Sociology Final Exam Notes PDF

# Chapter 1 1. Marx- - Karl Marx believed that there is constant conflict that is needed to cause change in society. - Karl Marxist social change: members of proletariat are exposed by the bourgeoisie and results in alienation (feeling powerless and isolated) and wanting to fight back and o...

# Chapter 1 1. Marx- - Karl Marx believed that there is constant conflict that is needed to cause change in society. - Karl Marxist social change: members of proletariat are exposed by the bourgeoisie and results in alienation (feeling powerless and isolated) and wanting to fight back and overturn it. 2. Bourgeoisie- - The working class vs. ownership class - Bourgeoisie: the individuals who own the means of production, the ownership class. 3. Proletariat- - Proletariat: the individuals who must sell their own labor, the working class. 4. Anomie- - Strains cause anomie. - Strains: rapid social change causes "strains". - Anomie: a condition in which social control becomes ineffective as a result of the loss of shared values and of a sense of purpose in society. 5. Durkheim- - Emile Durkheim believed that societies are built on "Social Facts" – which are patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside of any one individual but that exert social control over each person. - Studied the changes taking place in Europe due to the Industrial Revolution - Before Industrial Revolution: society was held together by shared traditions and beliefs. - After Industrial Revolution: specialized economic activity was the basis of social bond since people depended on each other for commerce. # Chapter 2 6. Independent Variable- - Independent Variable: The variable hypothesized to cause or influence another variable 7. Dependent Variable- - Dependent Variable: The variable whose action DEPENDS on the influence of the independent variable 8. Control Group- - Control group: contains the subject who are not exposed to the independent variable 9. Experimental Group- - Experimental group: contains the subjects who are exposed to an independent variable to study its effect on them # Chapter 3 10. More- - More: strongly held norms with moral and ethical connotations that may nit be violated without serious consequences in a particular culture. 11. Norm-* - Norms: established standards of behavior maintained by a society. 12. Folkway-* - Folkway: norms governing everyday behavior that may be violated without serious consequences within a particular culture. 13. Subculture-* - Subculture: a category of people who share distinguishing attributes, beliefs, values and norms that set them apart in some significant manner from the dominant culture. 14. Counterculture-* - A group that strongly rejects dominant societal values and norms and seeks alternative lifestyles. - Countercultures are different from subcultures because they actively oppose the larger culture. # Chapter 4 15. Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development- - Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development identified 3 levels of moral reasoning preconventional (7-10 years old), conventional (10-adult), postconventional (a few adults) - **Preconventional level:** perceptions based on punishment and obedience - **Conventional level:** concerned with how they are perceived by others - **Postconventional level:** people view morality in terms of individual rights, and conduct is judged by principles that go beyond laws or other people's perceptions 16. Cooley's Looking Glass Self- - Cooley's looking glass self: Cooley's term for the way in which a person's sense of self is derived from the perceptions of others. Stems from our ability to take on other's points of view and see ourselves from their perspective. “I am, who I think, you think I am” # Chapter 6 17. Confirmation Bias- - The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirming one's existing beliefs # Chapter 7 18. Merton Strain Theory- - Merton's strain theory: people feel strained when they are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals. There are five ways in which people adapt – conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion 1. **Conformity:** people accept culturally approved goals and means to achieve the goal. 2. **Innovation:** people accept society's goals, but use unapproved ways to achieve the goal. 3. **Ritualism:** people give up on society's goals but still adhere to the socially approved means for achieving them. 4. **Retreatism:** people give up on the approved goals and the approved means. 5. **Rebellion:** the same as retreatism, but in rebellion, people seek to replace both the goals and the means seeks a dramatically different social order. 19. Asch Conformity Study- - The Asch Conformity Study (conducted by Solomon Asch in the 1950s) was a psychological experiment designed to see how people are influenced by group opinions, even when those opinions are obviously wrong. - **Setup:** Participants were placed in a group with several other people (who were secretly working with the researcher). They were shown a line and asked to match its length to one of three other lines. The correct answer was obvious. The group (actors) deliberately gave the wrong answer on some trials. The real participant answered last, after hearing everyone else. Many participants conformed to the group's wrong answer at least once, even though they knew it was incorrect. When alone, participants almost always gave the correct answer. The study showed that people often conform to group opinions to fit in or avoid conflict, even when they know the group is wrong. 20. Milgram Obedience Study- - The milgram obedience study aimed to test how far people would obey orders from an authority figure, even if it meant seemingly harming another person; participants were instructed to administer increasingly painful electric shocks to a "learner" (who was actually an actor) when they gave incorrect answers, revealing that a majority of participants complied with the experimenter's orders despite the learner's cries of pain, demonstrating a high level of obedience to authority, even when it conflicted with their own morals; this experiment is widely considered controversial due to its ethical concerns regarding deception and potential psychological distress to participants. 21. Index Crime Trends- - Crime trends have gone down. This includes murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft, auto theft, and arson. But tech-based crimes have gone up. This includes identity theft, bank fraud, and insider trading. # Chapter 8 22. Ascribed Status- - Ascribed status: a social position assigned to a person by society. 23. Achieved Status- - Achieved status: a social position that a person attains largely through their efforts 24. Davis-Moore Thesis- * - The Davis-Moore thesis assumes society operated as a meritocracy (a hierarchy in which all positions are rewarded based on people's ability and credentials). A criticism of the Davis- Moore thesis is that it ignored inequalities based on inherited wealth and family status # Chapters 10 25. Frustration-Aggression theory of prejudice- - Frustration-Aggression theory of prejudice: people who are trusted in their efforts to achieve a highly desired goal will respond with a [pattern of aggression towards others. 26. Feagin's 4 types of discrimination- 1. Isolate discrimination- harmful action intentionally taken by a dominate group member against a member of a subordinate group. This occurs without the support of other members of the dominate group. 2. Small group discrimination- harmful action intentionally taken by a limited. Umber of dominant group members against members of subordinate groups. 3. Direct institutionalized- organizationally prescribed or community prescribed action that intentionally has a differential and negative impact on members of subordinate groups 4. Indirect institutionalized- practices that have a harmful effect on subordinate group members even though the initial regulations were not established with intent to harm. 27. Contact Hypothesis- - Contact hypothesis states there will be favorable attitudes after contact between different groups when 4 factors are present 1. The members have equal status 2. The members are pursuing the same goals 3. The members cooperate with one another to achieve their goals 4. The members receive positive feedback when they interact with one another in positive ways # Chapter 12 28. Trends on birth rate in U.S.- - Declined over the past years 29. Trends on remarriage by gender- - Men are more likely to remarry - 75% of divorced men remarry, 60% of divorced women remarry 30. Trends on cohabitation rates in U.S.- - Cohabitation has increased by 59% # Chapter 13 31. Holy Books of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity- - **Hinduism** - Oldest of the worlds largest religions, originated along the banks of Indus River in Pakistan between 3500-4500 years ago - Beliefs and practices expressed in the vedas - Brahma- the creator; Vishnu- the preserver; shiva- the destroyer - **Islam** - Based on the Qur'an - Holds "5 pillars” that must adhere to: - believing that theres no god but Allah - Participating in five periods of prayer daily - Paying taxes to support the need - Fasting during the daylight hours during Ramadan - Making at least one pilgrimage to Mecca - **Christianity** - Shares the old and New Testament through the Bible - Through the sacrifice of God's son (Jesus) on earth, people can be forgiven of sins and achieve eternal life with God through confessing their sins and accepting Jesus as their savior # Chapter 15 32. Malthusians/Anti-Malthusians- - **Malthus:** argued the world population was growing more rapidly than the available food supply. - **Anti-malthusians:** argued innovations created new resources/ ways of acquiring resources more affordably. 33. Domestic Migration Trends in U.S.- - Growth in migration trends to the south and the west # Chapter 14 34. Socialism/Capitalism- - Most industrialized countries are a combination of capitalism and socialism - **Capitalism:** an economic system in which the means of production are held in largely private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits - **Socialism:** an economic system where the means of production and distribution in a society are collectively rather then privately owned. 35. Oligarchy- - Oligarchy: a select few individuals rule, often from influential families, members of a large but influential group, or military leaders. 36. Functionalist vs conflict theorists-* - **Functionalist:** feel that society is seeking stability and we have the "setup" that we do in order to make our world stable - Society is composed of interrelated parts that work together to maintain stability within society. This stability is threatened by dysfunctional acts - Society develops institutions that serve a function and contribute to stability - When an institution is strained all the other institutions in the “system" are affected, and no longer function properly - **Conflict:** society is characterized by social inequality; social life is a struggle for scarcer resources. - Social arrangements benefit some groups at the expense of others.