Chapter 9

Class system (open)

Based on both social factors and individual achievement. A class consists of people who share similar characteristics such as wealth, income, education, and occupation. Occupation is not fixed at birth.

What seems to be the key (although not the rule) to upward social mobility?

How much education you have

What is particularly unique about the United States' middle class?

It is broken into two subcategories: Upper and lower middle class

Whose work do conflict theorists rely on to help form their arguments surrounding social stratification?

Karl Marx

Symbolic interactionists have come to the conclusion that:

Most people only socialize with other people in their same social class.

Caste system (closed)

People are born into their social standing and will remain in it their whole lives. People are assigned occupations regardless of interests, talents, or potential. There is virtually no opportunities to improve a person's social position

One main issue in studying global social inequality is:

Social inequality is relative and therefore difficult to compare across cultures

Structural mobility

Societal changes enable a whole group of people to move up or down the social class ladder

The Davis-Moore thesis states:

That the more society values a particular profession, the more the people in that profession will make.

Which historical event was greatly responsible for global stratification as we see it today?

The Industrial Revolution

Social mobility

The ability to change positions within a social stratification system. Can be upward or downward

Social consistency

The consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual's rank across factors such as income, education, and occupation

What is the most significant threat to the relatively high standard of living people are accustomed to in the United States?

The decline of the middle class

Standard of living

The level of wealth available to a certain socioeconomic class in order to acquire the material necessities and comforts to maintain its lifestyle Based on income, employment, class, poverty rates, and housing affordability The Unites States has seen a steady rise in quality of life in the last century

Class traits (class markers)

Typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class

In class systems, people have the option to form exogamous marriages, which means:

Unions of spouses from different social categories.

Since the social classes in the United States do not have any clear boundaries, how is a sociologist supposed to determine whether their subjects are in the upper class or the upper-middle class?

Upper class is often defined as having control over one's own life and the lives of the people around you, while the upper-middle class is often defined as having control only over one's own life.

What are the subdivisions of the upper class?

Upper income and lower upper income

What are the subdivisions of the middle class?

Upper middle income and middle income

Old money

Wealth has been passed down for generations and people are taught the customs and lifestyle of the upper class

New money

Wealth that someone earned themselves

Intragenerational mobility

Within a person's lifetime

What are the subdivisions of the lower class?

Working class, upper lower class, and lower class or Working class, working poor, and underclass

Social stratification

a society's categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power

Davis-Moore Thesis

argues that the greater the functional importance of a social role, the greater must be the reward Social stratification represents the inherently unequal value of different work Jobs requiring more skill should pay more to encourage people to get the training necessary to do those jobs

Global Stratification

compares the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries across the world Highlights worldwide patterns of social inequality

Absolute poverty

deprivation so severe it puts survival in jeopardy

Relative poverty

not having the means to live the lifestyle of the average person in your country

In most societies, stratification is determined by:

wealth and income

Which factor is considered when evaluating someone's standard of living? Income Employment Class

All of the above

Meritocracy

An ideal system based on the belief that social stratification is the result of personal effort that results in social standing High effort=high social standing No society has ever been a complete meritocracy

Intergenerational mobility

As compared to a parent or child