Social Stratification Flashcards
What is ascribed status?
Involuntary and derives from clearly identifiable characteristics such as age, gender, and skin color
What is achieved status?
Acquired through direct, individual efforts
What is social class?
A category of people with shared socioeconomic characteristics. There is upper, middle and lower class
What is prestige?
The respect and importance tied to specific occupations or associations
What is power?
The capacity to influence people through real or perceived rewards and punishments
What is anomie?
State of normlessness. Anomic conditions erode social solidarity by means of excessive individualism, social inequality, and isolation.
What is social capital?
The investment people make in their society in return for economic or collective rewards.
What is meritocracy?
Refers to a society in which advancement up the social ladder is based on intellectual talent and achievement
What is social mobility?
Allows one to acquire higher-level employment opportunities by achieving required credentials and experience. Social mobility can be either positive upward direction or negative downward direction depending on promotions or demotions in status
What is social reproduction?
Refers to the passing on of social inequality, especially poverty from one generation to the next
What is absolute poverty?
Is when people do not have enough resources to acquire basic life necessities, such as shelter, food, clothing and water
What is relative poverty?
It’s when one is poor in comparison to a larger population
What is social exclusion?
A sense of powerlessness when individuals feel alienated from society
What is environmental injustice?
Refers to an uneven distribution of environmental hazards in communities
What is incidence?
A calculated number of new cases of a disease per population at risk in a given period of time
