Sociology Final Exam

Socio Final Exam

Principles of Social Stratification

• The difference principle by Rawls states that unequal distribution of resources is okay if they benefit those who are disadvantaged the most.
• Social stratification is a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.

Origins of Stratification

• In early societies, everyone was equally important and there was no hierarchy (egalitarian).
• Limited resources led to a non-hierarchical system.
• There was no difference in wealth, and people were nomadic, constantly moving, and not focused on collecting things.
• As societies developed, a reliable food source led to the emergence of stratification.

Cognitive Flexibility

• Cognitive flexibility refers to the ability of individuals to adapt to change.

Systems of Social Stratification

• Class system: an open system based on ownership and control of resources, determining status.
• Caste system: a closed system with permanent status determined by family and birth.
• Slave system: a closed system based on the ownership of people.

Research

• Basic research aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.
• Applied research aims to solve practical and current problems.

Psychoanalytic Theory

• Psychoanalytic theory is a theory by Freud that examines the dynamics of personality, including the ego, super ego, and id.

Open and Closed Systems

• A closed system has strict boundaries between different social parties, set by ascribed power, such as slavery and caste systems.
• An open system has social positions with more flexible boundaries, influenced by achieved status.

Social Mobility

• Social mobility refers to the movement of individuals or groups from one position in a society's stratification system to another.

Types of Societies

• Agricultural societies: characterized by specialization, surplus of food, and the emergence of politicians, specialized workers, slavery, and caste systems.
• Industrial societies: characterized by consumption, ownership, and a class system.
• Post-industrial societies: focused on production, consumption, and services, with education becoming a necessity.

Mobility

• Intergenerational mobility: social movement experienced by family members.
• Intragenerational mobility: social movement experienced within one lifetime.

Class System

• The class system has vaguely defined boundaries, and gaining skills and education can help people move between levels.
• Status comes from achievement, not ascription.

Horizontal and Vertical Mobility

• Horizontal mobility: a gain or loss that does not produce a change in social class.
• Vertical mobility: a gain or loss that produces a change in social class.

Status

• Ascribed status: given at birth and closed.
• Achieved status: achieved through experiences and open.

Conflict View of Inequality

• The conflict view sees inequality as bad, avoidable, and unnecessary.
• It is inevitable that there will be clashes of social groups, and exploitation will lead to conflict.

Functionalist Perspective of Inequality

• The functionalist perspective sees inequality as useful, necessary, and inevitable.
• Individuals identify with society as a whole, and people realize all roles in society are needed.

Weber's Perspective on Social Inequality

• Weber's perspective sees wealth and power as influencing one another, leading to one group being more superior to another.
• Worldviews are shaped by society, making it hard for change to occur.

Meritocracy

• A meritocracy is a system in which promotion is based on individual ability or achievement.

Agents of Socialization

• Social institutions, including families and schools, help shape individuals' basic beliefs and values.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective of Social Inequality

• People are socialized to accept existing social stratification systems.
• There is a mutual understanding that they are part of a hierarchical system.

Poverty

• Absolute poverty: deprivation of resources that are considered essential, such as food, shelter, and water.
• Relative poverty: measuring deprivation of some people against those who have more, lacking sufficient resources to live at a standard considered comfortable or 'normal' in society.

Poverty in Canada

• LICO (low-income cut-off) is used to measure poverty.
• 1 in 7 people in Canada are considered poor, often referred to as the poverty line.

Poverty Cycle

• The poverty cycle refers to why it is difficult for people to break the cycle of poverty.

Self Efficacy

• Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief that they are capable of performing a task.

Psychological Effects of Adversity

• People in lower-status groups often come to accept where they stand in society.
• They start to believe that they can be effective and capable within the boundaries of their position in society.

Class System in Canada

• Lower class: spends more than 60% on basic necessities, absolute vs. relative poverty.
• Working class: works blue-collar jobs, less formal training, and is paid less than those in the middle class.
• Middle class: most commercial advertising displays the middle class, can include doctors, lawyers, and "white-collar" jobs, and are able to afford a good lifestyle.
• Upper class: money is inherited, and most disposable.

Heroic Imagination

• Heroic imagination refers to individuals who take a personal stand against wrongdoing around them; can be taught.

Most Disadvantaged Population in Canada

• Indigenous people: 50% live in poverty, 45% dropout of high school, and youth suicide rate is 50 times the national average.

Cultural Lag

• Cultural lag refers to the period during which non-material (norms and values) culture strives to adjust to new inventions.

Technological Determinism

• Technological determinism presumes that technology drives the development of society, social structures, and cultural values.

Challenges Facing Youth

• Unemployment has doubled since 2012, and young people are hit by recessions the most.

Migration and Work

• Young people are most likely to migrate, and unemployment acts as the greatest motivator.

Job Loss

• Job loss is often perceived as an issue only dealt with the lower class, but everyone can be affected.

Employment Trends

• Having a job has become a way to define social status.
• Working teens have increased, people working longer, and both genders working.

I and Me Theory

• The I and Me theory, by George Mead, explains how we view ourselves and present ourselves to society.
• The I and Me are different, with the I being one's true self and the Me being one's social self.

Cooley's Looking Glass Self

• Cooley's looking glass self refers to the self-image that results from our interpretation of other people's views of us.
• It helps us create the person we are, and change does not happen right away, but reactions do get internalized.

Main Components of Looking Glass Theory

• How we envision how we appear to other people
• Envisioning judgment of that appearance
• Our sense of self develops through the first two steps

Technology and the Workplace

• Technology has changed the workplace, and workers are competing globally.
• New skills are required, and telecommuting has become more common.

Pros and Cons of Telecommuting

• Pros: increased productivity, projects completed faster, and can receive 24-hour attention.
• Cons: pressure to work longer, difficult to maintain work-life balance, isolation, increased stress, and anomie.

Adapting to the New Workplace

• Requires a shift in thought, and people who are more cognitively flexible are more likely to adapt better to change.

Constructivism

• A person's knowledge is made up of subjective constructions based on experiences and ideas.

Hybrid Workplaces

• Increases workplace cultures, which can influence productivity, familiarity, and mental health.

Types of Technological Change

• Invention: combining elements and materials to create something new.
• Innovation: changing or improving upon existing technologies to create something new.
• Discovery: finding something new or a new way of viewing reality.

Most Important Technological Invention

• The printing press, which led to the Gutenberg revolution, changed how people think, and led to the scientific revolution and enlightenment.

How Has Technology Changed Life

• Teenagers believe cell phones indicate wealth and popularity.
• Communication has changed, and cell phones can be used for entertainment, safety, and more.

Containment Theory

• Personal values and social controls keep our behavior in check.
• Inner: self-esteem and morals.
• Outer: social controls (teachers, parents).
• Technology allows people to hide from outer containments.

Human Trafficking

• Recruitment, transportation, harbouring, or receipt of persons by threat, force, abduction, fraud, or a position of vulnerability.
• Done for financial gain, power, or control.

McLuhan

• Technology is an extension of human beings.
• The medium is the message.
• Made predictions about technology before modern technology existed.

Tetrad of Media Effects

• Enhance: what does it improve, make possible, or accelerate?
• Retrieve: what does it recover, what was lost, and is now brought back in a new form?
• Obsolete: what is pushed aside, what becomes less relevant?
• Reverse: when pushed to its limits, what does the media transform to that reverses its original characteristics?

Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology

• Anthropology is concerned with humans as a species and how we adapt to environments.
• Psychology is concerned with human behavior and the brain.
• Sociology is concerned with groups and group behavior.

Microsociology and Macrosociology

• Microsociology is concerned with small groups and communities.
• Macrosociology is concerned with large groups and populations.

Cultural Materialism

• Highlights the importanceHere are the study notes:

Cognitive Dissonance

• Cognitive dissonance: feeling discomfort when having conflicting thoughts/actions, leading to altering one's beliefs/actions to align
• Example: Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory (1957)

Sociology Theories

• Cognitive consistency: striving for attitudes and behaviors that don't contradict each other
• Evolutionary theory: societies progress from simple to complex over time
• Cyclical theory: change is like seasons, with distinct changes in society
• Challenge and response (Toynbee): how societies respond to challenges reveals their success
• Functionalist theory (Durkheim): society serves a function, and when it no longer meets people's needs, it adapts
• Conflict theory (Marx): economic power and wealth lead to conflict between commanding and obeying classes, altering society and economic systems

Tipping Point and Paradigm Shift

• Tipping point theory (Gladwell): small actions by the right people can create a tipping point
• Three laws to achieve a tipping point: Law of few, Stickiness factor, Power of context
• Paradigm shift: a significant change in how society views things and their worldview
• Paradigm paralysis: the inability to see beyond current systems of thought

Deviance and Social Integration

• Strain theory (Merton): society places a strain on individuals, causing them to conform or become deviant
• Five types of deviance: Conformity, Innovators, Ritualists, Retreatists, Rebels
• Social integration theory (Durkheim): interactions are necessary for integration, and cultural and social integration improve each other

Adolescence

• Adolescence: a period of transition from childhood to adulthood, marked by uncertainty and unpredictability
• Socialized anxiety (Davis): tension and anxiety motivate adolescents
• Storm and stress (Hall): biological factors play a significant role in adolescence
• Egocentrism (Elkind): heightened self-awareness and self-consciousness in adolescents
• Imaginary audience and personal fable (Elkind): believing one's personal drama is the focus of everyone else's attention
• Dominant values (Spranger): adolescence is a period of crisis, leading to a shift in personality and the development of one's values
• Gradual change theory (Hollingsworth): adolescence is not the only time of stress, and environmental factors play a significant role in development throughout life
• Field theory (Lewin): human behavior is influenced by the interaction between individuals and their environment

Developmental Tasks

• Developmental tasks (Havighurst): acquiring certain skills, knowledge, and attitudes at specific times in life
• Failure to achieve tasks can lead to not meeting societal goals and expectations

Cultural Determinism

• Cultural determinism (Mead): nurture trumps nature, and cultural factors cause emotional and psychological stress in adolescents

Generational Replacement

• Fresh contact (Mannheim): young people's awareness of the world around them influences their values and understanding of society
• Social location: influence of birth year on individuals, with similar social contexts and connections
• Generation replacement theory (Strauss and Howe): changes in adolescent attitudes are important markers of long-term social change

Archetypes and Anomie

• Archetypes: universal symbols
• Four archetypes: Prophet, Nomad, Hero, Artist
• Anomie (Durkheim): a condition of instability resulting from the breakdown of standards and shared values

Family and Marriage

• Fledging adults: young adults who do not leave the parental home and transition into adulthood

• Helicopter parents: parents who hover over their emerging adult children

• Family types: nuclear, extended, lone parent, blended, same-sex

• Polyandry: one woman with multiple husbands

• Marriage trends: later marriages, divorce becoming more frequent, same-sex couples becoming more prominent### Integration of Migrants

• Changes in physical environment, such as street signs, help migrants integrate into society.

• Having permanent residency (PR) instead of citizenship is important to some immigrants, as it allows them to keep their original citizenship and travel easily.

• Social integration is the process of incorporating newcomers into a country's social structures, which involves learning the language, getting a job, and more.

• Cultural integration is the process of acquiring beliefs, practices, and rituals of a new culture.

Acculturation Strategies

• Berry's acculturation strategies include assimilation, separation, marginalization, and integration.
• Integration involves a high sense of belonging to both the original and new countries.
• Assimilation involves a high sense of belonging to the new country and a low sense of belonging to the original country.
• Separation involves a low sense of belonging to the new country and a high sense of belonging to the original country.
• Marginalization involves a low sense of belonging to both countries.

Identity

• There are four types of identity: cultural, national, social, and self-identity.
• Cultural identity refers to ethnic belonging.
• National identity refers to citizenship.
• Social identity refers to group membership.
• Self-identity refers to a sense of self.

Social Epidemics

• A social epidemic is the rapid spread of an idea, message, product, or behavior.
• The Law of Few states that 20% of the population influences the spread of a social epidemic.
• There are three types of influencers: connectors, maven, and salesmen.
• The stickiness factor refers to the small elements that make a trend contagious.
• The power of context refers to the physical and social environment that affects the spread of a trend.

Cognitive Dissonance

• Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort or tension that arises from conflicting values, attitudes, or behaviors.
• The peg experiment demonstrates how people relieve cognitive dissonance by convincing themselves that a mundane task is enjoyable.

Transition to Adulthood

• Five factors enable the transition to adulthood: completing education, gaining full-time employment, getting into a long-term relationship, leaving parents' home, and preparing for children.

Social Movements

• A social movement is a collective effort to bring about social change.
• Types of social movements include revolutionary, reformative, redemptive, and alternative movements.
• A revolutionary movement seeks to change a society completely.
• A reformative movement seeks to change specific aspects of a society.
• A redemptive movement seeks to change individuals completely.
• An alternative movement seeks to change specific aspects of individuals.

Value-Added Theory

• The value-added theory proposes that social movements occur due to six conditions: structural conduciveness, structural strains, generalized beliefs, precipitating factors, mobilization of people, and social controls.
• Structural conduciveness refers to the environment that allows social movements to occur.
• Structural strains refer to the social conditions that put pressure on individuals and society.
• Generalized beliefs refer to the understanding that there is a problem that needs to be addressed.
• Precipitating factors refer to the events that trigger social movements.
• Mobilization of people refers to the collective action taken to address the problem.
• Social controls refer to the external factors that influence social movements.

Resource Mobilization Theory

• The resource mobilization theory proposes that social movements require resources such as money, labor, and leadership to succeed.
• Outsiders are important in mobilizing resources for social movements.

Challenges of Social Movements

• Social movements face challenges such as funding, getting recognition, and competition from other movements.

Scope and Range of Movements

• Social movements can have a local, regional, national, or global scope.

Women's Movement

• The women's movement has three waves: the first wave focused on women's suffrage, the second wave focused on women's rights and equality, and the third wave focused on a wider range of issues including childcare, legal abortion, and women's representation in government.

Environmental Movement

• The environmental movement began in the 1900s with the creation of national preserves and national parks.

Industrial Revolution

• The Industrial Revolution had a significant impact on work conditions, leading to the creation of large factories and dangerous working conditions.

Government Response to Labour Movement

• The government responded to the initial gains of the labour movement by fighting back against them.

Social Media and Social Movements

• Social media has played a crucial role in social movements, allowing people to become aware of issues faster and mobilize without geographical barriers.

Anti-Apartheid Movement

• The anti-apartheid movement was a boycott movement that sought to get rid of the race system in South Africa.

Globalization

• Globalization is the process of cultures, politics, and economies becoming increasingly integrated.
• Factors leading to globalization include air travel, television, and international trade.
• Critics of globalization argue that it leads to cultural homogenization, fragmentation, and the loss of values.

Americanization

• Americanization refers to the dominance of Western or American culture globally.
• Critics argue that Americanization leads to the erosion of local cultures and the loss of values.

Resistance to Globalization

• People resist globalization because they want to preserve their cultural identities and values.
• Europe and Asia are the most resistant to globalization.

Moore's Core Values

• Moore's core values refer to the customs and manners of a social group or culture that serve as moral guidelines for acceptable behavior.
• Core values have great moral significance and are fundamental to a group's identity.

Systemic Discrimination

• Systemic discrimination refers to the existence of institutional policies that place certain groups at a disadvantage compared to others.

Social Robots

• Social robots are designed to reduce loneliness, help children with autism, and perform dangerous tasks.

Stages of a Social Movement

• The four stages of a social movement are: preliminary, coalescence, institutionalization, and decline.

Criticisms of Social Media and Social Movements

• Critics argue that social media increases participation but not engagement, and that people are less likely to take risks.
• Social media also creates weaker ties due to the lack of personal contact.

Social Movement vs. Social Justice

• A social movement is a collective effort to change society, while social justice deals with fairness and equality.

Social Contract

• The social contract refers to an implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits.
• Rawls' social contract theory proposes that individuals would choose a fair and just society if they were in a position of ignorance about their own position in society.