Chapter 4 Flashcards
achieved status
a status that a person chooses or becomes associated with due to behaviors or skills.
ascribed status
a status given to an individual through no choice or action of her or his own; it is a status granted by circumstances of birth.
caste
a tightly bounded social group based on family background. Caste systems assign individuals to a position at birth, and mobility between castes is restricted.
class (or social class)
a cultural category describing how people are grouped according to their positions within the economy.
cultural capital
cultural knowledge, including linguistic skills.
ethnicity
a category based on the sense of group affiliation derived from a distinct heritage or worldview as a “people.”
hypodescent
the belief that race is inherited from one’s ancestors.
institution
a cluster of statuses organized around a common focus, such as education, law, or art.
instrumentalism (or constructivism)
the idea that ethnicity changes with people’s interests and context.
master status
the status that tends to be most important in shaping a person’s life.
open class system
a class system in which it is possible for people to move from one class to another.
prestige
the social affirmation and approval given to some members of society.
primordialism
the view that ethnic identity, like race, is a naturally occurring and immutable feature of human life.
race
a cultural category that divides the human race into subspecies based on supposed biological differences.
role
prescribes expected or required behaviors for those who occupy a particular status.
role conflict or role strain
the stress that occurs when the behavioral expectations from various roles come into play simultaneously.
social inequality
the differential access to economic resources, political power, or social prestige that results from social stratification.
social stratification
the organization of people into ranked groups, or hierarchies, based on particular characteristics.
social structure
the ways people coordinate their lives in relation to one another at the level of society.
status
any position a person may occupy in the social structure.
wealth
economic status, or access to economic resources.
