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Sociology definition
- the scientific study of social structure and human groups
- relationship between social institutions, society, and people's attitudes and behaviors
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Anthropology definition
past cultures, preindustrial societies, origins of humans
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Economics definition
production and exchange of goods and services
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History definition
past people and events and their influences on us today
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Political Science definition
organization, administration and theory of government
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Psychology definition
development and function of mental and emotional processes in human beings
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Auguste Comte
- scientific observation (positivism)
- "Father of Sociology"
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Harriet Martineau
- British scholar who translated Comte into English
- Lost hearing as a child
- Wrote Society in America (1837)
- Pioneering feminist theoriest
- "Mother of Sociology"
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Karl Marx overview
- History of class conflict
- Bourgeoisie and proletarist
- critiqued capitalism
- called for revolution
- The Communist Manifesto (1848)
- Capita (1867)
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Talcott Parsons (overview)
- Harvard Professor
- Functionalism (theory)
- Proposed Grand Theory (big enough to explain everything)
- Leading figure in American sociology during the middle of the 20th century
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Robert Merton (overview)
- Expanded functionalism
- Student of Parson
- Studied deviant behavior and crime
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W.E.B. DuBois
- Harvard, First Black to earn Ph.D. there
- Focused on conditions for Black Americans
- NAACP founded 1909
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Theory definition
- a set of statements that seeks to explain problems, actions, or behavior
- an abstract predictive statement that explains why and how certain things happen
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Functionalism Emphasis
functions, order and integration, stability and cooperation
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Functionalism Origins
Europe, 1800s (Spencer & Durkheim)
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Functionalism Theorists
Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, Robert Merton, Herbert Spencer
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Functionalism Criticism
too conservative and protects the status quo
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Conflict Theory Emphasis
Inequality, stratification, competition, conflict, power and oppression change
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Conflict Theory Origins
Europe 1800s, (Marx and Weber)
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Conflict Theory Theorists
Karl Marx, W.E.B. DuBois, C. Wright Mills
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Conflict Theory Criticism
All of life is viewed as a struggle for power and money
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Ideology
ideas that are seen to protect the interests and actions of those in power
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Feminist Theory Definition
a branch of conflict theory focusing on inequality and oppression among women
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Interactionism Emphasis
Everday life, face-to-face interaction, symbols, roles, personal experience and interpretations
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Interactionism Origins
America, early 1900s (Univ. of Chicago)
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Interactionism Theorists
George H. Mead, Herbert Blumer, Erving Goffman
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Interactionsim Criticism
Focused more on individual (psych) than society
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Symbols
representation of something else (an object, word, gesture, sound, etc)
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Interpretations
are varied, depnding on the behaviors and situations they observe
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Social psychology
where sociology and psychology overlap
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Macrosociology
study of entire societies and their social structure
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Microsociology
study of people as they interact in daily life
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Scientific Method
- used by all branches of science
- a systematic, organized series of steps that uses careful observation and consistent measurments to research a problem
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Culture definition
People's way of life that is passed on from generation to generation consistency of physical objects as well as patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving
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Society
group of poeple living in a defined territory and participation in a common culture
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Innovation
discovery/ invention
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Diffusion
spread of an item or idea from one society to another
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Globalization
worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and financial markets through contact and trade
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language
abstract system of word, meanings, and symbols (including gestures and other nonverbal communication) for all aspects of culture
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Norms
rules defining appropriate or inappropriate behaviors maintained by society
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Formal norms
norms written into laws or rules
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Informal norms
widely understood, but rarely recorded
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Sanctions
punishments or rewards used to encourage conformity to norms
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Values
broad cultural principles that most people in society consider desirable
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ethnocentrism
viewing one's own culture as superiors to all others
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xenocentrisms
viewing one's culture as inferior to others
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cultural relativism
viewing people's behaviors from the perspective of their own culture
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Socialization
- "The process of learnign to participate in group life through the acquisition of culture
- process of being made social; learning the norms of society
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Charles Horton Cooley Socialization Emphasis
How do we develope a self-concept
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Charles Horton Cooley Socialization Key Concept
Looking-glass self, wherein we develop our sense of self through social interactions with others. We preceive or imagine, how others judge us
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George Herbert Mead Socialization Emphasis
How we learn to interact with others
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George Herbet Mead Socialization Key Concepts
- Roles taking, which results from a 3 stage process
- Imitation Stage
- The Play Stage
- The Game Stage
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Imitation Stage
Children, approx age 2, imitate significant others and begin to udnerstand symbols such as language and gestures
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Play stage
children, approx. age 3 or 4, pretend to be another person to act out that role
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The Game Stage
children, at 8 or 9, begin to understand several other's roles and responsibility making games possible
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Erving Goffman Socialization Emphasis
how we present self to others in "every day life" situations
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Erving Goffman Socialization Key Concept
Dramaturgy, wherein human interaction is seen as theatrical performance on a stage, and we are the actors with roles
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Impression Management
The manipulation of scenery, props, costumes, and behavior to convey a particular role image to others
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Studied Nonobservance
pretending not to notice mistakes people make in their role performance
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Professional Crime
Career Criminals with status among peers
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Organized Crime
the coordination of work between various criminal groups
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White-collar crime
illegal acts committed by affluent people in their business activities
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Victimless crime
when willing adults exchange desired, but illegal goods or services
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Endomorph body types
soft and round
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Mesomorphs body type
muscular and hard
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Ectomorphs body types
lean and fragile
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Control Theory
- Travis Hirschi
- Attachments and commitment (investments) to other people lead us to conform to society's norms
- we are socialized to conform
- Deviance results from lack of socialization or lack of attachments
- Weakness: all longer are not deviant
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Differential Association Theory
- Edwin Sutherland
- One learns deviant behavior through interactions with others
- also known as Deviant Attachment Theory
- Weakness: where does it begin
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Strain theory
- Robert K Merton
- People want success and have goals
- No legitimate means to reach those goals results in strain, thus they turn to crime
- Weakness: white collar crime
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Labeling Theory
- Deviance results when one is labeled and stigmatized as deviant
- Weakness: all labels don't lead here
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Social Controls
- means for promoting conformity to the norms
- all collective efforts to ensure conformity to society's norms
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Detterence Method
- Jack Gibbs
- The more rapid, certain, and severe the punishment for a crime, the lower the rate at which such crimes will occur
- The goal is to punish as a lesson and vivid reminder to others
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Reform Methods/ Rehabilitation
The aim is to change the behavior and resocialize the criminal to become a productive citizen
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Recidivism Rate
repeat offenders who when released from prisons are sentenced to prison once again (usually within 3 yrs.)
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Social Inequality
having different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power in society
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Social Stratification
The creation of layers (strata) of a population who possess unequal shares of income, wealth, power, and prestige
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Class
- group of people who share a similar economic strata, values, and lifestyle
- also used for those who share a common position in any social stratification system
- primarily an econimic term
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Social Mobility
movement of individuals or gourps within a stratification structure
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Horizontal mobility
movement to another occupation at the same general status level
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Vertical population
movement up or down in job status
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Intergenerational mobility
changes in status from one generation to the next
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Intragenerational mobility
changes in one's own career
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Karl marx Stratification Theory
- critque on capitalism
- Economics is society's independent variable, influnceing all alse
- rich exploit poor
- revolution is needed
- utopia will result (classless society)
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Marx Weber Stratification Theory
- 3 factors: class, status, power
- Economics is society's dependent variable, the consequence of other factors
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Functionalist Stratification Theory
stratification is inevitable because certain jobs are more important and require more training. Thus, those jobs promise higher rewards
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Conflict Stratification Theory
Stratification isn't inevitable, but results from capitalism and the misuse of power. Those in power protect the status quo
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Race
a group with similar biological and visible physical characteristics
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Ethnicity
sharing common origins, culture, and language
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Minority
a group with less power than the majority
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Minority Group characteristics
- Distinctive physical or cultural traits
- Less access to power and resources
- Unequal treatment, usually measured by economics and education
- Shared identity due to discrimination
- Ascribed status
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Prejudice
a negative or biased attitude toward an entire group and it's members
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Racism
a type of prejudice that maintains one race is superior and its members
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Discrimination
a behavior that denies equal treatment, opportunities and rights based on minority membership
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Institutionalized Discrimination
the result of unfair practices that are part of the structure of society and have become traditionally accepted behaviors
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Allport's Theory of Contact
- Contact alone is not enough
- Equal status is necessary
- Cooperation, not competition is required
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1964 Civil Rights Movement
prohibits discrimination in public accomodations and services on the bases of race, color, creed, national origin, and gender
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Affirmative Action
efforts to recruit minorities for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities
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Amalgamation
all groups combine to form a new group
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Assimilation
giving up one's cultural traditions to conform to the dominant group cultures
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Accomadation (pluralism)
all groups coexist with mutual respect
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Sex Ratio
the number of males per 100 females in society
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Sex
biological difference
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Gender
social or cultural differences
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Females
- Bearing and caring for children
- Care of home
- food preparation
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Family of orientation
the family into which a person is born and/or raised
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family of procreation
the family one establishes upon marriagw
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Nuclear family
parents and children (2 generations)
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Extended Family
nuclear family and their blood relatives (more than two generations)
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Family definition
a gorup of 2 or more related by birth, marriage, or adoption, and residing together
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Functionalism Family Theories
- Functions and norms of family
- Social stability
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Conflict Family Theories
Inequality, injustice and male dominance
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Interactionism Family Theory
Family interactions, roles and socialization
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Marriage
socially-sanctioned monogamous and heterosexual union that is intended to be permanent
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Intimate Partner definition
boyfriends, cohabitors, ex-spouses, and same-sex partner are all included
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Secularization
the process by which religion gradually disappears and religious organizations become more worldly
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Census
a count of the population
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Primary Historical purposes of a census
- assess tax revenue
- determine military strength
- Determine government representation (in the U.S.)
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crude birth rate
the number of live births in a year per 1,000 people in the population
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