of one's own.
Term
social Darwinism
Definition
the application of Darwinian ideas to society, namely, the evolutionary "survival of the fittest"
Term
eugenics
Definition
literally meaning "well born," the theory of controllin gthe fertility of populations to influence inheritable traits passed on from generation to generation
Term
nativism
Definition
movement to protect and preserve indigenous land or culture from the so-called dangerous and polluting effects of new immigrants.
Term
One-drop rule
Definition
the belief that "one drop" of black blood makes a person black, a concept that evolved from U.S. laws forbidding miscegenation
Term
miscegenation
Definition
the technical term for multiracial marriage; literally meaning "a mixing of kinds," it is politcally and historically charged-sociologists generally prefer exogamy or outmarriage
Term
racialization
Definition
the formation of a new racial identity, in which new ideological boundaries of difference are drawn around a formerly unnoticed group of people
Term
ethnicity
Definition
one's ethnic quality or affiliation. It is voluntary, self-defined, nonhierarchal, fluid, and multiple, and based on cultural differences, not physical ones per se.
Term
symbolic ethnicity
Definition
a nationality, not in the sense of carrying the rights and duties of citizenship but identifying with a past or future nationality. For later generations of white ethnics, something not constraining but easily expressed, with no risks of stigma and all the pleasures of feeling like an individual
Term
straight-line assimilation
Definition
Robert Parks' 1920 universal and linear model for how immigrants assimilate: first they arrive, then settle in, and achieve full assimilation in a newly homogenous country.
Term
primordialism
Definition
Clifford Geertz's term to explain the persistence of ethnic ties because they are fixed in deeply felt or primordial ties to one's homeland culture.
Term
pluralism
Definition
the presence and engaged coexistence of numerous distinct groups in one society
Term
segregation
Definition
the legal or social practice of separating people on the basis of their race or ethnicity
Term
genocide
Definition
the mass killing of a group of people
Term
subaltern
Definition
describes a subordinate, oppressed group of people.
Term
collective resistance
Definition
an organized effort to change a power hierarchy on the part of a less-powerful group in a society
Term
prejudice
Definition
thoughts and feelings about an ethnic or racial group
Term
discrimination
Definition
harmful or negative acts (not mere thoughts) against people deemed inferior on the basis of their racial cetegory without regard to their individual merit
Term
Race in America today from largest group to smallest:
Definition
White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, two or more races, some other race, Native Hawaiian
Term
culture of poverty
Definition
the argument that poor people adopt certain practices that differ from those of middle-class, "mainstream" society in order to adapt and survive in difficult economic circumstances
Term
Underclass
Definition
the notion, building on the culture of poverty argument, that the poor not only are different from mainstream society in their inability to take advantage of what mainstream society has to offer but also are increasingly deviant and even dangerous to the rest of us
Term
perverse incentives
Definition
reward structures that lead to suboptimal outcomes by stimulating counterproductive behavior; for example, welfare-to the extent that it discourages work efforts-is argued to have perverse incentives
Term
absolute poverty
Definition
the point at which a household's income falls below the necessary level to purchase food to physically sustain its members
Term
relative poverty
Definition
a measurment of poverty based on a percentage of the median income in a given location
Term
parenting stress hypothesis
Definition
a paradigm in which the psychological aspects of poverty exacerbate household stres levels; this stress, in turn, leads to detrimental parenting practices such as yelling, shouting, and hitting, which are not conductive to healthy child development
Term
Comparison of poverty rates of various contries:
Definition
U.S. - 17%; Australia - 12.4%; Canada - 12%; Germany - 11%; Sweden - 5.3%
Term
medicalization
Definition
the process by which problems or issues not traditionally seen as medical come to be framed as such
Term
sick role
Definition
concept desribing the social rights and obligations of a sick individual
Term
morbidity
Definition
illness in a general sense
Term
mortality
Definition
death
Term
Infant mortality per 1000 births:
Definition
Whites - 5.8; Blacks - 13.6; Asian/Pacific Islander - 4.9
Term
selection theory
Definition
the relationship between lower income and higher morbidity is false or not really causal. may be explained by genetics or biology that affect both health and SES
Term
drift explanation
Definition
asserts that reverse causality exists, that health causes social position. If you don't have good health, you may not be able to work, so higher morbidity would result in lower SES
Term
social determinants theory
Definition
social status position determines health. Being of lower income level or SES causes higher morbidity and lower general health.
Term
psychosocial interpretation
Definition
focuses on individuals' social class status relative to that of those around them. Feelings of inadequacy, low worth, and stigma cause people stress and wear down their bodies
Term
materialist interpretation
Definition
the differential access to a healthy life-including all monetary, psychological, and environmental risk factors-is a result of socioeconomic factors
Term
fundamental causes interpretation
Definition
focuses on examining how social factors shape illness and health to understand the pervasive link between SES and health
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