Soc. Concepts
What is the sociological imagination?
C. Wright Mills's concept connecting personal experiences to larger social forces and historical contexts.
Which theory focuses on how society's institutions work together to maintain stability?
Structural Functionalism
What is social stratification?
The structured ranking of people or groups into unequal social positions.
Name one social problem that sociologists study.
Poverty, Housing/Homelessness, Racism, Sexism, Unemployment, Educational inequality...
Is bullying only an individual problem? Give one sociological factor that could influence it.
No. Peer norms, school climate, social hierarchies, and institutional responses can influence bullying.
The racial categories to identify racial groups change over time and are created by people in power
Which theory examines how power and competition over resources create inequality?
Conflict Theory
What is the difference between income and wealth?
Income is money received over time; wealth is the value of assets minus debts.
Why might sociologists argue that poverty is more than an individual's personal failure?
Because social structures, labor markets, education, discrimination, and policy can shape opportunities and resources.
How might a sociologist investigate why some students have less access to technology? (this is a question about study design)
They could compare access by income, location, school resources, and other factors using surveys, interviews, or available data.
What is the wage gap?
Data that shows women make less money than men for the same work (also differs by race)
Which theory explores how people create meaning through everyday interactions?
Symbolic Interactionism
What does intersectionality help sociologists understand?
How overlapping systems of inequality shape people's experiences and opportunities.
How can housing segregation contribute to unequal educational opportunities?
Segregation can shape school funding, access to resources, neighborhood conditions, and educational opportunities.
A student loses a job during economic collapse. Explain how this illustrates the connection between personal troubles and public issues.
The job loss is a personal experience connected to broader economic conditions affecting many people at the same time. Ex- housing market crash, unemployment rates sky rocketing during COVID19...
What is the achievement gap in education?
How educational scholars have studied differences in academic performance between racial groups
A school teaches students different expectations based on social class, reproducing inequality. Which theory might focus on this process, and why?
Conflict theory, because it examines how institutions reproduce unequal power and advantage.
Provide an example of how person's race, gender, and social class interact to shape access to healthcare?
Black women & infant mortality rates; Immigrant women and access to quality healthcare...
A community has high unemployment despite residents actively seeking work. Identify two structural factors that might contribute.
Limited local jobs, transportation barriers, discrimination, inadequate childcare, or mismatch between available jobs and training.
You are wanting to address student test anxiety - Name one policy-level solution and explain how you would evaluate whether it works.
Answers vary (up to me to determine)
Identifies structural intervention and measurable outcomes
What is deviance?
a violation of established contextual, cultural, or social norms; whether formal or informal
Explain how functionalism and conflict theory might offer different explanations for poverty.
Functionalism might examine poverty's relationship to social systems and their functions; conflict theory emphasizes unequal resources, power, and structural barriers.
A policy treats everyone exactly the same, but some groups still face greater barriers. Explain how equality and equity differ in this example.
Equality provides the same treatment; equity accounts for different barriers and needs to pursue fairer outcomes.
Choose a current social problem and explain how an individual-level explanation differs from a structural explanation.
Responses will vary (up to me to determine)
Answers may vary - up to me to determine