sociology 2 test

capital

the money to invest is factories, real estate, and other businesses

capitalist class

those who control major capital and own the means of production

working class

those who survive on the wages they earn

middle class

-broad socioeconomic stratum positioned between upper class and lower class

-distinctive for its contribution of specialized knowledge and expertise to the economy

under class

-the long term poor who lack training and skills

-chronically unemployed people who have no ongoing relationship to the mainstream economy.

life chances

likelyhood of a person has of obtaining valued economic and cultural resources

income vs wealth

income is money received from salary or wages, while wealth is the value of financial assets such as savings, real estate, stocks and bonds

class mobility

ability to move from one social class to another

absolute poverty

refers to a scarcity of resources so severe that it is life-threatening.

relative poverty

refers to a situation that exists when people do not have the basic resources to maintain a standard of living considered acceptable in their society.

meritocracy

the notion that people are rewarded and are able to advance because of their abilities.

social capital

relationships that are potentially economically valuable resulting from membership in a group.

cultural capital

consists of various types of knowledge, skills, and other cultural resources

Annettes lareau research

-studied the socialization of children in black and white middle-class and working-class families

-results: children of the same class, regardless of race, have much more in common than children of the same race who belong to different social classes.

global inequality

the differences in wealth and power among the countries of the world.

dependence theory

theory that attributes global inequality to the exploitation of weaker, poor nations by wealthy, more powerful ones.

colonialism

the use of military, political, and economic power by one society to dominate the people of another society, usually for economic benefit

world system analysis

an approach that focuses on the Interdependence among the countries that make up a single global economic system

ethnicity

shared cultural heritage often deriving from a common ancestry and homeland.

race

a category of people widely perceived as sharing socially significant physical characteristics such as skin color

social construction of race

Races exist only to the extent that people use physical characteristics to assign one another to social categories

melanin production

Skin color is determined mostly by varying amounts of pigment called melanin

racial essentialism

the idea that supposedly natural and immutable differences separate the races

majority group

a collection of people who enjoy privileges and have more access to power because of identifiable physical or cultural characteristics.

minority group

a collection of people who suffer disadvantages and have less power because of identifiable physical or cultural characteristics.

stereotypes

exaggerated, distorted, or untrue generalizations about categories of people that do not acknowledge individual variation.

prejudice

to “pre-judge” someone or some group negatively based on inadequate information

discrimination

unequal treatment that gives advantages to one group of people over another without justifiable cause

justifications used for American slavery

-Slaveholders claimed they acted as guardians or "parents" who provided food, shelter, discipline, and religious instruction to people they deemed incapable of caring for themselves

-racial superiority

-religious and biblical reasons

Jim Crow laws

-all aspects of life were structured along racial lines, ensuring that black people would remain separate from and unequal to white people

majority minority states

a state in which minority groups combined outnumber the non-Hispanic white (dominant) population

NAFTA (The North American Free Trade Agreement)

-contributed to the increase in undocumented immigrants

Racialization of the state

the implementation of government and private-sector policies that discriminated\ against minorities and provided whites with numerous advantages

institutional discrimination

Unequal treatment that results from the structural organization, policies, and procedures of social institutions such as the government, businesses, and schools

contact theory

theory that interpersonal contact between people of different racial, ethnic, or social groups can effectively reduce prejudice and stereotyping, provided that the interaction occurs under specific, favorable conditions.

implicit association test

computer based test that measures the strength of a person's automatic, unconscious associations between mental concepts and positive or negative evaluations

color blind racism

a form of bias in which the promotion of race neutrality helps maintain existing racial and ethnic inequality

hispanic

-the areas that becameMexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and other nations of Central and South America laid the foundation for ethnic combinations that we now define as Hispanic

-Mexican Americans are the largest Latino group in the United States

sex

the distinction between females and males based on a set of biological attributes including reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, hormone levels, and genetic expression

gender

the socially constructed cultural expectations associated with women and men.

intersex

people born with biological features that do not fit the typical definitions of male or female

social construction of gender

all the differences we associate with men and women are culturally produced, not biologically based but are instead culturally produced

gender identity

a person’s sense of themselves as male, female, or nonbinary

transgender

people whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth

masculinities

the properties and characteristics associated with men

sexism

the ideology that one sex is superior to the other

gender socialisation

the lifelong process through which individuals learn and internalize the social expectations, attitudes, and behaviors associated with their gender within a specific culture

gender roles

a set of social expectations regarding behavior and attitudes based on a person’s sex

doing gender

creating gender through interactions in particular social settings

gender stratification

the systematic and unequal distribution of power and resources in society between men and women

patriarchy

social system dominated by men

wage gap

the gender wage gap is studied as a primary indicator of gender stratification and economic inequality

the second shift

the phenomenon of employed women still having primary responsibility for housework and child care

sexuality

a person’s sexual desires, behaviors, and identity

sexual identity

our sense of self as it relates to the type of sexual attraction we have for others

heterosexism

a set of attitudes and behavior that indicate an assumption that everyone is heterosexual

homophobia

disapproval and fear of L G B T Q I A people

feminism

a philosophy that advocates social, political, and economic equality for women and men

family

two or more people, related either by birth or through social commitment, who share resources, care for any dependents, and often maintain close emotional relationships

kinship

the state of being related to others

cohabitation

social relationship that can create family ties and typically involves sexual intimacy, in which people live together as unmarried partners

exogamy

the marriage between people from different social categories

endogamy

the legal restrictions or customs that limit marriage to people within the same social category.

children’s role in the family

Children inherit the social and economic status of their parents and therefore the family helps to maintain societal inequality

open mate selection

individual freedom in choosing a mate is growing as societies move away from arranged marriages.

idealized model of family

-The traditional family was one that was headed by heterosexual couples. The husband assumed the role of breadwinner, the wife that of homemaker.

-These families were stable with low divorce rates and healthy, well-mannered children who were taken care of by nurturing mothers and strong fathers

divorce overtime in america

-divorce rates are rising

-Divorce has become common and accepted in mainstream society

-Increased divorce and subsequent remarriage has led to the creation of more “blended” step-families that include two adults and at least one child from a previous marriage or relationship

Emile Durkheim- sacred and profane collective conscience

religion serves to bind society together by dividing the world into thesacred (extraordinary, awe-inspiring, and set apart) and the profane (ordinary, everyday, and non-religious)

ritual

symbolic actions, typically performed at specified times, that help evoke an emotional bond among participants

functions of religion

religion maintains social order and meets human needs by promoting social cohesion, providing moral regulation and emotional support, offering existential meaning, and occasionally driving social change

marx view on religion

-According to Marx, man makes religion

-viewed religion as the "opiate of the masses". He argued that it acts as a tool for the ruling class to justify social inequality, dull the pain of economic exploitation, and discourage workers from seeking revolutionary change

rationalization of society

historical shift from traditional, emotion-driven social structures to a modern system dominated by efficiency, calculation, and formal rules

religiously unaffiliated

individuals who do not identify with any organized religion

secularization thesis

argues that in the face of modernity, the social significance of religion has declined

spiritual

an individual's personal, flexible search for meaning and the sacred outside of formal structures

religious

formal, organized social institution with shared beliefs, rituals, and a moral community

education

social institution through which individuals acquire knowledge and skills and learn cultural norms and values

schooling

organized instruction by trained teachers

occupational sorting

the social and institutional processes—such as school tracking, credentialing, and workplace dynamics—that channel individuals into specific careers and socioeconomic tiers

hidden curriculum

the lessons students learn simply by attending school, in contrast to the lessons from the formal subject-specific curriculum

social reproduction theory

the ways that schools help to reproduce systems of inequality

tracking

placing students into different curricular paths intended to accommodate varying levels of academic work

residential segregation

status attainment

gender division of labor

gender wage gap

occupational prestige

unions

emotional labor

contemporary trends in workplace