Sociology Exam 3 Flashcards

Statuses in Society

• Ascribed Status: Assigned at birth; includes race, gender, and age without consideration of individual traits.
• Achieved Status: Attained through personal efforts; examples include professions such as lawyer or social worker.
• Master Status: Dominant social position that defines identity; influences professional and social potential (e.g., being a woman in traditional roles).

Social Structures and Roles

• Status: A person's social position within society.
• Social Role: Expectations and behaviors linked to a specific status.
• Social Structure: Patterns of relationships and social behavior that endure over time, forming societal frameworks.

Interaction and Groups

• Social Interaction: The ways individuals respond to one another in various social contexts.
• Groups: Collections of individuals with shared norms and values, interacting continuously.
  • Primary Group: Small, intimate groups such as family or close friends.
  • Secondary Group: Larger, more formal groups with limited intimacy, like a workplace or classroom.
• Dyad and Triad: Smallest types of groups consisting of two and three people, respectively.
• Coalition: An alliance formed between individuals or groups to achieve a common goal.

Social Categories and Dynamics

• Ingroup: Groups with which an individual identifies.
• Outgroup: Groups with which an individual does not identify.
• Reference Group: Groups used as standards for self-evaluation.
• Aggregate Group: Individuals who are together in a setting but do not interact meaningfully.

Social Institutions

• Social Institutions: Structured patterns of beliefs and behaviors that satisfy essential societal needs, such as family and education.
• Functional Prerequisites: Essential tasks for societal survival, including replacing personnel and maintaining order.

Deviance and Social Control

• Deviance: Behavior that violates societal norms, varying across cultures.
• Social Control: Techniques and strategies to prevent deviant behavior, including formal and informal controls.
• Control Theory: Suggests that societal connections lead to conformity; inner and outer controls work against deviance.
• Reactions to Deviance: Include sanctions, degradation ceremonies, and imprisonment.

Labeling and Stigma

• Labeling Theory: Society defines deviance by labeling individuals, which affects self-identity and behavior.
• Stigma: Labels that devalue individuals or groups, affecting their social identity.
• Spoiled Identity: An identity marred by stigma, impacting individual's social acceptance.

Crime and Criminal Behavior

• Crime: Violation of laws leading to formal penalties.
• Victimless Crime: Illegal exchanges between consenting adults, such as drug abuse.
• Organized Crime: Groups regulating illegal activities across various enterprises.
• White Collar Crime: Offenses committed for financial gain through business transactions; often less stigmatized than violent crime.

Differential Justice

• Differential Justice: The notion that justice systems treat individuals differently based on race and social class.
• Techniques of Neutralization: Justifications used to minimize responsibility for deviant acts, including denial of responsibility and blaming victims.
• Routine Activities Theory: Focuses on crime opportunity as influenced by social situations rather than social causes.

Important Concepts

• Cultural Transmission: Process of passing norms and values across generations.
• Socialization: Contributing factor to conformity and obedience to societal norms.
• Criminal Behavior: Learned through interactions and exposure to positive attitudes towards crime.

These notes encompass critical concepts in sociology regarding statuses, roles, groups, institutions, deviance, and crime, providing a comprehensive overview for study preparation.