chapter 12: social stratification

Question 1

Class consciousness

Answer 1

organization of the working class around shared goals and recognition of a need for collective political action, in order to take action against the elite; major barrier is false consciousness-misinterpretation of one’s actual position in society (didn’t recognize how bad conditions were)

Question 2

Strain theory

Answer 2

focuses on how anomic conditions (anomie=lack of social norms in society, breakdown of social bonds) can lead to deviance; these conditions include excessive individualism, social inequality, and isolation; society may be set up in a way that encourages too much deviance and pressures citizens to commit crimes

Question 3

Social capital

Answer 3

investments people make in society for economic payoff, includes social networking, which creates inequality by reinforcing privilege, or inequality in opportunity; benefits one receives through group association; people without many social connections (weak ties) may find it difficult to access social capital

Question 4

cultural capital

Answer 4

the benefits one receives from knowledge, abilities, and skills

Question 5

intersectionality

Answer 5

the compounding of disadvantage in individuals who belong to more than one oppressed group

Question 6

Meritocracy

Answer 6

talent and achievement provides means for moving up social ladder; U.S. moving towards plutocracy-rule by upper classes, merit does not guarantee upward mobility

Question 7

Horizontal mobility

Answer 7

change in occupation or lifestyle that remains in the same social class

Question 8

Social reproduction

Answer 8

the lifestyle of poverty is passed down from one generation to the next

Question 9

Relative poverty

Answer 9

one is poor in comparison to the larger population of where they live; ex. a teacher living on the upper east side of NYC considered poor relative to the very wealthy

Question 10

Social exclusion

Answer 10

poor individuals segregated/isolated from society, creating more obstacles for upward mobility; causes sense of powerlessness

Question 11

spatial inequality

Answer 11

social stratification across territories and their populations; can lead to population segregation and formation of ghettoes or slums; amplifies inequalities

Question 12

Urban renewal

Answer 12

decrepit land in the city is reclaimed and renovated; usually fueled by gentrification

Question 13

Gentrification

Answer 13

upper and middle classes purchase and renovate land in deteriorated parts of cities and displace the lower SES population that previously lived there

Question 14

Incidence

Answer 14

number of new cases of an illness per population at risk in a given amount of time; ex. # of new cases of lung cancer per at risk population

Question 15

Prevalence

Answer 15

measure of number of cases of an illness overall-new or chronic

Question 16

Morbidity

Answer 16

burden or degree of illness associated with a given disease

Question 17

Mortality

Answer 17

deaths caused by a specific illness

Question 18

second sickness

Answer 18

health outcomes influenced by social inequality; low income groups more likely to have poorer health, be uninsured, and die younger compared to middle and upper classes

Question 19

Gender differences in life expectancy

Answer 19

females have greater life expectancy than males; mortality rates especially higher for males regarding heart disease, cancer, diabetes, accidents, suicide; women more likely to seek a doctor for medical help; women have higher morbidity rates, tend to suffer more from diseases, but are less life-threatening

Question 20

why men have lower life expectancy

Answer 20

men are greater risk takers, more likely to expose themselves to accidents, more likely to be employed at dangerous jobs, higher rates of alcohol use

Question 21

women favored by healthcare system

Answer 21

women more likely to be insured, have more examinations and physician visits than men; receive more services per visit