SOAN 201 Final

Race, Ethnicity, Social Stratification, and Social Mobility

• Race is a set of social relationships based on biologically grounded features, while ethnicity is a source of identity based on culture and social characteristics.
• Racialization is the process of classifying individuals or groups based on race, while minority ethnic groups face discrimination due to physical or cultural characteristics.
• Prejudice and discrimination are forms of social behavior that lead to the marginalization of minority groups.
• Racism is the attribution of characteristics of superiority or inferiority to a population sharing certain physically inherited features, while institutional racism is the collective failure of organizations to provide services to people because of their color, culture, or ethnic origin.
• Social stratification refers to structured inequalities between social groups within societies and can take the form of slavery, caste, estates, or class.
• Class systems are economically based and allow for social mobility, while social closure is the process through which social groups maintain their advantages.
• Lifestyles are an important indicator of class, according to Pierre Bourdieu, who identified four forms of capital that characterize class position: economic, cultural, social, and symbolic.
• Gender is a profound example of social stratification, with men being privileged over women in terms of wealth, status, and influence.
• Social mobility refers to the movement of individuals and groups between socio-economic positions and can be upward or downward, intragenerational or intergenerational, and lateral.
• Downward mobility can lead to psychological problems and anxieties, particularly for middle-aged individuals who lose their jobs.
• The entry of women into paid employment has had a significant impact on household incomes but has also contributed to a polarization between high-income dual-earner households and single-earner or no-earner households.
• Social exclusion is the outcome of multiple deprivations that prevent individuals or groups from participating fully in the economic, social, and political life of the society in which they are located.

Sociology of Health and Illness

• Health was once seen simply as the absence of illness.
• Illness not only affects the individual, but also those around them who may struggle to make sense of it.
• Perspectives on illness include functionalist norms of behavior and symbolic interactionist interpretations of meaning.
• Biomedical model defines diseases objectively and treats them according to scientific principles.
• The biomedical model assumes disease diverts the body from its normal state and can be isolated and treated by trained medical specialists.
• Medicalization creates an artificial demand for medical services, medicines, and technologies.
• Modern medicine has been criticized for discounting patients' opinions and experiences.
• Health inequalities are linked to larger socio-economic patterns and social class, gender, ethnicity, and disability.
• Epidemiology studies the distribution and incidence of disease and illness within populations.
• Institutional racism is a key factor in health inequalities.
• Social cohesion and income distribution are linked to better levels of health.
• The social model of disability redefines disability as the result of oppression and focuses on removing social barriers to full participation.

Sociology of Health and Illness

• Health was once seen simply as the absence of illness.
• Illness not only affects the individual, but also those around them who may struggle to make sense of it.
• Perspectives on illness include functionalist norms of behavior and symbolic interactionist interpretations of meaning.
• Biomedical model defines diseases objectively and treats them according to scientific principles.
• The biomedical model assumes disease diverts the body from its normal state and can be isolated and treated by trained medical specialists.
• Medicalization creates an artificial demand for medical services, medicines, and technologies.
• Modern medicine has been criticized for discounting patients' opinions and experiences.
• Health inequalities are linked to larger socio-economic patterns and social class, gender, ethnicity, and disability.
• Epidemiology studies the distribution and incidence of disease and illness within populations.
• Institutional racism is a key factor in health inequalities.
• Social cohesion and income distribution are linked to better levels of health.
• The social model of disability redefines disability as the result of oppression and focuses on removing social barriers to full participation.

Understanding Poverty: Types, Risks, Effects, and Explanations

• Sociologists distinguish two types of poverty: absolute poverty and relative poverty.
• Absolute poverty refers to lacking basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing, while relative poverty refers to a low standard of living compared to others in the same society.
• The general criteria for relative poverty is that people live in a household whose disposable income is less than 60% of the national median in that country.
• Children, women, some minority ethnic groups, and older people are among the highest-risk groups for poverty.
• Children who live in poverty tend to have worse health, lower birth weight, higher risk of accidents and abuse, worse academic performance, and increased likelihood of poverty in adulthood.
• Women are more likely to be in part-time employment, earn less, and be in lone-parent households, leading to a higher risk of poverty.
• Minority ethnic groups have higher rates of poverty due to low employment rates and poorly paid jobs.
• Intersectionality, or the interaction of multiple identity aspects, can produce complex patterns of inequality, poverty, and discrimination.
• Poverty is explained either as a result of individual responsibility or structural forces in society.
• Policy measures aimed at distributing income and resources more equally throughout society are necessary to reduce poverty.
• Longitudinal research shows that even severely disadvantaged individuals can improve their economic position through human agency, but staying out of poverty is difficult.
• Social exclusion, or multiple deprivations that prevent full participation in society, can be weak or strong and can result from problems within the system or the power of social groups to exclude. Homelessness is an extreme case of social exclusion.

Social Theories, Child Development, and Socialization

• Welfare states are not just about welfare for the poor, but also social insurance, social rights, social provision, and regulation of economic action.
• The welfare state manages the risks faced by people over their lives, such as sickness, disability, job loss, and old age.
• The services and levels of spending on the welfare state vary from country to country.
• Marxists view welfare as necessary for sustaining a capitalist, market-based society.
• Functionalists see welfare systems contributing to social integration and solidarity under industrial development.
• Life expectancy refers to the number of years a newborn infant can be expected to live if patterns of mortality remain the same throughout life.
• Intergenerational equity is based on the idea that fairness and justice should apply across generations.
• The gig economy is a sector characterized by short-term, zero-hours or freelance contracts.
• The extended average lifespan creates intergenerational fairness issues.
• Jean Piaget suggests that children go through four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, and formal operational.
• Socialization is the process through which human infants become self-aware and knowledgeable members of society.
• Primary socialization occurs in infancy and childhood and is the most intense period of cultural learning.

Social Theories, Child Development, and Socialization

• Welfare states are not just about welfare for the poor, but also social insurance, social rights, social provision, and regulation of economic action.
• The welfare state manages the risks faced by people over their lives, such as sickness, disability, job loss, and old age.
• The services and levels of spending on the welfare state vary from country to country.
• Marxists view welfare as necessary for sustaining a capitalist, market-based society.
• Functionalists see welfare systems contributing to social integration and solidarity under industrial development.
• Life expectancy refers to the number of years a newborn infant can be expected to live if patterns of mortality remain the same throughout life.
• Intergenerational equity is based on the idea that fairness and justice should apply across generations.
• The gig economy is a sector characterized by short-term, zero-hours or freelance contracts.
• The extended average lifespan creates intergenerational fairness issues.
• Jean Piaget suggests that children go through four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, and formal operational.
• Socialization is the process through which human infants become self-aware and knowledgeable members of society.
• Primary socialization occurs in infancy and childhood and is the most intense period of cultural learning.

Understanding Life Stages: From Childhood to Aging

• Gender identity is learned through cultural norms and symbols, such as clothing and hairstyles, before a child can differentiate between genders.
• Sigmund Freud's theory of gender identity centers on the possession or absence of the penis, with boys identifying with their fathers and girls with their mothers.
• The period from age five to puberty is one of latency, during which sexual activities are suspended.
• Childhood is a social construction that differs across societies, and children have often been exploited as a cheap source of labor.
• Teenagers in developed societies live between childhood and adulthood, growing up in a society subject to continuous change and shifting boundaries between life stages.
• Youth culture involves behavioral norms, dress codes, language use, and other aspects that tend to differ from the adult culture of the time.
• Young adulthood characterizes people from 18 to mid-30s who live independent lives, experimenting with relationships and lifestyles.
• Mature adulthood is characterized by formal employment and the formation of a family, with the phenomenon of the "mid-life crisis" being very real for many.
• The aging process is a combination of biological, psychological, and social processes that affect people as they grow older.
• Social gerontology is a discipline concerned with the study of the social aspects of aging, providing insights into the varied meanings of being old.
• Biological aging is the most visible part of the aging process, with declining vision, hearing loss, wrinkles, a decline of muscle mass, accumulation of fat, and fall in cardiovascular efficiency.
• Advances in nutrition and healthcare alongside the shift from manufacturing towards service jobs have enabled many people to live longer, healthier lives than ever before.

Understanding Life Stages: From Childhood to Aging

• Gender identity is learned through cultural norms and symbols, such as clothing and hairstyles, before a child can differentiate between genders.
• Sigmund Freud's theory of gender identity centers on the possession or absence of the penis, with boys identifying with their fathers and girls with their mothers.
• The period from age five to puberty is one of latency, during which sexual activities are suspended.
• Childhood is a social construction that differs across societies, and children have often been exploited as a cheap source of labor.
• Teenagers in developed societies live between childhood and adulthood, growing up in a society subject to continuous change and shifting boundaries between life stages.
• Youth culture involves behavioral norms, dress codes, language use, and other aspects that tend to differ from the adult culture of the time.
• Young adulthood characterizes people from 18 to mid-30s who live independent lives, experimenting with relationships and lifestyles.
• Mature adulthood is characterized by formal employment and the formation of a family, with the phenomenon of the "mid-life crisis" being very real for many.
• The aging process is a combination of biological, psychological, and social processes that affect people as they grow older.
• Social gerontology is a discipline concerned with the study of the social aspects of aging, providing insights into the varied meanings of being old.
• Biological aging is the most visible part of the aging process, with declining vision, hearing loss, wrinkles, a decline of muscle mass, accumulation of fat, and fall in cardiovascular efficiency.
• Advances in nutrition and healthcare alongside the shift from manufacturing towards service jobs have enabled many people to live longer, healthier lives than ever before.

Test your knowledge on the complex concepts of race, ethnicity, social stratification, and social mobility with this informative quiz. From understanding the differences between race and ethnicity to exploring the various forms of social stratification, this quiz covers it all. Whether you are interested in learning about social closure or the impact of gender on social mobility, this quiz will help you expand your knowledge. Challenge yourself and see how much you really know about these important topics.