soc-100

social stratification

A society is categorization of its people into groups based on factors such as wealth, income, race, education, and gender

The means of production

All of the technology, materials, and social relations needed to produce material goods in a society

bourgeoisie

Ruling class who owns the means of production

proletariat

The working class, who lack their own means of production and so must sell their labor to the bourgeoisie

The base

Consists of both the means of production and the relations of production

The superstructure

Includes all the elements of society not related directly to production (e.g. Art, culture, religion, politics, media)

weber’s 3 component theory of stratification

Economic class

social status

power

Power

Probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out their own will despite resistance

economic class

One’s position in a stratified hierarchy based largely on the symbolic (as well as social and cultural) capital one possesses

socioeconomic status

Combo of a person‘s economic class and social status, often measured as a combo of education, income, and occupation

The poverty line

Calculated by multiplying the cost of a minimal diet by three

under the assumption that about 1/3 of families, money was spent on food

twice poverty line

More accurate measurement of what’s needed simply to get by. Calculated by multiplying the poverty line by 2

ethnicity

A socially defined category of people who identify with each other based on a shared social experience or ancestry

race

A system for classifying people who are believed to share common descent, based on perceived innate physical characteristics of large groups of people

Barbarian

A person who is perceived to be primitive or uncivilized.

Comes from Greek word, Barbaros, which mimics the way they described foreign languages as sounding.

The Thomas theorem

Because people believe something is real, and define it as real, then it becomes real in its consequences

racism

Prejudice and discrimination against individuals who are members of particular racial or ethnic groups, usually drawing on negative stereotypes about the group and arising out of a power hierarchy

the two components of racism

Internal racism and external racism

internal racism

Prejudice: negative beliefs, or attitudes held about entire groups

external racism

Discrimination: behavior, that harms, excludes, or disadvantages individuals on the basis of their group membership

implicit bias

The unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that can influence our actions towards others based on their race, gender, or other perceivable characteristics

shooter bias

A form of implicit, racial bias, which mainly refers to the tendency among the police to shoot black civilians, more often than white civilians, even when they are unarmed. not intentional

White privilege

The inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice

audit study

Type of experiment commonly used to measure bias and discrimination in which resumés, job apps, etc. are matched on all characteristics save the one being studied and then sent into real world situation

Example: job apps of white vs black names. Black names are 33% less to get a call back.

sex

Whether a person is classified as a male or female, based on anatomical or chromosomal criteria [Concept]

a biological phenomenon

gender

Cultural meanings, attached to being masculine and feminine, which influence personal identities

a sociological phenomenon

Intersexed

possessing both male and female genitalia and sex characteristics

Sex = biological. =male/female

Gender = social function/meaning. =Men/women

doing gender

The idea that gender, rather than being an innate quality of individuals, is a psychologically ingrained social construct that actively surfaces in everyday human interaction

accountability

The system through which individuals are judged in terms of failure or success to meet gendered societal expectations, and it continues throughout our lives

hegemonic masculinity

The dominant culturally idealized form of masculinity that legitimizes men’s dominance in society and the subordination of women and other forms of masculinity

essentialism

The view that members of a group share a fundamental, inherited, innate, and fixed quality or characteristic

deceptive distinctions

The gender differences that arise out of the roles that individuals occupy rather than from some innate force

ambivalent sexism

A theoretical framework that suggests that sexism is made of both hostile and benevolent components, which serve to justify the social hierarchy

the two components of ambivalent sexism

Hostile sexism, and benevolent sexism

hostile sexism

Sexism based in open hatred and negative evaluations of women along with the belief that women are naturally inferior to men

benevolent sexism

The attribution of positive traits to women that, nonetheless, justify their subordination to men

sexual orientation

The inclination to feel sexual desire toward people of a particular gender or toward both genders, or none

The kinsey scale

Research instrument used to describe a person’s sexual or romantic orientation than the traditional categories

Drive state

A feeling that motivates us to fulfill goals that are beneficial to our survival or reproduction

sexuality

Both the character or quality of being sexual AND sexual behavior, desires, and fantasies

Fundamentally tied to culture in the context

functions of the family

Economic and emotional support

socialization and care of children

control of sexuality and reproduction

continued support along the life course

socialization

The social processes through which individuals develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self

primary socialization

The socialization we experience in the home

secondary socialization

The process through which we learn how to behave in specific groups and social situations such as school or the workplace

social reproduction

The process through which social positions, social practices, values and norms are perpetuated from generation to generation

concerted cultivation

A middle-class parenting style that actively festers and assesses his children’s talents, opinions, and skills, resulting in an emerging sense of entitlement

Accomplishment of natural growth

A parenting style common among the working class and poor, where children are given the freedom to structure their own lives, often resulting in an emerging sense of constraint

the three possible theories of education

Socialization theory

allocation theory

correspondence principle

socialization theory

education transmits knowledge, skills, and values that persist into adulthood and that employers believe increase productivity

allocation theory

How education channels people into positions or institutions that offer different opportunities for continuing to think, learn, and earn

correspondence principle

says children receive different types of education based solely on their social standing rather than their inherent abilities. this serves to maintain class boundaries.

Where you go into education system corresponds, with where you come out of the education system

Hidden curriculum

The often unstated standards of behavior that teachers and administrators expect from children within the education system

educational tracking

Separation of students into persisting academic group based on perceived ability

total institution

An institution in which all aspects of an individuals life are formally controlled

Textbook example: prison

The panopticon

Circular prison, with every cell visible to a central point in the cell

panopticism

Systemic ordering and controlling of human populations through subtle and often unforeseen forces

the types of social control in forms of punishment

Shaming

shunning

banishment

corporal punishment

utilitarianism

Theory of punishment that relies on threat of harsh punishment to discourage people from committing crimes

Looks to the future→ Keep crime from happening

retribution

Theory of punishment that emphasizes moral condemnation for crimes already committed

Focused on the past

collective effervescence

Feeling of exhilaration and emotional intensity that arises when a group of people engaged in a shared experience, often a ritual, or other collective activity

ritual

Social action devoted to the manipulation of cultural meaning

ritual chain

Focused interaction that generates group emotions linked to symbols which then generate further interaction

public sociology

Sociology that seeks to promote a dialogue outside the academy with a variety of public audiences

social movements

Conscious, collective, & organized attempts to bring out or resist large-scale change in the social order

Example: BLM on the road → strong image

list of social movement types

reform

revolutionary

instrumental

expressive

reform movements

Try to bring about limited social change by working within the existing system, usually targeting social structures, such as education or medicine and directly targeting policy makers

revolutionary movements

Seeks to make fundamental changes to the system itself, often tearing down existing social institutions and replacing them with new ones

Instrumental movements

Seek to influence the social and political environment, and focus on specific observable goals, such as policies and laws

expressive movements

Attempt to change individuals, along with their behaviors and ideas, and arise when people feel a problem cannot be easily resolved