SOCIO120 (Ramos/DVC): Quiz 3, Units 6-7

What is the one defining feature of a minority group?

Lack of power

Closed system

Where people have great difficulty in changing their social position. Do not allow people to shift levels or social relationships between levels. (Ex. estate, slavery, caste systems)

Ascribed status

Assigned to people by their group or society (born with)

Open system

People can change their status with relative ease. Based on achievement. Allows for movement and interaction between layers and classes.

Achieved status

Open to people on the basis of individual choice and competition (work for)

Although no societies are entirely open or closed...

...the US provides a good example of a relatively open system ("American Dream")

Social mobility

The ability to move from one level (stratum) to another in the stratification system

Vertical mobility

Movement from one social status to another of higher or lower rank (upward or downward)

Horizontal mobility

Movement from one social status to another of approximately equivalent rank

Intergenerational mobility.

When different generations of a family to belong to varying social classes

Intragenerational mobility

Changes in a person's social mobility over the course of their lifetime

Structural mobility

Socioeconomic changes in society as a whole. (Ex. Industrialization, recessions)

Social Stratification

The ranking or grading of individuals and groups in hierarchical layers. Structured inequality in the allocation of rewards, privileges, resources.

Components of Stratification

Power, prestige, economic standing

Power

Compelling others to do what they do not wish to do. Determines who makes their preferences a part of real life. Gain mastery of critical resources, creating dependency and therefore mastery of others.

Prestige

The social respect, admiration, and recognition associated with a particular social status (degrees, titles, rituals, etc)

Wealth

What people own at a particular point in time (have)

Income

Amount of new money people recieve within a given time (get)

How do sociologists identify social classes?

objective method, self-placement (subjective) method, reputation method

Objective method

Views social class as a statistical category (income, occupation, education). Uses numerically measured criteria to categorize individuals.

Self-Placement (Subjective) method

People identify the social class to which they think they belong. Class is a social category in which there are perceived shared characteristics

Reputation method

How people classify others. Class rests on knowledge of who associates with whom.

Talcott Parsons on social class

Social position is determined by one's location on some dimension(s) of value.

Max Weber's "Life Chances"

The likelihood of enjoying desired goods and services, fulfilling experiences, and opportunities for healthy and long lives. Their standard of living and options of choice.

How many people are living in poverty in the US?

46.2 million

What was the poverty threshold for a family of four in 2010?

$22,050

Functionalist Theory of Stratification

Stratification exists to fill all the statuses in a social structure and motivate individuals to perform the duties associated with their positions. It's beneficial for society.

Conflict Theory of Stratification

Stratification exists because it benefits individuals and groups who have power to dominate and exploit other

How do sociologists DEFINE race?

A group of people who see themselves, and are seen by others, as having hereditary traits that set them apart.

How do sociologists VIEW race?

Race is socially constructed. It has no real existence other than how people think of it.

Racial formation

Social, economic, and political forces create and perpetuate racial categories and meanings. In turn, racial categories effect these processes and structures.

Ethnic group

Groups identified chiefly on cultural grounds - language, folk practices, dress, gestures, mannerisms, religion, etc.

Institutional discrimination

The functioning of the institutions of society that produces unequal outcomes for different groups. Involves gatekeeping and racial preferences.

What was the result of Devah Pager's study about institutional discrimination?

African American applicants without a criminal record were hired at the same low rate as the white applicants WITH a criminal record

Assimilation

Groups with distinctive identities become culturally and socially fused ("melting pot")

Pluralism

Diverse groups coexist side by side and mutually accommodate themselves to their differences ("salad bowl")

Social Order (Functionalist) Perspective of Race

Social consensus helps a society maintain stability, and ethnic differentiation reduces consensus and increases conflict

Conflict Perspective of Race

Prejudice and discrimination can best be understood in terms of tension or conflict among competing groups

Interactionist Perspective of Race

The way we act is dependent on the meanings we attach to people, objects, and events. So, ethnic groups are products of social interaction.

Social Learning Theory of Race

Prejudice is the result of socialization from parents, peers, the media, and other aspects of the culture one grew up in. The result of conforming to this culture.

What is the definition of white privilege?

To overempower certain groups, having dominance because of one's race or sex, etc.

What were the findings from the Bertrand article?

Resumes with white-sounding names received 50% more callbacks for interviews compared to resumes with African-American-sounding names