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60 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is social stratification? |
ranking of individuals or categories of people on the the basis of unequal access to scarce resources and social rewards |
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What is social inequality?
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unequal sharing of social rewards and resources |
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What is a caste system? |
system in which scarce resources and rewards are distributed on the basis of ascribed statuses |
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What is exogamy? |
marriage outside of one's own social category |
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What is endogamy? |
marriage within one's own social category |
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What is a class system? |
system in which scarce resources and rewards are detrmined on the basis of achieved statuses |
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What is bourgeoisie? |
owners of the means of production in a capitalist society |
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What is proletariat? |
workers in a capitalist society who sell their labor in exchange for wages |
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What is social class? |
grouping of people with similar levels of wealth, power and prestige |
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What is power? |
ability to control the behavior of others, with or without their consent |
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What is prestige? |
respect, honor, recognition, or courtesy an individual receives from other members of society |
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What is socioeconomic status (SES)? |
rating that combines social factors such as level of education, occupational prestige, and place of residence with the economic factor of income in order to determine an individual's relative position in the stratification system |
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Who is Ralf Dahrendorf? |
a sociologist who tries to synthesize the functional and conflict theories of social stratification; he suggests that each approach might be used to explain specific aspects of stratification |
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Who is Gerhard Lenski? |
a sociologist who tries to synthesize the functional and conflict theories of social stratification; he asserts that usefulness of the theory depends on the society under study |
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What are three dimensions of social stratification discussed in the section? |
wealth, power and prestige |
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How does the functional perspective explain social stratification? |
functionalists view stratification as a necessary feature of the social structure and argue that the more important a role and the more skill needed to perform it, the higher the reward |
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How does the conflict perspective and theory explain social stratification? |
conflict theorists view stratification as a result of conflict over scarce resources and argue that groups who gain power then use that power to maintain it |
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Contrast the two major systems of stratification: caste and class systems. |
Caste systems are closed; class systems are open |
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Who are the two sociologists who try to explain social stratification with a blend of the functional and conflict theories? |
Ralf Dahrendorf and Gerhard Lenski p212 |
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What are some criticisms of the functionalist's explanation of the cause of social stratification? |
society does not provide equal access to education and jobs; and reward do not always reflect the social values of roles |
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What are some criticisms of the conflict theorists' explanation of the cause of social stratification? |
It fails to recognize that unequal rewards are based in part on differences in talents, skills, and desires among people |
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What do Marxist conflict theorists see as the cause of social stratification? |
the bourgeoisie exploit and control the proletariat tomaintain wealth and power |
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What do American conflict theorist see as the cause of social stratification? |
Groups compete for scarce resources. Those with power use it to maintain their position. |
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Who are some American conflict theorists? |
C. Wright Mills, Irving Louis Horowitz, and G. William Domhoff |
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What country is know for having a rigid caste system for centuries? |
India
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What is the reputational method?
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technique used to rank individuals according to social class. This is done by asking individuals in the community to rank other community members based on what they know of their characters and life-styles. p214
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What is the subjective method?
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technique used to rank individuals according to social class in which the individuals themselves are asked to determine their own social ran p213
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What is the objective method?
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technique used to rank individuals according to social class in which sociologicsts define social class in terms of factors such as income, occupation, and education p215
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What is social mobility?
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movement between or within social classes or strata p217
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What is horizontal mobility?
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type of social mobility in which the individual moves from one position in a social class level to another position in that same social class level 217
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What is vertical mobility?
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movement between social classes or strata in which the individual moves from one social-class level to another p217
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What is intergenerational mobility?
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form of vertical mobility in which status differs between generations in the same family p218
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What are some structural factors that affect upward mobility?
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technology, merchandising patterns, education
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What are some structural factors that affect downward mobility?
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technology, economic changes
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What are some structural factors that affect social mobility?
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technology, merchandising patterns, education, and economic changes
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What are the six social classes in the United States?
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Upper class, upper middle class, lower middle class, working class, working poor, and underclass
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What are the levels of education, occupations, and percentage of population of the upper class?
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educated at prestigious universities, owners of large businesses, investors, heirs to family fortunes, some top business executives; 1%
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What are the levels of education, occupations, and percentage of population of the upper middle class?
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educated at college or university, business executives, and some professionals; 14%
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What are the levels of education, occupations, and percentage of population of the lower middle class?
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education through high school, some college; lower-level mangers, skilled craftworkers, supervisors; 30%
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What are the levels of education, occupations, and percentage of population of the working class?
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high school education; factory workers, clerical workers, lower-level salespeople, some craftworkers; 30%
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What are the levels of education, occupations, and percentage of population of the working poor (class)?
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some high school; laborers, service workers - gardeners, house cleaners, etc; 22%
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What are the levels of education, occupations, and percentage of population of the underclass (class)?
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some high school; undesirable, low-paying jobs, unemployed, on welfare; 3%
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How do American cultural values and economic aspiration and motivation influence the American class system and social mobility?
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Such values influence Americans to try to do better financially than their parents and to help their children do the same, yet most American remain in the same social class as their parents.
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What is poverty?
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standard of living that is below the minimum level considered decent and reasonable by society p221
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Waht is the poverty level?
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minimum annual income needed by a family to survive p221
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What are life chances?
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the likelihood individuals have of sharing in the opportunities and benefits of society p223
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What is life expectancy?
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average number of years a person born in a particular year can be expected to live p223, p408
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What are transfer payments?
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principal way in which the government attempts to reduce social inequality by redistributing money among various segments of society p226
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What effect does poverty have on people's life chances and behavioral characteristics?
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poverty can affect life chances in the following ways: decreased life expectancy, increased health risks, limitations in education; poverty can affect behavior in the form of increased divorce rates, crime rates, and changes of being a victim of a crime
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How do age, sex, race and ethnicity affect the likelihood of being poor in the United States?
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age - the largest percentage of people living below the poverty level are children; sex - more than 50% of the poor are women; race/ethnicity - African Americans and Hispanics are more likely than white Americans to be poor
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What programs has the federal government established to address poverty and its effects?
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SSI (Supplemental Security Income), TANF (Temporary Assistance for needy families), food stamps, and Medicaid
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How do caste systems and class systems differ?
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Caste systems are closed; class systems are open.
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How do the functionalist and conflict explanations of stratification differ?
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Functionalists view stratification as a necessary feature of the social structure & argue that the more important a role & the more skill needed, the higher the reward. Conflict theorists view stratification as a result of conflict over scarce resources & argue that groups who gain power then use that power to maintain it.
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What are the six social classes recognized by most American sociologists?
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upper class, upper middle class, lower middle class, working class, working poor, and underclass
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What is the poverty level and how is it calculated?
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The poverty level is the minimum annual income needed by a family to survive. It is determined by calculating the cost of providing an adequate diet, based on the US Department of Agriculture's minimum nutritional standard, and then multiplying that figure by three.
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How can poverty affect the life chances of Americans?
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Proverty can lead to a decrease in life expectancy, increased health risks, and limitations on education.
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How have government programs changed to assist poor Americans changed in recent years?
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Welfare reform has turned over the management of some welfare programs to the states and replaced AFDC with TANF, which changed the rules for payment of assistance.
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What is social stratification?
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the division of society into categories, ranks, or classes based on certain characteristics
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What are life chances?
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the likelihood a person has of sharing in the opportunities and benefits of society
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What are transfer payments?
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government methods to redistribute money among various segments of society
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