positive and negative sanctions

conformity brings rewards

nonconformity carries penalties

social control

means by which members of society encourage conformity to norms

informal social control

conformity to norms that are formally stated procedure

(laws: written formal norms enforced by the state)

conformity

obedience

deviance 

behavior that violates the norms of a group or society

violation of formal or informal norms

what is "deviant" is not set in stone

• differs across and within cultures
• changes over time
• anomie

anomie

social condition where norms lose their hold on social behavior

• ex) war zone- just do what keeps you alive

functionalist perspective of deviance

• deviance can be both functional and dysfunctional for society
• helps to define acceptable behavior; contributes to social stability
• can rise to a level where social stability is disrupted

conflict perspective of deviance

• definition of deviance serves the interests of elites
• control the criminal justice and legal system 
• law is an instrument of oppression

internationalist perspective of deviance

• differential association theory
• not just techniques, but motives and rationalizations, values and norms
• what is "deviant" and how we understand that depends on group membership
• labeling theory

differential association theory

labeling theory

• notion that social labels shape self perception and perceptions of others
• labels channel behavior into deviance or conformity
• who has power to apply labels

crime

• the violation of norms codified into law
• enforced by state appointed authorities, through the use of formal sanctions 
• most crime is non-violent and not random

why the decline in crime?

• economic expansion of the late 1990s
• tapering off of crack epidemic
• new initiatives in community policing
• new gun control laws
• increasing size of prison population
• population aging

• very high compared to other developing nations
• has been suggested that Americans live in a culture of fear

the trouble with crime statistics

• police reports
• vicitmization surveys 
• under-reporting is a major issue

social stratification

• structured hierarchical ranking of social groups; the structure of groups inequality
• often conceptualized in terms of wealth/power but can be based on race, gender, etc 

main question of social stratification

how are rewards distributed?

how does this shape power, privilege, and opportunity?

social class

hierarchical group rankings based on economic posiction

measured by income, wealth, & occupational prestige  

income

wealth

why is income inequality increasing in the us?

• globalization and economic restructuring 
• loss of ground among less educated
• move toward regressive tax policies
• changes in pay structures 

occupational prestige

functionalist perspective of stratification

• it is universal; system of differential rewards and punishments necessary for the efficient operation of society
• motivates people to fill positions that society needs filled

conflict perspective of stratification

• it is universal; comeption btw groups over scarce resources results in an inherent social dynamic
• key question in understanding society: who has wealth and power and who does not

Karl Marx

• class differentiation: the crucial determinant of society inequality
• class struggle: result of the conflict between owners (capitalists) and workers (proletariat)
• who owns the means of production

Max Weber

• stratification not just about social class
• three distinct components of stratification: class, status, & power

class

status

power

life chances

opportunities to obtain material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences

social mobility

open system of stratification

positions mainly influenced by achieved statuses 

encourages competition among members of society

closed system of stratification

present little or no possibility of social mobility

positions mainly influenced by ascribe statuses 

absolute poverty

relative poverty

metric of deprivation

• income: value of money
• wealth: value of assets
• material hardship: housing, bills...
• social exclusion: connections to society or not

official US definition of poverty

• absolute, income-based, defined at the family-level
• poverty thresholds depend on family size and ages of family members
• market basket of goods (food $ X3)
• do not adjust for geographic differences in cost of living, non-cash transfer payments

facts about poverty

• work attachment greatly reduces odds of being poor
• but most poor adults do work (more of a question of wages, hours)

time in poverty

• most poverty occurs in spells of less than 1 year
• a small minority (~10%) of the poor remain in poverty of 5+ consecutive years

race and poverty

disproportionate impact on racial/ethnic minorities

• whites: 8.6%
• blacks: 24.7%
• hispanics: 23.2%

family structure and poverty

disproportionate impact on single female-headed families

• married-couple fam: 5.5%
• single-female fam: 28.7%

welfare and poverty

• most poor do not recieve welfare
• wage and salary income constitutes the majority of income among the poor
• even among those eligible, most no longer receive benefits 

geography and poverty

• high & concentrated poverty in inner cities
• but most live outside inner city
• rates consistently higher in rural areas

racial groups

groupings based on social significant physical characteristics (skin color) and beliefs about common ancestry 

ethnic groups

based on common geographic origin and distinctive cultrual characteristics (lang, religion, dress)

ex: latino, irish 

social construction of race/ethnicity

• social factors (history, culture, politics) have a major role in shaping the meaning of race
• profound social significance
• ex: the one drop rule

social construction of race/ethnicity continued 

• ascribed statuses
• often master statuses
• profound impact on life chances

minority groups

• group whose members are somehow distinct or separate from the dominant (majority) group
• based on social significance and power (not numerical)

census 2000

• white, non-hispanic: 70%
• african american: 12%
• hispanic: 13%
• more Hispanics than blacks 

2100 (projected)

white: 40%

african american: 13%

hispanic: 33%

asian: 14%

immigrants

• greater #s immigrating today than in any previous period in history
• ~10% of US pop foreign born; plus kids= ~20%
• primarily from latin america & asia

patterns of racial/ethnic inequality

• increasing number of minorities achieving economic and social assimilation, but clear patterns of inequality persist
• in 2000 ave life expectancy of blacks was almost 6 years shorter than whites
• infant mortality rate in blacks twice as high

high school dropout rate

• whites: 7.3%
• blacks: 10.9%
• hispanics: 27%

public opinion

• majority of whites hold positive view of race relations; minority of blacks agree
• b/c of differences in social experiences

prejudice

racism

discrimination

the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals & groups

institutional discrimination

discrimination built into society's institutions

systematic rather than that of an individual

william j wilson

• early periods characterized by overt racial oppression (slavery)
• civil rights movement broke down many barriers

victories of the civil rights movement

• allowed upward mobility for many blacks and a growing black middle class
• left many others mired in "urban underclass"
• less about race than it is about poverty and lack of jobs

massey and denton

• little evidence of declining residential segregation
• history and persistence of racial segregation, particularly its urban form:
• perpetual black disadvantage and racial polarization

sex

gender

• socially constructed
• ascribed and often master status
• learned through the process of socialization
• taught by agents of socialization (school, family, peers)

functionalist perspective of gender stratification 

• gender-role differentiation contributes to social stability
• clarifies role expectations
• ex) helps define division of labor in the economy and the household

conflict perspective of gender stratification

• gender relations are characterized by unequal power
• men hold greater power in most societies than women

sexism

ideology that one sex is superior to the other

typically refers to ideologies of male superiority

gender discrimination

refers to unequal treatment on the basis of gender identity

not always based on sexism, just treating males and females differently

gender is dynamic due to:

changing norms (gender roles)

changing economy; more women in work force

cross-cultural variation

women in the american workforce

• increased throughout 20th century
• opportunity structure differs:
• female jobs= less pay
• institutional discrimination, & occupational segregation

the "second shift"

• balancing the demands of work outside of the home with work inside the home
• clear gender gap in help with housework
• tension, strain and conflict