Chapter 9: Social Stratification in the United States Flashcards
SOCI-1301
Absolute Poverty
Deprivation so severe that it puts day-to-day survival in jeopardy
Caste System
A system in which people are born into their social standing that they will retain for the rest of their lives
Class
A group who shares a common social status based on factors such as wealth, income, education, and occupation
Class System
Social standing is based on social factors and individual accomplishments
Class Traits
Also known as Class Markers; common behaviors, customs, and norms of a class
Closed System
A system of stratification that accommodates little to no change of social status
Conspicuous Consumption
The act of buying and using products as a statement of one’s social standing
Davis-Moore Thesis
A thesis that argues that some social stratification in socially necessary and functional
Downward Mobility
A lowering of one’s social class
Endogamous Marriages
Unions of people within the same social category
Exogamous Unions
Unions of spouses within different social categories
Global Stratification
A comparison of the wealth, power, status, and economic stability of countries as a whole
Ideology
The cultural belief system that justifies a society’s stratification system
Income
The money a person owns from work and/or investments
Intergenerational Mobility
A difference in social class between generations of a family
Intragenerational Mobility
Changes in a person’s social standing over the course of their lifetime
Meritocracy
An ideal system in which a personal effort - or merit- determines a social standing
Open System
A system of stratification (based on achievement) that allows some movement and interaction between layers and classes
Primogeniture
A law stating that all property passes to the firstborn son
Relative Poverty
Not having the means to live a lifestyle of an average person in a country
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 factors such as wealth, prestige, power;
also called inequality
Socioeconomic Status (SES)
An individual’s level of 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 socioeconomic categories such as wealth, power, and prestige
Structural Mobility
A societal change that allows a whole group of people to move up or down the class ladder
Upward Mobility
An increase - or an upward shift - in social class
Wealth
The value of money and assets a person has from inheritance to salary
