Chapter 5.
1.
What are the differences between a social group, primary group, and secondary group? What are examples of
these in your life?
Social group- 2 or more people who identify or interact together; not to be confused with a CATOGORY (same
characteristics but don’t know each other)
Primary Group- Small social group whose members share personal enduring relationships Ex. Family
Secondary Group- a large and impersonal social group whose members persue a specific goal or activity Ex.
Club, co-workers
(a means to an end)
2.
What is the goal of instrumental leadership? expressive leadership? In what types of situations is each type
most effective and why?
Instrumental leadership- group leadership the emphasizes the completion of task Ex. Fast food manager
Expressive leadership- leadership that focuses on the well being of the total group as a whole Ex. school
teacher
3.
What is group think? Provide an example.
Group think-The tendency for group members to conform resulting in a narrow view of some issues Ex. Bay of
Pigs, WMDs in Iraq
4. What are the characteristics of a formal organization?
Formal organization- larger secondary groups that are organized to achieve goals effectively
Normative- voluntary (service groups)
Coercive- required to be there
Utilitarian- offer source of income 5. Be able to describe the process of "rationalization" to a friend.
Rationalization- the shift from traditional to rational as the dominant mode of human thought (RATIONAL is
based on EFFICIENCY)
6. Know the characteristics of a bureaucracy and why these organizational forms emerge
Bureaucracy- Defined as an organizational model rationally designed to perform tasks efficiently Ex. BMV, Financial
Aid, Health Center Typically brought to existence because of financial efficiency
7. What is meant by the term "McDonaldization"? What are the main organizational concepts of
McDonaldization? Apply these to an example. What is the relationship between rationalization and
McDonaldization?
Mcdonalization Concepts- Efficiency
- Uniformity & predictability
- Control through automation (non-human technology)
- the irrationality of rationality Ex. McDonald’s
Rationalization is based on financial efficiency and McDonalization is the same but in all areas
8. What is the difference between bureaucratic ritualism and bureaucratic inertia? Provide an example of each.
Bureaucratic ritualism- Getting caught up w/ rules & regulations to the point of thwarting an organization’s goals. Ex.
The slowness of the BMV of FAFSA
Bureaucratic inertia- the tendency for bureaucratic organizations to perpetuate themselves Ex. The continuing
growth of Wal-mart
9. What is an oligarchy? What are the pros and cons of an oligarchy in a society?
Oligarchy- A form of governing power that is ruled by few.
Chapter 7 1.
How do sociologists view deviance and crime? (three perspectives)
Deviance- the recognized violation of cultural norms
Crime- the violation of a society’s formally enacted criminal law
Structural Functionalist Approach- How does defining things as deviant integrate a society?
Durkheim
1. Deviance affirms cultural values and norms
2. Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries
3. Responding to deviance brings people together
4. Deviance encourages social change
(merton’s theory) Accept goals + Accept means= conformity
Accept goals + Reject means= innovations
Reject goals + Accept means= ritualism
Reject goals + reject means= retreatism
New goals + new means= rebellion
Social Conflict Approach- How does defining deviance divide society
1.
Deviant people share the condition
2. Norms and laws reflect the values of the wealthy
3. Wealthy have resources to defend their selves if behavior is considered deviant
4.Belief that norms & laws are natural masks for political character Ex. White Collar crime vs. Street crime
White Collar- much more expensive to society
Street Crime- Much more visible
Symbolic Interactionist- How is the process of defining deviance experienced at the individual level?
1.Labeling theory- deviance & conformity results not so much from what people do but from how others respond
to those actions
2. Primary deviance- initial response defining someone as deviant
3. Secondary deviance- the internalization/acceptance of being labeled deviant
2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each perspective's evaluation of deviance? Structural Functionalist
- shows function of deviance but crime does not always bring people together
- Merton’s theory explains crime but not the other crimes like those of “passion”
Social Conflict
-Inequality guides the creations of norms in society. Laws support capitalist’s interests, which disadvantage the
worker
-This is an over-simplified model since there are also laws that protect the worker
Symbolic Interactionists
- good approach in that it looks at deviance as a process but it applies best to less serious crimes
-However, not sure that labeling theory creates deviant behavior. Some ppl resists labels
4. How are stigmas created? How are they tied to one's master status? Have you ever been stigmatized? How did
you respond?
Stigma- negative label that alters self-concept and social identity
Retrospective labeling- reinterpret past behavior in context of new event
I was a skateboarder, viewed as a punk and became a punk, skating was my master status at the time. It was all I
did/thought about
5. Be able to distinguish the following terms: white-collar crime, hate crime, personal crime, property crime,
victimless crime. Why does society view property crime differently than white collar crime?
White collar crime- fraud, embezzlement, scandal by respected personal of corporation, incorporated governance
Hate crime- violation of person due to race, age, religion, Etc.
Personal crime- involve violence or threat of violence against a person
Property crime- theft of goods that belong to others
Victimless crime- violation in which there are no apparent victims
White collar vs. property crime- property crime is much more visible and obvious while WCC is hidden/behind scenes
6. Know the four types of punishment. Which approach would Mead most likely support? Why? Retribution- eye for an eye; revenge
Deterrence- turn ppl away from a form of behavior by creating an example
Rehabilitation- resocializing to different norms
Societal protection- to dangerous to rejoin society; protection of society by life imprisonment/ capital punishment
MEAD- rehabilitation, new social setting creates a new social self through a total institution
7. What is criminal recidivism? How can it be reduced?
Criminal recidivism- subsequent offenses by people previously convicted of crime
Reduced ?- Community based corrections- reduces cost, over crowding in prisons as well
Chapter 8
1. What is social stratification? What are the four basic principles of social stratification? Why do we study it? strata- containing layers. social stratification- system in which society ranks categories of individuals in a hierarchy
-a trait of society, not simply a reflection of individuals differences
-Persists over generations
-universal but variable
-involves not just inequality but beliefs that justify
studied because it is a basis for all societies around the world
2. Be able to distinguish between a caste system, a meritocracy, and a class system. Caste System- social stratification based on an ascribe social position
Meritocracy- system where social position is based entirely on personal merit
Class system- combination of both Caste and meritocracy
3. What type of stratification system does the U.S. have?
Class system is the adopted system of the U.S.
4. What is meant by the phrase "status consistency?" Be able to apply this term to models of stratification.
Status consistency- degree of consistency in a person’s social standing across various dimensions of social inequality
5. What is ideology? How does it perpetuate social stratification? ideology- cultural beliefs that justify social stratification. It continues social hierarchies by justifying them or having
population accept it
6. Compare the capitalists to the proletarians. What do they do?
Capitalist- ppl who own and operate factories/businesses in pursuit of profit
Proletarians- ppl who sell their productive labor for wages
7. What social forces create "alienation"? Alienation-The experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness
8. What elements make up one's socioeconomic status or SES? SES-based on family income, parental education level, parental occupation, and social status in the community
9. Compare and contrast intragenerational mobility & intergenerational mobility. Intragenerational mobility- change in a person social position in ones lifetime
Intergenerational mobility- change in social position through generations
10. Which citizens in the U.S. are most likely to be poor? Age? Race/ethnicity? Gender? Why? age 18 and under; white; female
11. What is the difference between relative poverty and absolute poverty?
Relative poverty- lack of resources compared to those who have more
Absolute poverty- lack of resources that is life threatening
12. What is the feminization of poverty and what forces create it?
Feminization- more females are poor compared to men due to wage gap and child custody
Chapter 9 1. What are some examles of global stratification? How does it influence the US?
1st world
High income
$11,000 - $35,000
2nd world
Middle income
$2,5000 - $10,000
3rd world countries
Low income
$2,500 or less
We, as a high income/1st world country, exploit other smaller countries as well as practice multinational corporation in
other countries. We can do this because often we “buy” or “pay” to do what we do in these other “lesser” regions.
2. Why was there a shift from the "three worlds" model to three "incomes model"?
Shift: After the Cold War many 2nd world nations either jumped forward & became a 1st world nation or retrogressed and
became a 3rd world nation. This lead many economists to create a better and accurate model using a scale by income.
3. What are the main characteristics of low, middle and high income countries? Life
Phone
Cars
$
Waste
High
75 yrs
74%
87%
79%
72%
Middle
60-74 yr
23.5%
12.2%
18%
20%
Low
30-59 yr
1.5%
1%
3%
8%
4. What are the 4 types of modern slavery? Why does slavery still exist?
Chattel Slavery- the kind practiced in U.S.
Child Slavery- Typically children who are sent of to work for exchange of a place to stay, live, and learn
Debt Slavery- A kind where one works to pay off a debt, usually a form of trap that is hard to escape
Servile Slavery- work hard labor…
Existence-Illegal Practice, special working in contracts, corrupt governing system allows it.
5. What are the six "correlates of global poverty" as presented in the book? ??
6. Compare and contrast colonialism vs. neocolonialism.
Colonialism- process by which some nation enriches themselves through political and economic control of other nationsDirect control
Neocolonialism- indirect control through economic exploitation
7. What role do multinational corporations play in global stratification?
Multinational corporations- I believe they slowly break down the layer and create more equal areas
8. Modernization theory (strengths/weaknesses) Also known as Rostow's four stages of modernization, the role of rich
nations in modernization Modernization theory- A model of economic development that explains gobal inequality in terms of technological and
cultural differences among societies.
Strengths- describes old development well
Weaknesses- ignores interconnectedness of economies; not reproducible in current world; blames poverty entirely on
poor country
Four stages of modernization - Traditional stage
- Take off stage (rational)
- Drive to technology stage
- High mass consumption
10. dependency theory (strengths/weaknesses), Also known as Wallerstein's dependency theory, three factors of
dependency, the role of rich nations Dependency Theory- A model of economic development that explains global inequality in terms of the historical
exploitations of poor societies by rich ones
Strengths- looks at inter-relatedness of economies
Weaknesses- thinks of wealth as a Zero Sum system; doesn’t explain countries who had no contact w/ capitalist
countries; offers a vague solution
3 factors involving dependency
- Narrow, export-oriented economies
- Lack of industrial capital
- Foreign debt
12. Who is more likely to be poor globally men or women? Why?
Most Poor Globally- Women and Children due to Patriarchal structure, lack of education, access to education