SOCI 111 Midterm 2 Flashcards

Abiotic Components

Non-living components of an ecosystem, such as water, sunlight, and minerals, that are necessary for life.

Body Work

The concept highlighting the embodied nature of work, encompassing physical, emotional, and relational efforts.

Brand

A name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or services from those of others.

Concerted Cultivation

A parenting style characterized by actively fostering children's talents and opinions through structured activities and reasoning.

Correlation

A statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two or more variables fluctuate together, not implying causation.

Cultural Capital

The non-economic resources that provide individuals with advantages in society, such as knowledge, skills, education, and social connections.

Culture

The shared beliefs, practices, values, norms, symbols, and material objects of a group or society.

Demography

The statistical study of populations, including their size, structure, and changes due to births, deaths, and migration.

Dependent Variable

The outcome variable that is thought to be affected by the independent variable in a research study.

Dominant Ideology

A set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests.

Emotional Labour

The management of one's emotions to meet the demands of a job, often involving suppressing or inducing certain feelings.

Epistemology

The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge, its presuppositions and foundations.

Evolution

The process by which different kinds of living organisms develop from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

Fertility Rate

The average number of children born to women of childbearing age in a population.

Food Chain

A linear sequence of organisms where nutrients and energy are transferred from one organism to another.

Food Web

A complex network of interconnected food chains in an ecological community.

Hegemony

The dominance of one social group or ideology over others, often achieved through consent rather than force.

Heteronormativity

The assumption that heterosexuality is the natural or preferred sexual orientation and aligns with assigned sex at birth.

Hypothesis

A testable statement or prediction about the relationship between two or more variables.

Independent Variable

The presumed cause that influences the dependent variable in a research study.

Inter-Corporeal Work

Body work that involves direct physical engagement and interaction with other people's bodies.

Life Expectancy

The average number of years that a person is expected to live based on current mortality rates.

Looking Glass Self

A concept stating that our self-image is based on how we perceive others to view us.

Natural Growth

A parenting style characterized by providing necessities while allowing children more autonomy in unstructured time.

Natural Selection

The process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce more offspring.

Neo-Malthusian

A perspective that updates Malthusian arguments about population growth, focusing on environmental consequences of overpopulation.

Neo-Marxist

A perspective critiquing Malthusian ideas, viewing overpopulation as a symptom of capitalist inequalities.

Ontology

The branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of being.

Patriarchy

A social system where men hold primary power in political, moral, and property ownership roles.

Population Pyramid

A bar graph illustrating the distribution of a population by age and sex.

Primary Socialization

The process of learning basic norms, values, and behaviors during early childhood, primarily within the family.

Reliability

The consistency and replicability of research findings.

Sample

A smaller subset of a population selected for a research study.

Second Demographic Transition Theory

A theory focusing on shifts in family formation, such as increased cohabitation and declining fertility rates.

Secondary Socialization

The process of learning more specific roles, behaviors, and norms in settings such as schools and workplaces.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A phenomenon where a prediction or expectation comes true simply because it was made.

Socialization

The lifelong process through which individuals learn the norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors of their society.

Symbolic Economy

The ways in which brands convey cultural meaning beyond their material value.

Symbolic Interactionism

A micro-level sociological perspective focusing on interactions and the meanings created and shared through symbols.

Trophic Levels

The position an organism occupies in a food chain or web, indicating its feeding relationships.

Validity

The degree to which a study measures what it intends to measure.

Wedding-Industrial Complex

The interconnected network of businesses and cultural practices that promote and profit from elaborate weddings.

Theory: Malthusian Theory of Population Growth

Population grows geometrically while the food supply grows arithmetically, leading to overpopulation and checks like famine.

Theory: Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection

Organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce.

Theory: Demographic Transition Theory

Describes the stages countries move through from high to low fertility and mortality rates reflecting socio-economic development.

Theory: Second Demographic Transition Theory

Focuses on shifts in family formation and individualization, including delayed marriage and rise in childlessness.

Theory: Epidemiological Transition Theory

Describes the shift in mortality patterns from infectious diseases to chronic diseases.

Theory: Cooley's Looking Glass Self

Self-image developed through how we perceive others see us, emphasizing social interactions.

Theory: Practice Theory

Emphasizes the routine nature of consumption, influenced by expectations, marketing, and consumer lives.

Theory: Symbolic Interactionism

Views society as a human construct formed by individual interactions, emphasizing meanings in communication.

Theory: Sociological Thinking

Helps see the familiar in unfamiliar ways, prompting reflection on social rituals and questioning assumptions.

Milgram Obedience Study

Cited as a violation of trust and authority causing harm.

Humphrey's Tearoom Study

An example of unethical research conducted in 1970.

Ethical Research

Prioritizes the well-being and rights of participants

Informed Consent

A cornerstone of ethical research ensuring participants are aware and agree to the research.

Deductive Logic

Moves from theory to data (Theory -> Data).

Inductive Logic

Moves from data to theory (Data -> Theory).

Data Collecting Methods

Include surveys, structured interviews with larger samples, preset questions, and numerical/statistical analysis.

Quantitative research

Focuses on numerical data and statistical analysis to explain social phenomena, emphasizing validity, reliability, and generalizability.

Qualitative research

Focuses on in-depth understanding of social phenomena through non-numerical data like interviews and observations, emphasizing context and meaning.

Deductive reasoning

Represents an approach that starts with a theory and tests it against data.

Inductive reasoning

Represents an approach that starts with data and develops a theory based on patterns observed.

Culture

A social system comprising behaviors, beliefs, knowledge, practices, values, and material objects shared by a group.

Mores

Norms carrying a strong sense of social importance, accompanied by strong sanctions ('must/must not,' 'ought/ought not').

Dominant Culture

The culture that can impose its values, norms, language, etc., on a society, often leading to privileges and defining other cultures as 'deviant.'

Subculture

A culture within a larger culture whose values differ from the dominant culture but are not necessarily in opposition.

Counterculture

A group within a society that openly opposes or rejects some element of the dominant culture, sometimes aiming to reform or transform it.

Nature vs. Nurture

Explores the debate between essentialist (biological determinism) and environmentalist (social constructionism) approaches to understanding human behavior and social differences.

Essentialist

Attributes differences to biology, often leading to categorization, hierarchy, and justification of inequality.

Agents of Socialization

Significant others (close relationships) and Generalized others (internalized attitudes and expectations of society).

Criticism of Essentialism

Criticized for ignoring structure and context.

Environmentalist (Social Construction)

Emphasizes socialization as the process through which people learn to become members of society, involving active participation.

Criticism of Environmentalist View

Criticized for being deterministic

Rideau Canal

The Rideau Canal as a site of conflicting worldviews (Western - constructed resource vs. Indigenous - living entity with cultural and spiritual significance).

Seasonal Patterns in Demographics

Examines the influence of seasonal patterns on births (spring increase), marriages (summer peak), divorces (fall uptick), and deaths (winter increase).

Social Class and Learning (Summer Slide)

Summer vacation impacts academic development differently based on social class, with higher-income children often experiencing learning gains and lower-income children suffering learning loss ('Summer Slide').