Chapter 7 Sociolgy

What are Systems of Stratification?

Slavery is the most extreme form of social stratification and is based on the legal ownership of people.

What is Social Inequality?

Social inequality is the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society.

Upper class

The upper class: Wealthiest people in a class system Make up about 1% of the U.S. population Possess most of the wealth of the country

Upper-middle class

The upper-middle class: Professionals and managers Make up about 14% of the U.S. population

Working (lower-middle) class

The working (lower-middle) class: "Blue-collar" or service industry workers Less likely to have college degrees Make up about 30% of the U.S. population

What is Apartheid?

Apartheid is the term for the system of segregation of racial and ethnic groups that was legal in South Africa between 1948 and 1991.

Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances

Belonging to a certain social class has profound consequences for individuals in all areas of life, including education, employment, and medical care.

Horizontal social mobility VS Vertical social mobility

Horizontal social mobility is the occupational movement of individuals or groups within a social class. Vertical social mobility is the movement between social classes and, depending on the direction, is often called either upward mobility or downward mobility.

What is poverty?

In the United States, the federal poverty line (an absolute measure of annual income) is frequently used to determine who should be categorized as poor.

Intergenerational VS Intragenerational

Intergenerational mobility is the movement between social classes that occurs from one generation to the next. Intragenerational mobility is the movement between social classes that occurs over the course of an individual's lifetime.

What did Karl Marx believe in?

Karl Marx believed that there were two main social classes in capitalist societies: Capitalists (or bourgeoisie), who owned the means of production Workers (or proletariat), who sold their labor for wages He believed that the classes would remain divided and social inequality

What did Max Weber believe in?

Max Weber offered a similar model that also included cultural factors. He argued that class status was made of three components: Wealth (or privilege) Power Prestige

What did Pierre Bourdieu believe in?

More recently, Pierre Bourdieu attempted to explain social reproduction, the tendency for social-class status to be passed down from one generation to the next. According to Bourdieu, this happens because each generation acquires cultural capital (tastes, habits, expectations, skills, knowledge, etc.), which helps us to gain advantages in society. This cultural capital either helps or hinders us as we become adults.

What is relative deprivation?

Relative deprivation is a relative measure of poverty based on the standards of living. People are considered poor if their standard of living is less than that of other members of society.

What is Social Stratification?

Social stratification is the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy. Every society has some form of stratification, but societies stratify people according to a variety of criteria (such as race, class, and gender).

What is Structural mobility?

Structural mobility refers to changes in the social status of large numbers of people due to structural changes in society.

System stratification.

Suggests that the system of stratification that has emerged is functional to society in many ways: Certain roles are more important for the functioning of society, and these roles may be more difficult to fill, so more incentive is needed. Greater rewards are necessary for work that requires more training or skill.

What is the culture of poverty?

The culture of poverty refers to learned attitudes that can develop among poor communities and lead the poor to accept their fate rather than attempt to improve their situation.

What is the ideology of the American Dream?

The ideology of the American Dream (that anyone can achieve material success if he or she works hard enough) explains and justifies our social system, but it has been criticized for legitimizing stratification by implying that everyone has the same opportunity to get ahead.

Lower class

The lower class: Many poor people, who typically have lower levels of literacy than other classes Make up about 20% of the U.S. population

Middle class

The middle class consists primarily of "White-collar" workers Have a broad range of incomes Make up about 30% of the U.S. population

What is a caste system?

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

What dose social class refer to?

Social class refers to a system of stratification based on access to resources such as wealth, property, power, and prestige. Sociologists often refer to it as socioeconomic status (or SES).

Social Mobility

Social mobility is the movement of individuals or groups within the hierarchical system of social classes. A closed system is one in which there is very little opportunity to move from one class to another. An open system is one with ample opportunities to move from one class to another.