Social Stratification

Question 1

Social stratification

Answer 1

System by which society ranks categories of people in hierarchy; trait of society, not simply reflection of individual differences and is found in all societies but varies according to what is unequal and how unequal it is, carries over from one generation to next; is supported by system of cultural beliefs that defines certain kinds of inequality as just and takes 2 general forms: caste and class systems

Question 2

4 principles that underlie social stratification

Answer 2

1. It’s a trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences
2. It carries over from generation to generation
3. It is universal but variable
4. It involves not just inequality but beliefs as well.

Question 3

Caste system

Answer 3

Social stratification based on ascription, or birth and permit little or no social mobility; shape persons entire life, including occupation and marriage and common in traditional, agrarian societies

Question 4

Class system

Answer 4

Social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement and permit some social mobility based on individual achievement; common in industrial and postindustrial societies and status consistency is low due to increased social mobility

Question 5

Meritocracy

Answer 5

Social stratification based on personal merit

Question 6

Status consistency

Answer 6

Consistency of one’s social rank across various ranges; degree of uniformity in person’s social standing across various dimensions of social inequality

Question 7

Status inconsistency

Answer 7

When person has multiple statuses; these statuses can define how other people see us. Most people show degree of status consistency in social a standing. Some people, however, show less status consistency and more status inconsistency. People who reflect status inconsistency have different levels in which status positions are ranked. Inconsistency of social positions can become uncomfortable for person as well as those interacting with person

Question 8

Master status

Answer 8

Status that society defines as having special importance for social identity, often shaping person’s entire life. When person has status inconsistency, master status may be used to determine how we relate to that person. Woman in work place may carry master status of being viewed as less competent than man. This master status may limit opportunity for occupational advancement. Master status can override other social identities and become basis for continued group prejudice and discrimination.

Question 9

Structural social mobility

Answer 9

Shift in social position of large numbers of people due more changes in society itself than to individual efforts

Question 10

Davis-Moore thesis

Answer 10

Social stratification has beneficial consequences for operation of society; suggests reason stratification exists and merely points out that positions society considers more important must offer enough rewards to draw talented people away from less important work

Question 11

Why no Marxist revolution ?

Answer 11

1. Fragmentation of capitalist class
2. Higher standard of living
3. More worker organizations
4. Greater legal protections

Question 12

Blue-collar occupations

Answer 12

Lower-prestige jobs that involve mostly manual labor

Question 13

White-collar occupations

Answer 13

Higher-prestige jobs that involve mostly mental activity

Question 14

Socioeconomic status

Answer 14

Composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality

Question 15

Conspicuous consumption

Answer 15

Buying and using products because of “statement” they make about social position

Question 16

Because of social stratification…

Answer 16

Some people have more privileges and opportunities than others do

Question 17

In caste system…

Answer 17

There is little or no social mobility

Question 18

Business executive who has advanced degrees, gin salary, but has no professional power can be described as having…

Answer 18

Status inconsistency

Question 19

In English history “first estate” included…

Answer 19

The clergy

Question 20

According to Davis-Moore thesis…

Answer 20

More important jobs must yield sufficient rewards to attract talent necessary to perform jobs

Question 21

Social mobility

Answer 21

Change in position within social hierarchy

Question 22

United Kingdom

Answer 22

Caste and class; In Middle Ages, engine s had caste like aristocracy, including leading clergy and hereditary nobility. Vast majority of people were commoners; today’s British class system mixes caste and meritocracy, producing highly stratified society with some social mobility

Question 23

Japan

Answer 23

Caste and class; In Middle Ages, had rigid caste system in which imperial family ruled over nobles and commoners; today’s Japanese class system still places great importance on family background and traditional gender roles

Question 24

Former Soviet Union

Answer 24

Classless societies; Although Russian Revolution in 1917 attempted to abolish social classes, new Soviet Union was still stratified based on unequal job categories and concentration of power in new political elite. Economic development created new types of jobs, which resulted in structural social mobility; since collapse of Soviet Union in early 1990’s, forces of structural social mobility have turned downward and gap between rich and poor has increased

Question 25

China

Answer 25

Emerging social classes; economic reforms introduced after communist revolution in 1949- including state control of factories and productive property-greatly reduced economic inequality, although social differences remained; in last thirty years, China’s government has loosened control of economy, causing emergence of new class of business owners and increase in economic inequality

Question 26

Ideology

Answer 26

Cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality; reflects both society’s economic system and level of technology

Question 27

Structural-functional theory

Answer 27

Points to ways social stratification helps society operate; Davis-Moore thesis sates that social stratification is universal because of its functional consequences; in caste systems, people are rewarded for performing duties of position as birth and in class systems, unequal rewards attract ablest people to most important jobs and encourage effort

Question 28

Social-conflict theory

Answer 28

Claims that stratification divides societies in classes, benefitting some categories of people at expense of others and causing social conflict; Karl Marx claimed that capitalism places economic production under ownership of capitalists, who exploit proletarians who sell their labor for wages; Max Weber identified 3 distinct dimensions of social stratification: economic class, social status or prestige, and power. Conflict exists between people at various positions on multidimensional hierarchy of socioeconomic status

Question 29

Symbolic-interaction theory

Answer 29

Micro-level analysis that explains why we size up people by looking for clues to their social standing; conspicuous consumption; people attitudes about social inequality reflect now just facts but also politics and blues concerning how society should be organized

Question 30

Gerhard Lenski identifies 5 types of societies defines by their productive technology

Answer 30

Hunting and gathering, horticultural and pastoral, agrarian, industrial, and postindustrial societies; Lenski explains that advancing technology initially increases social stratification, which is most intense in agrarian societies and industrialization reverses trend, reducing social stratification; in postindustrial societies, social stratification again increases