Ch 9 Flashcards
What causes upward mobility ?
advances in technology
changes in merchandising patterns
increase in the populations general level of education
changes in jobs
What causes downward mobility?
breakthroughs in technology
economic changes
divorce, recession, illness, retirement, STUPIDITY
Social stratification
Ranking of individuals or categories of people on the basis of unequal access to scare resources and social rewards.
Social inequality
Unequal sharing of social rewards and resources
2 major classification systems
Class and caste
3 dimensions of social stratification
Prestige
Wealth
Power
Caste system
Scare resources and rewards are distributed on the basis of ascribed status
Class system
Scare resources and rewards are determined on the basis of achieved status
Exogamy
Caste system forbids this
Marriage outside ones own social category
Endogamy
Caste systems practice this
Marriage within ones own social category
In the class system, society is divided into 2 basic groups
Bourgeoisie- owners of the means of production in a capitalist society
Proletariat- workers who sell their labor in exchange for wages
Social class
Grouping of people with similar levels of wealth, power, and prestige.
Wealth
Made up of his or her assets- value of everything the person owns- and income- money earned through salaries
Power
Ability to control the behavior of other, with or without their consent
Prestige
Respect, honor, recognition, or courtesy an individual receives from other members of society.
Socioeconomic status (SES)
Make the ranking of ppl according to he 3 factors possible.
Combines educational level, occupational prestige, and place of residence with the economic factor of income.
Functionalist theory
Certain roles in society must be performed to maintain the system, w/o rewards jobs wouldn’t be fulfilled
Conflict theory
Competition over scare resources cause social inequality.
What do the theories offer?
Used to explain social stratification in causes and consequences.
3 basic techniques to rank individuals according to social class
Reputational method
Subjective method
Objective method
Reputational method
Individuals in the community are asked to rank other community members based on what they know of their characters and lifestyles.
Subjective method
Individuals are asked to determine the own social rank.
Objective method
(Least biased) Sociologists define social class in terms of income, occupation, and education.
Upper class Education Housing Occupations Leisure-time activities Favorite sports
Prestigious schools
Luxurious homes
Top positions in gov and private enterprise
Giving money to charity, exclusive resort vacations
Polo/golf
Upper middle class Education Housing Occupations Leisure-time activities Favorite sports
College education w/degree Large houses High income business people & professionals Yearly vacations Bowling/tennis
Lower middle class Education Housing Occupations Leisure-time activities Favorite sports
Less than 4 year education in college Comfortable housing, average home Nursing, management, and sales. Small business owners Minimum & shorter vacations Softball
Working class Education Housing Occupations Leisure-time activities Favorite sports
High school diploma Small home/ decent apartment Factory workers, service jobs (MANUAL LABOR) Shorter vacations Basketball
Lower class Education Housing Occupations Leisure-time activities Favorite sports
Lack of education, high school dropouts Cheap apartment Housecleaning, migrant farm work, day laboring Panhandling & sitting around Gambling on illicit animal fights
What 2 classes does the lower class involve?
Working poor and underclass
Which class has blue collar jobs and which has white?
Blue-working class (manual labor)
White-lower middle class (no manual labor)
Vertical social mobility
Example
Movement between social classes or strata in which the individual moves from one social class level to another Ex. Up/down rages to riches Walt Disney
Horizontal social mobility
Individual moved from one position in a social class level to another position in the same social class level Ex. Move from one job to another of equal social ranking Accountant moves from one firm to another, but wealth/power/prestige does not change
Different between vertical and horizontal social mobility
Vertical- movement between Horizontal- movement within a social class or stratum
Intergenerational social mobility
(Special form of vertical mobility)
Status differences between generations in the same family
Ex. Son/daughter of auto mechanic who becomes a doctor.
Taylor swift
2 kinds of vertical mobility
Upward and downward
Poverty
Standard of living that is below the minimum level considered decent and reasonable by society
Below the minimum level considered adequate.
Poverty level
Minimum income
How is poverty level determined?
Government calculates it by calculating the cost of providing an adequate diet and multiplying it by 3 because poor people spend 1/3 of their income on food.
What characteristics affect poverty?
Age, sex, race & ethnicity/cultural background
What do poor and wealthy members of society differ on?
Range of their life chances and in their behavior patterns
Transfer payments
Government uses this to redistribute money among various segments of society.
Can one live an adequate life off minimum wage?
It’s possible, but not a good idea. Difficult and sacrifices have to been made if one does not save/spend their money wisely.
Ex. Brad and Angelina in debt bc of child care and either have to get another job or give up things like cable
Most median income comparing race as of 2013
Asians
Whites
Hispanics
Then blacks
Example of panhandlers
Do they get themselves in predicament?
Ray- out of his control. Hit by a car
Ted- good education at Harvard but sent bombs in the mail and went to jail bc he was a unabomber. His fault that he is a panhandler now and killed 3 ppl.
