Exam 2 - Sociology

social interaction

process by which people act and react to others

Relationships are formed (and persist) based on the rewards and costs of the interaction to the individual. (Reward high=interaction continues)

How rational choice theory relates to social interaction.

Norm of Reciprocity

if you do something for a person, they must do something of equal social value in return.

Reciprocity

the idea that if a relationship is imbalanced for more than a short period of time, it will become unsatisfying.

Principle of Lest Interest

where the person with “less interest” in the relationship (has more resources and can live without it) has more power than the person who doesn’t (can’t live without the relationship).

humans create society through interacting with one another; we agree that certain objects, gestures, phrases mean certain things; stresses the agency, or active decision making role, of humans within their societies; humans look to others to see how to make sense of a situation.

Symbolic Interaction relating to social interaction

social construction of reality

the process by which individuals and groups shape reality through social interaction.

ethnomethodology

study how people develop shared meanings and consider how common norms originate in small groups

Dramaturgy

the analysis of social life as a stage play

impression management

managing the image we project, trying to create an impression that works to our advantage.

Scripts

expectations about behavior

Props

the physical cues that tell you things about someone

Front stage

scripted, people don’t know you well

Back stage

intimate, letting our feelings show

status

a social position in society

status set

the combination of statuses held by an individual

ascribed status

given, not chosen, and can not (unlikely) be changed

achieved status

earned but could be lose & have some control over

Master status

the most important status to you at that moment. (positive or negative, can change, achieved or ascribed)

role

expected behavior associated with a particular status

role = action/behavior, status=position

relationship between role and status

role strain

tension between roles within one status

role conflict

is conflict between the roles of two or more statuses of a single person.

1. Egoistic suicide

2. Anomic suicide

3. altruistic suicide

4. fatalistic suicide

Durkheim’s 4 Types of Suicide

It shows that suicide has connections to group membership; group influence over this behavior

Why is Durkhiem’s 4 Types of Suicide Important

Groups

units involving two or more people who interact with each other because of shared common interests, goals, experiences, and needs; must regularly interact or acknowledge shared common interests.

Primary Group

close contacts between members and lasting personal relationships (backstage)

Secondary Groups

formal, impersonal, goal oriented, weak emotional ties (front stage)

Reference group

serves as a point of reference for people making evaluations

In-group

social group where a person psychologically identifies as being a member and the group has power and can privledge themselves.

Out-group

the group where in-group members do not identify with

Groupthink

social pressure to conform to group norms and conformity that leads to abandon critical thinking; faulty or ineffective decisions.

the majority of people give in to agree with the majority even if they disagree with what is being said.

What was found in Asch’s Experiment?

organizations

large, secondary groups organized to achieve goals efficiently

bureaucracy

maximize efficiency

1. Specialization, Complex Division of Labor

2. Hierarchy of Authority

3. Explicit Rules and Procedures

4. Technical Competence

5. Impersonality

6. Written Communication

Weber’s 6 Characteristics of an Ideal BureaucracyA

alientation

feelings uninvolved, uncommitted, unappreciated, and unconnected to the group or society.

Iron cage of rationality

rationalization and rules trap humans in a figurative “cage” of thought where new ideas are suppressed and there is no expression, freedom, or potential.

Deviant Behavior

violates a social norm and is accompanied by a negative social evaluation

Attitudes, Behaviors, Conditions

What are the ABC’s of Deviance?

1. Judgement of right/wrong

2. Defined by mental illness

3. Defined by harm

Deviance is NOT…

Temporal Variations

vary through different historical periods

Cultural variations

vary from place to place

Situational variations

vary depending on the social context

deviance doesn’t always involve a law violation; are not only behavioral in nature; some crimes are not deviant.

Difference between crime and deviance

Differential association theory

focuses on the process of learning deviant behavior from those with whom we interact.

labeling theory

explains how people can be labeled deviant after committing a deviant act, which can lead them to carry out further acts that reflect that label.

Primary Deviance

a violation of a norm that may be an isolated act or an initial act of rule breaking.

Secondary Deviance

if an individual continues to violate a norm and begins to take on a deviant identity as a result of being labeled deviant.

self-fulfilling prophecy

when a belief or a prediction becomes a reality, in part because of the prediction.

social control theory

people are naturally bad and need to be discouraged from engaging in crime

1. Involvement (busy)

2. Attachment (care what others think)

3. Belief (religious)

4. Commitment (worried about losing stuff)

What are the 4 elements of social control theory (IABC)

Strain theory

societal goals of success (money) and opportunity/means to obtain

• conformity: goals +, means +

• Innovation: goals + means -

• Ritualism: goals -, means +

• Retreatism: goals -, means -

• Rebellion: new goals, new means

Merton’s 5 Adaptations for strain theory (CIRRR)

focuses on how institutions create and enforce the laws of behavior; who the laws do and don’t favor; deviance is a result of social inequality

Conflict theory in deviation

white collar crime

a violation of the law committed by an individual or a group while conducting a legitimate financial activity or engaging in a respected occupation.

Recidivism

the likelihood that someone who is arrested, convicted, and imprisoned will later be a repeat offender

National Incident-Based Reporting System

collects information on crime, relationships between crimes, etc.

National Crime Victimization Survey

finds out about “underreported” crimes from victims

Dark figure of crime

a statistic of crime that is not reported

1. some crimes are underreported

2. some crimes are more likely to be reported

3. Changing norms, values, and laws

Problems with crime rates

• burglary

• car theft

• larceny

• arson

4 types of property crime

• robbery

• aggravated assault

• murder

• rape

4 types of violent crime

Men

Victims of violence: gender

under 25

Victims of violence: age

poverty

Victims of violence: social class

same race

Victims of violence: race

unmarried

Victims of violence: marriage

guns, American culture and focus on $, historically more violent, poverty, education level.

Why does the US have the highest violent crime rate?

social capital

social networks within and among groups that give us access to important resources, such as jobs.

social stratification

arrangement of society into layers based on unequal distributions of societal resources, powers, and prestige

cultural capital

knowledge and access to important information in society providing advantage in achieving a particular social status in society.

social capital

networks with others who have influence.

social mobility

ability to move up or down the social classes

intergenerational mobility

change in social class status compared with one’s parents, usually resulting from education and occupational attainment.

open class system

the more movement there is between classes, the more open the class system is.

intragenerational mobility

changes in position within a single individual’s life

status inconsistent

high prestige, but low income (teachers)

ascribed status

characteristics individuals are born with determines one’s position

achieved status

can earn positions through their ability and effort.

Socio-Economic status (SES)

a proxy for class position; includes income, wealth, educational attainment, and occupational prestige.

Income is how much you make while wealth is the value of all economic assets owned by a person or family minus any debts

Income vs wealth

conspicuous consumption

consumers who buy expensive items to display wealth and status rather than to cover the real needs of the consumer

Everyone learns the norms of their social class through socialization.

Symbolic interaction theory in stratification

stratification is inevitable and generally necessary

Structural functionalist theory in stratification

stratification is the outcome of struggles for dominance and scarce resources, with some individuals in society taking advantage of others.

Conflict theory in stratification

class consciousness

a shared awareness that they, as a class, have interests that differ from those of the haves.

property, power, prestige

The 3 P’s

substandard housing or homelessness: decline in availability of low-rent housing; poor health: high infant mortality, more chronic diseases, early death rate for adults; crime and punishment: arrested more, get public defender, longer prison sentence; limited schooling: higher high school drop out rate, less chance of completing college, tracking; political alienation: less likely to vote

Problems linked to poverty

1. Capitalist

2. Upper Middle

3. Lower Middle

4. Working

5. Working Poor

6. Underclass

social class in the US

absolute poverty

household income is below a necessary level to maintain basic living standards

relative poverty

where household income is a certain percentage below median incomes; inadequate lack of income when compared to average standard of living.

Children, african americans & hispanics, women, single mothers, south and the west regions

Who is most likely to be poor (age, race, gender, family, region)

five year limit to welfare benefits, only two consecutive years.

What did the Welfare Act of 1996 do?

poverty is needed to be a scapegoat, create jobs, labor for undesirable jobs, and to enhance the self esteem of others.

Structural Functional Theory of Poverty

Is the outcome of dominance and scarce resources

Conflict Theory of Poverty

Race

a socially created concept that identifies a group as distinct, usually on the basis of ancestry or certain physical characteristics.

subordinate groups

are groups that have less power than one or more other groups.

dominant racial group

 the racial group with the most power

• Can be distinguished from the group that holds power by physical appearance, dress, language, or religion.

• Are excluded from or denied full participation at the meso level of society in economic, political, educational, religious, health, and recreational institutions.

• Have less access to power and resources within the nation and are evaluated less favorably, based on their characteristics as subordinate racial group members.

• Are stereotyped, ridiculed, condemned, or otherwise defamed, allowing dominant racial group members to justify and not feel guilty about unequal and poor treatment.

• Develop collective identities to insulate themselves from the unaccepting world; this, in turn, perpetuates their group identity by creating ethnic or racial enclaves, intragroup marriages, and segregated group institutions, such as religious congregations.

what characterizes minority groups