Chapter 8 Sociology terms

Middle class

A social class made up of skilled workers, professionals, business people, and wealthy farmers. There is to types a upper and lower. It accounts for 44% of the American class.

_____ refers to a situation in which a person does not have enough money to afford the basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, and shelter.

Absolute poverty

True or False (2): There are more poor latinos than whites.

False

_____ is movement up or down the class hierarchy relative to the position of one's parents.

Intergenerational mobility

Which of the following best describes the poverty line?

It is the minimal income level that the federal government considers necessary for basic subsistence.

Which of the following is a criticism of the Davis-Moore thesis?

It overlooks the many ways that stratification limits upward mobility.

Which of the following is a characteristic of a caste system?

It positions people in the form of a hierarchy.

Which of the following is true of modernization theory?

It states that policy makers of low-income countries adhere to traditional customs that isolate and prevent them from competing in a global economy.

_____ is movement from one social class to another.

Social Mobility

_____ focus on how people create, change, and reproduce social classes.

Symbolic interactionists

Which of the following is true of working-class people?

They are skilled and semiskilled laborers.

Which of the following is true of the upper-upper-class people?

They rarely appear on the lists of wealthiest individuals published by magazines.

Lower class

This class accounts for 15% of the American class structure. This group of people are at the bottom of the economic ladder because they have little education, few occupational skills, work in minimum wage jobs, or are often unemployed. Most of this class are poor. There are two types of this class which are working poor and underclass.

Lower-Middle class

This class accounts for 30% of the 44%. It is more diverse than its counterpart. It is composed of people in nonmanual occupations that require some training beyond high school and professional occupations that require a college managers.

Working class

This class accounts for 38% of the American class structure. This group includes skilled and semiskilled laborers (ex. construction and assembly-line workers). These individuals become overwhelmed when borrowers suffer setbacks like divorce, illness, or job less.

Upper-Middle class

This class accounts for only 14% of the 44%. It is made up of Upper-level managers, professionals, medium sized business owners.

(1) True or False: Wealth is cumulative.

True (1)

Which of the following is a difference between the upper-middle class and the lower-middle class?

Upper-middle-class jobs have considerable on-the-job autonomy, whereas lower-middle-class jobs have less autonomy.

Who among the following individuals has a higher prestige occupation?

Wendy, who is a physician and has been practicing for nearly 15 years

Social Stratification

a hierarchical ranking of people in a society who have different access to valued resources.

Power Elite

a small group of white men who make the important decisions in U.S. society.

Meritocracy

a society that rewards individuals for what they do and how well, rather than on the basis of their ascribed status. It is also the belief that social stratification is based on people's accomplishments.

Socioeconomic status (SES)

an overall ranking of peoples positions based on their income, education, and occupation.

Structural factors

are changes in the economy, government policies and programs, immigration.

Demographic factors

are education, gender, race and ethnicity.

Individual factors

are family background, socialization, connections and chance.

Underclass

are people who are persistently poor and seldom employed, residentially segregated, and relatively isolated from the rest of the population.

Working poor

are people who spend 27 weeks or more in a year in the labor force either working or looking for work but whose incomes fall below the poverty level.

Low-income countries

are the least industrialized and largely agricultural. Many people are impoverished with low standard of living.

Bourgeoisie

are those who own and control capital and the means of production.

Proletariat

are workers who sell their labor for wages.

World System Theory

argues that high-income countries extract raw materials from low-income countries and set export prices. (Wallerstein)

The Indian caste system is an example of a(n) _____ stratification system.

closed

Dependency theory

contends that low-income countries are exploited and dominated by high-income countries.

Megan has a high-paying job in the software industry. She has a degree in engineering. Unlike many of her peers who do not have a college degree, Megan has often received promotions because of her high educational qualifications. This scenario illustrates that Megan's upward social mobility can be attributed to _____.

demographic factors

High-income countries

have a developed industrial economy and 96% of the world's income.

Middle-income countries

have a developing industrial economy and a lower GNI per capital.

Feminization poor

higher likelihood that female heads of households will be poor.

Forced labor

individual is forced to work against his/her will with threat of violence.

An important measure of a country's health is its _____.

infant mortality rate

Carol's parents are both blue-collar workers. Carol pursues a career in law and eventually starts her own law firm, allowing her to hold a higher prestige occupation in society. In this scenario, Carol experiences _____.

intergenerational mobility

Social class

is a group of people who have a similar standing or rank in a society based on wealth, education, power, prestige, and other valued resources.

Social mobility

is a person's ability to move up or down in the stratification hierarchy.

Job deskilling

is a reduction in the proficiency needed to perform a specific job that leads to a corresponding reduction in the wages for that job.

Caste systems

is a system in which people's positions are ascribed at birth and largely fixed.

Wealth

is an economic assets that a person or family owns.

Absolute property

is defined as not having enough money to afford the most basic necessities.

Relative property

is defined as not having enough money to maintain an average standard of living.

Power

is the ability of individuals to achieve goals, control events, and maintain influence over others despite opposition. It is based on tradition, personal charisma, and social class.

Intergenerational mobility

is the degree to which one is better or worse off then one's parents. Ex. If Ashley's parents were blue-collar workers, her upward movement to the middle class is an example of this mobility.

Intragenerational mobility

is the extent to which an individual experiences upward or downward mobility.

The David-Moore Thesis

is the functionalist view that social stratification benefits a society. It explains that every society must fill a wide variety of positions and ensure that people accomplish important tasks. Some positions are more crucial that others for a society's survival.

Income

is the money a person receives, usually through wages or salaries, but can also include other earnings.

Horizontal mobility

is the moving from one position to another at the same level.

Vertical mobility

is the moving up or down the stratification ladder.

Prestige

is the respect or recognition attached to social positions. It is based on many criteria including wealth, family background, power, and accomplishments.

Slavery system

is where people own others as property and have almost total control over their lives.

Open stratification system

is where social classes are relatively fluid and based on your achieved status.

Debt bondage

labor pledged against a loan that can be too high to pay off and passed on for generations.

The most prestigious occupations require _______________________________.

more formal education

Explanations blaming society

most research supports structural causes over individual ones.

Closed stratification system

movement from one social position to another is limited due to ascribed statuses. Based on skin color, sex, orr family background.

Lower-Upper class people are

much more diverse than the upper-upper class. It is the nouveau riche, those with new money. They amassed fortunes several generations ago. Ex. Beyoncé and Mark Zuckerberg worked for their income rather than inherited it. This class also includes high-level managers of international corporations, those who earn at least a million dollars a year, and some highly paid athletes and actors, but the lifestyles vary considerably. This class accounts for 2%.

Chattel slavery

people are bought and sold as commodities.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

people create and share stratification. It involves the social position affects attitudes, behaviors, and lifestyle. People socialize their children to acquire and use the symbols of their class.

Immigration is an example of a ___________________ factor that affects social mobility.

structural

Corporate welfare

subsidizes business rather than workers—subsidies, tax breaks, direct assistance.

Modernization theory

suggests that low-income countries lack modern, progressive cultures.

Property line

the minimal level of income that the federal government considers necessary for basic subsistence. It is Used to determine eligibility for government assistance

Upper-Upper class people are

the old rich who have been wealthy for generations. Because they value their privacy and rarely appear on the lists of wealthiest individuals published by Forbes or other sources.

To determine the poverty line, the Department of Agriculture (DOA) estimates the annual cost of food that meets minimum nutritional guidelines and then multiplies this figure by _____ to cover the minimum cost of clothing, housing, health care, and other necessities.

three

The term _____ refers to people who are persistently poor and seldom employed, residentially segregated, and relatively isolated from the rest of the population.

underclass

Gender stratification

unequal access to wealth, power, status, prestige, and other valued resource because of one's sex.

People who work at least 27 weeks a year but whose wages fall below the official poverty level are collectively known as the _____.

working poor