midterm one terms & concepts

breaching experiments

the researcher breaks a social rule to reveal the unrecognized way by which all individuals cooperate to maintain the smooth functioning of social interactions and social orders

content analysis

to study documents ie newspapers, historical letters etc

focus groups

interviews conducted with larger groups of people

counterculture

group that rejects certain elements of the dominant culture

culture

is a system of behaviour, beliefs, knowledge, practices, values, and materials

dominant culture

able to impose its values, beliefs, and behaviours on a given society because of its political and economical power

dependent variable

are affected by the independent variables

high culture

the culture of society elites

homophily

principle structures social relationships of every type (marriage, friendship, work relationships)

three core aims of sociology

try to see general themes in everyday life, seek to asses critically what seems familiar and common sense, how individuals both shape society and how are shaped by society

Durkheim and the study of suicide

suicide seems like an obviously individual act but a persons choice to take their own life is often explained in the terms of the persons own psychology

agents of socialization

they guide us through the process of becoming a member of society and help to shape the people we become

anticipatory socialization

refers to the process in which individuals “rehearse” potential roles that they may have to take on in the future, such as mother, father, or a new position at work.

conflict theory

suggest that human behaviour and social relations result from the underlying conflicts that exist between competing groups

dramaturgical perspective

seeing social life as a stage and individuals as actors portraying roles

gender socialization

process of learning how to behave in a way that is consistent with the gender roles and norms of your society

looking glass self

When we look at other people, they act as a mirror that helps us to understand how we appear

patriarchy

the system of male dominance in society

primary socialization

we learn how to become a member of society by discovering the attitudes, values, and actions that are culturally and socially appropriate

resocialization

we do not just add a new role to all the other roles we play, we replace an old role with a new one

roles

(the behaviours, beliefs, and norms performed in social situations) and expectations of society, they learn how to be a part of society

secondary socialization

when we learn the appropriate behaviours and attitudes of a subculture within our larger society

significant others

key individuals—primarily parents and, to a lesser degree, older siblings and close friends—after whom young children model themselves

socialization

the lifelong process of learning our society’s norms, customs, and ideologies

structural functionalism

explaining how society functions effectively

stages of role-taking

In the first, or preparatory stage, children learn to use language and other symbols by imitating the significant others in their lives

symbolic interactionism

examines how socialization is negotiated through our connections with other people

consensus crimes

Acts in this group are illegal, perceived to be very harmful to society as a whole, and have a high level of public agreement regarding their seriousness

control theory

weak social control can lead individuals to engage in deviant or criminal acts

crime severity index

assigns each offence a weight based on the severity of the sentences handed down by the courts

deterrence

the process of dissuading someone from future wrongdoing by making the “cost” of punishment outweigh the “benefit” of committing the crime

deviance

is any act that breaks an accepted social standard, from minor misdeeds to serious crimes. Many deviant acts break norms but are not punishable by the state

general deterrence

involves making an example out of deviants to deter others from committing crimes

labeling theory

explores how we respond to deviant or criminal acts and how this reaction (or label) can either increase or decrease an individual’s propensity to engage in further deviance

lesser crimes

For example, petty theft and speeding are both illegal but are not usually seen as extremely serious violations of social norms

normality of crimes

he argued that deviance and crime cannot be eliminated because they are important and functional.

parole

the supervised early release of a prisoner for such things as good behaviour, can be thought of as part of rehabilitation

primary deviance

includes early, random acts of deviance. This sort of deviance is very common, and most people have, at some point, engaged in primary deviant activity

probation

is a possibility for individuals who are convicted of less serious crime

punishment

is the penalty inflicted on someone for committing a transgression

recidivism rates

(the rates at which individuals reoffend within two years of release) have been decreasing over time

rehabilitation

aims to reform, or “heal,” them and help them to reintegrate into society so that they will not reoffend

restoration

Offenders restore order by compensating or fixing the injustice caused by their crime

retribution

based on the idea that a punishment should be comparable to the suffering caused by the crime

secondary deviance

refers to persistent deviant behaviour that can often cause an individual to organize his life and identity around being “deviant.”

social construction

they argue that all knowledge is created and maintained by social interactions

societal protection

When we incapacitate criminals, we physically prevent them from committing crimes

specific deterrence

aims to discourage specific individuals by convincing them that engaging in crime does not benefit them

strain theory

argues that some individuals’ goals and opportunities for success do not match

subculture theory

argues that gangs and other criminal organizations are subcultures with norms and values different from those of the larger culture

uniform crime reporting survey

conducted by Statistics Canada since 1962, collects information on all criminal incidents reported to, and substantiated by, Canadian police services

white collar crime

This type of crime often occurs in a work setting and is motivated by monetary gain; it does not involve intentional or direct acts of violence

absolute poverty

the life-threatening deprivation of an individual

achievement-based stratification system

In this system, people’s rank depends on their accomplishments; those who work hard and are diligent achieve high social status or class

ascription-based stratification system

determines an individual’s rank by his ascribed characteristic

bourgeoisie

capitalism is controlled and run by a small group of wealthy business-owners

canada pension plan

will provide you with regular pension benefit payments

class consciousness

people’s beliefs regarding their social class and class interests.

classes

groups of people who play different roles in the productive system

class struggle

conflict between those who own the means of production (capitalists, also called the bourgeoisie) and those who only own their own labour power

cycle of poverty

refers to how poverty tends to perpetuate itself and is therefore likely to continue for an individual or group unless there is some outside intervention

false consciousness

willingness to believe in ideologies that support the ruling class but are actually disadvantageous to working-class interests.

ideologies

are sets of conscious and unconscious ideas or beliefs that govern and guide people’s lives

intergenerational income elasticity

the statistical relationship between a parent’s and child’s economic standings

low income cutoffs

indicate the point at which a family spends a greater proportion of its income on food, shelter, and clothing than an average family

lumpenproletariat

(translated roughly as “slum workers”) is the lowest layer of the working class and includes petty criminals and the chronically unemploye

meritocracy

the idea that people will achieve based on their own merit

parties

are organizations that attempt to influence social action and that focus on achieving some goal in the sphere of power

petite bourgeoisie

are small-scale capitalists, such as shopkeepers and managers

poverty

a state in which resources (material or cultural) are lacking—is a serious social problem in the world

power

the chance of a man or of a number of men to realize their own will in a communal action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the same action

proletariat

power is held by the working class

property

which is any resource that can be used to produce things of value and to generate wealthy

relative poverty

the deprivation of one individual in comparison to anothe

social mobility

(movement on a stratification system, such as the class system) in Canada, income inequality is less of a problem

socio-economic status

is a measure of an individual’s or family’s social and economic position relative to others

status groups

have a “style of life” based on social honour and prestige that is expressed in their interactions with each other

surplus value

have a “style of life” based on social honour and prestige that is expressed in their interactions with each other

trade union density

is the percentage of wage earners in a population who are part of a union.

unions

are organizations of employees who work together to negotiate a variety of common matters, including pay, benefits, hiring and firing practices, and working conditions

cash crops

crops to be sold instead of consumed by the producers

commodity chains

gather resources, transform them into commodities, and distribute them to consumers. This process is a natural part of globalization.

core countries

Their power is based on their economic diversification, high level of industrialization, high-skill labour, and focus on the manufacturing of goods instead of simply extracting raw resources for export

ecological footprint

the amount of land and sea necessary to supply the resources a human population consumes and to process the waste it produces

ethnocentric

judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own

gini index

This index measures income inequality on a scale of 0 to 1; 0 represents perfect equality in a society

globalization

is a process of increasing interconnectedness of people, products, ideas, and places

global village

The ease of international communication has allowed us to form an increasingly interconnected and unified global community where we can easily interact with and learn about faraway people and places

human development index

measure that combines average achievement in the following three areas of human development: life expectancy at birth, education (mean years of schooling for both children and adults), and standard of living (gross national income per capita). We also compare the amount that each country spends on health care and their levels of inequality

micro-financing

the provision of small loans to individuals and small businesses who lack access to banking and larger institutional loans

modernization theory

argues that a society’s internal features, including its economic, social, and cultural systems, can either help or hinder development

monocropping

an economically efficient and profitable method of repeatedly growing one high-yield crop

periphery countries

They are not economically diversified and are only minimally industrialized

semi-periphery countries

They are often countries moving toward industrialization and economic diversification.

world society theory

focuses on the importance of global institutions and cultural models in shaping the behaviour of nations, organizations, and individuals.

world system theory

highlights the inherent inequality that occurs through globalization and global development.