SOC 100 - Stratification

Key terms concerning the unit of stratification

Stratification

The hierarchical organization of society into groups with unequal access to economic resources, power, and social prestige. (Conley 2026: 267)

Inequality

Any difference in resources, including ease of acquisition, and amount.

Class system

An economically based system of stratification in which individuals and groups occupy different positions in the economic hierarchy. Often allow for social mobility.

Income

Resources that are coming in, including money received from wages, investments, transfers, or other sources.

Wealth

The value of assets owned minus outstanding debts - think net worth.

Mobility

Refers to the ability of individuals to change positions within a social stratification system

Horizontal mobility

Social mobility in which a group or individual transitioning from one social status to another is situated more or less on the same rung of the social ladder. (ex. maintaining a middle class status)

Vertical mobility

Social mobility between social classes, in which case upwards is moving up the social hierarchy and downwards is moving to a lower social or economic status.

Intergenerational mobility

Social mobility in which social status changes from one generation to the next. (ex. rags to riches, across multiple generations)

Structural mobility

Social mobility in which societal changes enable a whole group of people to move up of down the social class ladder.

Intersectional stratification

Social positions determined by race, ethnicity, gender, romantic orientation, or other social divisions.

Intersectionality

An approach that examines how different systems of inequality intersect to shape people’s experiences and opportunities.

Structural functionalism perspective

The view that social stratification is viewed as a system of unequal rewards that helps motivate individuals to fill different social roles.

Symbolic interactionism perspective

The view that social stratification is shaped and reproduced through everyday interactions, shared meanings, and expectations attached to social positions and identities.