Sociology Exam 4

family

a social group whose members are bound by legal, biological, or emotional ties, or a combination of all 3

nuclear family

heterosexual couple with one or more kids living in one house

endogamy

marriage to someone within one’s social group

exogamy

marriage to someone from a different social group

concerted cultivation

parenting practice marked by a parent's attempts to foster their child's talents by incorporating organized activities in their children's lives

accomplishment of natural growth

practice of child rearing that involves providing a child with care, love, and limits in order to allow the child to grow spontaneously

fictive kin

any individual, unrelated by birth or marriage, who is shown to have close personal or emotional ties to the child or the child's family

homogamy

marriage between people from similar sociological or educational backgrounds

instrumental task

practical physical tasks necessary to maintain family life

expressive task

emotional work necessary to support family members

second shift

the unpaid housework and childcare often expected of women after they complete their day’s paid labor

domestic abuse

any physical, verbal, financial, sexual, or psychological behaviors abusers use to gain and maintain power over their victims

neglect

form of child abuse in which the caregiver fails to provide adequate nutrition, clothing, shelter, or hygienic and safe living conditions

cycle of violence

begins happily, relationship grows tense, tension explodes in abuse, followed by a period of contrition, and then they cycle repeats

cohabitation

living together as a romantic couple without being married

family myth

fictitious beliefs and hopes shared by an entire family; related to the family and are part of the ties that bind the family together

acute disease

diseases that have a sudden onset, may be briefly incapacitating and are either curable or fatal

chronic disease

diseases that develop over a long period of time and may not be detected until late in their progression when symptoms occur

medicalization

process by which behaviors or conditions that were once seen as personal problems are redefined as medical issues

epidemiology

the study of disease patterns to understand the cause of illnesses, how they spread and what interventions to take

epidemic

high # of cases in a population (smaller area)

pandemic

high # of cases in a large region (countries)

food desert

community in which the residents have little or no access to fresh, affordable, healthy foods - usually located in densely populated urban areas

deprivation amplification

phenomenon in which our individual disease risks are amplified by social factors

sick role

the actions and attitudes society expects from someone who is ill

cultural competence

a range of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills that lead to effective and appropriate communication with people of other cultures

rescission

the practice wherein insurance companies cancel coverage only after a person gets sick

complementary medicine

a group of medical treatments, practices, and products used in conjunction with conventional Western Medicine

alternative medicine

a group of medical treatments, practices, and products used instead of conventional Western Medicine

demography

study of the size, composition, distribution, and changes in human population

migration

movement of people from 1 geographic area to another for the purpose of resettling

immigration

act of leaving one country to live permanently in another

Malthusian Theorem

exponential growth in population will outpace arithmetic growth in food production and other resources

Demographic Transition Theory

theory about change over time from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates, resulting in a stabilized population

urbanization

movement of increasing #’s of people from rural areas to cities

suburbanization

shift of large segments of population away from the urban core and toward the edge of cities

urban sprawl

derogatory term for expansion of urban or suburban boundaries, associated with irresponsible and poorly planned development

white flight

movement of upper and middle class whites who could afford to leave the cities for suburbs

gentrification

transformation of the physical, social, economic, and cultural life of formerly working-class or poor inner-city neighborhoods into more affluent middle class communities

urban renewal

efforts to rejuvenate decaying inner cities, including renovation, selective demolition, commercial development, and tax incentives

alienation

decreasing importance of social ties and community and the corresponding increase in impersonal associations and instrumental logic

bystander effect

social dynamic wherein the more people who are present in a moment of crisis, the less likely any one of them is to take action (diffusion of responsibility)

pluralistic ignorance

a process in which members of a group individually conclude that there is no need to take action because they see that other group members have not done so

environment

the natural world, the human-made environment, and the interaction between the two

renewable resources

resources that are replenished at a rate comparable to the rate at which they are consumed

nonrenewable resources

finite resources that can become exhausted: includes those that take so long to replenish as to be effectively finite

problems of consumption

renewable and nonrenewable resources, industrialized nations are the largest consumers of energy, oil and finite resources are being exhausted

problems of waste

freshwater constantly contaminated, agricultural runoff, improperly treated water, air we breathe

environmental protection agency

a U.S. government agency established in 1969 to protect public health and the environment through policies and enforcement

greenhouse effect

process in which increased production of greenhouse gases, especially those arising from human activity causes changes to earth’s atmosphere

global warming

gradual increase in the earth’s temperature, driven recently by and increase in greenhouse gases and other human activity

climate change

the increase in extreme weather patterns linked to global warming

treadmill of production

term describing the operation of modern economic systems that requre constant growth, which causes increased exploitation of resources and environmental degradation

human exceptionalism

the attitude that humans are exempt from natural ecological limits

environmental movement

a social movement organized around concerns about the relationship between humans and the environment

environmental justice

movement that aims to remedy environmental inequities such as threats to public health, and the unequal treatments of certain communities with regard to ecological concerns

environmental racism

any environmental policy or practice that negatively affects individuals, groups, or communities because of their race or ethnicity

social change

the transformation of a culture over time

collective behavior

behavior that follows from the formation of a group or crowd of people who take action together toward a shared goal

contagion theory

one of the earliest theories of collective action; suggests that individuals who join a crowd can become “infected” by a mob mentality and lose the ability to reason

crowd

a temporary gathering of people in a public place; members might interact but do not identify with one another and will not remain in contact

riot

continuous disorderly behavior by a group of people that disturbs the peace and is directed toward other people/property

mass behavior

similar behaviors engaged in by large groups of people who are not necessarily in the same place

fads

interests/practices followed enthusiastically for a relatively short period of time

fashion

widespread custom/style of behavior and appearance at a particular time or place

social dilemma

behavior rational for the person but can lead to collective disaster

tragedy of the commons

many individuals overexploit a public resource and deplete or degrade it

public goods dilemma

individuals must contribute to a collective resource, even though they may never benefit from it

social movement

any social group with leadership, organization, and an ideological commitment to promote or resist social change

regressive

describe resistance to particular social changes, efforts to maintain the status quo, or other attempts to reestablish an earlier form of social order

progressive

describes effort to promote forward thinking social change

technological determinism

a theory of social change that assumes changes in technology drive changes in society, rather than vice versa

cultural lag

the time between changes in material culture or technology and the resulting changes in the broader culture’s relevant norms, values, meanings, and laws

virtual communities

social groups whose interactions are mediated through information technologies, particularly the internet

global village

Marshall McLuthan’s term describing the way that new communication technologies override barriers of space and time, joining together people all over the globe

cultural diffusion

the spreading out and merging of pieces from different cultures

cultural imperialism

the imposition of one culture’s beliefs and practices on another culture through media and consumer products rather than by military force

sociological imagination

the quality of the mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces

conflict theory

social inequality is the basic characteristic of society

symbolic interactionism

sees interaction and meaning as central to society and meanings are created through interaction

functionalism

society is a unified whole that functions on contributions from its’ different structures