Social Stratification Flashcards

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1
Q

Ascribed Status

A
  • derives from clearly identifiable characteristics such as age, gender, and skin color
  • involuntary
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2
Q

Achieved Status

A
  • acquired via direct, individual efforts

- obtained through hard work or merit

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3
Q

What determines SES?

A

both ascribed and achieved status

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4
Q

Prestige

A

the amount of positive regard society has for a given person or idea

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5
Q

Power

A
  • the ability to affect others’ behavior through real or perceived rewards and punishments and is based on the unequal distribution of valued resources
  • defines the relationship between individuals, groups and social institutions
  • maintain order, organize economic systems, conduct warfare and rule over and exploit people
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6
Q

Marxist Theory

A
  • proposes that the “have-nots” called the proletariat could overthrow the “haves” called the bourgeoisie, as well as the entire capitalist economy by developing class consciousness
  • revolt would lay the groundwork for a socialist state
  • perspective suggests the rise of socialized medicine
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7
Q

Class Consciousness

A

-the organization of the working class around shared goals and recognition of a need for collective political action

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8
Q

False Consciousness

A
  • one major barrier to class consciousness

- a misperception of one’s actual position within society

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9
Q

What have been some negatives of a capitalist economy?

A
  • increase in social inequality
  • reduction in social cohesion
  • waning of social capital
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10
Q

Anomie

A
  • further accelerates social inequality
  • refers to a lack of social norms or the breakdown of social bonds between an individual and society
  • has further obstructed opportunities to acquire social capital
  • includes excessive individualism, social inequality, and isolation
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11
Q

Strain Theory

A

-focuses on how anomic conditions can lead to deviance

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12
Q

What are the two primary sources of social trust?

A
  • social norms of reciprocity (“I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine”)
  • social networks
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13
Q

Social Capital

A
  • considered the investments people make in their society in return for economic or collective rewards
  • the greater the investment the higher level of social integration (peaceful movement into mainstream society) and inclusion
  • one of the main forms is social networks
  • refers to the benefits one receives from group association
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14
Q

What two types of social inequality can social networks create?

A
  • situational (SES) disadvantage

- positional (based on how connected one is within a network and one’s centrality within that network)

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15
Q

Privilege

A
  • created and reinforced by inequality in networks

- inequality in opportunity

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16
Q

Cultural Capital

A

the benefits one receives from from knowledge, abilities, and skills

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17
Q

Strong Ties

A
  • join communities together

- refer to peer group and kinship contacts which are quantitatively small but qualitatively powerful

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18
Q

Weak Ties

A
  • join communities together
  • refer to social connections that are personally superficial such as associates but that are large in number and provide connections to a wide range of other individuals
  • Ex. social networking websites
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19
Q

What groups are social inequalities more pronounced?

A

racial and ethic minority groups such as hispanics and African Americans, female-headed families, and the elderly

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20
Q

Five Ethnicities Model

A
  • used by the US Census Bureau and the NIH

- includes: white, black, Asian, Latino, Native American

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21
Q

Social Mobility

A
  • the ability to move up or down from one class to another
  • typically the result of an economic and occupational structure that allows one to acquire higher-level employment opportunities given proper credentials and experience requirements
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22
Q

Intragenerational Changes in Social Status

A

changes in social status (social mobility) happen within a person’s lifetime

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23
Q

Intergenerational Changes in Social Status

A

changes in social status (social mobility) happen from parents to children

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24
Q

Meritocracy

A

-based on intellectual talent and achievement and is a means for a person to advance up the social ladder

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25
Q

What is one of the largest factors driving American social mobility?

A

meritocratic competition / merit-based system of social mobility

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26
Q

Plutocracy

A

rule by the upper class

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27
Q

Vertical Mobility

A
  • movement from one social class to another

- can either be upward (positive change in social status) or downward (negative change in social status)

28
Q

Horizontal Mobility

A
  • change in occupation or lifestyle that remains within the same social class
  • Ex. construction worker who switches jobs to work in custodial services or mechanical maintenance has made a shift in occupation but remains in the lower-middle class
29
Q

Poverty

A
  • low SES and lack of possessions or financial resources

- can be handed down from generation to generation

30
Q

Social Reproduction

A
  • the passing of social inequality, especially poverty, from one generation to the next
  • the culture-of-poverty explanation for social inequality
  • handing down of poverty from one generation to another as a feature of society
31
Q

Structural Poverty

A
  • theory of poverty based on the concept of “holes” in the structure of society rather than poverty due to the actions of the individual
  • proponents of this argue that the same individuals do not by necessity occupy these “holes” from year to year but the percentage of a society that falls under the poverty line stays relatively constant due to the actions of the individual
32
Q

Absolute Poverty

A
  • SES condition in which people do not have enough money or resources to maintain a quality of living that includes basic life necessities such as shelter, food, clothing and water
  • applies across locations, countries, and cultures
33
Q

Poverty Line

A
  • derived from the government’s calculation of the minimum income requirements for families to acquire the minimum necessities of life
  • problem: this fails to take into account geographic variables that impact the value of money in different locations
34
Q

Social Exclusion

A
  • can arise from sense of powerlessness when poor individuals feel segregated and isolated from society
  • can create further obstacles to achieving self-help, independence and self-respect
35
Q

Spatial Inequality

A
  • focuses on social stratification across territories and their populations
  • focus on how geography influences social processes
  • social relationships between different agents, such as capitalists, laborers, the government, and citizens, result in spatially varied social structures, built environments, and unequal regional development
36
Q

Residential Segregation

A

-concept of where one resides (urban, suburban, or rural environment) having a substantial effect on how people interact, cooperate, and advance

37
Q

What is true of individuals living in urban environments?

A

tend to have more career opportunities, and can more easily improve their SES through such avenues as education, career choice and marriage

38
Q

What explains the overall greater concentration of poor individuals in urban centers?

A

suburbanization

39
Q

Suburbanization

A
  • migration pattern of the middle class to suburban communities
  • leads to urban decay
40
Q

Urban Decay

A

occurs when a previously functional portion of a city deteriorates and becomes decrepit over time

41
Q

What process can spontaneously revers urban renewal?

A

urban decay

42
Q

Urban Renewal

A
  • occurs when city land is reclaimed and renovated for public or private use
  • fueled by gentrification
43
Q

Gentrification

A

occurs when upper- and middle-class populations begin to purchase and renovate neighborhoods in deteriorated areas, displacing the low-SES population

44
Q

Environmental Justice

A
  • poor and minority groups tend to reside closer to sites of environmental pollution because these areas are usually cheaper housing markets
  • environmental risks (ex. hazardous waste-producing plants, toxic waste dumps) are located in low-income areas with a high concentration of racial and ethnic minorities
  • result in increase in illness and disease in these areas
45
Q

World System Theory

A
  • categorizes countries and emphasizes the inequalities of the division of labor at the global level
  • focus on global inequality
46
Q

Core Nations

A

nations that focus on higher skills and higher paying productions while exploiting peripheral nations for their lower-skilled productions

47
Q

Semi-Peripheral Nations

A
  • midway between core nations and peripheral nations
  • nations that work toward becoming core nations while having many characteristics of peripheral nations
  • mostly seen in parts of India, sub-Sahara Africa, south central Asia
48
Q

What has globalization created?

A

further inequalities in space, food and water, energy, housing, and education as the production of goods shifts to cheaper and cheaper labor markets

49
Q

Incidence

A
  • the number of new cases of an illness per population at risk in a given amount of time
  • equation: new cases / population at risk / time
50
Q

Prevalence

A
  • measure of the number of cases of an illness overall - whether new or chronic - per population in a given amount of time
  • equation: total cases / total population / time
51
Q

Morbidity

A

the burden or degree of illness associated with a given disease

52
Q

Mortality

A

refers to deaths causes by a given disease

53
Q

Second Sickness

A
  • refers to the fact that health outcomes are exacerbated by social inequalities and social injustice
  • results in higher-income groups having longer life expectancies than lower-income groups
54
Q

__-_____ groups have an overall worse profile in terms of morbidity and mortality rates

A

low-income – especially racial and ethnic minorities

55
Q

Which gender has a better health profile?

A

women

56
Q

Which gender has worse mortality rates?

A

men

57
Q

Which gender has higher morbidity rates?

A

women

58
Q

Medicare

A

covers patients over the the age of 65, those with end-stage renal disease, and those with ALS

59
Q

Medicaid

A

covers those who are in significant financial need

60
Q

List some reasons why low-income groups have higher morality rates

A
  • poor access to quality medical care
  • poor nutrition
  • feeling less in control of life circumstances
  • more likely to smoke, and be overweight/obese
  • less likely to engage in physical activity
61
Q

Which groups of Americans receive worse care than white Americans?

A
  • African Americans
  • Asian Americans
  • Native Americans
  • Hispanics
62
Q

What group of patients are most likely to switch doctors repeatedly?

A

overweight/obese patients

  • this group is highly discriminated against
  • doctors do not form strong relationships with these patients
  • lack of continuity of care so this group has less quality preventive care and screenings
63
Q

Which gender is favored in the healthcare system?

A

women

-women are better when it comes to accessing healthcare because they are more likely to be insured compared to men

64
Q

Which gender is most likely to be delayed or unable to obtain necessary medical care?

A

women

65
Q

Social Epidemiology

A
  • interested in the distribution of health and disease within a given population
  • examines such factors as availability of and accessibility to healthcare among various groups within society