SOC-S 100 Final (Jacob Miller)

Social stratification

A society's categorization of its people into groups based on factors such as wealth, income, race, education, and gender

The means of production

All of the technology, materials, and social relations needed to produce material goods in a society

The relations of production

All of the social relations that support the production of material goods, such as the worker/employer relation and other divisions of labor and property relations, such as capitalism

Bourgeoisie

The ruling class who own the means of production

Proletariat

The working class who lack their own means of production and so must sell their labor to the bourgeoisie

The base (bottom of pyramid diagram)

Consists of both the means of production and the relations of production (tools, machines, factories, land, raw materials) Changes in the base change the ideologies up at the top (ideologies of superstructure)

The superstructure (top of pyramid diagram)

Includes all the elements of society not related directly to production (such as culture, art, religion, politics, and media)

Weber's three-component theory of stratification (List)

• Economic situation

• Social standing

• Power

Economic situation

Refers to one's position in a stratified hierarchy based on the economic capital one possesses

Social standing

Refers to one's position in a stratified hierarchy based largely on the symbolic (as well as social and cultural) capital one possesses

Power

The probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out their own will despite resistance

Socioeconomic status

The combination of a persons economic and social class, often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation

Upper class (200,000+ salary)

Affluent members of society, especially those who have inherited wealth, own businesses, or hold large numbers of stock

Middle class

Made up broadly of people working white collar and lower managerial occupations (40k-200k salary) Divided into two categories upper middle class = 100k-200k and lower middle class = 40k-100k

Working class

Composed of people working in blue collar jobs

Lower class

Under 20,000 salary

Ethnicity

A socially defined category of people who identify with each other based on shared social experience or ancestry

Race

A system for classifying people who are believe to share common descent, based on perceived innate physical characteristics of large groups of people

Barbarian

A person who is perceived to be primitive or uncivilized. Comes from the Greek barbaros, which mimics the way they say foreign languages

If race isn't real, does it matter?

It does matter. It may not be a scientific reality, but it is a societal reality. (Reference the Thomas theorem)

The Thomas theorem

Because people believe something is real, and define it as real, then it becomes real in its consequences

Racism

Prejudice and discrimination against individuals who are members of particular racial or ethnic groups, usually drawing on negative stereotypes about the group

Prejudice

Negative beliefs or attitudes held about entire groups

Discrimination

Behavior that harms, excludes, or disadvantages individuals in the basis of their group membership

Implicit bias

The unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that can influence our actions towards others based on their race, gender, or other perceivable characteristics (Preconceptions in our head that we can't help)

Shooter bias

A form of implicit racial bias that mainly refers to the tendency among the police to shoot black civilians more often than white civilians, even when they're unarmed

White privilege

The inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race in a society that is characterized by racial inequality and injustice

Audit study

A type of experiment commonly used to measure bias and discrimination in which resumes, job applicants, etc. are matched on all characteristics save the one being studied and then sent into real-world situations

Sex

Whether a person is classified as male or female based on anatomical or chromosomal criteria

Intersex

Possessing biological sexual characteristics of both sexes

Gender

The ways that social forces create differences between men's and women's behavior, preferences, treatment, and opportunities, and the characteristics of men and women that reflect these forces.

Doing gender

The idea that gender, rather than being an innate quality of individuals, is a psychologically ingrained social construct that actively surfaces in everyday human interaction

Accountability

The system through which individuals are judged in terms of their failure or success to left gendered societal expectations, and it continues throughout our lives

Essentialism

The view that members of a group share a fundamental, inherited, innate, and fixed quality or characteristic.

Deceptive distinctions

The gender differences that arise out of the roles that individuals occupy, rather than from some innate force

Ambivalent sexism

A theoretical framework that suggests that sexism is made up of both hostile and benevolent components which serve to justify the social hierarchy

Hostile sexism

Sexism based in open hatred and negative evaluations of women along with the belief that women are naturally inferior to men

Benevolent sexism

The attribution of positive traits to women that, nonetheless, justify women's subordination to men

Socialization

The social processes through which individuals develop an awareness of social norms and boundaries and achieve a distinct sense of self

Primary socialization

Occurs during childhood when we initially learn acceptable actions and attitudes in our society, primarily through observation of our parents and other adults in close proximity

Secondary socialization

The processes through which we learn how to behave in specific groups and social situations such as school or the workplace

Social reproduction

The process through which social positions, social practices, values, and norms are perpetuated from generation to generation

Concerted cultivation

A middle class parenting style that actively fosters and assesses children's talents, opinions, and skills, resulting in an emerging sense of entitlement

Accomplishment of natural growth

A parenting style common among the working class and poor wherein children are given the freedom to structure their own lives, often resulting in an emerging sense of constraint.

Three possible functions of education

1) Socialization theory

2) Allocation theory

3) Correspondence principle

Socialization theory

Education transmits knowledge, skills, and values that persist in adulthood and that employers believe increase productivity (conveying the same info to everyone)

Allocation theory

Education channels people into positions or institutions that offer different opportunities for continuing to think, learn, and earn (sorting students into groups right for their level)

Correspondence principle

Children receive different types of education based solely on their social standing rather than their inherent abilities. This serves to maintain class boundaries.

Hidden curriculum

The often unstated standards of behavior that teachers and administrators expect from children within the education system.

Addendum to the hidden curriculum

These unstated expectations often reflect the middle-class biases and norms of school professionals

Educational tracking

The separation of students into persisting academic groups based on perceivability

Sexual orientation

The inclination to feel sexual desire toward people of a particular gender or toward both genders

The Kinsey scale

A research instrument used to describe a person's sexual or romantic orientation using a more fluid definition of orientation than the traditional categories of heterosexual, bisexual, or gay

Drive state

A feeling that motivates us to fulfill goals that are beneficial to our survival or reproduction

Sexuality

The character or quality of being sexual. Sexual behavior, desires, and fantasies (the things people actually do or think about)

Sexual script theory

Suggests that sexuality and sexual behaviors are social processes that are determined by a set of "scripts" used to organize and interpret sexual encounters into understandable conventions in which people can predict who does what and when in a particular context

Total institution

institutions in which all aspects of an individual's life are formally controlled (boarding school, prison, mental hospital, military)

The panopticon

A circular prison with cells arranged around a central well, from which prisoners could at all times be observed.

Panopticism

The systematic ordering and controlling of human populations through subtle and often unseen forces

Social control

The formal and informal mechanisms used to increase conformity

Two Theories of Punishment

1) Utilitarianism

2) Retributivism

Utilitarianism

Theory of punishment that relies on the threat of harsh punishment to discourage people from committing crimes

Retributivism

Theory of punishment that emphasizes moral condemnation for crimes already committed

Public sociology

Sociology that seeks to promote a dialogue outside the academy with a variety of public audiences (intended for everyone, not just sociologists)

Social movements

Conscious, collective, organized attempts to bring about or resist large-scale change in the social order

Four types of social movements (List?)

1) Reform movements

2)Revolutionary movements

3) Instrumental movements

4) Expressive movements

Reform movements

Try to bring about limited social change by working within the existing system, usually targeting social structures such as education or medicine and directly targeting policy makers

Revolutionary movements

Seeks to make fundamental changes to the system itself, often tearing down existing social institutions and replacing them with new ones

instrumental movements

Seek to change the structure of society as a whole and focus on specific observable goals (can be completed)

Expressive movements

Attempt to change individuals and their behaviors and ideas (not a finite change)

Six Necessary Conditions for a Social Movement

1) Structural Conduciveness

2) Perceived Structural Strain

3) Generalized Belief

4) Precipitating Factors

5) Mobilization for Action

6) Operation of Social Control

Structural conduciveness

A society must be set up in such a way that a social movement is likely to occur

Perceived structural strain

When a grievance cannot be immediately resolved through official channels, a social movement becomes more likely

Generalized belief

Involves a shared ideology, a set of ideas, that defines the sources of the structural problems or strains and the solutions necessary to alleviate them

Precipitating factors

Most social movements gain prominence after some inciting incident (ex. George Floyd's death)

Mobilization for action

A movement's ability to organize and mobilize resources towards achieving their ends

Operation of social control

The response of authorities (such as governments) to a social movement