Chapter 7
Social Mobility + Types
the movement of individuals or groups within the hierarchical system of social classes. Pg.198
Achieved Status
a status earned through individual effort or imposed by others. Pg.113
Ascribed Status
a status that is inborn; usually difficult or impossible to change Pg.113
Third Basic Principles of Social Stratification
Different societies use different criteria for ranking them. Pg.182
Systems of Stratification
Slavery, Caste, Social Class Pg.182
Second Basic Principles of Social Stratification
Social Stratification persists over generations. Pg.182
Poverty
Social mobility is most difficult - and most essential- for those who live at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. Pg.199
Vertical Social Mobility (Social Mobility Type)
The movement up or down the social ladder, and thus is often called upward or downward mobility. If this same therapist marries a president of a large corporation, he might experience upward mobility. Pg.199
Intersectionality
a concept that identifies how different categories of inequality (race, class, gender, etc.) intersect to shape the lives of individuals and groups Pg.184
Caste System
a form of social stratification in which status is determined by one's family history and background and cannot be changed. Pg.183
Weberian Theory
a person could also accumulate wealth consisting of income and property. He believed that another important element in social class has to do with prestige, the social honor granted to people because of their membership in certain groups. Pg.188
Social Class
a system of stratification based on access to such resources as wealth, property, power, and prestige. Pg.183
Poverty Line
An absolute measure, calculated annually--indicates the total annual income below which a family would be impoverished. Pg.199
Definitions of Poverty
It can be defined in relative or absolute terms. Pg.199
Relative Deprivation (Poverty)
It is a comparative measure, whereby people are considered impoverished if their standard of living is lower than that of other members of society. Pg.199
Absolute Deprivation (Poverty)
It is a measure whereby people are unable to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, and health care. Pg.199
Structural mobility (Social Mobility Type)
It occurs when large numbers of people move up or down the social ladder because of structural changes in society as a whole, particularly when the economy is affected by large-scale events. Ex: Great Depression. Pg.199
Horizontal Social Mobility (Social Mobility Type)
It refers to the changing of jobs within a social class: a therapist who shifts careers so that he can teach college experiences horizontal mobility. Pg.199
Intragenerational Mobility (Social Mobility Type)
It refers to the movement that occurs during the course of an individual's lifetime. In other words, it is the measure between the social class a person is born into and the social class status she achieves during her lifetime. Pg.198
Intergenerational Mobility (Social Mobility Type)
It refers to the movement that occurs from one generation to the next, when a child eventually moves into a different social class from that of her parents. Pg.198
Theoretical Approach to Class/Stratification
Members of a given society are categorized and divided into groups, which are then placed in a social hierarchy. Members may be grouped according to their gender, race, class, age, or other characteristics, depending on whatever criteria are important to that society. Pg.182
Fourth Basic Principles of Social Stratification
Social stratification is maintained through beliefs that are widely shared by members of society. Pg.182
First Basic Principles of Social Stratification
it is a characteristic of a society, rather than a reflection of individual differences. Pg. 182
Social Stratification
the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy. Pg.182
Slavery
the most extreme form of social stratification, based on the legal ownership of people. Pg.182