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Sociology > Chapter 8 - Social Stratification > Flashcards

Chapter 8 - Social Stratification Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
0
Q

Social inequality

A

Unequal sharing of scarce resources and social rewards

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1
Q

Social stratification

A

Division of society into categories, ranks or classes

- can be divided according to ascribed or achieved statuses

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2
Q

Inequality in a closed system

A

Cannot move between classes

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3
Q

Inequality in an open system

A

Movement between strata is allowed

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4
Q

What are the two types of stratification systems

A
  • caste system

- class system

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5
Q

Caste system

A

Resources and social rewards are distributed on the basis of ascribed statuses

  • child’s caste is determined by the parents
  • effort and talent may effect position in caste but not move you to a higher caste
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6
Q

Exogamy

A

Marriage outside one’s caste (is forbidden in caste system)

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7
Q

Endogamy

A

Marriage within one’s social class (is practiced in caste system)

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8
Q

Example: ancient India

Castes are divided into sub castes based on occupation

A

Brahmans- priests and scholars
Kshatriyas- rulers, nobles and soldiers
Vaisyas- merchants, bankers business people
Sudras- laborers and artisans
Harijans- unclean outcastes given undesirable jobs

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9
Q

India today

A

Adopted 1950

  • Movement in caste is legal
  • government assistance is given to lower caste members
  • Harijans not discriminated against
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10
Q

Class system

A

Distribution of scarce resources and rewards is determined on the basis of achieved statuses

  • Karl Marx - conflict theorist
  • Max Weber - three factors of class
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11
Q

Karl Marx

A

Conflict theorist
- bourgeois - own means of production
- proletariat - people who sell their
Able in exchange for wages

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12
Q

Max Weber

A

Class consists of three factors

  • property
  • prestige
  • power
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13
Q

Social class

A

Grouping of similar people with similar levels of wealth, power and prestige

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14
Q

Wealth

A

The assets and income

  • held by small majority in the US
  • distributed unequally: top 1% earned over 21% of the national income
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15
Q

Power

A

Ability to control the behavior of others, with or without consent
- force, possession of a skill or knowledge, social status, personal characteristics or custom/tradition

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16
Q

Prestige

A

Respect, honor, recognition or courtesy an individual receives from others

  • occupation, education, family background, area of residence
  • occupation most important in US
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17
Q

Socioeconomic status SES

A

Calculated rating that combines social factors with income

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18
Q

Old money

A

Families that have been wealthy across generations

  • most of wealth was inherited
  • accustomed to privileged life
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19
Q

Upper class

A
  • old money
  • new money
  • typically comes with great power and influence
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20
Q

New money

A

Acquired wealth through their own efforts rather than inheritance

  • less prestigious
  • looked down upon by old money
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21
Q

Upper middle class

A
  • high income business people and professionals
  • have college education and most have an advanced degree
  • membership based on income rather than assets
  • career oriented
  • politically and socially active
  • – limited to community level
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22
Q

Lower middle class

A
  • hold white collar jobs; don’t involve manual labor
  • requires less education than upper middle
  • have a comfortable life but work hard to keep what they have achieved
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23
Q

Working class

A
  • Some jobs have manual labor; blue-collar jobs
  • jobs carry less prestige even though they make as much, if not more, than lower middle
  • blue and pink collar
  • have few financial reserves
24
Q

Blue-collar examples

A

Factory, tradespeople, service workers

25
Q

Pink collar examples

A

Clerical, lower level sales

– traditionally women hold these positions

26
Q

Working poor

A
  • lowest paying jobs
  • often temporary and seasonal
  • – housecleaning, migrant farm work, day labor intensive
  • rarely make a living wage
  • may depend on government-support programs
  • most are high school dropouts; lack education
  • typically not involved politically
27
Q

Underclass

A
  • Have experienced unemployment and poverty over several generations
  • usually have undesirable, low paying jobs
  • income is usually public assistance
  • only 50% of children make it to higher class
28
Q

Functionalist theory

A
  • Stratification is necessary in the social structure
  • certain roles need preformed to maintain society
  • – higher rewards for those roles
  • – the more important the role and the more skill needed the higher the reward
29
Q

Weakness of the functionalist theory

A
  • Fails to consider that not everyone has equal access to resources
  • assumes that positions that offer higher rewards are more important
30
Q

Conflict theory

A
  • competition over scarce resources leads to inequality
  • Marxist theorist
  • American theorists
31
Q

Marxist theorist

A 
Social stratification is result of class expectation 
- upper class exploits the lower class
32
Q

American theorist

A

Mills, Horowitz, and Domhoff

  • groups compete for scarce resources
  • if a group grind power, it can shape public policy and opinion
33
Q

Weakness in conflict theory

A
  • fails to recognize that unequal rewards are based somewhat on talent, skill and desire
  • “find the right person for the job”
34
Q

Social advancement

A

Moving up through the ranks of the class system

35
Q

What are most agreed upon classes?

A 
Upper
Upper middle 
Lower middle
Working class
Working poor
Underclass
36
Q

Technique 1 reputational method

A
  • Individuals in a community are asked to rank others based on knowledge of them
  • suitable only for small communities where everyone knows everyone
  • findings can’t be used to make conclusions about other communities
37
Q

Technique 2 subjective method

A
  • individuals are asked to determine their own social rank
  • most people don’t like to put themselves in upper or lower class
  • if choices to pick from are expanded, it offers better representation
38
Q

Technique 3 objective method

A
  • define social class by income, occupation and education
  • statistical basis makes it less biased
  • problem: selection and measurement of social factors (what factors do you use?)
39
Q

Classes in United States

A 
Upper 1%
Upper middle 14%
Lower middle 30%
Working class 30%
Working poor 22%
Underclass 3%
40
Q

Social mobility

A

Movement between or within social classes

- rarely move up more than one class

41
Q

Horizontal mobility

A

Movement within a social class

42
Q

Vertical mobility

A

Movement between social classes

43
Q

Intragenerational mobility

A

Changes in social position during one’s life

44
Q

Intergenerational mobility

A

Status differences between generations in the same family

45
Q

What can cause upward mobility?

A
  • advances in technology (jobs available change)
  • merchandising patterns (increase in credit industry, greater emphasis on insurance, increased real-estate transactions, growth personal services)
  • increase in level of education (smaller number with no diploma, larger number going to college)
46
Q

Causes of downward mobility

A
  • personal factors (illness, divorce and retirement)

- changes in economy (technology changes demand for labor; workers become unemployed, economic recession)

47
Q

What is poverty like in the United States

A
  • 13% lives below poverty line (2010); 14.5% (2013)
48
Q

Poverty

A

Standard of living that is below the minimum level considered adequate by society

49
Q

Poverty level

A

Minimum annual income needed for a family to survive

  • based on cost of providing an adequate diet
  • adjusted every year
  • modified for number of people in family
50
Q

Modern poverty

A
  • based on providing the necessities of food, clothing, housing and “a little bit more”
51
Q

Variations in American poverty

A
  • children have the largest percentage of poverty
    • 33%
    • level is twice as high for African American and Hispanic
  • women - 57% of poor are women
    • head about 1/2 of all poor families
    • African American and Hispanic are more likely than Caucasian
52
Q

Life chances

A
  • likelihood that individuals have of sharing opportunities and benefits of society
  • includes health, length of life, housing and education
  • vary by social class; effects poor most
    • higher health concerns for the poor
    • have shorter life expectancies
      • inadequate nutrition, less access to medical care, environment, limited educational opportunities
53
Q

Patterns of behavior

A
  • divorce rates are higher in low income parents
  • more likely to be arrested, convicted and sent to prison
  • more likely to commit crimes that police pursue aggressively
    • violent crimes and crimes against property
54
Q

Government responds to poverty

A
  • 37 million still live in poverty (2010); 46.5 million (2012)
  • increased SS benefits and introduction of Medicare
    • helped decrease number of elderly in poverty
  • social welfare programs
55
Q

Transfer payments

A

Redistribute money within society by funneling a percentage of tax revenues to groups that need public assistance
- SSI and TANF

56
Q

Government subsidies

A

Transfer of goods and services

- food stamps, housing, school lunches and medicaid

57
Q

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (1996)

A
  • turned some welfare programs over to states

- limited time they can receive payments

Sociology (7 decks)

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