Socio 3 midterm: sociological approach to social problems

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Socio 3 Midterm Study Guide

CH 1: The Sociological Approach to Social Problems

Understand the major social trends facing Americans and their potential consequences

Explain the complex nature of defining a social problem

Subjective vs. objective nature of social problems

Subjective nature of social problems – The idea that what is and what is not a social problem is a matter of definition.

Objective reality of social problems – The notion that societal condition harm certain certain segments of the population and therefore are social problems

Explain and apply the sociological imagination to different social problems

Two types of problems: norm violations, social conditions

Norm Violations –

Discrepancy between social standards and reality to engage in deviant behavior

Assumes norm violators are symptoms of social problems, not the social problem

Social Conditions –

Focus on who benefits and who suffers based on the organization of society

Institutionalized deviance are societal arrangements that don’t cater to human needs

Emphasizes the distribution of power in society

Understand the four basic research designs and research methods that sociologists use to study social problems

Sociological imagination –

Stimulated by a willingness to view from perspective of others

Ability to see societal patterns that influence individuals, families, groups, and organizations

Shifting from one person to the system and structures that affect a person’s situation

Questioning structural arrangements that shape social behavior

Person-blame vs. system-blame approaches to studying social problems

Person-blame – The assumption that social problems result from the pathologies of individuals

Cultural deprivation – The assumption by the members of a group that the culture of some other group is not only inferior but also deficient.

Social Darwinism – The belief that the place of people in the stratification system is a function of their ability and effort

System-blame – The assumption that social problems result from social conditions

Sociological theory – A set of ideas that explains a range of human behavior and variety of social and societal events to help guide research

Value neutrality – To be absolutely free of bias

Critiques

Scientists should not be morally indifferent to implications of their research

Is impossible to be truly neutral

Sources of Data

Survey Research

Using a sample of population to obtain information

Longitudinal surveys

Experiments

Control group compared to experimental group

Observation

Observe a group or organization without intervention

Existing Data

Collected by large agencies or the government

CH 2: Wealth and Power

Explain the mechanisms that promote monopolistic capitalism and the consequences of each on a capitalist society

Monopolistic Capitalism

Monopoly, Shared monopoly – When four or fewer companies control 50% or more of an industry

Megamergers – Merging of large companies together

Consequences

Increases centralization of capital

Reduces competition and raises prices

Increases power over workers, unions, politicians, and government

Reduces number of jobs

Increases corporate debt

Nonproductive

Does not create plants, products, or jobs

Interlocking Directorates

Direct interlock – Individual serves as a board of directors on two companies

Indirect interlock – Two companies have a board of director on a connecting third company

Transnational corporation – increased concentration and internalization of corporations

Reduction of semi skilled jobs in the U.S

Impact on global economy

Influence on internal affairs of nations

Concentration of Wealth

Concentration of corporate wealth ( < 1% of corporations owns…)

Over 80% of the total output of the price section

80% of food industry assets, 90% of profits

Concentration of private wealth ( 5% US homes own…)

63.5% of nation’s private wealth

Trend in inequality gap

Increasing difference between earning of CEOs and workers

Increased tax benefits for the rich

Political influence of the wealthy

Understand the links among wealth, power, and the U.S. political system

Political systems

Oligarchy – A political system that is ruled by a few

Plutocracy – Government by or in the interest of the rich

Democracy – Political system that is of by and for the people

PACs – Political Action Committees

The PACs can spend unlimited amounts of money advertising for their cause.

The super-rich can prevail through the PACs.

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act –

McCain-Feingold law

Limits the use of “soft money” in federal elections

Loophole – political advertisements not directly for a candidate are okay

Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission –

Invalidated McCain-Feingold and other laws at the state level because they were violations of free speech.

Individuals are limited to $2500 for the primary and $2500 for the general election, but can give unlimited amounts to PACs

Gerrymandering – The party in power shapes voting districts as a means to keep itself in power

Summarize the consequences of the concentrated power in the United States

“The business of America is business”

Government subsidy

Corporations receive a wide range of favors: tax breaks, direct government subsidies to pay for advertising, research and training costs, and incentives to pursue overseas production and sales.

Trickle-down economics – subsidizing business to benefit everyone

Consequences

Tax breaks to the wealthy help the wealthy become wealthier increasing the gap.

Trickle-down solutions create greater national debt. When the debt is higher, government cuts are made to programs that help the disadvantaged.

Trickle-down solutions have actually shown very weak job growth.

CH 3: World Population and Global Inequality

Understand the factors affecting world population growth

Current world population; trends

Exponential population growth

Differential fertility – Differences in the average number of children born to a woman by social category

Relationship between GNP and fertility rate

The lower the per capita GNP, the higher the population growth

Modern demographic transition

Agricultural – Birth/death high

Transition – Birth high, death low

Industrial – Birth/death low

Contraceptive use

Least use of contraceptive are largely rural with low per capita incomes

Effective contraception

Cost

Political change

Cultural changes

Religious – resist the use of contraceptives

Cultural – familial role of women

Changing women’s roles to reduce fertitility

Describe the extent of world poverty and the consequences of that poverty

Factors contributing to global food shortage

Most significant?

Rapid population growth

Environmental

Loss of topsoil

Water Shortages

Air pollution/toxic chemicals

Leveling of land for homes and roads

Increased consumption of meat >> strain on land

High cost of oil

Poverty problem

Poor areas cannot afford to be agriculturally productive

Improper social organization and good production/distribution

New slavery

Aspects

Loss of freedom, exploitation of people for profit, control through violence or threat

New aspects

No longer lifelong condition

Can be a choice forced by extreme poverty

Trafficking of illegal immigrants as slaves

Promised jobs, but lost passports and identification

Megacities – urban population of more than 10 million

Concentration of misery is in cities due to exploding population growth in developing nations

Explain the relationship between the United States and poor nations around the world

Colonialism – territory controlled by a powerful country to exploit the land

Transnational Corporations – Controlling world economy

Arms sales – Selling weapons to poorer countries

Corporate Dumping – exporting banned goods to countries with more lax laws

Discuss how the United States and other wealthy nations can help impoverished countries

Conditions for providing humanitarian aid to developing nations

Aid is truly humanitarian

Aid reaches intended targets

Governments develop sensible plans to utilize aid

CH. 4: Threats to the Environment

Describe the nature and consequences of human-made threats to the environment

Land degradation

Productive land is being lost through the growth of cities and urban sprawl

Losing ~1% of topsoil each year

Plowing or marginal land

Wind/water erosion

Deforestation

Tropical rain forests cover ~6-7% of dry land surface & have ~half of all species

Recovered land is fragile, leading to further deforestation

Consequences

Climate change

Vanishing of species

Pollution

Chemical

4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are released each year

Solid waste

US is the largest producer of solid waste, discarding 30% of the world’s resources

Water

Hudson River is most polluted river in the US

Sources

Industries

Farmers

Cities

Oil spills

Radiation

Hanford nuclear weapons plant in Washington State released radioactive iodine in atmosphere

Air pollution

Outdoor pollution causes 1.3 million deaths per year worldwide

Environmental justice – A movement to improve community environments by eliminating toxic hazards

Environmental racism – The overwhelming likelihood that toxic-producing plants and toxic waste dumps are located where poor people, especially people of color, live

Explain the cultural and structural forces that contribute to environment problems

Factors contributing to environmental problems

Cornucopia view of nature – Made for us to use

Relationship between materialism & individualism –

Success and progress of an individual is translated to consumption of material

Planned obsolescence – creation of goods that will wear out or go out of fashion

Faith in technology, progress, growth ethic

Relationship between capitalist economies and governments

Urban and suburban sprawl

Describe the long-range international implications of alternative solutions to threats to the environment

CH 5: Demographic Changes in the U.S.

Immigration Act amendment of 1965

“new” immigration patterns (where from and where to?)

Racial makeup of U.S. (p. 189)

Are immigrants actually a “drain” on public resources?

Assimilation—main indicator?

Variations: blend, resist, create ethnic ties

Baby boom and ageing society

Sex ratio of elderly (3 women:2 men)

Racial composition

Longevity

Problems presented by ageing society

Social Security funds will eventually fizzle. Why?

Social security disadvantages women. How?

Elderly abuse

Beanpole families, sandwich families

CH 6: Urban, Suburban, Rural

Urban job loss

Redlining

Lack of affordable housing

Gentrification

Condominium conversion

Warehousing

“urban renewal” projects

Jobs/housing mismatch & geographic segregation

Decaying infrastructure

Urban schools—separate and unequal

Informal/underground/off-the-books economy

White flight

“Boomburg”

Effects of suburban sprawl

Rural areas

Changing demographics

Changing job market

Poverty

Higher death rates

CH 7: Poverty

Poverty line in US (one-size-fits all?)

By race, by age, by household type, by region

Old poor

new poor

working poor (and the “just get a job” myth)

near poor

severely poor

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

“wealth-fare”

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Regressive tax

Myth of meritocracy

Self-fulfilling prophecies in interaction

Culture-of-poverty hypothesis

Institutional discrimination

Effects/costs of poverty

CH 8: Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Racial stratification

Dominant group, minority group

Social construction of ethnicity

Social construction of race

Deficiency theories

Bias theories

institutional discrimination v individual discrimination

income comparison (p. 199)

employment patterns

health effects

racial profiling

“color-blindness”

CH 9: Gender Inequality

Sex

Gender, gender roles

Cross-cultural differences

sexuality

Patriarchy

Compulsory heterosexuality

Division of labor

Two approaches to gender inequality

Gender roles

Gender structure

Androgyny

Aspects of socialization

Play

School

Title IX

Gendered rules of interaction

Gendered language

Gender representation in media

“ “ in politics

Gender segregation in labor force

Changes, trends

Earnings gap, causes (p. 233)

Relation to feminization of poverty and looming Social Security crisis

Glass ceiling

feminism

CH 10: Sexual Orientation

Heteronormativity

Heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality

Sexualization of female homosexuality (and not male)

Miscegenation

Idea that deviance is functional part of societies

Stigmatization

Differences between actions and self-identification (p. 247)

Domestic arrangements

(gay women tend to be more cohesive than gay men)

Division of labor?

Medicalization of homosexuality (p. 253)

“Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue”

Public support for gay marriage (p. 257)

Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)