MCAT-SOC: Social Stratification

false consciousness

a misperception of one’s actual socioeconomic position within society (proletariat do not recognize their own lack in comparison with bourgeoisie)

a barrier to class consciousness

anomie

the breakdown of social norms between an individual and society

individualism, social inequality, and isolation

social capital

the economic and collective rewards one receives from social investments

situational social inequality

caused by socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage

positional social inequality

caused by one’s centrality within a network

cultural capital

the benefits one receives from knowledge, abilities, and skills

strong ties

join together communities via peer groups and kinship contacts (quantitatively small but qualitatively powerful)

weak ties

join together communities via superficial connections (quantitatively large but qualitatively small)

five ethnicities model

white, black, asian, latino, native american

intragenerational changes in social status

happen within a person’s lifetime

intergenerational changes in social status

happen from parent to children

meritocracy

a society is ruled by the intellectually talented and achieving

plutocracy

a society is ruled by the upper class

vertical mobility

movement from one social class to another

horizontal mobility

movement in lifestyle that remains within the same social class

social reproduction

social inequality can be reproduced from one generation to the next

structural poverty

that there are holes in the structure of society and poverty is situational, not personal

poverty line

the classical definition of poverty by an estimation of the minimum income requirements for families to achieve basic needs; does not take into account varying cost of living

social exclusion

poor individuals feel segregated from society

spatial inequality

examines social stratification across geographical territories and populations

residential segregation

where one resides (urban, suburban, or rural) affects socioeconomic status

i.e those in urban areas have more access to different socially mobilizing careers, while rural areas maintain the same careers

suburbanization

the movement of the middle classes to suburban communities

urban decay

a previously functional portion of a city decays overtime as a result of some moving away (suburbanization)

urban renewal

city land is reclaimed and renovated for public or private use; reverses the effects of urban decay

gentrification

urban renewal by upper classes that displaces lower classes from their affordable neighborhoods

environmental justice

areas with lower income homes experience more environmental pollution, producing detrimental health effects

world system theory

there are inequalities in the division of labor at the global level

core nations

nations that focus on higher skills and higher paying productions

peripheral nations

nations that are exploited for their lower-skilled productions

semi-peripheral nations

nations that work towards becoming core nations whilst having characteristics of peripheral nations

incidence

the number of new cases of an illness per population at risk in a given amount of time

prevalence

the measure of the number of cases of an illness overall per population in a given amount of time

morbidity

the burden of illness associated with a given disease

mortality

the number of deaths caused by a given disease

second sickness

the exacerbation of health outcomes caused by social injustice and inequality

medicare

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

medicaid

government insurance that covers patients with significant financial need and disabilities

absolute poverty

when people do not have enough resources to acquire basic life necessities

relative poverty

when one is poor in comparison to a larger population