chapter 9 Flashcards
caste system
a system in which people are born into a social standing that they will retain their
entire lives
class system
social standing based on social factors and individual accomplishments
class traits
also called class markers, the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class
class
a group who shares a common social status based on factors like wealth, income, education,
and occupation
conspicuous consumption
buying and using products to make a statement about social
standing
Davis-Moore thesis
thesis that argues some social stratification is a social necessity
downward mobility
a lowering of one’s social class
endogamous marriages
unions of people within the same social category
exogamous marriages
unions of spouses from different social categories
global stratification:
a comparison of the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of
countries as a whole
intergenerational mobility
a difference in social class between different generations of a family
intragenerational mobility
a difference in social class between different members of the same generation
meritocracy
an ideal system in which personal effort—or merit—determines social standing
primogeniture
a law stating that all property passes to the firstborn son
social mobility:
the ability to change positions within a social stratification system
social stratification
a socioeconomic system that divides society’s members into categories
ranking from high to low, based on things like wealth, power, and prestige
standard of living
the level of wealth available to acquire material goods and comforts to
maintain a particular socioeconomic lifestyle
status consistency
the consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual’s rank across social
categories like income, education, and occupation
structural mobility
when societal changes enable a whole group of people to move up or down the class ladder
upward mobility
an increase—or upward shift—in social class
wealth:
the value of money and assets a person has from, for example, inheritance
Melvin Tumin
conflict socialist? about social stratification?
Davis and Moore
structuralist theorist in the social stratification theory
