Sociology Chapter 8
Conspicuous consumption
A lavish spending on a goods and services to display one's social status and enhance ones prestige
Cultural Capitol
Advanced degrees and assets such as style of speech, table manners, and physical appearances What you know
Open system
Allows movement up or down because people's achievements affect mobility
Gender pay gap
The overall income difference between women and men in the workplace
Modernization theory
Claims that low income countries are poor because their leaders don't have the attitudes and values that lead to experimentation and using modern technology
Symbolic interactionists
Focuses on how people create, change, and reproduce social classes Social context shape social class and affects mobility Socialize children differently
World System theory
Argues that "the economic realities of the world system help rich countries stay rich while poor countries stay poor"
Prestige
Based on wealth, family background, power and accomplishments
Income
Can include rent, interest on savings accounts Usually spent on everyday expenses
Lower-middle class
Composed of people in non manual occupations that require some training beyond high school Most rely on 2 incomes to maintain a comfortable standard of living
Working class
Consists of skilled and semiskilled laborers Most occupations are blue collar Jobs don't require a college education but offer little or no opportunity for advancement
Culture of poverty
Contends that people are poor because they're personally "deficient" or "inadequate"
Dependency theory
Contends that the main reason why low income countries are poor is because they're pawns that high income countries exploit and dominate
Wealth
Cumulative, increases over time, especially through investment Passed on overtime/to next generation Preserves privileges
Poverty Line
Department of Agriculture (DOA) estimates the annual cost of food that meets the minimum nutritional guidelines and the multiplies it by 3 to cover minimum cost of clothing, housing, healthcare etc.
Status consistency
Equal in terms of wealth, prestige and power
Feminist
Favors Men Women in poverty Discrimination
Economic Capitol
Income and other monetary assets (property) Things you own
Upper-middle class
Live on income rather than accumulated or inherited wealth Occupations usually require PH.D. or advanced professional degree
Extreme Poverty
Living on less than $1.25 a day
Closed system
Movement from one social position to another is limited by ascribed status
Social Capital
Networks comprised of influential people Who you know (help you)
Lower-upper class
Nouveau riche: new money Many worked for income rather than inherit Includes high level managers of international corporations, those who earn at least 1 million dollars a year, and some highly paid athletes and actors
Under class
Occupies the bottom rung of the economic ladder, consists of people who are persistently poor, residentially segregated and relatively isolated Most are chronically unemployed or drift in and out of jobs Many dependent on government programs
Upper-upper class
Old rich, been wealthy for generations White males shape the economic and political climate
Status inconsistency
Person ranks differently on stratification factors
Functionalism
Sees stratification as both necessary and inevitable
Social reproduction
Stay in same class
Conflict
Stratification harms society Dysfunctional Reduced to 2 social classes Capitalists motivated by profit
Habitus
The habits of speech and lifestyle that determine where a person feels comfortable and knowledgeable
Intergenerational Mobility
This is an example of what? If someone's parents are blue collar or in a low class and their child moves up to middle class.
Intragenerational Mobility
This is an example of what? Moving from a nurse assistant to a PA to a RN (nurse)
Lower Prestige
This level of prestige occupations include: janitors, carpenters, bartenders, garbage collectors, truck driver and food servers
Medium Prestige
This level of prestige occupations include: legislators police officers, actors, librarians, realtors and firefighters
Higher Prestige
This level of prestige occupations include: physicians, lawyers, pharmacists, college professors, architects, dentists and teachers
Functionalism
Universal Benefits society Variety of positions to fill Some positions are more crucial than others Some require more training than others
Upper-middle class
What class includes corporate executives and managers, high government officials, owners of large businesses, physicians, successful lawyers and stockbrokers?
Lower-middle class
What class includes office staff, low level managers, medical and dental technicians, secretaries, police officers and sales workers?
Working poor
Work at least 27 weeks a year but whose wages fall below official poverty level Women are more likely than men to be in working poor
meritocracy
a belief that social stratification is based on people's accomplishments.
social stratification
a society's ranking of people based on their access to valued resources such as wealth, power, and prestige.
socioeconomic status (SES)
an overall ranking of a person's position in society based on income, education, and occupation.
wealth
economic assets that a person or family owns.
social mobility
movement from one social class to another.
intragenerational mobility
movement up or down a social class over one's lifetime.
intergenerational mobility
movement up or down a social class over two or more generations
absolute poverty
not having enough money to afford the basic necessities of life.
relative poverty
not having enough money to maintain an average standard of living.
slavery system
people own others as property and have almost total control over their lives.
underclass
people who are persistently poor and seldom employed, residentially segregated, and relatively isolated from the rest of the population.
social class
people who have a similar standing or rank in a society based on wealth, education, power, prestige, and other valued resources.
working poor
people who work at least 27 weeks a year but whose wages fall below the official poverty level.
caste system
people's positions are ascribed at birth and largely fixed.
prestige
respect, recognition, or regard attached to social positions.
corporate welfare
subsidies, tax breaks, and assistance that the government has created for businesses.
power
the ability to influence or control the behavior of others despite opposition.
feminization of poverty
the disproportionate number of the poor who are women.
life chances
the extent to which people have positive experiences and can secure the good things in life because they have economic resources.
Davis-Moore thesis
the functionalist view that social stratification benefits a society.
poverty line
the minimal income level that the federal government considers necessary for basic subsistence (also called the poverty threshold).
income
the money a person receives, usually through wages or salaries, but can also include other earnings.
infant mortality rate
the number of babies under age 1 who die per 1,000 live births in a given year.
bourgeoisie
those who own and control capital and the means of production.
proletariat
workers who sell their labor for wages.
global stratification
worldwide inequality patterns that result from differences in wealth, power, and prestige.