BSU Sociology Exam 2

🧩 Socialization

🧠 Lifelong process of learning society’s norms, values, and behaviors. Example: A child learning table manners at home.

🔄 Resocialization

♻️ Process of replacing old behaviors and norms with new ones in a controlled environment. Example: Recruits learning military discipline in boot camp.

⚖️ Nature vs. Nurture

🧬 Debate over whether biology (nature) or social environment (nurture) shapes behavior. Example: Genie (feral child) shows the importance of social environment in development.

🧠 Kohlberg – Moral Development

📚 Stages of moral development: Preconventional (reward/punishment 🏆⚡), Conventional (social norms 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦), Postconventional (abstract principles ⚖️🌍). Example: Obeying a rule to avoid getting grounded (preconventional).

♀️ Gilligan – Gender & Morality

💡 Critique of Kohlberg; women approach morality via care and responsibility. Example: Choosing to help a sick friend rather than strictly following school rules.

🗣️ Mead – Stages of Self

🎭 Preparatory (imitation 🤹‍♂️), Play (role-taking 🧑‍🏫), Game (understanding generalized other 🏟️). Example: Child playing “doctor” in a group game.

👨‍👩‍👧 Agents of Socialization

🏫 People and institutions that shape social learning. Examples: Family teaching manners, school teaching rules, media shaping trends.

📅 Life Course Overview

⏳ Socialization is lifelong — childhood, adolescence, adulthood, old age. Example: Teenagers learning independence during adolescence.

🎥 Video: Boot Camp

🛡️ Example of resocialization in total institutions; old identities stripped, new norms enforced. Example: Recruits adopting military routines.

❌ Deviance

🚨 Behavior violating social norms. Example: Graffiti on public property.

⏳ Changes over Time

🕰️ Norms evolve; behaviors once deviant may become accepted. Example: Wearing ripped jeans, once seen as rebellious, is now common fashion.

🌎 Cultural Differences

🌐 Deviance varies across and within cultures. Example: Drinking alcohol is normal in France but deviant in Saudi Arabia.

🔬 Simmons Research

🧪 Shows deviance is socially constructed; people disagree on what behaviors are deviant. Example: Same-sex relationships accepted in some societies but deviant in others.

🧩 Durkheim – Deviance

📏 Deviance is normal & necessary; clarifies norms, unites groups, promotes social change. Example: Civil rights activists breaking segregation laws to challenge injustice.

🔧 Merton – Strain Theory

⚡ Deviance arises when people cannot achieve culturally approved goals legitimately. Modes: Innovation 💡, Ritualism 📝, Retreatism 🏕️, Rebellion ✊. Example: Stealing (innovation) when unable to achieve wealth legally.

👑 Power Elite (Mills)

👔 Small group controls society’s major institutions and shapes laws. Example: CEOs and top politicians influencing policy to protect business interests.

💼 White-Collar Crime

💳 Nonviolent crimes by high-status individuals. Example: Enron executives committing accounting fraud.

⚡ Quinney

📜 Laws reflect elite interests; criminalize behaviors threatening their power. Example: Harsh sentencing for street-level drug offenders while corporate crime is overlooked.

🏷️ Labeling Theory

🏷️ Deviance is shaped by societal labels; can become self-fulfilling. Example: A teen labeled a “troublemaker” acts out more.

🚫 Stigma

😷 Negative label that discredits identity. Example: A person with a criminal record facing difficulty finding a job.

🔪 Crime

⚖️ Formalized deviance; violation of laws. Example: Robbery or assault.

⚖️ Death Penalty

💀 Debates around morality, racial/economic inequality, and deterrence effectiveness. Example: Execution of death row inmates in the US.

📊 Principles of Social Stratification

📌 Stratification is a trait of society, persists across generations, is universal but variable, involves beliefs that justify inequality. Example: Upper-class families passing wealth and privilege to children.

🔗 Caste vs. Class

🏯 Caste: rigid, hereditary; 💼 Class: based on wealth, education, occupation. Example: India’s caste system vs. US socioeconomic classes.

🏆 Davis-Moore Thesis

🎯 Social stratification has positive functions; ensures most qualified fill key roles. Critiques: overlooks inequality, ignores power imbalances ⚠️. Example: Doctors earn high salaries because their role requires long training and skill.

🛠️ Marx

⚒️ Class struggle between bourgeoisie (owners) and proletariat (workers). Example: Factory owners exploiting workers in industrial capitalism.

❓ Why No Revolution

🤔 False consciousness, ideology, state control, reform programs prevent revolution. Example: Social welfare programs reduce class tension.

🛍️ Conspicuous Consumption

💎 Displaying wealth to signal status. Example: Buying a luxury car to show social standing.

💰 Income/Wealth

💵 Differences affect opportunities, lifestyle, and health. Example: Wealthy families afford private schools and healthcare.

🧍 US Class Divisions

📈 Upper, middle, working, lower classes. Example: Upper-class executives, middle-class teachers, working-class retail workers.

🏥 Health and Class

❤️ Higher SES → better health outcomes. Example: Lower-income neighborhoods have fewer hospitals and higher rates of chronic disease.

📉 Poverty Guidelines

📋 Used to determine eligibility for government assistance. Example: Families earning below the federal poverty line may receive food stamps.

💵 Living on Minimum Wage

💔 Hard to meet basic needs; many work multiple jobs. Example: Fast-food workers struggling to pay rent.

🎥 Video: India & Caste

🏯 Example of rigid social hierarchy. Example: Dalits facing social discrimination.

🎥 Video: Poverty in West Virginia

🏚️ Example of cycle of economic disadvantage. Example: Families relying on government aid to survive.

🧬 Race/Ethnicity

🌈 Socially constructed categories based on physical traits & cultural identity. Example: Identifying as Black, Hispanic, or Asian.

🌍 Origins of Race

🗺️ Based on geography, migration, colonization. Example: European colonization creating racial categories.

👥 Minority

👤 Group with less power, not necessarily fewer in number. Example: African Americans in the US.

⚠️ Prejudice

😡 Negative beliefs or attitudes toward a group. Example: Thinking all immigrants are criminals.

🧠 Theories of Prejudice

🧪 Scapegoating, authoritarian personality, social learning. Example: Blaming immigrants for job loss (scapegoating).

🚫 Discrimination

❌ Unequal treatment of groups based on prejudice. Example: Refusing to rent apartments to a racial minority.

🩸 Racism

🩸 Belief in racial superiority, often institutionalized. Example: Segregation laws in the Jim Crow South.

🤝 Assimilation & Amalgamation

🥘 Assimilation: minority adopts dominant culture; ❤️ Amalgamation: blending of cultures. Example: Immigrants adopting English (assimilation) vs. melting pot of cultures (amalgamation).

🔁 Vicious Cycle

🔄 Discrimination → inequality → reinforces prejudice. Example: Poverty and lack of education perpetuating social stigma.

⚡ Intersectionality

🌐 Overlapping social identities (race, gender, class) produce unique disadvantages. Example: A low-income Black woman facing multiple forms of oppression.

🎥 Video: Ain’t Scared of Your Jails

✊ Example of systemic racism and civil rights struggles. Example: Civil rights activists protesting unequal treatment in the legal system.