Sociology Final WKA 1-5

Our concept of the self, who we are, emerges from our interactions with others.

Symbolic interactionist

Why did Mills think we should all have a sociological imagination?

So we can understand the world, and have an awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society.

What does Mills mean by biography?

Mills explained that each person has a personal biography; their individual circumstances make them who they are.

When asked about why people get married, most people will give reasons like "we were in love." How would having a sociological imagination change this answer?

A sociological imagination helps us understand that outside forces shape our decisions.

How could we use our sociological imagination to understand love?

We could look at global histories of notions of love, as well as learn about individual experiences of love.

Anthony Giddeons once wrote that "sociology teaches us that what we regard as natural, inevitable, good, or true may not be such and that the "givens" of our life -- including things we assume to be genetic or biological -- are strongly influenced by historical, cultural, social, and even technological forces." When reading this statement, we can assume that

Giddeons was using his sociological imagination.

Mills explains that we each live in a small orbit of social situations that include our neighborhoods, workplaces, and social interactions. What word does he use to describe this?

milieux

How can the sociological imagination help us understand suicide better?

By helping us understand that suicide is influenced by group membership rather than mere personal characteristics.

When explaining mass murder by armed gunmen, what things do sociologists address?

The links between individual characteristics and mental health, gender, race, social class, and various social institutions in the country.

Who did Mills think would need to have a sociological imagination?

Everyone

The sociological imagination is a way of seeing the influence of outside factors on individuals, and the impact that individuals have on the world.

True

Which of the following best describes social theories?

They are our most informed explanations of what happens and why.

What level of analysis is symbolic interactionism?

micro

What level of analysis is conflict theory?

macro

What level of analysis is functionalism?

macro

What are the key concepts of conflict theory?

inequality, power, and alienation

What are the key concepts of functionalism?

social integration, social institutions, and anomie

What are the key concepts of symbolic interactionism?

symbols, development of the self, and the generalized other

We can use the __________________________________ to explain that social change enhances social order over the long run.

functionalist perspective

Using the _______________________________, we can explain that social change challenges existing systems of inequality, and that those changes are resisted by individuals in positions of power.

conflict perspective

The _____________________________________ could be used to explain that social change occurs as a consequence of people exercising their agency to choose new pathways.

symbolic interactionist perspective

From a functionalist perspective, a main point is that everything in society is structured to provide social order and maintain stability. Essentially, we get rid of anything that no longer serves a purpose. What explanation would a functionalist theorist posit about aspects of society that are dysfunctional such as poverty or deviance?

The dysfunctional aspects must still perform some sort of function and contribute hidden benefits to society.

The ______________ perspective emphasizes consensus and cooperation.

functionalist

The _________ perspective explains that social order cannot be fully understood apart from an analysis of how the status quo is established and maintained by those who control key resources.

conflict

The ____________ perspective asserts that society is the product of our everyday encounters (with parents, friends, teachers, or strangers) through which we establish shared meanings and thus construct social order.

symbolic interactionist

Because it emphasizes the role we play in making sense of our interactions, the ________________ approach highlights our agency as humans. Society is dependent on this ongoing construction, making it fluid and subject to change.

symbolic interactionist

Money, land, property

material resources

Family connections, social networks, prestige

social resources

Education, beliefs, knowledge, tastes

cultural resources

Matthew Desmond follows eight main individuals in his study. He tells their stories of eviction showing what happens to them during and after and eviction. He is studying poverty and eviction using the ________________ level.

micro

Matthew Desmond also points out that we cannot just study the individual when trying to understand a social phenomena such as poverty and eviction. He explains that structural forces such as the housing market, court systems, and the economy are also to blame for the social issues related to poverty and eviction. Here, he is studying poverty and eviction using the ________________ level.

macro

Matthew Desmond writes that __________ is "when you try to understand people by allowing their lives to mold your own as fully and genuinely as possibly. You do this by building rapport with the people you want to know better and following them over a long stretch of time, observing and experiencing what they do, working and playing alongside them, and recording as much action and interaction as you can until you begin to move like they move, talk like they talk, think like they think, and feel something like they feel". What kind of research is this?

use of existing sources

Desmond talks a lot about how people act when he is around, especially since he is often taking notes, pictures, or recording them. He mentions that he wonders whether they act differently around him since they know he is observing them. If they are acting differently, this is known as the _________.

Hawthorne effect

As researchers, we have to remember that everything about you - your race and gender, where and how you were raised, your temperament and disposition - can influence whom you meet, and what is confided to you. This is an issue in all forms of research designs, but is likely less of an influence in which type of research?

use of existing sources

Why did Sherrena agree to be part of the study (see page 320)?

She wanted to share her side of the story so that others can see what landlords go through, since the "wider public rarely stops to consider it".

Desmond's team extracted judicial records of eviction cases that took place in Milwaukee between 2003 and 2013, using the records as sources of data. What is this research method called?

use of existing sources

The Milwaukee Eviction Court Study was an in-person ___________ of 250 tenants appearing in eviction court and were conducted immediately after the tenants' court hearings.

survey/interview

Matthew Desmond's work is considered mixed methods. Explain why.

It combines qualitative and quantitative research designs.

Desmond analyzed eviction's fallout using a national-representative data set (the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study). What did he find when he analyzed that data?

Evicted mothers suffer from increased material hardship as well as poor physical and mental health.

What kind of impact did Desmond's race (white) have on his experiences in the areas he lived while studied poverty? (see page 323)

He explained that "a white person living in and writing about the inner city is not uniquely exposed to threats but uniquely shielded from them".

Desmond explains that he prioritized firsthand observation (things he personally saw/witnessed). How did Desmond handle things he did not personally witness?

He spoke to multiple people about the event and checked details by drawing other sources such as news reports, medical or court records, and mortgage files. He also hired an independent fact checker who verified that these things happened.

Desmond explained that he would verify things as much as he could. Why?

Because eye witnessing is a fraught and imperfect thing.

What is the Milwaukee Area Renters' Survey (MARS)?

A survey in which 1,100 residents from all around Milwaukee were interviewed by trained interviewers between 2009 and 2011.

Desmond explains that never hid the fact that he was a writer trying to record as much as he could. This is important and is related to which general principles from the American Sociological Association?

Integrity

What are the steps in the scientific method?

Define the problem, review the literature, formulate the hypothesis, collect and analyze data, develop the conclusion

What is the dependent variable being explored here?

eviction

What is the independent variable? (note: gender is being used as a control variable)

race

In the above examples, I stated that gender is being used as a control variable. What does that mean?

Gender as a control variable is being used to test the relative impact of an independent variable to make sure than any observed effect on the dependent variable is actually from the independent variable.

The study found that "eviction is to women what incarceration is to men: a typical but severely consequential occurrence contributing to the reproduction of urban poverty." What are the two independent variables being discussed in this phrase?

poverty and gender

How did Desmond deal with confidentiality in his work?

He used pseudonyms for his research participants.

We establish tools, ideas, beliefs, and rules to establish order in our world.

constructing culture

We learn how to act through our interactions with others through a process called socialization.

constructing the self

We create an experience that we share with others and it feels real, solid, and natural, even though we created it in the first place.

constructing society

Going off to college, Mateo knew how to act in the classroom because he knew the rules of behavior, beliefs about student/teacher interactions, and how to behave around others. This process was learned through socialization after the cultural expectations were established.

constructing the self

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically shifted the way a lot of companies work. At UMC, for instance, many people are now working remotely, which means that the university must create new rules and expectations for the shift in employment. This process of creating the tools, ideas, beliefs, and rules of behavior to establish the new working environment is a form of ________.

constructing culture

When taken together, these are part of the theory of the _______ which states that reality has no meaning until people create that meaning.

the social construction of reality

In an online forum of which you are a part, you find a discussion post about marriage celebrations around the world. In reading through the discussion post, you realize that people from all over the world have some form of marriage. Using what you know about culture, you can conclude that:

Marriage is a cultural universal.

While reading through the discussion board about marriages around the world, you realize that some countries have arranged marriages, while others do not see this as a common practice. Additionally, some allow for polygamy, which is the marriage of more than two people at once, while other cultures only allow monogamy, which is the marriage between two people at the same time. In reading the posts, you can assume that:

While marriage may be a common practice, there is wide cultural variation between cultures regarding this practice.

Jude enjoys eating rice. He loves rice so much, he eats so much he gets a bellyache. Jude is enjoying which type of culture?

material culture

Julie believes that marriage should only occur between people of the opposite sex. However, Trisha believes that everyone should have the equal right to marry, and that marriage equality is a basic human right. Their disagreement is because of differences in which type of culture?

cognitive culture

Lacey ate Korean food for the first time last summer with her friend Rae. Rae had eaten Korean food many times before, and was able to show Lacey what was necessary to be successful in eating this new food. Lacey thought the food was delicious, but struggled with the chop sticks. Finally, Lacey had to ask the waitress for a fork because she could not figure out the chopsticks. Lacey's use of a fork is a violation of what form of culture?

normative culture

While eating Korean food with Rae, Lacey asked all sorts of questions about what kinds of food are deemed appropriate in Korea. Lacey was asking about which type of culture? (Here, the focus is on the idea of "appropriate", NOT the food itself or the practice of eating the food).

cognitive culture

While at the grocery store, Jude was screaming because he wanted a candy bar. When his mom said no, he screamed even louder. She calmly told him no, and told him that it was not proper to scream about a candy bar in the store. This act was socializing the toddler into which form of culture?

normative culture

the difference between subcultures and countercultures is:

Countercultures are usually more extreme and members deliberately oppose certain aspects of the larger culture.

When visiting Brazil, Lori was annoyed that she had to use a translator or try to communicate with others who spoke a language other than English. She complained to her friend that she was on vacation and everyone should just "speak English" if they wanted her tourism. Her friend, Marcus, pointed out that Lori was exhibiting _______________ since she believed her language was the "correct" one to speak.

ethnocentrism

During a trip to South Africa, Monica was surprised to learn that South Africa has 11 official languages including Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Sawti, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu, Afrikaans, and English. There are also 35 languages indigenous to South Africa that are regularly spoken. She was surprised that there was so much diversity in language and yet people were able to communicate effectively. She thought of how different this was compared to her country - the United States.

culture shock

Teresa was talking with a friend about wanting to travel abroad. Her friend insisted that there was no need to see other countries because "everyone just wants to come to America anyway" because of how great a country it is. Teresa told her friend that she was being _________.

ethnocentric

________ is the process of introducing a new idea or object to a culture.

innovation

________________ is when something that was previously unknown is revealed.

discovery

Democracy is a form of ________________, as is the automobile.

invention

My favorite food is enchiladas. I can eat enchiladas in Northern Minnesota thanks to which form of cultural spread?

diffusion

Language is created and is given meaning by a group of people uttering sounds and assigning meaning to those sounds. What type of cultural change is the formation of language (or adding new words to an existing language)?

invention

___________ occurs thanks to the internet, immigration, the mass media, and tourism since we can learn about other cultures.

diffusion

Values are the "collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, and proper - or bad, undesirable, and improper - in a culture" (Witt, 2020, p. 57). These values remain relatively stable over time, although there are some shifts in values such as beliefs in marriage, gender norms, and social power for certain groups. Values are a form of what type of culture?

non-material culture

What is the definition of socialization?

The lifelong process through which people learn the attitudes, values, and behaviors appropriate for members of a particular culture.

Identify the three types of socialization outlined in this chapter.

socialization, anticipatory socialization, and resocialization

anticipatory socialization

Processes of socialization in which a person "rehearses" for future positions, occupations, and social relationships.

resocialization

The process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one's life.

How does socialization fit into the model of constructing our social world (from chapter 3)?

Socialization is the second stage of the model. Stage one involves creating culture to establish a relationship to nature and with each other (culture). In the second stage, we become products of the worlds that we create through a process of socialization.

In Japan, children as young as five learn to navigate the bus system on their own. In Sweden, parents leave babies asleep in strollers outside of shops while the adults go inside. In the United States, both of these practices would be considered child abuse or neglect. However, we can use cultural relativism to see that there is nothing inherently wrong with these practices, and that they are simply examples of:

cross-cultural variation

What do sociologists mean by the term "gender roles"?

The normative expectations regarding proper behavior, attitudes, and activities associated with maleness and femaleness.

Define agents of socialization.

The various contexts within which individuals and groups shape our social identity.

List the agents of socialization.

Family, school, peer groups, the mass media, the workplace, religion, and the state.

Define prejudice:

A preconceived and unjustified judgement of individuals, whether positive or negative, based on their membership in a particular group.

Implicit Bias

The automatic and unconscious association of value, whether positive or negative, with particular groups, subgroups, or characteristics of people

Ethnocentrism

The tendency to assume that one's own culture and way of life represent what's normal or is superior to all others.

Define rites of passage:

A ritual marking the symbolic transition from one social position to another, dramatizing and validating changes in a person's status.

Define The Life Course Approach:

A research orientation in which sociologists and other social scientists look closely at the social factors that influence people throughout their lives, from birth to death.

Define total institutions:

An institution that regulates all aspects of a person's life under a single authority, such as a prison, the military, a mental hospital, or a convent.

Define ageism:

Prejudice and discrimination based on a person's age.

What is the disengagement theory of aging?

A theory that suggests that society and the gaining individual mutually sever many of their relationships.

What is the activity theory of aging?

A theory of aging that suggests that those elderly people who remain active and socially involved will have an improved quality of life.

Define the looking glass self.

A theory that we become who we are based on how we think others see us.

What are the three stages of the looking glass self?

First, we imagine how others see us, then we imagine how others evaluate what we think they see, then we define our self as a result of these assumptions.

The _________ Me/ I Me is the socialized self that plans actions and judges performances based on the standards we have learned from others.

Me

The ______ Me/ I I is the acting self that walks, reads, sings, smiles, speaks, and performs any other action we might undertake.

I

indicate whether the "I" or the "Me" is the one that generalizes from our experiences to understand how society works.

The "Me" since it's the socialized self.

Define the term "significant others" according to Mead.

Individuals who are most important to the development of the self, such as parents, friends, teachers, coaches, or mentors.

Define the term "generalized other" according to Mead.

The attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society as a whole that individuals take into account when interacting with others.

Mead explains that we internalize cultural knowledge through our interactions with significant others and the generalized other. How does this relate to his stages of the self?

Children learn to internalize these shared understandings as they grow up and progress through the stages of the self. A child must go through these stages to develop the capacity to understand how to act in the culture, and how to understand what is expected of them and others.