SOC 134 Final Exam 2022 Schweingruber Iowa State;with
complete solution
Rationality
Sociologists view rationality as a social construction
What is rational isn't constant
Different communities have different standards of rationality
A rational behavior or statement is one that makes sense in community
Formal Rationality
Involves cost-benefit analysis (instrumentality, calculability)
"Is it more efficient?" "Can it save us money?" "Can it save us time?"
Value Rationality
Involves commitment to a binding conviction
Dominant in tradition, religion and ritual
"How did our ancestors do it?"
Bureaucracy
Large hierarchical organization governed by formal rules and regulations and having
clearly specified work tasks
McDonaldization
"The process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to
dominated more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world"
Efficiency, Calculability, Predicability, Control
Demography
the study of human population
Fertility
Mortality
Migration
When did the most population growth occur?
The past 200 years
Malthusian theory
Thomas Malthus believed that the growing world population would end in disaster
Claimed that population increases geometrically (2,4,8,16) but food production
increases arithmetically (2,3,4,5)
Demographic Transition Theory
Stage of societal development in unindustrialized countries marked by growing life
expectancy and high birthrates
Explains why populations in less-developed countries grow faster than those in more
developed countries
"Missing Girls"
In some countries, many more boys than girls are born because of sex selective
abortion
Most abortions follow the birth of one or two girls
Preference for boys over girls
Fewer children per family
Birth Cohort
complete solution
Rationality
Sociologists view rationality as a social construction
What is rational isn't constant
Different communities have different standards of rationality
A rational behavior or statement is one that makes sense in community
Formal Rationality
Involves cost-benefit analysis (instrumentality, calculability)
"Is it more efficient?" "Can it save us money?" "Can it save us time?"
Value Rationality
Involves commitment to a binding conviction
Dominant in tradition, religion and ritual
"How did our ancestors do it?"
Bureaucracy
Large hierarchical organization governed by formal rules and regulations and having
clearly specified work tasks
McDonaldization
"The process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to
dominated more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world"
Efficiency, Calculability, Predicability, Control
Demography
the study of human population
Fertility
Mortality
Migration
When did the most population growth occur?
The past 200 years
Malthusian theory
Thomas Malthus believed that the growing world population would end in disaster
Claimed that population increases geometrically (2,4,8,16) but food production
increases arithmetically (2,3,4,5)
Demographic Transition Theory
Stage of societal development in unindustrialized countries marked by growing life
expectancy and high birthrates
Explains why populations in less-developed countries grow faster than those in more
developed countries
"Missing Girls"
In some countries, many more boys than girls are born because of sex selective
abortion
Most abortions follow the birth of one or two girls
Preference for boys over girls
Fewer children per family
Birth Cohort
