SOC 224 Final Exam

belief

any proposition that is thought to be true

may be individual or shared

belief system

a set of interrelated beliefs

can be tied to religion, knowledge of particular types of sciences, and politics

belief systems as deviant

occur when acts of deviance occur within groups of people that adhere to a particular belief system or when an entire belief system is considered to be deviant

belief systems as social types of deviance

when the truths of a particular belief system tell us who or what we should consider to be deviant and what the consequence of this deviance should or should not be

Christianity

the majority religion in Canada due to colonization and immigration

it is still evident in much of Canadian culture (e.g. Christmas and Easter are national holidays)

secularization

the decline of the influence of organized religion

religion as deviance

deviant acts that occur within religious groups (e.g. abuse)

entire religious groups that are considered to be deviant (e.g. deviant religions)

ecclesia

a specific religious belief system that is adopted at the government level and becomes a nation's official religion

churches

large and powerful religious groups that are highly bureaucratic

consist of the world's major religions - Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Christianity

denominations

the division of churches into smaller sects of religions (e.g. Catholicism, Evangelicals, and Protestants all fall under Christianity)

sects

smaller religious groups that have usually broken away from larger churches

these are less established in society and are formed as a result of reaction to the doctrine of the larger church

involve high levels of commitment (e.g. Amish)

denominational sect

a religious sect that has become increasingly integrated into the larger society, such that it is on the verge of being considered a denomination of a larger church (e.g. Seventh-Day Adventists)

established sect

a religious sect that retains a high level of tension with the larger society (e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses)

bidirectional

a sect might have certain levels of antagonism toward society and society may have certain levels of antagonism back

deviancy amplification

occurs when deviantized groups, such as sects, become even more extreme

cults

smaller than sects, but are more reactionary

resistant to the doctrines of larger churches and sects

involve immense levels of commitment (e.g. Heaven's Gate)

common characteristics: indoctrination, sacrifice, charismatic leaders, and weird sexual practices

state of tension

the level of tension depends of the magnitude of differences, the level of antagonism, and segregation

Heaven's Gate

UFO religious group in San Diego, California founded in 1974 by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles

believed that a complete social transformation was coming and that planet earth was about to be recycled; bodies were "vessels"

Marshall Applewhite and 38 members of the cult committed suicide because it was thought they would "beam" up to a UFO

millenarianism

a belief that a complete social transformation is coming

Doe

a name for Marshall Applewhite, the founder of the Heaven's Gate cult, who was believed to be the second coming of Jesus by his followers

milieu control

the control of human communication

involves control of how and what an individual can communicate to the outside world and what the outside world can communicate to the individual

mystical manipulation

the use of extensive personal manipulation to provoke specific patterns of behaviour

this creates a dependency by manipulative and exploitative techniques of persuasion and control

demand for purity

one belief as defined by the group, not society

the world is divided into good and evil; the group has access to the "ultimate truth"

cult of confession

a psychological purge of transgression or weakness enabling others to have a hold over existential guilt (i.e. personal purification)

an act of symbolic surrender; can give individual's relief over their sins

sacred science

members are taught that there is a deeper level of understanding which requires extensive training and in-depth study in order to understand

an individual's lack of understanding is attributed to a deficiency within themselves rather than a problem with the group's stance

loading the language

new meanings are attributed to words

these meanings are derived from the doctrine of the group

John de Ruiter

claims to be a "living embodiment of truth"

his "meetings" attract white, middle-aged, and affluent individuals who are mostly women

charismatic relationship

the belief that a leader is "endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or exceptional powers or qualities"

cultic milieu

a cultural underground that "continually gives birth to new cults, absorbing the debris of the dead ones and creating new generations of cult-prone individuals"

freedom of religion

"reasonable" violations of this freedom include threat to public health, threat to public order, and threat to the rights of others

anti-cult movement

initially consisted of parents whose hippie children had joined new religious groups that were part of the broader counter cultural movement

parents coalesced into support groups

cult awareness groups

group that educate people about the dangers of cults and attempt to control cult activity through lobbying governments and other organizations

counter-cult movements

Fundamentalist Christian groups that express concerns about other religious groups they consider to be based on "wrong" theologies

individual level of religion

personal beliefs dictate was is right and what is wrong

societal level of religion

there are blurred boundaries between religious belief systems and political belief systems

religion can sometimes make people politically or criminally deviant (e.g. witch hunts, residential schooling, and Victorian child-savers)

science

knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, especially as obtained and tested through scientific method

deviant scientists

engage in scientific misconduct or belong to a discipline not recognized by the scientific community as "real" science

scientific misconduct

an umbrella term used to refer to fabrication or falsification of data, breaches of ethics, plagiarism, and any other scientific practices deemed unacceptable or inappropriate

communism

the assumption that scientists freely give up rights to the knowledge that they create so this knowledge can be shared by all; part of the normative structure of science

skepticism

the assumption that all ideas must be subjected to rigorous scrutiny; part of the normative structure of science

disinterestedness

the assumption that scientific work is done in the name of truth rather than for personal gain or vested interests; part of the normative structure of science

universalism

the assumption that scientific knowledge is free from any biases based on characteristics such as race, gender, or religion; part of the normative structure of science

bad apple/bad person theory

a few "bad apples" spoil the barrel (i.e. bad scientists engage in scientific misconduct)

misconduct is rare because scientists search for the "truth"

iceberg theory

the structure of science encourages deviance

this is due to the immense pressures placed on scientists to be productive with their research (i.e. "publish or perish")

publish or perish

if a scientist does not publish enough, it is believed that they will "perish" (e.g. no promotion, unable to get tenure, etc.)

Alice Goffman

American sociologist who looked at the impact of mass incarceration and policing of low-income African Americans

she published a book, but it was later found to have many factual errors and inconsistency in the data collected

corporatization of science

there are increasing ties between science and industry (e.g. most drug research is done in commercial centres)

industry can place large pressures on scientists to portray findings in positive ways

post-academic science

private companies pay for researchers to do their research; creates a bias

deviant science

an entire scientific belief system is questioned

non-science

occurs if a scientific belief system obtains enough doubt

pseudo-sciences

a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method (e.g. astrology, magnetic therapy, and Bible Codes)

scientific worldview

the presumption that a claim is false until it is proven beyond a reasonable doubt

this is part of the inherently conservative nature of science

European colonization

was largely justified by religion and science, especially on the basis of social Darwinism (e.g. colonizing Indigenous populations was seen as helping them "evolve" at a faster rate then they would on their own)

social Darwinism

just as biological species evolve overtime, so do human societies

societies evolve from "primitive" to "civilized"

eugenics

a set of beliefs and practices that aims at improving the genetic quality of a human population by discouraging reproduction among the "unfit"

involuntary sterilization

policies that attempt to force people to undergo surgical or other sterilization

these individuals are unable to reproduce

Sexual Sterilization Act

passed by the Government of Alberta in 1928 - "mental deficient" people were sterilized

amended in 1937: no consent necessary and was also applied to those incapable of "intelligent parenthood"

the act was repealed in 1972

mental disorders

alterations in thinking, mood, or behaviour associated with significant distress and impaired functioning

obsessive compulsive disorder

a mental health disorder that begins with an obsession that leads to compulsion

antisocial personality disorder

a mental illness categorized by a long-term pattern of exploiting and manipulating the rights of others

social causation hypothesis

more life stresses and fewer resources characterize the lives of the lower class, contributing to the emergence of mental disorders

social selection hypothesis

people with mental disorders fall into lower socioeconomic strata because of difficulties of daily funtioning

peer support

a system of mutual giving and receiving where individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) can offer hope, companionship, and encouragement to others facing similar challenges

social media

was found to help those struggling with SMI's by:

1. minimizing a sense of isolation and providing hope

2. finding support through peer exchange and reciprocity

3. coping with the day-to-day challenges of mental illness

4. learning from shared experience of medication use and seeking mental health care

authentic social media accounts

a connection facilitation between those coping with similar challenges (i.e. mental illness) by providing community and belonging; feelings of "normality"; personal empowerment; and decreased feelings of isolation

stigmatization of mental illness

negative attitudes regarding mental health have not improved, even among mental health professionals

discrimination is common in employment, housing, and health care

self-stigma

mere awareness of the stigmatization of mental illness means that those with mental illness are more likely to internalize the label of "mentally ill" and are less likely to seek or adhere to treatment

medicalization of mental illness

the stigmatization of mental illness in society is the result of a lack of funding

treatment of mental illness has changes throughout the years

madhouses

"society needs to feel safe"

not intended to treat or rehabilitate those with mental illnesses, but were essentially used to warehouse those with mental illness

asylums

resulted in the medicalization of mental illness

the mentally ill were trained to conform to society's norms

many individuals were treated in inhumane ways and many of these institutions have been abandoned

total instiution

a place of residence and work where a large number of like-situated individuals, cut off from the wider society for an appreciable period of time, together lead an enclosed, formally administered round of life (Erving Goffman)

mental hospitals

an institution where the mentally ill are secluded from the rest of society and stripped of their identity, similar to convents, prisons, and the military

can be considered a total instiution

least restrictive alternative

legislation stating that involuntary admission can occur only if there are no reasonable non-institutional alternatives

deinstitutionalization of mental illness

began in the 1960s, focusing on mental health treatment within communities rather than institutions

has improved the lives of many people, but many people have also fallen through the cracks

effective deinstitutionalization

requires a supportive family network; an accepting community; adequate community resources; and a place to live

insufficient deinstiutionalization

can lead to homelessness and/or criminality in the mentally ill

crime and mental illness

a disproportionate amount of inmates suffer from mental disorders and severe mental disorders

hydraulic relationship

when one thing contracts, another thing expands (e.g. mental health care system and the criminal justice system)

disease paradigm

emphasizes symptoms that distress and impair individuals' functioning

discrimination paradigm

emphasizes the role that stigmatization plays in the daily experiences of people with mental illnesses

stigma management technqiues

a way of managing the stigma that others put on you (i.e. a form of impression management)

trying to pass

the mentally ill person acts as a "normal" individual

dividing social worlds

the mentally ill person carefully manages who is and is not permitted to know about their illnesses

deflecting

the mentally ill person actively tries to distance themselves from the label (e.g. denial of illness)

challenging

the mentally ill person fights back against the stigmatizing force through confronting, educating, or overcompensating

schema

a cognitive, or mental, framework that helps us organize and interpret information

sick role

the role that ill individuals may be assigned, under certain conditions, in which they are given a temporary reprieve from some of life's responsibilities and are not blamed for their conditions

dual assumption

sport as a fundamentally positive and pure essence that transcends time and place so that positive changes befall individuals and groups that engage in or consume sport (Coakley)

sports evangelists

view sport in essentialist terms and assume it inevitably leads to multiple forms of development

sport aids in personal character development; reforming "at risk" populations; and fostering social capital lading to future occupational success and civic management

fertilizer effect

if sports are woven into the experiences of youth, their character and potential will grow in socially desirable ways

carwash effect

sports participation reforms "at-risk" young people

guardian angel effect

sports participation provides individuals with experiences and relationships that lead to personal success and civic engagement

sports participation and positive development

relationship is based on socially significant characteristics of sports participants; manner in which sport is integrated into someone's life; social relationships formed in connection with sport participation; orientations & actions of peers, parents, and coaches; norms of the culture associated with a specific sport; and the type of sport

individual deviance in sport

performance-enhancing drugs

violence and crime

breaking gender norms

group deviance in sport

a group of those involved in athletics mutually engages in deviance and/or rule breaking

political deviance in sport

the use of athletic position to bring awareness to social justice and/or political issues

deviant sports

instances where an entire sport or sporting event are considered to be deviant

negative deviance in sport

occurs when a player, manager, spectator, or anyone involved behaves in a way that knowingly breaks the rules or ethics of the sport

positive deviance in sport

rooted in athletes uncritical acceptance of and commitment to what important people in their lives have told them ever since they began competiting

athletes, coaches, journalists, fans, sponsors, and commentators accept the norms of "pure dedication" to the sport, no matter what the cost

sports ethic

used by many participants in sport as the criteria for defining what it means to be a real athlete

1. making sacrifices for the game

2. striving for distinction

3. accepting risks and playing through pain

4. refusing to accept limits in the pursuit of possibilities