Chapter 7

Social Mobility + Types

the movement of individuals or groups within the hierarchical system of social classes. Pg.198

Achieved Status

a status earned through individual effort or imposed by others. Pg.113

Ascribed Status

a status that is inborn; usually difficult or impossible to change Pg.113

Third Basic Principles of Social Stratification

Different societies use different criteria for ranking them. Pg.182

Systems of Stratification

Slavery, Caste, Social Class Pg.182

Second Basic Principles of Social Stratification

Social Stratification persists over generations. Pg.182

Poverty

Social mobility is most difficult - and most essential- for those who live at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. Pg.199

Vertical Social Mobility (Social Mobility Type)

The movement up or down the social ladder, and thus is often called upward or downward mobility. If this same therapist marries a president of a large corporation, he might experience upward mobility. Pg.199

Intersectionality

a concept that identifies how different categories of inequality (race, class, gender, etc.) intersect to shape the lives of individuals and groups Pg.184

Caste System

a form of social stratification in which status is determined by one's family history and background and cannot be changed. Pg.183

Weberian Theory

a person could also accumulate wealth consisting of income and property. He believed that another important element in social class has to do with prestige, the social honor granted to people because of their membership in certain groups. Pg.188

Social Class

a system of stratification based on access to such resources as wealth, property, power, and prestige. Pg.183

Poverty Line

An absolute measure, calculated annually--indicates the total annual income below which a family would be impoverished. Pg.199

Definitions of Poverty

It can be defined in relative or absolute terms. Pg.199

Relative Deprivation (Poverty)

It is a comparative measure, whereby people are considered impoverished if their standard of living is lower than that of other members of society. Pg.199

Absolute Deprivation (Poverty)

It is a measure whereby people are unable to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, and health care. Pg.199

Structural mobility (Social Mobility Type)

It occurs when large numbers of people move up or down the social ladder because of structural changes in society as a whole, particularly when the economy is affected by large-scale events. Ex: Great Depression. Pg.199

Horizontal Social Mobility (Social Mobility Type)

It refers to the changing of jobs within a social class: a therapist who shifts careers so that he can teach college experiences horizontal mobility. Pg.199

Intragenerational Mobility (Social Mobility Type)

It refers to the movement that occurs during the course of an individual's lifetime. In other words, it is the measure between the social class a person is born into and the social class status she achieves during her lifetime. Pg.198

Intergenerational Mobility (Social Mobility Type)

It refers to the movement that occurs from one generation to the next, when a child eventually moves into a different social class from that of her parents. Pg.198

Theoretical Approach to Class/Stratification

Members of a given society are categorized and divided into groups, which are then placed in a social hierarchy. Members may be grouped according to their gender, race, class, age, or other characteristics, depending on whatever criteria are important to that society. Pg.182

Fourth Basic Principles of Social Stratification

Social stratification is maintained through beliefs that are widely shared by members of society. Pg.182

First Basic Principles of Social Stratification

it is a characteristic of a society, rather than a reflection of individual differences. Pg. 182

Social Stratification

the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy. Pg.182

Slavery

the most extreme form of social stratification, based on the legal ownership of people. Pg.182