Sociology Chapters 5-8

group

-a collection of two or more people who share some attribute

-identify with each other, interact with each other, and have ongoing social relations

-ex: members of a specific church or synagogue

crowd

-a temporary gathering of people in a public place

-members might interact but do not identify with each other and will not remain in contact

-ex: a concert, a protest

aggregates

-collections of people who share a physical location but do not have lasting social relations

-a crowd can be an aggregate

Primary groups

-groups of composed of the people we are closest with like family and close friends

-relationships are typically characterized by face-to-face interactions, high levels of cooperation, and the deepest feelings of belonging

-Charles Cooley introduced the term “primary”

Secondary groups

-larger and less personal than primary groups

-usually organized around a specific goal, activity, or taste

-often temporary

-ex: co-workers, college classes, athletic organizations, political parties

Social groups

-provide the values, norms, and rules that guide people’s lives

-roommates, frats/sororities, clubs

social network

-the web of direct and indirect ties connecting an individual to other people who may also affect the individual

social ties

the connections between individuals

who says that all the social groups we are connected in contain norms that put limits on our individual actions?

Emile Durkheim

Anomie

normlessness

-loss of purpose and disconnection resulting from weaker social bonds

group dynamics

the patterns of interaction between groups and individuals

dyad

a two-member group (the smallest possible)

-unstable b/c if one leaves, the group does not exist

triad

a three-person group

-more stable than a dyad as conflicts between two members can be mediated by the third

virtual communities

social groups whose interactions are through technology

in-group

a group that a person identifies with and feels loyalty toward

out-group

a group that a person feels opposition, rivalry, or hostility towards

reference group

a group that provides a standard of comparison against which we evaluate ourselves

-peers (comparing grades, comparing track times)

Rite of passage (in textbook)

an event or ceremony that marks an individual’s transformation from one type of group member to another

-hazing, official religion changing

group cohesion

the sense of solidarity or loyalty that individuals feel toward a group to which they belong

-sports team

groupthink

the tendency of very cohesive groups to enforce a high degree of conformity among members, creating a demand for unanimous agreement

-jury duty, a hung jury

-a team captain, the team goes along bc the captain said so even if they don’t agree

social influence (peer pressure)

group impact on others’ decisions, attitudes, and behaviors

social loafing

-one person isn’t really contributing as much as they should

-the phenomenon in which each individual contributes a little less as the group size increases

-decreases efficiency

power

the ability to control the actions of others

coercive power

backed by the threat of force

influential power

supported by persuasion

authority

-the legitimate right to wield power

-police

Max Weber

identified three types of authority

-legal rational authority

-charismatic authority

-traditional authority

legal rational authority

-authority based in laws, rules, and procedures

-modern presidencies

charismatic authority

authority based in the perception of remarkable personal qualities in a leader

traditional authority

-based in custom, birthright, or divine right

-monarchies, dynasties

Bureaucracies

-a type of secondary group designed to perform tasks efficiently, characterized by specialization

-specific jobs, guidelines, steps to follow

-they are impersonal but efficient, and provide many basic necessities

rationalism

the application of economic logic to human activity; the use of formal rules and regulations in order to maximize efficiency without consideration of subjective or individual concerns

McDonalization

-term coined by George Ritzer

-used to describe the spread of bureaucratic rationalism and the resulting increase in both efficiency and dehumanization

deviance

a behavior, trait, or belief that violates a norm and generates a negative reaction in a particular group

social control

the formal and informal mechanisms used to elicit conformity to values and norms and promote social cohesion

-how society encourages people to follow the rules and norms

Social Control Theory

-developed by Travis Hirschi

-a theory to explain crime

-strong social bonds increase conformity and decrease deviance

-it says people are less likely to break rules or commit crimes if they have strong bonds to society

Structural Strain Theory

-developed by Robert Merton

-says that there are goals in our society that people want to achieve but cannot always reach which creates stress (or strain)

-marriage, job, money

Conflict Theory

deviance is a result of social conflict

Differential Association Theory

-developed by Edwin Sutherland

-a symbolic interactionist perspective that says we learn deviance from interacting with deviant peers

Labeling Theory

-developed by Howard Becker

-a symbolic interactionist perspective that says deviance is caused by external judgments (labels) that changes or modifies a person’s self-concept and the way in which others respond to the labeled person

-parents do drugs/crimes, you are sort of associated with that and deviance, that you’re already heading down that path

primary deviance

the initial act or attitude that causes one to be labeled deviant

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

According to Becker, “labeling” can lead to a SFP: a prediction that causes itself to come true

stereotype threat

a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy in which the fear of performing poorly and confirming stereotypes about their social groups, causes people to perform poorly

-a student worries so much about their academic performance b/c they think it will create a negative stereotype around their group, but just performs worse

stereotype promise

a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy in which positive stereotypes lead to positive performance outcomes

Stigma

-term coined by Ervin Goffman

-describes any physical or social attribute that devalues a person or group’s identity, which may exclude people who are devalued from normal social interaction

passing

attempts by stigmatized individuals to present themselves as a member of a different group then the stigmatized group to which they belong

-people with mental disorders may try to hide it, how they identify, racial passing

crime

a violation of a norm that has been codified into law

hate crimes

-occur when criminals specifically target victims based on demographic characteristics (race, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, etc.)

-being charged with hate crimes typically increase the punishments associated with any other crime

-newer crimes

deterrence

an approach to punishment that relies on the threat of harsh penalties to discourage people from committing crimes

retribution

retaliating or taking revenge for a crime that has been committed

Incapacitation

removing criminals from society and imprisoning them

Social stratification

the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy

every society has some form of stratification, but different societies stratify people according to different criteria (race, class, gender)

idea

social inequality

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society

slavery

the most extreme form of social stratification and is based on the legal ownership

caste system

a form of social stratification in which status is determined by one’s family history and background and cannot be changed

-India has the largest caste system

apartheid

the system of segregation of racial and ethnic groups that was legal in South Africa between 1948 and 1991

Social Class

a system of stratification based on access to resources wealth, property, power, and prestige

-often referred to as socioeconomic status (SES)

Intersectionality

a concept that identifies how different categories of inequality (race, class, gender, etc.) intersect to shape the lives of individuals and groups

Upper class (1%)

-largely self-sustaining group

-wealthiest people in a class system

-possess most of the wealth in the country

Upper-middle class

social class consisting of mostly highly educated professionals and managers who have considerable financial stability (250k-750k)

middle class (40%)

-white collar workers (lower-level professional and management workers)

-broad range of education and incomes (30k-70k)

Working class or Lower-middle class

-blue collar workers (skilled and semiskilled workers who perform manual labor or work in service or clerical jobs)

-service industry workers

-typically, do not have a college degree

working poor (13%)

-poorly educated

-manual and service workers who may work full time but remain near or below the poverty line, or seasonal

the underclass (12%)

-the poorest group, experiencing homelessness

-employed part time or unemployed

Max Weber

argued that class status was made of three components

-wealth (or privilege) (measure of net worth)

-power (ability to impose one’s will on others)

-prestige (social honor people are given)

Social reproduction

the tendency for social class status to be passed down from one generation to the next

social mobility

the movement of individuals or groups within the hierarchical system of social classes

closed system

there is very little opportunity to move from one class to another

open system

is one with ample opportunity to move from one class to another

horizontal social mobility

the occupational movement of individuals or groups within a social class

vertical social mobility

movement between social classes - upward or downward mobility

Relative deprivation

a relative measure of poverty based on the standard of living in a particular society

Absolute deprivaton

an objective measure of poverty defined by the inability to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, or healthcare

race

a socially defined category, based on real or perceived differences between groups of people

ethnicity

a socially defined category based on common language, religion, nationality

-US recognizes 10 ethnicities

symbolic ethnicity

an ethnic identity that is relevant only on specific occasions, and does not significantly affect everyday life

-St. Patrick’s Day

situational ethnicity

can either be displayed or concealed, depending on its usefulness in a given situation

minority group

a social group that is systematically denied access to power and resources that are available to the dominant groups of society

-not necessarily fewer in number

racism

a set of beliefs about the claimed superiority of one racial or ethnic group

-used to justify inequality

-often rooted in assumption that differences between groups are genetic

color-blind racism

an ideology that removes race as an explanation for any form of unequal treatment

prejudice (a thought process)

-an idea about the characteristics of a group

-applied to all members of that group

discrimination (an action)

-unequal treatment of individuals because of their social group

-usually motivated by prejudice

implicit bias

attitudes or stereotypes that are embedded at an unconscious level and may influence our perceptions, decisions, and values

individual discrimination

discrimination carried out by one person against another

institutional discrimination

systematic discrimination carried out by social institutions (political, economic, educational, and others) that affects all members of a group who come into contact with them

white nationalism

belief that the nation should reflect a white identity

white privilege

involves unearned advantages for dominant group members

microaggressions

consist of everyday verbal and nonverbal communications that are denigrating or dismissive

cultural appropriation

the dominant group members adopt aspects of an oppressed groups culture without permission and often for the dominant groups gain

reverse racism

the claim by whites that they are discriminated against due to their race

structural functionalism

focuses on the ways in which race creates social ties and strengthens bonds

-can also lead to violence

conflict theory

focuses on the struggle for power and control over scarce resources

symbolic interoctionism

race, class, and gender and how they intersect to produce and individual’s identity

double-consciousness

W.E.B. Dubois’s term for the divided identity experienced by blacks in the US

Intergroup relations: assimilation

absorption of the minority group into the mainstream or dominant group, which makes society more homogenous

racial assimilation

absorption of racial minority groups into the dominant group through intermarriage

cultural assimilation

absorption of racial or ethnic groups into the dominant group through their adoption of the dominant groups culture

criminal justice

non whites are more likely than whites to interact with the law