Chapter 12: Social Stratification

Question 1

Social class

Answer 1

Category of people who share a similar socioeconomic position in society

Question 2

Socioeconomic status (SES)

Answer 2

Depend on ascribed or achieved status

Question 3

What are the three major classes?

Answer 3

Upper, middle, and lower - vary to different degrees in different locations; upper class consists of those who have great wealth, along with recognized reputations and lifestyles, and have a larger influence on society’s political and economic systems; middle class- successful business and professional people (upper-middle), those who have been unable to achieve the upper-middle lifestyle (middle-middle), and those who are skilled and semi-skilled workers with fewer luxuries (lower-middle); lower class is at the poorer end of the economic spectrum, with a greatly reduced amount of sociopolitical power

Question 4

Power

Answer 4

Ability to affect others’ behaviour through real or perceived rewards and punishments, and is based on the unequal distribution of valued resources

Question 5

Strain theory

Answer 5

Focuses on how anomic conditions can lead to deviance

Question 6

What can anomic conditions include?

Answer 6

Excessive individualism, social inequality, and isolation; these all erode social solidarity

Question 7

What are the sources of social trust?

Answer 7

Social norms of reciprocity and social networks

Question 8

Social capital

Answer 8

Considered the investment people make in their society in return for economic or collective rewards; the greater the investment, the higher the level of social integration and inclusion

Question 9

What is one of the main forms of social capital?

Answer 9

Social network - can create two types of social inequality: situational (socioeconomic advantage) and positional (based on how connected one is within a network and one’s centrality within that network)

Question 10

Strong ties

Answer 10

Peer group and kinship contacts, which are quantitatively small but qualitatively powerful

Question 11

Weak ties

Answer 11

Social connections that are personally superficial, such as associates, but that are large in number and provide connections to a wide range of other individuals

Question 12

Five ethnicities model

Answer 12

Used by the United States Census Bureau and the National Institutes of Health (NIH): white, black, Asian, Latino, and Native American

Question 13

Social mobility

Answer 13

Typically the result of economic and occupational structure that allows one to acquire higher-level employment opportunities given proper credentials and experience requirements

Question 14

Intragenerational

Answer 14

Changes in social status happen within a person’s lifetime

Question 15

Intergenerational

Answer 15

Changes are from parents to children

Question 16

Meritocracy

Answer 16

Based on intellectual talent and achievement, and is a means for a person to advance up the social ladder

Question 17

Plutocracy

Answer 17

A rule by the upper class

Question 18

Poverty

Answer 18

Low socioeconomic status and a lack of possessions or financial resources; can be handed down from generation to generation and can be defined on its own terms or in comparison to the rest of the population

Question 19

Social reproduction

Answer 19

Can be reproduced or passed down from one generation to the next

Question 20

Absolute poverty

Answer 20

Socioeconomic condition in which people do not have enough money or resources to maintain a quality of living that includes basic life necessities such as shelter, food, clothing, and water

Question 21

Relative poverty

Answer 21

One is poor in comparison to the larger population in which they live

Question 22

Poverty line

Answer 22

Derived from the government’s calculation of the minimum income requirements for families to acquire the minimum necessities of life; poverty is highly related to geography

Question 23

Social exclusion

Answer 23

Can arise from this sense of powerlessness when poor individuals feel alienated from society; can create further obstacles to achieving self-help, independence, and self-respect

Question 24

Spatial inequality

Answer 24

Social stratification across territories and their populations

Question 25

Residential segregation

Answer 25

When one resides - an urban, suburban, or rural environment, and which neighbourhood in that environment - has a substantial effect on how people interact, cooperate, and advance

Question 26

Environmental justice

Answer 26

Poor living conditions and dangerous environmental conditions can result in an increase in illness and disease; many poor and minority groups tend to reside closer to sites of environmental pollution due to cheaper housing markets

Question 27

Global inequalities

Answer 27

Much of the world resides on less than the equivalent of $1.25/day, especially in parts of India, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Central Asia

Question 28

How is SES determined?

Answer 28

By ascribed and achieved status

Question 29

What is the relationship between social capital and social cohesion?

Answer 29

The less social capital an individual has (less social network equality and impoverished opportunities), the greater the social inequality and the less the social cohesion

Question 30

What are some groups that suffer disproportionate social inequality?

Answer 30

Female-headed families, elderly individuals, and racial and ethnic minorities

Question 31

Is social mobility dependent on merit?

Answer 31

Can be dependent on intellectual talent and achievement (merit) but can also be dependent on discrimination

Question 32

Which groups are most often affected by environmental hazards?

Answer 32

Low-income groups (including racial and ethnic minorities)

Question 33

Incidence

Answer 33

Number of new cases of an illness per population at risk in a given amount of time

Question 34

Prevalence

Answer 34

A measure of the number of cases of an illness overall - whether new or chronic - per population in a given amount of time

Question 35

Morbidity

Answer 35

Burden or degree of illness associated with a given disease

Question 36

Mortality

Answer 36

Refers to deaths caused by a given disease

Question 37

Second sickness

Answer 37

Howard Waitzkin; exacerbation of health outcomes caused by social injustice

Question 38

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Answer 38

Passed in 2010; the United States is attempting to rectify unequal access to health care by increasing the coverage rate and affordability of insurance for all Americans, and also by reducing the overall costs of healthcare

Question 39

Medicare

Answer 39

Covers patients over the age of 65, those with end-stage renal disease and those with ALS

Question 40

Medicaid

Answer 40

Covers patients who are in significant financial need