Studied by 1 persongrouping of people with similar levels of wealth, power, and prestige
social stratification
assets the value of everything the person owns and income
wealth
ability to control the behavior of others, with or without their consent
power
respect, honor, recognition, or courtesy an individual receives from others
prestige
what does SES stand for
socioeconomic status
rank people according to wealth, power, and prestige
socioeconomic status
Stratification is necessary of a society
Roles must be performed if a system is to be maintained
The more important the role- the higher the reward
functionalist theory
Weaknesses
Not everyone has equal access to such resources as education
Assumes that positions that higher rewards are more important
functionalist weaknesses
Competition over scarce resources as cause of social inequality
Marxist theory class exploitation
Struggle for resources
conflict theory
Weaknesses
Fails to recognize that unequal rewards are based on differences in talent, skill, and desire
conflict theory weaknesses
Ex. Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Bill Gates, Michael Jordan
“Old money” vs. “new money”
upper class
Ex. CEO’s, doctors
upper middle class
Ex. white collar jobs, nursing, middle management, teachers
lower middle class
Ex. blue collar, harder labor, factory workers, tradespeople, less skilled
working classes
Ex. lowest paying jobs, housecleaning, migrant farm work, min wage
working poor
Ex. undesirable work, only 50% of children in underclass move up
underclass
movement between or within social classes
social mobility
moves from one job to another in equal ranking
horizontal mobility
movement between social classes (moves from working class to lower middle class)
vertical mobility
Social changes within an individual’s life
intergenerational mobility
our perception of the cause of events and behaviors
attribution theory
Note
Flashcard