Exam 2 Study Guide - Summary Sociology: an Introduction to Sociology PDF

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Chapter 7 Crime and Deviance What is Deviance? 

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Definition: any violation of norms whether it is minor, serious, or humorous o Not necessarily the act itself that is deviant, but the reaction to the act o Typically in response to people responding negatively Deviance has a relativity component to it, which states that what is deviant to some, might not be deviant to others; this holds true within a society and across cultures o What one group does in a society could be deviant, it doesn’t have to be a huge cultural separation Three Elements of Deviance 1) Expectations: how we are expected to behave 2) Violation: action which violates the expectations 3) Reaction: society’s reaction to killing somebody Three Factors that determine Deviance 1) Agreement about the norm 2) Severity of societal response (response to the act) 3) Evaluation of harm and degree of victimization How do norms make social life possible? o Norms make social life possible because they make behavior predictable, and you can assume what other people are going to do o We are socialized as society to follow norms and follow the roles that society places upon us o There would be chaos without norms, because they establish social order (customary social arrangements); deviance undermines the predictability of a society and the overall foundation of social life which people are quick to reject o Social control- formal and informal means of enforcing norms  Sanctions: negative- frowns, gossip, capital punishment, imprisonment; positive- smile to formal rewards

Perspectives 

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Functionalist Perspective – Emile Durkheim o Deviance is normal and helps societies function by establishing social order and social control o Moral boundaries, affirming cultural values and norms, brings people together, encourages social change Symbolic Interactionists o Deviance is the result of the clash of conflicting definitions of what it means to be deviant o Labeling Theory: Deviance comes not from what people do, but how others respond to the action  Primary deviance- does not affect persons well being

Secondary deviance- people notice the deviance and start labeling the person  Changes persons identity  Stigma- shapes persons identity; operates as a master status; those with the stigma, it diminishes their quality of life  Types of stigma: o Norms of ability (blindness, handicapped) o Norms of appearance (large birthmark, large nose) o Involuntary memberships (AIDS)  Retrospective Labeling: placing a label on past behavior  Projective Labeling: placing a label on current behavior  Hirschi’s Control Theory  Attachment: the more attached you are to you’re social group, family, friends, the less likely you are to be deviant  Opportunity: the greater a person’s access to opportunities, the less likely he or she is to commit a deviant act  Involvement: by being involved in important activities, and staying busy, you are less likely to commit deviant acts  Belief: strong belief and respect to authority members Deviance and Conflict Paradigm o Deviance and Power results from social inequality; norms reflect interests of the powerful  Even if the powerful are deviant, they have means to resist deviant labels o The law is a tool of oppression designed to keep the powerful in privileged positions and the powerless from rebelling (how you are punished based on your social class) 

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What is Crime?  

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Definition: violation of norms enacted into law Types of crime o Crimes against person- murder, assault, rape, manslaughter, aggravated assault o Crimes against property- burglary, auto theft, arson o Victimless crimes- drug use, gambling o White collar crimes Who commits crime? o Arrests o Prison Inmates Crime Rate Declined in 1990s—Why? o Prosperity and low unemployment o Fewer young people (they commit more crimes) o Changes in policing o Imprisonment boom (people cannot commit crimes if they are in jail)

o Crackdown on juveniles and guns 

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Read Crime Statistics with Caution o Why do we need to read with caution?  Emphasize certain types of crimes, not crimes of the affluent  Accuracy of reports  Many crimes unreported White-Collar Crime: committed by people of respectable and high social status in the course of their occupation o The cost for white-collar crime is estimated at $600 annually; 91% of street criminals go to jail, but only 5% of white-collar criminals get convicted Types of White-Collar Crimes o Corporations- car manufacturers, price fixing, tax evasion o Individual- fraud, theft Ford Pinto Case o 3 girls killed in their Ford Pinto when a van struck the car from behind; car blew-up  Ford put the gas tank in the rear of the Pinto o Ford decided it would be cheaper to pay for injuries and deaths than to fix the car How are White-Collar crimes punished? o White-collar crimes typically receive lighter sentences than street criminals  Dismissed crimes, bail, probation, shorter sentences US Criminal Justice System o Society’s formal response to crime o Due Process  Fair notice of the proceedings  A hearing on the charges conducted according to the law and with the ability to present a defense  A judge or jury that weights evident impartially o Police  Point of contact between people and criminal justice system  700,000 full time police officers in the US o Courts  Plea bargaining  90% of criminal cases are resolved before going to court o Punishment  What does society gain through the punishment of wrongdoers? Retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, societal protection Problems in the Criminal Justice System o Types of crime and the relation to punishment o Assembly-line justice o Bias in the criminal justice system o Death penalty

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o Prison experience Is the Criminal Justice System fair? o More likely to serve time in jail if you are poor o Plea bargaining o Other factors besides the crime are considered (employment, age, prior arrests) The Death Penalty o From 1977 to 2013, over 7,500 people were sentenced to death in the US  1,320 executions were carried out  33 states have the right to execute offenders  Half of all people on death row (3170) in 2012 were located in 4 states – CA, TX, FL, PA  62% of adults in the US support capital punishment Community-based Corrections o Correctional programs operating within society at large, rather than in prison  Reduce costs, reduce overcrowding, supervision with a hardships and stigmas of jail  Probation  Parole Risk and Resilience o How/Why do some children progress well in spite of difficulties?  Characteristics that empower people despite insurmountable difficulties  Risk factors?  Child development is influenced in many ways  Person factors – Person factors include the individual biological, temperamental, intellectual and personality characteristics of the child and significant others in the child’s life—such as parents, siblings, educators, etc.  Process factors – include the forms of interaction that take place between individuals (supportive, destructive, informative, inclusive, power-based, etc.)  Contextual factors – includes families, communities, cultures, and ideologies  Time variables – take into account the changes that occur over time. Context, person and process variables change over time as a child matures and as the environment changes

Chapter 8 Social Stratification 

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Social Stratification o Definition: a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy o 4 Principles  Trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences  Carries over from generation to generation  Universal but variable  Involves not just inequality but beliefs as well o Caste System: social stratification based on ascription, or birth  By teaching a sense of moral duty, a caste system ensures that people are disciplined for a lifetime of work and are willing to perform the same jobs as their parents o Class System: social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement  Income, wealth, education, occupation  More open than caste systems, so people who gain schooling and skills may experience social mobility (a change in position within the social hierarchy)  What do you think the wealth of Americans looks like? o Meritocracy: social stratification based on personal merit  Includes a person’s knowledge, abilities, and effort Social Class (in the 1950s) o First video  What has changed since 1957?  What hasn’t changed since 1957?  What can David do to reach Gil’s class?  What can Ted do?  How important is class in our society? o Second video  What perpetuates the class system in our society?  Can it be changed?  Do you want it to be changed? Stratification o Structured inequality  Based on categories  Ranking matters for life chances  Ranks change slowly o 3 major systems  Class  Race/Ethnicity  Sex/Gender

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Perspectives o Structural-Functional  Social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of a society  The greater the functional importance of a position, the more rewards a society attaches to it o Social Conflict  Argues that rather than benefiting society as a whole, social stratification benefits some people and disadvantages others  Karl Marx view: social stratification is rooted in people’s relationships to the means of production  Capitalists- people who own and operate factories and other businesses in pursuit of profits  Proletarians- people who sell their labor for wages Inequality in the United States o Income, wealth, and power o Occupational Prestige o Schooling o Ancestry, race and gender Social Classes o Upper Class  Top 5% of US population earning at least $205K  Upper uppers vs. Lower uppers  Upper uppers- “blue bloods”; membership is the result of birth; wealth is inherited  Lower uppers- “working rich”; get their money by earning it rather than inheritance o Middle Class  40-45% of US population earning between $48.5K and $205K  Upper middles vs. Average middles  Upper middles- above average income; high prestige occupations; play a role in local political affairs  Average middles- work at less prestigious white-collar jobs o Working Class  33% of US population earning between $27K and 48.5K  Forms the core of the industrial proletariat o Lower Class  20% of US population  “Working poor” Class matters o How are each of these affected by social standing and why?  Health: children born into poor families are twice as likely to die from disease, neglects, accidents, or violence during their first year of life as children born into privileged families; richer people live 5

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years longer because they eat more nutritious food, live in safer environments, and receive better medical care  Values and attitudes: the “old rich” have a strong sense of family history because their position is based on inherited wealth; the “new rich” engage in conspicuous consumption, using homes, cars, and airplanes as a symbol of their social position; people with greater education and financial security are more tolerant of controversial behavior such as homosexuality; working class people who are raised in a disciplined environment are less likely to attend college and are less tolerant  Politics: a person’s political attitudes follow their class lines; well-off people take a more conservative approach to economic issues; highly educated people are more liberal when it comes to social matters such as abortion and gay rights; people of low social standing tend to be economic liberals, favoring government social programs that benefit them, but hold more conservative views on social issues  Family and Gender: generally, lower-class families are larger than middle-class families because of earlier marriage and less birth control; the more money a family has, the more opportunities parents have to develop their children’s talents and abilities  Schooling Social Mobility o How easy is it to move up or down in the U.S.?  Moving upward- earning a college degree, landing a higher-paying job, marrying some  Moving downward- dropping out of school, losing a job, or becoming divorced o Intragenerational vs. Intergenerational  Intragenerational: a change in social position occurring during a person’s lifetime  Intergenerational: upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents  Important because it reveals long-term changes in society that affect everyone o The American Dream – moving up – is it still alive?  How much mobility is there really?  Yes, it is still alive today; throughout history, the economic system has grown steadily, raising living standards o 5 general conclusions about mobility in the U.S.  Social mobility over the past century has been fairly high  Within a single generation, social mobility is usually small  The long-term trend in social mobility has been upward  Since the 1970s, social mobility has been uneven  The short-term trend in social mobility has been downward

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o Moving up or down by: income level, race and gender, marriage  Income level- the experience of social mobility depends on where in the social class system you happen to be; well-to-do families saw their incomes jump, while lower class families don’t experience much change  Race and Gender- white people in the US have always been in a more privileged position than people of African or Hispanic descent; women have had less chance for upward mobility than men because most working women held jobs with fewer opportunities for advancement  Mobility and Marriage- people who are married accumulate more wealth because of double incomes and stronger motivation to work hard and save money in order to support their family Poverty in the United States o Relative poverty vs. Absolute poverty  Relative- the lack of resources of some people in relation to those who have more  Absolute- a lack of resources that is life-threatening o Extent- 15%  Poverty line, national average income by poor families  Poverty line- $23,021  Income by poor families- $13,500  Age  Why the shift from old to young? More retirement programs  Race  66% poor people are white  24% poor people are African American  Gender and Family patterns  59% poor people age 18 or older are women  41% poor people age 18 or older are men  31.2% poverty rate for households headed by a single women  6.2% poverty rate for household headed by married couples o Explanation of poverty  Blame the poor  The poor are most responsible for their own poverty; a person’s social standing is mostly a matter of individual talent and efforts; the poor are people who cannot or will not work due to a lack of skills, schooling, or motivation  Blame society  Society is primarily responsible for poverty; loss of jobs; there is simply not enough work to support families o The working poor  Federal minimum wage- poor people still cannot escape poverty

Limited opportunity – why? People in inner-city neighborhoods, people of color, and female heads of families are isolated from larger society o Homelessness o Feminization of Poverty  The trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor 

Chapter 9: Global Stratification 

Global Wealth and Poverty o Severity – economic productivity and population growth  Relative Poverty: in relation to someone else and other countries  Absolute Poverty: life threatening o The extent of global poverty  Children  Women  Tradition  Slavery – 5 types o The poorest countries have the world’s highest death rates o Explanations of Global Poverty  Technology  Population growth  Cultural patterns  Social stratification  Gender inequality  Global power relationships

Chapter 10: Gender Stratification 

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Gender Stratification o Gender: the personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being male or female o Gender Stratification: the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women o Matriarchy: a form of social organization in which females dominate males o Patriarchy: a form of social organization in which males dominate females o Sexism: the belief that one sex in innately superior to the other o Second Shift: women work all day and come home to do more work o Gender roles: attitudes and activities that society links to each sex o Androgyny: exhibiting both male and female traits Margaret Mead’s research o If gender is based on biological differences, then… o 3 societies in New Guinea: culture is the key to gender distinctions because the definitions change among different societies

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Theoretical Analysis of Gender (don’t spend too much time on) o Structural-Functional  Gender serves as a means to organize social life  Complementary set of roles that links men and women into family units and each sex is given responsibilities to carry out important tasks  Socialization: How are boys/girls raised? How does society encourage gender conformity? o Symbolic-Interaction  Gender affects everyday interaction  Differences in the men and women interact in the home and in the workplace? Women are taught to be submissive to men  Is this changing? Why or why not? o Social-Conflict  Conventional ideals about gender create division and tension with men seeking to protect their privileges as women challenge the status quo  Institutional ideals are embedded in society and enable inequality giving more power to men  Capitalism makes patriarchy stronger in the workplace and in the home Gender and Socialization o Gender and the Family  Pink or blue? Attitudes and behaviors towards each o Gender and the Peer Group  Games we play…rules, clear objectives, winning=aggression and control vs. few rules and no victory=interpersonal skills of communication and cooperation; playing by the rules vs. morality as a responsibility o Gender and Schooling  57% of college students in the US  Engineering, physics, chemistry, and biology  Fine arts and social sciences  In 2010, women earned 60% of all master’s and 52% of all PhDs o Gender and the Mass Media  Who plays what on TV?  Advertisements? Men are taller. Women are more frequently lying down or seated on the floor. Facial expressions and behavior: competence and dominance vs. submissive and sexual  “Beauty Myth”- measure worth in terms of physical appearance, prize their relationship with men, body image, affects men too – gender roles o The Working World  60% of women in the US are part of the labor force  70% of those women work full-time

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 59% married with children under the age of 6  71% married with children between 6 and 17  “Pink-collar jobs” – 73% are filled by women  For every dollar earned by men, women earn $0.77  Society’s view of the family – who is responsible for what?  Second shift  Glass ceiling Gender and the Military o In 2012, women represented 15% of all deployed US troops o Why is there a debate about women in the military?  Too emotional? Strong enough?  Too much time and money spent on harassment training for all military personnel?  1/3 women are sexually harassed  Almost half of these women report being raped Gender Stats o Are women a minority? – Any category of people distinguished by physical or cultural difference that a society sets apart & subordinates  Outnumber men in the US o Violence against women  452K aggravated assaults against women per year  209K rapes and sexual assaults  1.7M simple assaults  (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2012) o On college campuses: 3-4% of females raped in a given academic year (20% over a 5 year college career) o What is the most violent organization (outside of the police and the military) in the U.S.? Feminism o Elements of Feminism (5)  Working to...