Social Inequality Definitions

Question 0

Ascribed status is..

Answer 0

This is not earned, but rather it is something people are either born with or had no control over. Examples include sex and age

Question 1

Achieved status is..

Answer 1

One that is acquired on the basis of merit; it is a position that is earned or chosen and reflects a persons skills, abilities and efforts.
E.g. Being a criminal or professional athlete

Question 2

Social class is..

Answer 2

The stratification system found in modern societies. Social classes are hierarchically arranged groups of people who share a similar economic position in terms of occupation, income & ownership of wealth. They are also likely to have similar levels of education, status & power

Question 3

Ethnicity is..

Answer 3

A cultural heritage shared by members of a particular group

Question 4

Race is..

Answer 4

Variation of physical appearance, skin colour etc between populations that confers differences in power and status

Question 5

Closed societies are..

Answer 5

Societies with no social mobility

Question 6

Open societies are..

Answer 6

Societies with a high degree of social mobility, where status is usually allocated on the basis of achievement and merit

Question 7

Ethnographic is..

Answer 7

Research which focuses on the everyday life of the group being studied, usually under observation and/or unstructured interviews

Question 8

Life chances (Weber) are..

Answer 8

Opportunities for achieving things that provide a high quality of life, such as good housing, health and education

Question 9

Social mobility is..

Answer 9

The movement of individuals up or down the social scale

Question 10

Social status is..

Answer 10

The degree of social honour, prestige and importance accorded to an individual or group

Question 11

Social stratification is..

Answer 11

the hierarchical layering of society into distinct groups with different levels of wealth, status and power

Question 12

Capitalist societies are..

Answer 12

Societies based on private ownership of the means of production, eg the U.K. & the USA

Question 13

Cultural capital is..

Answer 13

Attitudes, ways of thinking, knowledge, skills etc, learnt in middle class homes that give middle class kids advantages in education

Question 14

Marginalisation is..

Answer 14

Powerlessness, I.e. The inability to overcome social and economic injustices

Question 15

Material deprivation is..

Answer 15

The lack of physical resources needed in order to lead a full and normal life

Question 16

The poverty trap is..

Answer 16

The fact that after taxation and national insurance contributions, the wages paid by some jobs fall below the official poverty line

Question 17

Social capital is defined as..

Answer 17

Social relations (contacts) that benefit people, eg in finding a job

Question 18

Economic capital is..

Answer 18

Money in shares (and so on), which generates more money

Question 19

Underclass is..

Answer 19

Term used by Charles Murray to describe those living at the margins of society, largely reliant on state benefits to make ends meet