SYG 2010 Final Review Understand sociological Theories for each chapter topic Chapter 1 Sociology the systematic study of human societies Society people who live within some territory and share many patterns of behavior Culture a way of life including widespread values beliefs and behavior Social problem a condition that undermines the well being of some or all members of a society and is usually a matter of public controversy Sociological imagination a point of view that highlights how society affects the experiences we have and the choices we made 3 theoretical approaches basic image of society that guides theory and research o structural functionalism theoretical framework that sees society as a system of many interrelated parts social institutions major spheres of social life or societal subsystems organized to meet a basic human need Social pathology theory a model that treats social problems as a disruption in society s normal operation in the same way that a disease upsets the operation of the human body Social disorganization theory problems arise when society breaks down due to social change that occurs too rapidly o social conflict feminism theoretical framework that sees society as divided by inequality and conflict society is divided into the haves and have nots Marxist theory class conflict theory social problems are the result of the normal operation of the capitalist economy Multicultural theory explains social problems in terms of racial and ethnic inequality o Feminist gender conflict Feminism political movement that seeks the social equality of men and women Gender conflict theory explains social problems in terms of men s dominance over women o symbolic interactionist theoretical framework that sees society as the product of individuals interacting with one another Learning theory claims that people learn troublesome behaviors and attitudes from others around them Labeling theory states that the reality of any situation depends on how people define it Social constructionist approach the assertion that social problems arise as people define conditions such as undesirable and in need of change o States that social problems have a subjective foundation reflecting people s judgements about their world Social movements organized effort at claims making that tries to shape the way people think about an issue or in order to encourage discourage social change o Stages in social movements Emergence initial claims are made Coalescence claims are publicized Decline public interest in the claim goes down Formalization claims are recognized as part of a political debate Claims making the process of convincing the public and important public officials that a particular issue or situation should be defined as a social problem Empirical research Chapter 2 Income vs wealth sources debts Income inequality trends o Income salary or wages from a job plus earnings from investments and other o Wealth the value of all economic assets owned by a person or family minus any o The rich get richer and the poor get poorer o Taxation affects income inequality the government levies a tax on what we earn and what we buy for 3 reasons Taxes provide the government with the money it needs to operate Government uses taxes to discourage certain types of behavior high taxation on cigarettes to get people not to smoke Taxation can be a tool to redistribute income and to reduce economic inequality Poverty line an income level set by the US government for the purpose of counting the poor o Represents a dollar amount of annual income below which a person or family is defined as poor and may become eligible for government assistance Poverty gap the difference between the actual income of a typical poor household and the official poverty line Feminization of poverty women making up an increasing share of the poor Underclass poor people who live in areas with high concentration of poverty and limited opportunities for schooling or work o The largest concentration of people in the underclass live in inner cities in a condition sociologists call hyper segregation Cultural capital skills values attitudes and schooling that increases a person s chance of success Chapter 3 Race socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society define as important o Not biological Ethnicity a shared cultural heritage which typically involves common ancestors language and religion Minority any category of people identified by physical or cultural traits that a society subjects to disadvantages Genocide systematic killing of one category of people by another Segregation physical and social separation of categories of people Assimilation the process of which minorities gradually adopt cultural patterns from the dominant majority population Pluralism a state in which people of all racial and ethnic categories have about the same overall social standing Stereotype an exaggerated description applied to everyone in some category Prejudice any rigid and unfounded generalization about an entire category of people o Prejudice attitudes Racism the assertion that people of one race are less worthy or even biologically inferior to others Institutional racism racism at work in the operation of social institutions including the economy schools hospitals the military and the criminal justice system Euro centrism the practice of using European cultural standards to judge everyone Multiculturalism educational programs designed to recognize cultural diversity in the United States and to promote respect for all cultural traditions Discrimination unequal treatment of various categories of people o Discrimination actions Institutional discrimination discrimination that is built into the operation of social institutions including the economy schools and the legal system Conservatives o Look to the past for guidance on how to live o Support the idea that all people should have equal standing before the law and that everyone should have a chance to improve their lives o Social standing should reflect people s level of ambition the importance they put on schooling and their commitment to hard work Liberals Radicals Chapter 4 o Think people should be free from the past to decide how to live o Claims that societal factors such as prejudice and discrimination rather than cultural differences are the main causes of social inequality o Believes in affirmative action policies intended to improve