soc

Human Development Index (HDI)

A measure of economic and social well-being on a scale of 0-1, including factors such as life expectancy, education levels, and average income.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The value of all goods and services produced within a country in one year.

Population Rise

The difference between the birth rate and the death rate.

Literacy Rate

The percentage of people who can read and write.

Life Expectancy

The age to which a newborn infant can expect to live.

Minority

A group of people differentiated from the dominant group in society based on physical or cultural traits and treated unequally.

Characteristics of a Minority

Distinct physical or cultural characteristics, dominated by the majority, common sense of identity, ascribed status applied at birth.

Race

People sharing certain inherited physical characteristics.

Ethnic Minority

Groups identified by cultural, national, or religious characteristics.

Ethnocentrism

Judging others in terms of one’s own group.

Assimilation

The blending or fusing of a minority group into the dominant society.

Acculturation

Culture passed on to a new generation.

Cultural Pluralism

The desire of a group to maintain some sense of identity separate from the dominant group.

Accommodation

A choice by a minority group to maintain its own cultural unique way of life independent of the dominant.

Melting Pot vs Salad Bowl Theory

Melting pot: ethnic and racial minorities blend together; Salad bowl: different traditions and cultures exist side by side.

Subjugation

The process by which a minority group is denied equal access to the benefits of society.

De jure Segregation

Denial of equal access based on the law.

De facto Segregation

Denial of equal access based on common prejudice.

Population Transfer

Forced movement of a group, such as the Cherokee's march to Oklahoma.

Genocide

The systemic effort to destroy an entire population.

Bias

Negative or positive preconceptions.

Hate Crime

A criminal act motivated by extreme prejudice.

Prejudice

Closely held negative attitudes towards a group and its individual members.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

An expectation that leads to behavior that causes the expectation to become reality.

Racism

An extreme form of prejudice that assumes the superiority of one racial group over others.

Discrimination

Unfair treatment of a minority group by the dominant group.

Stereotyping

Labeling a group based on distorted, exaggerated, or oversimplified ideas.

Native Americans

A group impacted by population transfer, forced onto reservations, and involved in casino businesses.

Latinos

Fastest growing minority group, including people from Mexico, Central America, South America, and Caribbean islands.

African-Americans

A minority group that fought for equal rights in the 1960s.

Asian Americans

Includes Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos, noted for educational success.

Institutionalized Discrimination

Unfair practices due to the structure of society.

Hidden Employment

Part-time or self-employed individuals who wish to be full-time.

Under Class

People who have been poor for generations.