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Sociology - Test 3 > Ch. 8 - Social Stratification > Flashcards

Ch. 8 - Social Stratification Flashcards

1
Q

What is social stratification? What does it determine?

A

The ranking of people within a society that determines how resources are distributed

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2
Q

What is status?

A

A social position held by a person that comes with certain rights and duties

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3
Q

What is economic determinism? Who coined it?

A
  • A theory stating that social differentiation and class conflict is a result of economic factors
  • Karl Marx
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4
Q

Why is income important in modern societies?

A

Modern societies are materialistic

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5
Q

What is materialism?

A

When people can satisfy their basic needs and have money left over to spend on goods and services

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6
Q

What is conspicuous consumption?

A

The public display and consumptions of expensive items

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7
Q

What is pecuniary emulation?

A

An effort to equal or surpass another in status associated with wealth

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8
Q

What is conspicuous conservatism?

A

When the affluent engage in eco-friendly behavior to obtain or signal high social status

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9
Q

What is the most powerful factor of stratification in modern societies?

A

Wealth and income

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10
Q

What is the most powerful factor of stratification in traditional societies?

A

Power

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11
Q

What is the second most powerful factor of stratification in traditional societies?

A

Prestige

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12
Q

What is prestige?

A

The level of respect given to a person or group, usually on the basis of occupation

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13
Q

What is power?

A

The ability to achieve one’s goals despite opposition from others

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14
Q

What is a status system?

A

A system that ranks people based on their social prestige

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15
Q

What is a status inconsistency?

A

When a person has conflicting statuses, such as low-income but high prestige

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16
Q

What is the power elite?

A

A small group of high-ranking government, corporation, and military officials

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17
Q

What is egalitarianism?

A

A society with little inequality that values cooperation over wealth accumulation
(ex. Hunter-gatherers)

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18
Q

What is slavery?

A

A society with extreme inequality through the ownership of humans as property through capture and purchase
(ex. Early US)

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19
Q

What is feudalism?

A

A system wherein nobles owned land and allowed peasants to live on and farm off the land so long as they pay tribute
(ex. Medieval Europe)

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20
Q

What is enclosure?

A

The process by which the rich fenced off their land to exclude others

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21
Q

What is primogeniture?

A

The traditional inheritance system wherein the eldest son inherits their father’s belongings

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22
Q

How did primogeniture contribute to the downfall of feudalism?

A

Younger sons innovated new ways to generate wealth without needing to own land

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23
Q

What is a caste system?

A

A system wherein people are ascribed a social status at birth that they cannot leave (Ex. India)

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24
Q

What is the Brahmin caste?

A

The highest caste; the priestly and spiritual caste

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25
What is the Kshatriya caste?
The second caste; reserved for warriors and the political elite
26
What is the Vaishnava caste?
The third caste; reserved for merchants and businesspeople
27
What is the Shudra caste?
The fourth caste; reserved for menial laborers
28
Who are the Dalit?
"Untouchables" outside the caste system; do dirty work
29
Why is the caste system hard to abolish? (2)
- The powerful want to remain in power - The castes are a religious belief
30
What is a meritocracy?
A system wherein people are rewarded on the basis of their talents and achievements
31
What is a social class?
A group made up of people in similar situations with roughly the same income
32
What is a class system?
A system wherein your social class is not fixed
33
What is the upper class?
The richest, most powerful, most influential class
34
Who does Marx consider the upper class?
Those who own the means of production, property, or employers
35
What is the upper-upper class?
Old money: families descended from great generational wealth
36
What is the lower-upper class?
New money: those who made their money relatively recently
37
What is the middle class?
White collar: those who are highly educated and do mental labor
38
What class is considered the backbone of the economy and democracy?
The middle class
39
What is the upper-middle class?
Highly paid professionals; doctors, lawyers, professors, etc.
40
What is the lower-middle class?
Lesser paid professionals; teachers, nurses, office workers, etc.
41
What is the working class?
Blue collar: paid less and perform manual labor
42
What is the lower class?
Those who lack consistent employment and struggle to make ends meet
43
What is the underclass?
The chronically poor, criminals, and unemployed
44
What did Marx call the Lumpenproletariat?
An urban social group below the proletariats who are not useful to production
45
What are the consequences of stratification? (4)
- Income/Wealth Disparity - Poverty - Life Opportunity Disparity - Worker Satisfaction Disparity
46
What are some causes of income/wealth disparity?
- Social position - Education - Tax favoritism - Debt - Stocks - Hunger - Health insurance
47
What is absolute poverty?
When people are desperately poor and unsure where their next meal will come from
48
What is relative poverty?
The feeling of being poor when comparing yourself to others
49
What are some causes of poverty?
- Geography - City - Race - Gender - Education
50
What is the feminization of poverty?
Women are more likely to fall into poverty
51
What is alienation?
The condition of powerlessness, estrangement, or dissociation from the workplace and/or society
52
What are some causes of alienation in the workplace?
- Automation - Limited career growth - Long hours - Low wages - Monotony - Poor management - Powerlessness
53
What is social mobility?
The movement of one or more individuals from one social position to another
54
What is individual mobility?
Social mobility through one's own hard work and perseverance
55
What is structured mobility?
When social events allow groups of people to move up or down
56
What is vertical mobility?
Moving up or down from one social position to another of a different rank and prestige
57
What is horizontal mobility?
Movement from one social position to another of the same rank
58
What is intergenerational mobility?
Changes in social position of children in comparison to their parents
59
What is intragenerational mobility?
Changes in social position within a person's adult life
60
What are core countries? What countries are examples?
- Industrialized, rich countries, usually in the Global North - USA, Germany, Japan
61
What are semi-periphery countries? What countries are examples?
- Newly industrialized countries with shrinking agricultural sectors - South Korea, India, Russia
62
What are periphery countries? What countries are examples?
- Poor agricultural countries - Angola, Ethiopia
63
What is the modernization theory of global stratification?
Argues that societies move from traditional to modern in set stages; certain conditions make stages progress faster (democracy, access to education, trust in science, etc.)
64
What is the dependency theory of global stratification?
Argues that poor countries remain poor because they are exploited by and remain dependent to rich countries
65
What is neo-colonialism?
The continuation of colonialism through economic means
66
How would a structural functionalist define stratification?
Necessary to society; incentivizes hard work and competition by giving rewards based on the value of the job you hold
67
How would a conflict theorist define stratification?
Not necessary to society; the root cause of conflict and inequality
68
What is class consciousness?
Class members' shared awareness of their rank and status within a society as well as their interests
69
What is false consciousness?
A belief in ideas that is contrary to one's own best interests
70
Why might a symbolic interactionist care about stratification?
Stratification affects how people act, interact, are labeled, and are treated
71
What objection would a feminist raise with a structural functionalist's view on stratification?
Women earn less than men, therefore a structural functionalist would argue that women are less important than men in society

Sociology - Test 3 (3 decks)

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