Sociology Midterm Textbook Review

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the Sociology midterm textbook review.

Globalization

The process by which formerly separate economies, states, and cultures become tied together and people become increasingly aware of their growing interdependence.

Imperialism

The economic domination of one country by another.

Supply chain

A network of labor and production processes whose end is a finished commodity.

Refugees

People who are displaced from their home country because of war, persecution, or natural disasters.

Multinational corporations

Companies that operate in more than one country.

McDonaldization

The spread of the principles of fast food restaurants to all spheres of life.

Glocalization

The simultaneous homogenization of some aspects of life and the strengthening of some local differences under the impact of globalization.

Regionalization

The division of the world into different and often competing economic, political, and cultural areas.

Colonialism

The direct political control of one country over another.

Modernization theory

Holds that economic underdevelopment results from poor countries lacking Western attributes, including values, business practice, level of investment capital, and stable government.

Dependency theory

Views economic underdevelopment as a result of exploitative relations between the rich and poor.

Core capitalist countries

Rich countries that are the world’s major sources of capital and technology (e.g. US, Japan, Germany).

Peripheral capitalist countries

Former colonies that are poor and are major sources of raw materials and cheap labor.

Semiperipheral capitalist countries

Former colonies that are making headway in their attempts at industrialization (e.g. South Korea, Taiwan, Israel).

State capitalist country

A country in which businesses compete internally and on the world market but are under the ultimate control of the country's ruling party.

Neoliberal globalization

A policy that promotes private control of industry with minimal government interference in the economy.

Education Curricula

The lessons or academic content taught in a school or program.

Compulsory education

The legally required length of time children must attend school.

Education attainment

Number of years of school successfully completed, or degrees/certificates earned.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

An international organization with 38 countries that collaborate on key issues like sustainable economic growth and global trade.

Assortive mating

Selection of partners who are similar to oneself on various social criteria.

Meritocracy

Social hierarchy in which rank corresponds to individual capacities tested against a common standard.

Social exclusion

Restriction of social opportunities/positions that prevent inclusion of certain groups or peoples.

Subjugated knowledge

Descriptions and explanations of events that dominant groups selectively devalue or ignore.

Credential inflation

Situation where, over time, qualifying for specific jobs requires more certificates or degrees.

Professionalization

Degree to which certain levels/types of schooling are established as criteria for gaining access to an occupation.

Cultural capital

The stock of learning and skills that increases the chance of securing a superior job.

Pedagogic violence

Teachers' application of punishments intended to discourage deviation from the dominant culture.

Reproduction of the existing stratification system

Social process that ensures offspring are of similar or identical social class/rank of their parents.

Hidden curriculum

Unofficial mandates in some schools that teach obedience to authority and conformity to cultural norms.

Concerted cultivation

Parenting style of the middle class that systematically organizes and directs children's time to activities that prepare them for academic success.

Natural growth

The parenting style of families in the working class and lower class that leaves children largely to their own devices.

Prejudice

An attitude that judges a person based on their group's real or imagined characteristics.

Discrimination

Unfair treatment of people because of their group membership.

Race

A social construct used to distinguish people, based on one or more physical markers.

Scapegoat

A disadvantaged person or category of people whom others blame for their problems.

Ethnic group

People whose perceived cultural markers are deemed socially significant.

Racialization

The process by which race becomes socially constructed, based upon things like language and ethnicity.

Symbolic ethnicity

Nostalgic allegiance to the culture of the immigrant generation, not usually incorporated into everyday behavior.

Racism

Belief that visible characteristics of a group infer inferiority and justify discrimination.

Micro-aggression

Small forms of racial or ethnic discrimination that occur in daily interactions.

Institutional racism

Organizational policies and practices that systematically discriminate against certain racial groups.

Critical race theory

Theory that holds that prejudice and discrimination are embedded in institutionalized ideologies and practices.

Assimilation

The process by which members of minority groups adopt the values of the dominant majority culture.

Internal colonialism

One race or ethnic group subjugates another in the same country.

Expulsion

The forcible removal of a population from a territory claimed by another population.

Conquest

The forcible capture of land and the economic and political domination of its inhabitants.

Split labor market

Theory that holds that low-wage workers of one race and high-wage workers of another race compete for the same jobs.

Transactional communities

Communities whose boundaries extend between/among countries.

Pluralism

The retention of racial and ethnic culture combined with equal access to basic social resources.

Transgender

A person's gender identity that does not match their assigned gender at birth.

Gender identity

A person's internal sense of female, male, or other.

Asexual

Sexual orientation that involves not experiencing sexual attraction towards any gender.

Sexuality

The way people experience and express themselves sexually.

Sex

A person's genetic makeup, e.g., XY or XX.

Intersex

Describes a person who is not conventionally male or female.

Gender

The socially constructed expectations associated with a given sex categorization.

Gender binary

Categorization of people as exclusively either male or female.

Cisgender

Gender identity that corresponds to the sex assigned at birth.

Heteronormativity

Belief that sexual activity between members of the opposite sex is the natural expression of sexuality.

Heterosexuality

The preference for members of the opposite sex as sexual partners.

Gender roles

Behaviors that conform to widely shared expectations about how those assigned male or female should act.

Essentialism

A school of thought that views gender differences as a reflection of biological differences between women and men.

Glass ceiling

A social barrier that makes it difficult for women to rise to top levels of management.

Sex discrimination

The unequal treatment of men and women in the workplace.

Horizontal occupational sex segregation

The unequal sex distribution of workers across occupations.

Vertical occupational sex segregation

Unequal sex distribution of workers within occupations.

Motherhood penalty

The tendency for women who become mothers to experience a drop in earnings.

Fatherhood premium

The tendency for men who become fathers to experience a boost in earnings.