Sociology

Sociology Study Guide

Sources of prejudice: • Stereotype: An exaggerated, and usually unfavorable, belief about a group of people. Every member of the group is assumed to have those traits. • Authoritarian personality: Traits of a prejudiced thinker (conformity, intolerant, and insecure). • Irrationality: Illogical, irrational, or inconsistent beliefs about groups of people. • Scapegoating: Projecting blame onto another person or group who is powerless to stop the threat. • Social environment: Either encourages or discourages prejudicial behavior. Social environments that encourage prejudice include competitions, inequality, and minimal contact betweenmembers. Three reasons for workplace inequality: • Human capital model: Men and women contribute unequally to the labor market and invest in training and education unequally. This is commonly attributed to women’s lack of desire to expend more energy outside their home/families. • Considered choice model: Women choose lower-end jobs that require less from thembecause of their family/home commitments. • Discrimination model: Women are commonly placed in jobs that lack equal wages or promotion opportunity. These types of jobs are commonly called “pink-collar” jobs and consist of such placements as waitress, cashier, and receptionist. Three processes of aging: • Physical aging: The body changes that accompany maturation. • Psychological aging: Personality changes. • Social aging: Transitions between social statuses. Four perspectives of social gerontology: • Disengagement theory: The elderly withdraw from society (and society withdraws from the elderly). Social roles diminish, leading many to depression. • Activity theory: The elderly reduce their levels of activity and involvement due to societal structures, but if they can maintain some of their activity level, they feel better about themselves. • Continuity theory: The elderly are simply continuing their life journey and will tend to deal with the changes at this stage similar to how they dealt with change throughout their life. • Aged as a subculture: The elderly, feeling separate from other age groups, seek to spend their time with others of the same subculture.

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