Midterm Study Questions

Midterm Study Questions: 1.Why does racism persist in countries like the United States? Thesis : Due to its extensive history of racism and cognitively embedded ideology, racism persists in countries like the United States, creating stigmas that last for generations. - Ideology persists throughout generations - Skin color can be used as a stigma → negative thoughts, discrimination, or stereotypes against a certain group of people based on perceived characteristics to distinguish them from the rest of a social group. ● Our brains simplify things through stereotypes ● Stereotype persistence and power is cognitively embedded → our brain wants to simplify information which is typically helpful, but can also lead to stereotype - Institutional Racism - Some groups use race to promote power over others who feel threatened (ex: KKK) - The sensitivity of race makes it difficult to talk about 2. What are some of the most important factors behind the rise of “high-end” inequality? What do you think is the single most important consequence of high-end inequality (as opposed to other kinds of inequalities we have discussed). Thesis: The most important factors behind the rise of high-end inequality is the limited social mobility and access to resources limited for the rich, while the single most important consequence of high end inequality is opportunity hoarding. - High end inequality → environment where the highest earners are driving inequality; rich get richer ● Donald Trump: real estate empire for the upper class 1% which contributes to the rich getting richer *the single most important consequence of high end inequality is opportunity hoarding* 1. Another factor: limited social mobility → how your background relates to your adult outcomes, low in the US; ability to move through the social heirarchies ● Origins and destinations

2. Access to resources and opportunities are limited for the rich ● Ability to afford education (test prep centers, sending kids to college) ● Higher education → a college degree will increase total income - Consequences: ● Opportunity hoarding → ex: college acceptance, odds of getting into college is closely tied with family income ● Large wage gap between rich and poor: rich get wealthier while the poor remain immobile which continue to push the cycle of the wage gap and poverty 3.What is questionable about defining a family’s social class using their household income? In your answer, describe what the concept of class is measuring, and why many sociologists favor other ways of measuring it than family income. - Social class is a concept used to distinguish groups of people based on their social and economic position in their society. Thesis: Defining a family’s social class using solely household income does not account for intergenerational wealth and socioeconomic status. - Definition of class → combination of income, occupation, and socioeconomic status in society to measure someone's position in society 1. Income is not representative of one’s entire social class because it doesn't account for education, occupation, and overall wealth ● Class takes into account all of these factors because just income 2. Defining social class using household income does not account for social mobility and the way that one’s origins can influence their destinations - Household income does not display intergenerational wealth - Income is the amount of money over a particular period whereas wealth is the net value of all assets therefore, income is not representative of someone's wealth ● A person can have a lot of assets, but no income and still be super wealthy so measuring someone's social class by income doesnt show their actual wealth and social class - An alternative way of measuring social class is by socioeconomic status which is a broad definition of someone's social class based on factors such as income,

Thesis: Both racial and gender inequality are prevalent in society because they both experience prejudice and discrimination of minority groups. Racial and gender inequality differ on the consistency throughout the geographic location. Race → categorizing people based on their physical characteristics Ethnicity → categorizing people based on their cultural customs, traditions, etc. Similar: - Both target a minority (prejudice and discrimination for both) - Usual a gap between minority and everyone else (pay gap with gender and educational gap/income with race) - Always a “superior” group (men and white people) Transition: - You can choose your gender, but race is mostly set: Different: - Gender inequality is consistent across the world between men and women - Racial inequality is dependent on the location and what the majority of the population is. For instance, if you are a hispanic in America versus Hispanic in a hispanic country, inequality will be different - Different groups are targeted based on geographic location and which groups are competing to stay dominant 6. What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination? How do these concepts help us account for social hierarchies? Choose a specific example and explain. Thesis: Prejudice and discrimination while containing similar biased ideology have different forms of presentation in the world. Because of their impact, they create and maintain social hierarchies. - Prejudice → negative beliefs, feelings, or attitudes held about entire groups based upon subjective, selective, or inaccurate information; ideas - Discrimination → acting upon those prejudices to put certain groups down; actions - Discrimination stems from ideas of prejudice which promote certain groups over others, thereby placing people into categories based off a stereotype or idea - Social hierarchies → societies categorization of individuals or groups based off power and status

- One prime example is the KKK in which white supremacist viewed their white race as superior to other races. They felt the need to maintain their power status and had negative ideas of others which displayed their form or prejudice. However, the KKK acted upon these beliefs which is an active form of discrimination in which they committed awful crimes against people of color or anyone who did not include their specific social group. 7. Grandma Hafter like to say, “if only we could see ourselves as others see us.” Although not known for her contributions to sociological theory, at least one introductory class in sociology voted this insight to be more valuable than Karl Marx’s theories (albeit by a narrow margin). What is the significance of this quote? What social theor(ies) of interaction does this help elaborate? Grandma Hafter referred to the concept of the looking glass self when saying this heavily influential quote. This helps us understand socialization as well as interactionism in the social world. Grandma Hafter’s saying represents the looking glass self → developing a sense of self through other people - Self understandings depending on how others view us - How we see ourselves based on our interactions with other people - We all want a positive sense of self and we are driven by introspection - Socialization → learning acceptable social behavior through interacting with society to avoid standing out ● Through family structures, parents influence us, and also through schools - Helps explain the concept of personal identity → how we see ourselves as distinct individuals and the things that separate us - Significant because we choose to fit into social norms so that we don't stand out in society - Interactionism → meade → according to meade, we can only know ourselves through the eyes of others ● Self awareness and self image is a product of social experience 8. Define the concept of social structure. How does social structure influence individual behavior and social outcomes? Provide examples to support your answer.