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.