Society and Culture

What is macrosociology?

Large scale perspective, looking at big phenomena that affect big portion of the population

What is functionalism?

Looks at society as a whole and how institutions that make up the society adapt to keep society stable and functioning

What is conflict theory?

The idea that society is made of institutions that benefit the powerful and create inequalities

What is microsociology?

Face to face interactions, families, schools, other social interactions; looks at a sample of society

What is symbolic interactionism?

Social theory that’s a micro-perspective, focuses on the individual and significance they give to objects, events, symbols, etc.

What is the conservative view of institutions?

They are natural by-products of human nature

What is the progressive view of institutions?

Institutions are artificial creations that need to be redesigned if they are not helpful

What is religiosity?

How religious a person is can range from private beliefs/spiritual routines, to institutionalized religion, celebrating certain holidays, reading a spiritual text, praying often

What is ecclesia?

Dominant religious organization that includes most members of society

What are churches?

Established religious bodies in a larger society

What are sects?

Tend to be smaller and are established in protest of established church

What are cults?

More radical, reject values of outside society

What is secularization?

The weakening of social and political power of religious organizations, as religious involvement declines

What is fundamentalism?

The reaction to secularization, go back to strict religious beliefs. Create social problems when people become too extreme

What is communism?

Classless, moneyless community community where all property is owned by community

What is capitalism?

Private ownership of production with market economy based on supply and demand

What is socialism?

Motivated by what benefits society as whole, common ownership of production that focuses on human needs and economic demands

What is medicalization?

Occurs when human conditions previously considered normal get defined as medical conditions and are subject to studies, diagnosis, and treatment

What is a sick role?

Expectation in society that allows you to take a break from responsibilities

What is social epidemiology?

Focuses on the contribution of social and cultural factors to disease patterns in populations

Who developed functionalism?

Emile Durkheim

Who believed in conflict theory?

Karl Marx

According to conflict theory, what are the stages of evolution for a society?

Feudalism, capitalism, and socialism

According to conflict theory, what were the two major classes of people?

Bourgeoisie and proletariat

What are the bourgeoisie?

Individuals of a social class that have wealth, power, or influence

What are the proletariat?

Individuals from a working class, where their worth is determined by their ability to perform manual labor

What did Ludwig Gumplowicz expand on conflict theory?

Proposed that society is shaped by war/conquest, and cultural/ethnic conflicts lead to certain groups being dominant over others

What did Max Weber expand on in conflict theory?

Argued that several factors moderate people’s reaction to inequality

What is class?

A person’s economic position in society, based on birth and individual achievement

What is status/prestige?

A person’s social honor, or popularity, in a society

What is power?

A person’s ability to get their way despite the resistance of others, particularly in their ability to engage social change

What is social constructionism?

People actively shape their reality through social interactions/agreement

What is a social construct?

A concept/practice everyone in society agrees to treat a certain way regardless of its inherent value (ex. money)

Weak social constructionism proposes that social constructs are dependent on…?

Brute facts and institutional facts

Strong social constructionism states that the whole of society is dependent on…?

Language and social habits

Social constructionism was developed by who?

Berger and Luckman

Who developed symbolic interactionism?

George Herbert Mead

How did Herbert Blumer expand on symbolic interactionism?

We act based on meaning we’ve given something, different people assign different meanings to things, the meaning we give something isn’t permanent

What is feminist theory?

A contemporary approach of looking at the world from a macro-perspective, developed from feminism movement originating from conflict theory by focusing on stratifications in society, specifically women’s social roles

What is rational choice theory?

Everything people do is fundamentally rational

What is completeness in terms of rational choice theory?

Every action can be ranked

What is transitivity in terms of rational choice theory?

Since choice A is preferable to B is preferable to C, therefore, A is also preferable to C

What is independence of irrelevant alternatives in terms of rational choice theory?

If I have a fourth choice X, it won’t change the order of how I ranked the first 3 options

What is exchange theory?

Explains social interactions and relationships by viewing them as a process of exchange between individuals, where each participant seeks to maximize their benefits and minimize their costs

What is sexual selection?

Natural selecting arising through preference for one sex for characteristics in individuals of the other sex

What is social selection?

Idea that an individual’s health can influence their social mobility (Joan Roughgarden)

Overview of the social theories?

Functionalism = looking at stability of society, conflict theory = how society changes, social constructionism = how things are given value, symbolic interactionism = how individuals act.