Chapter 9 Notes

9.1 What Is Social Stratification?

Stratification systems are either closed, meaning they allow little change in social position, or open, meaning they allow movement and interaction between the layers. A caste system is one in which social standing is based on ascribed status or birth. Class systems are open, with achievement playing a role in social position. People fall into classes based on factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation. A meritocracy is a system of social stratification that confers standing based on personal worth, rewarding effort.

In the United States, most people define themselves as:

middle class

Occupational prestige means that jobs are:

not equally valued

Which graphic concept best illustrates the concept of social stratification?

pyramid

Social stratification is a system that:

ranks society members into categories.

The basic premise of the Davis-Moore thesis is that the unequal distribution of rewards in social stratification:

serves a purpose in society.

class system

social standing based on social factors and individual accomplishments.

social mobility

the ability to change positions within a social stratification system.

conspicuous consumption

the act of buying and using products to make a statement about social standing. ex: Some people buy expensive trendy sneakers even though they will never wear them to jog or play sports. A $17,000 car provides transportation as easily as a $100,000 vehicle, but the luxury car makes a social statement that the less expensive car can't live up to

The GNI PPP figure represents:

the average annual income of a country's citizens.

status consistency

the consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual's rank across social categories like income, education, and occupation.

standard of living

the level of wealth available to acquire material goods and comforts to maintain a particular socioeconomic lifestyle.

income

the money a person earns from work or investments.

class traits

the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class (also called class markers).

wealth

the value of money and assets a person has from, for example, inheritance.

endogamous marriages

unions of people within the same social category.

exogamous unions

unions of spouses from different social categories.

9.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification

Social stratification can be examined from different sociological perspectives—functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. The functionalist perspective states that systems exist in society for good reasons. Conflict theorists observe that stratification promotes inequality, such as between rich business owners and poor workers. Symbolic interactionists examine stratification from a micro-level perspective. They observe how social standing affects people's everyday interactions and how the concept of "social class" is constructed and maintained through everyday interactions.

Which statement represents stratification from the perspective of symbolic interactionism?

After work, Pat, a janitor, feels more comfortable eating in a truck stop than a French restaurant

Which of the following scenarios is an example of intragenerational mobility?

An executive belongs to a different class than her parents.

Unlike Davis and Moore, Melvin Tumin believed that, because of social stratification, some qualified people were _______ higher-level job positions.

denied the opportunity to obtain.

When Karl Marx said workers experience alienation, he meant that workers:

do not feel connected to their work.

Based on meritocracy, a physician's assistant would:

earn a pay raise for doing excellent work.

Conflict theorists view capitalists as those who:

get rich while workers stay poor.

Which statement illustrates low status consistency?

A college dropout launches an online company that earns millions in its first year.

Which person best illustrates opportunities for upward social mobility in the United States?

First-generation college student

9.3 Global Stratification and Inequality

Global stratification compares the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries as a whole. By comparing income and productivity between nations, researchers can better identify global inequalities.

What factor makes caste systems closed?

People cannot change their social standings.

9.2 Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States

There are three main classes in the United States: upper, middle, and lower class. Social mobility describes a shift from one social class to another. Class traits, also called class markers, are the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class.

What factor makes class systems open?

They allow for movement between the classes.

Intersectionality ("Intersection of Oppressions")

This concept is the multi-dimensional social location we inhabit that considers the different social statuses we hold, and their corresponding social privilege and oppression. If we only focus on one social status of a person, then we tell a half-truth about their experience. Most of us will have experiences with both privilege and oppression. For example: A white, working class, gay man will experience both privilege and oppression: Race—White—Social privilege Social Class—Working Class—Social oppression Sexual Orientation—Gay—Social oppression Gender—Man—Social privilege Remember, the presence of privilege doesn't negate the presence of hardships. These experiences work together to create a unique experience.

Social Stratification:

This term refers to groups of people being ranked (or stratified) as a part of social structure. See "hierarchy" for more information. Most groups are stratified by their relative amounts of wealth, power, and prestige.

Social Construction:

This term refers to the idea that a term, concept, or idea only has meaning because society deems it so. This definition is connected to the current groups in power able to establish social norms (hegemony). Remember, if a concept, idea, or definition is a fact (or objectively true), then that fact would withstand the test of time. People would (largely) think about that idea the same way in the past and it will likely remain the same in the future. However, beliefs about socially constructed concepts CHANGE ACROSS CULTURES and/or HISTORICALLY. If you can track an evolution in the ways we think about concepts (think, for example, the gender roles considered appropriate in the 1950s compared to today), then we know it is socially constructed.

Hierarchy:

This term refers to the ranking of groups, resulting in some groups receiving more privilege from society, and others receiving more oppression from society. I like to visualize a ladder: all of the groups are trying to reach the same goal (getting to the top), but some groups are placed by society on higher rungs. Remember, this is a MACRO function of our social structure. No one personally asks society for oppression or privilege—it is an unearned benefit or disadvantage as a result of social structure.

global stratification

a comparison of the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries as a whole.

Social stratification

a socioeconomic system that divides society's members into categories ranking from high to low, based on things like wealth, power, and prestige.

The behaviors, customs, and norms associated with a class are known as:

class traits

intergenerational mobility

a difference in social class between different generations of a family.

intragenerational mobility

a difference in social class between different members of the same generation.

class

a group who shares a common social status based on factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation.

Structural mobility occurs when:

a large group moves up or down the class ladder due to societal changes.

primogeniture

a law stating that all property passes to the firstborn son.

downward mobility

a lowering of one's social class.

structional mobility

a societal change that enables a whole group of people to move up or down the class ladder.

Which of these systems allows for the most social mobility?

class

caste system

a system in which people are born into a social standing that they will retain their entire lives.

Davis-Moore thesis,

a thesis that argues some social stratification is a social necessity.

Meritocracy

an ideal system in which personal effort—or merit—determines social standing.

upward mobility

an increase—or upward shift—in social class.