Introduction to Sociology Exam 3 Study Guide PDF

Introduction to Sociology Exam 3 Study Guide Key Topics and Concepts 1. Stratification by Gender and Sexuality Key Concepts: o Sexism: The ideology that one sex is superior to another. § It is generally used to refer to male prejudice and discrimination agains...

Introduction to Sociology Exam 3 Study Guide Key Topics and Concepts 1. Stratification by Gender and Sexuality Key Concepts: o Sexism: The ideology that one sex is superior to another. § It is generally used to refer to male prejudice and discrimination against women § Example: women are not usually encouraged to take STEM classes, while men are o Gender Stratification: Macro and micro-level social forces that perpetuate inequalities in power, resources, and opportunities between genders. § It’s the unequal distribution of wealth, power, privilege between men and women § Example: Men holding higher-paying jobs than women, which demonstrates an unequal access to power/wealth based on gender o Intersectionality: The overlapping/interdependent system of advantage and disadvantage that positions people in a society because of race, class, gender, and other characteristics § Awareness grew as female scholars noted the emphasis on race could conceal other related processes of domination § Example: many women experience social inequality not only because of their gender, but also their race and ethnicity, two separate but intersecting subordinate statuses. o Doing Gender: The social construction and performance of gender roles in everyday life. § Example: a father being applauded for doing the bare minimum for his child, while the mother doing the same won’t be acknowledged nearly the same. o Glass Ceiling: Invisible barriers preventing advancement in careers. § Usually because of the individual’s gender, race, or ethnicity § Example: A woman having better skills, talent, and education, but is constantly being passed over for promotions that are instead given to her male peers. o Glass Escalator: Advantages men experience in female-dominated fields. § These are when men are put on a fast track to advanced positions when entering primarily female-dominated professions § Example: There are only about 10% of men in nursing, but they hold almost half of its leadership position regardless. Sample Exam Questions: o Define the term "matrix of domination." § It is the cumulative impact of oppression because of race and ethnicity, gender, and social class, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, and citizenship status o How does the concept of "doing gender" apply to everyday interactions? § Because of how we do it without realizing it. An example is domestic violence, because of how men are more likely to be expected to act a certain way when in a relationship, which leads to men being the likely abuser. 2. The Family and Household Diversity Key Concepts: o Family Structures: Nuclear family, extended family, polygamy, and cohabitation. § Nuclear Family: a married couple and their unmarried children living together § This type of family serves as the core on which larger family groups are built § Extended Family: a family where relatives, like grandparents, aunts, uncles, live in the same home as parents and their children § Not very common in the U.S., but serves the advantage of less people having to bear a crisis as there are more people who can aid and give emotional support § Polygamy: § A form of marriage where an individual may have several spouses simultaneously  § Polygyny: marriage of a man to more than one woman at the same time § Polyandry: a woman having more than one husband at the same time § Cohabitation: the practice of living together as a couple without marrying o Kinship vs. Family: Differences in household units and social networks. § Kinship: The state of being related to others § It is culturally learned and is not totally determined by biological or marital ties, like adoption! § Societies determine kinship by descent from both parents, from the father only or from the mother only. § Family: A set of people related by blood, marriage, or some other agreed-on relationship, or adoption, who share the primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society § Vary from culture to culture and even within the same culture o Marriage Patterns: Endogamy, exogamy, homogamy, and societal impacts of changing marriage norms. § Endogamy: The restriction of mate selection to people within the same group § Many people are expected to marry within their racial, ethnic, or religious group. It is intended to reinforce the cohesiveness of the group by suggesting the young should marry someone “of their own kind” § Exogamy: The requirement that people select a mate outside certain groups § We cannot marry our siblings, and in most states, we cannot marry our first cousins § Homogamy: The conscious or unconscious tendency to select a mate with personal characteristics like one’s own § Like marries like § Societal impacts of changing marriage norms: § Families are getting smaller, extended families are less common, open-mate selection is growing, women are waiting longer to get married, people spend fewer years being married, more women are joining paid labor force, families increasingly include more elderly members § Same-sex families & Interracial and Interethnic families o Socialization in Families: Gender role development and class-based parenting strategies. § Gender role: Parents unconsciously reinforce traditional gender norms through toys, expectations, patterns, actions, names, socialization processes. Girls clean up after the boys, boys take out the trash and mow the lawn. § Class-based: children from different economic background experience different socialization processes, and different methods of learning to grow up. Working class parents are more likely to encourage their children to become independent and learn to obey authority. Upper class parents rarely see their children and are less hands-on with their parenting techniques. Sample Exam Questions: o What is the sociological significance of endogamy and exogamy? § The act of limiting the scope of finding a partner is a societal expectation, it can be acceptable or unacceptable, and they can face social isolation if they choose incorrectly and face informal/formal sanctions as a result. o Explain the challenges of family diversity in the context of same-sex marriage and divorce. § Legal complexities, you can only divorce in the same state you were married. Social stigma and discrimination, parenting challenges, limited support networks. 3. Education and Religion Key Concepts: o Education: § Manifest vs. Latent Functions of Education. § Manifest: An open, stated, and conscious function § Intended, recognized consequences of an aspect of society, like the university’s role in certifying academic competence and excellence § Latent: An unconscious or unintended function that may reflect hidden purposes § Like a university’s latent function of holding down unemployment, or to serve as a meeting group for people seeking marital partners § Hidden Curriculum: Implicit lessons about norms and values. § Standards of behavior that are deemed proper by society and are taught subtly in schools § Children must not speak until the teacher calls on them, they’re expected to concentrate on their own work rather than assist other students § Value is placed on pleasing the teacher and remaining quiet rather than on creative thought and academic learning § Tracking: Effects on academic and social outcomes for students. § Begins very early, often in reading groups during first grade. It could reinforce the disadvantages that children from less affluent families may face if they haven’t been exposed to reading materials/computers/etc. during their early childhood years. o Religion: § Émile Durkheim's Definition of Religion: Sacred vs. profane. § He defined religion as “unified system of believes and practices relative to sacred things”. § Sacred: elements beyond everyday life that inspire awe, respect, and even fear. § Because believers have faith in the sacred, they accept what they cannot understand § Profane: the ordinary and commonplace § Can be confusing, as some things can be both profane and sacred depending on the context. § Religion as a cultural universal. § Religion plays a major role in people’s lives, and religious practices of some sort are evident in every society. This makes religion a cultural universal, along with other common practices/beliefs in every culture (dancing, food, family, names). § Impacts of religious endogamy and exogamy on social cohesion. § It reinforces the cohesiveness of a group, they can either marry within their own kind or stray and might have to convert or face exclusion from their religion. Sample Exam Questions: o How does the hidden curriculum reinforce social norms? § They may reinforce gender roles, like taking a home economics class as a girl and learning to cook/bake/sew, or when boys are encouraged to take gym § The marginalization in sex and relationships education in school of anything other than heterosexual relationships o Discuss the difference between manifest and latent functions of education with examples. § The difference is the intention and the consequences/purposes of the schooling § Manifest: transmitting knowledge and skills, like learning history and autotech classes § Latent: developing social networks or forming peer relationships, like making a friend group and learning to interact with others 4. Social Change in the Global Community Key Concepts: o Social Movements: § Organized collective activities and their impacts. § Social movements have had a dramatic impact on the course of history and the evolution of social structure § Abolitionists, suffragists, civil rights, Vietnam war activists, occupy wall street, black lives matter. § Social movements are taking on an international dimension from the start. Global activism, facilitated by the internet, causing participation to be more widespread and passionate. § New Social Movements: Addressing quality of life and identity. § These movements may be involved in developing collective identities, many having complex agendas that go beyond a single issue, even across national boundaries. § Women’s movement and LGBTQ movement § Generally, do not view government as their ally in the struggle for a better society o Social Change: § Causes and resistance (e.g., vested interests in stability). § Causes: § Evolutionary theory: social change moves society in a definite direction, frequently from simple to more complex § Functionalist: social change must contribute to society’s stability § Conflict: social change can correct social injustices and inequalities § Resistance: economic factors play an important role, as do communities, resistance to technology (LUDDITES) § Vested interests: people or groups who will suffer in the event of social change, and who have a stake in maintaining the status quo § Efforts to regulate, restrict, or ban a product/service typically encounter stiff opposition from those who provide those goods/services. (tobacco, alcohol, firearms) § Diffusion: The spread of cultural items across societies. § AI, we benefit from AI in apps, spam filters, plagiarism checkers, fraud protection, online shopping, etc. § The role of technology, such as electronic communication in mobilizing movements. § CMC: communicative interaction through two or more networked devices, a computer or cell phone. Applies to variety of text-based or video interactions (emails & texts, some supported by social media) § It strengthens a group’s solidarity, allowing fledgling social movements to grow and develop faster than they might otherwise. Face-to-face contact that once was critical, is no longer necessary. o Economic and Cultural Shifts: § Industrial Revolution's legacy and contemporary equivalents. § The luddites symbolize resistance to technology, § Neo-luddites, those who are way of technological innovations and who question the incessant expansion of info technology. § Relative deprivation: Negative discrepancy between expectations and reality. § Things aren’t as good as you hoped they would be. May be characterized by scarcity rather than complete lack of necessities.  § A relatively deprived person is dissatisfied because they feel downtrodden relative to some appropriate reference groups, like feeling less than your boss even though you work harder than them. Sample Exam Questions: o Define relative deprivation and provide an example. § Things are not as good as you hoped they would be § Example: working hard through college and being stuck at a mid-level paying job, while others who might not have gone to college are working better-paying jobs, taking the easy way out and being rewarded for it o What are some ways electronic communication supports new social movements? § Being able to know about the news in real-time thanks to social media like twitter and Instagram. Study Tips for Related Sociological Concepts Use Mnemonics: For example, remember the types of family structures (nuclear, extended, polygamy) with “NEP.” Visualize Connections: Create a mind map linking concepts like stratification, education, and religion. Practice Application: Think of real-life examples for abstract concepts like "doing gender" or "hidden curriculum." Discuss Ideas: Form study groups to explore topics like social movements and family diversity from multiple perspectives. Relate to Current Events: Use examples like changes in workplace gender dynamics or the impact of remote education on socialization.