Social Institutions: Education and Family (9A) - MCAT Psychological and Social Foundations

Socialization. Primary agents teaching cultural expectations and social behaviors.

A group that regulates reproduction, socialization, and support. Primary unit for child-rearing and emotional care.

Two parents and their dependent children in one household. Most common family form in industrialized societies.

Reproduction of social inequality and class stratification. Schools maintain existing power structures by favoring dominant groups.

Formal transmission of knowledge and job skills. Functionalists see schools as teaching skills needed for the workforce.

Authoritarian parenting. Emphasizes obedience and discipline over emotional connection.

Authoritative parenting. Balances responsiveness with clear expectations and boundaries.

Marriage outside one’s social group. Promotes genetic diversity and creates alliances between groups.

Marriage within the same social group. Maintains group boundaries and preserves cultural traditions.

Norm prohibiting sexual relations between close kin. Universal cultural rule that promotes genetic diversity and social bonds.

Family formed by remarriage that includes step-relations. Combines children from previous relationships into one household.

Household network including relatives beyond parents and children. Common in collectivist cultures; provides broader support networks.

Two parents and their dependent children in one household. The traditional Western family model, distinct from extended families.

Unequal access to technology and internet resources. Creates educational disadvantages for students without tech access.

Persistent group differences in academic performance outcomes. Often measured by test scores, graduation rates, or college enrollment.

Expectations shape behavior, causing the expected outcome. People internalize others' expectations and act accordingly.

Higher teacher expectations produce higher student performance. Teachers' positive beliefs become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Separating students into different course levels by perceived ability. Creates different educational paths that often reinforce inequality.

Intergenerational transmission of class advantages via schools. Schools help wealthy families maintain their children's class position.

Valued cultural knowledge and dispositions that aid success. Elite families pass advantages through cultural knowledge and behaviors.

Socialization into norms and values. Schools unintentionally teach shared cultural values and social rules.

Teaching academic skills and knowledge to prepare students for work. The intended, openly stated goals of formal education.

Socialization into norms and values beyond explicit instruction. Unintended social learning that occurs alongside formal curriculum.

Performance impairment from anxiety about confirming a negative stereotype. Steele's concept of how stereotype awareness harms test performance.

Family formed when partners bring children from previous relationships. Stepfamilies created through remarriage with existing children.

Two parents and their dependent children living as one household unit. The traditional Western family model of isolated conjugal unit.

Household including relatives beyond parents and children (for example, grandparents). Multiple generations or lateral kin sharing resources and residence.

Family in which one parent is the primary caregiver in the household. Increasingly common structure due to divorce and non-marital births.

Expectations elicit behaviors that make the expected outcome more likely. Rosenthal effect where beliefs shape reality through changed behavior.