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SOCI 101 > Chapter 8- Social Stratification > Flashcards

Chapter 8- Social Stratification Flashcards

Can you apply the concepts of caste, class, and meritocracy to societies around the world? Can you apply sociology's major theories to the topic of social inequality? Can you analyze the link between a society's technology and its social stratification? Can you describe the distribution of income and wealth in Canada? Can you assess the extent of social mobility in Canada? Can you discuss patterns of poverty and increasing economic inequality in Canada?

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1
Q

What is Social Stratification?

A

a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy

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2
Q

What are the 3-4 Principles of Social Stratification?

A

social stratification is…
1. a trait of society (not simple a reflection of individual differences)
2. carried over from one generation to the next
3 & 4. supported by a system of cultural beliefs that defines certain kinds of inequality as just

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3
Q

What is a Caste System?

A

social stratification based on ascription, or birth

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4
Q

What are the 3 Characteristics of Caste Systems?

A
  1. little or no social mobility
  2. shape a person’s entire life (occupation, marriage, etc.)
  3. common in traditional, agrarian (lifelong routine of hard work) societies
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5
Q

What is a Class System?

A

social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement

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6
Q

What are the 2 Characteristics of Class Systems?

A
  1. permit some social mobility

2. common in modern industrial and post-industrial societies

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7
Q

What is Meritocracy?

A

social stratification based on personal merit

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8
Q

What is Status Consistency?

A

the degree of uniformity in a person’s social standing across various dimensions of social inequality (remaining in same social category)

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9
Q

Which has a Higher Status Consistency and Why? Class or Caste?

A

caste system bc it has little social mobility and it is easier to define people’s social position

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10
Q

What is Structural Social Mobility?

A

a shift in the social position of large numbers of people due more to changes in society itself than to individual efforts

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11
Q

What is Ideology?

A

cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality

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12
Q

What is the Davis-Moore thesis (structural-functional theory)?

A

the functional analysis claiming that social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of society

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13
Q

Can you give an example of the Davis-Moore thesis?

A

the greater functionalist importance of a position, the more rewards (income, prestige, power, leisure) a society attaches to it (to encourage people to do these jobs and promote productivity); unequal rewards benefit society as a whole
ex: transplant doctor

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14
Q

How is the Social Conflict Theory view social stratification?

A

does not benefit society as a whole, instead social stratification benefits some and disadvantage others causing social conflict

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15
Q

Under the Social-Conflict Theory, what did Karl Marx claim?

A

capitalism places economic production under the ownership of capitalists, who exploit the proletarians, who sell their labour for wages

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16
Q

What are Capitalists?

A

people who own and operate factories and other businesses in pursuit of profits

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17
Q

What is a Proletarian?

A

ppl who sell their labour for wages

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18
Q

What is Alienation?

A

the experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness

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19
Q

What are Blue-Collared Occupations?

A

lower-prestige jobs that involve mostly manual labour

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20
Q

What are White-Collared Occupations?

A

higher-prestige jobs that involve mostly mental activity

21
Q

What are the 3 Dimensions of Social Stratification causing inequality (according to Max Weber)?

A
  1. economic class
  2. social status
  3. power
22
Q

What is Socio-Economic Status (SES)?

A

a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality

23
Q

What is Symbolic Interaction Theory’s take on Social Stratification?

A

micro-level analysis that explores how inequality shapes everyday life, explaining that we size people up by looking for clues about their social standing

24
Q

What is Conspicuous Consumption?

A

buying and using products because of the “statement” they make about social position

25
Q

What are the types of Societies stratified based on their Technologies?

A
  1. hunting/gathering
  2. horticultural/ pastoral/ agrarian
  3. industrial
  4. post-industrial
26
Q

What increases Social Stratification (according to Gerhard Lenski) ?

A

advancing technology (most intense in agrarian societies bc a small elite controls most of the surplus = increase in inequality)

27
Q

What reduces Social Stratification (according to Gerhard Lenski) ?

A

industrialization (pushes inequality downwards bc meritocracy takes hold and weakens the power of traditional elites)

28
Q

What is Income?

A

earnings from work or investments

29
Q

What is Wealth?

A

the total value of money and other assets, minus outstanding debt

30
Q

What are Important Sources of Power in Canada?

A

income and wealth

31
Q

What does the potential for Schooling effect?

A

occupation and income

32
Q

What affects Social Standing?

A

family ancestry, race and ethnicity, & gender

33
Q

What percentage of the Canadian populations is Upper Class? What family income do you need to surpass to be in this category?

A
  1. 5%

2. $125, 000 (or more)

34
Q

What is the difference between Upper-upper Class and Lower-upper Class?

A

u-u class= “old rich”/ inherit wealth

l-u class= “new rich”/ work at high paying jobs

35
Q

What percentage of the Canadian populations is Middle Class? What average family income range do you need to be included in this category?

A
  1. 40-45%

2. $62, 000- $125, 000

36
Q

What is the difference between Upper-middle Class and Average-middle Class?

A

u-m class= has significant wealth

a-m class= less prestige, do white-collared work, most attend college

37
Q

What percentage of the Canadian populations is Working Class? What average family income range do you need to be included in this category?

A
  1. 30-35%

2. $38, 000- $62, 000

38
Q

What is the Working Class also known as? And what are the characteristics of this class?

A

lower-middle class= do blue-collared work, 1/4 of children attend college

39
Q

What percentage of the Canadian populations is Lower Class? What average family income range do you need to be included in this category?

A
  1. 20%

2. below $38, 000

40
Q

What are the Characteristics of Lower Class?

A

lack financial security, many live below poverty line, only 70% of children complete high school

41
Q

What differs between people with different Social Standings?

A

higher social standings…

  1. better health
  2. hold different values and political attitudes
  3. pass on advantages in the form of “cultural capital” to their children
42
Q

What is Intragenerational Mobility?

A

a change in social position occurring during a person’s lifetime
“intra”= within

43
Q

What is intergenerational Social Mobility?

A

upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents
“inter”= between

44
Q

Is Social Mobility common in High-Income Countries like Canada?

A

yes, but typically only small changes occur from one gen to the next

45
Q

What is Relative Poverty?

A

the lack of resources of some people in relation to those who have more

46
Q

What is Absolute Poverty?

A

a lack of resources that is life-threatening

47
Q

In Canada, about how many people of the population (or percentage) does the government classify at poor?

A

3 million- 4.5 million / 8.8%- 13%

48
Q

What is Neoliberalism and how does it explain Poverty?

A

a political ideology that proposes to restrict social spending and to transfer gov control and regulation to the private sector; the purpose of this is to force people to be self-supporting and move them away from dependency from gov

SOCI 101 (16 decks)

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