Social Class Flashcards
Social
Stratification
The system by which society ranks categories of people
into a hierarchy.
Functionalism
States that social stratification is necessary and results
from the need for those with special intelligence,
knowledge, and skills to be a part of the most important
professions and occupations. A harmonious equilibrium.
Socioeconomic
Status:
Ascribed Status: Involuntary, derives from clearly
identifiable characteristics such as age and gender.
Achieved Status: Acquired through direct, individual
efforts.
Social Class
A category of people with shared socioeconomic
characteristics.
Anomie
: Lack of social norms, or the breakdown of social bonds
between individuals and society.
Strain Theory
Focuses on how anomic conditions can lead to deviance,
and in turn reinforce social stratification.
Social Capital
Benefits provided by social networks. Or, the investment
people make in their society in return for rewards
Meritocracy
Advancement up the social ladder is based on intellectual
talent and achievement.
Social Mobility
Allows one to acquire higher-level employment
opportunities by achieving required credentials and
experience
Absolute poverty
Absolute: When one can’t acquire basic life necessities.
Relative poverty
Relative: When one is poor in comparison to a larger
population. Ex: “Anyone who earns less than 60% of the
median income is poor.” It is relative to the population,
not based a hard number value.
Relative
Deprivation Theory
People seek to acquire something that others possess
and which they believe they should have too. They are
not necessarily poor, but they may perceive that they are
lacking resources or money. It is all relative
Social
Reproduction
The passing on of social inequality, especially poverty,
from one generation to the next.
Social Exclusion
A sense of powerlessness when individuals feel alienated
from society
Spatial Inequality:
Social stratification across territories
