Sociology: Chapter 7 Social Inequality

Residential Segregation

Geographical separation of the poor from the rest of an area's population

Lower Class

Many poor people Lower literacy levels than other classes About 20% of US population

Blue Collar

Description characterizing skilled and semi skilled workers who perform manual labor or work in service or clerical jobs.

Culture of Poverty

Entrenched attitudes that develop among poor communities and lead the poor to accept their fate rather than attempt to improve their lot.

Upper Middle Class

Financially stable High educated Professionals & Managers 14% of US Population

Caste System

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

Disenfranchisement

The removal of the rights of citizenship through economic, political, or legal means.

Prestige

The social honor people are given because of their membership in well-regarded social groups

Apartheid

The system of segregation of racial and ethnic groups that was legal in South Africa between 1948 and 1991

Cultural Capital

The tastes, habit, expectations, skills, knowledge, and other cultural assets that help us gain advantages in society.

Social Inequality

The unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society.

Digital Divide

Unequal access to computer and internet technology, both globally and within the United States

Upper Class

Wealthiest in class system About 1% of US population Possess most wealth in country

Middle Class

"White-Collar" Workers Broad Range of Incomes About 30% of US population

Wealth

Measure of net worth that includes income, property, and other assets

Meritocracy

A system in which rewards are distributed based on merit.

Open System

A system with ample opportunities to move from one class to another.

Just-World Hypothesis

Argues people have a deep need to see the world as orderly, predictable, and fair, which creates a tendency to view victims of social injustice as deserving of their fates

Everyday Class Consciousness

Awareness of one's own social status and that of others.

Structural Mobility

Changes in social status of large numbers of people due to structural changes in society.

Heterogamy

Choosing romantic partners who are dissimilar to us in terms of class, race, education, religion, and other social group membership

Intersectionality

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

White Collar

Description characterizing lower-level professional and management workers and some highly skilled laborers in technical jobs

Simplicity Movement

Loosely knit movement, opposes consumerism, encourages people to work less, earn less, spend less, in accordance with nonmaterialistic values.

Hypogamy

Marrying "down" in the social class hierarchy

Hypergamy

Marrying "up" in the social class hierarchy

Socioeconomic Status

Measure of an individual's place within a social class system; often used interchangeably with "class"

Vertical social mobility

Movement between social classes and, depending on the direction, is often called either upward mobility or downward mobility.

Intragenerational mobility

Movement between social classes occurring over the course of an individual's lifetime

Absolute deprivation

Objective measure of poverty defined by the inability to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, or health care.

Horizontal social mobility

Occupational movement of individuals or groups within a social class.

Relative deprivation

Relative measure of poverty based on the standards of living.

Status inconsistency

Situation in which an individual has differing levels of status in terms of wealth power, prestige, or other elements of socioeconomic status

Closed System

System in which there is little opportunity to move from one class to another

Feudal system

System of social stratification based on hereditary nobility who were responsible for and served by a lower stratum of forced laborers called serfs.

Social Class

System of stratification based on access to resources such as wealth, property, power, and prestige. (Socioeconomic status)

Social Reproduction

Tendency of social classes to remain relatively stable as class status is passed down from one generation the next.

Homogamy

Tendency to choose romantic partners who are similar to us in terms of class, race, education, religion, and other social group membership

Social Stratification

The division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy

Slavery

The most extreme for of social stratification and is based on the legal ownership of people.

Inter generational mobility

The movement between social classes that occurs from one generation to the next

Social Mobility

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