CSP

• Social Stratification


  Division of large social groups into smaller groups based on categories determined by economics
• Social exclusion


  Related to the concept of social stratification and inequality, refers to the process by which individuals are cut off from full involvement in the wider circles of society
• Systems of Stratification


  • Closed systems
  • Open systems
• Closed systems


  • Impose rigid boundaries between social groups and limit interactions among members who belong to different social groups or occupy different levels in the social hierarchy
  • Resistant to change
• Open systems


  • Based on achievement, allowing more flexibility in social roles, increased social mobility, and better interaction among social groups and classes
• Closed System


  Caste System
• Open System


  Class System
• Social class


  Composed of people who share the same background and characteristics such as income, education, and occupation
• Exogamous marriages


  Marriages between people who come from different social classes
• Endogamous marriages


  Marriages between people from the same social class
• Meritocracy


  A system of stratification that is determined by personal effort and merit
• Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification


  • Functionalism
  • Conflict Theory
  • Symbolic Interactionism
• Functionalism


  • Examines how the different aspects of society contribute to ensuring its stability and continued function
• Functionalists believe that each part or aspect of society serves an important purpose
• Davis-Moore hypothesis


  Proposed that a social role that has a greater functional purpose will result in greater reward, and that stratification represents the inherently unequal value of different types of work
• Melvin Tumin


  Proposed an alternative perspective on the significance of employment on social stratification
• Conflict Theory


  • Takes critical view of social stratification and considers society as benefiting only a small segment
• Conflict theorists believe that stratification perpetuates inequality and they draw many of their ideas from the works of Karl Marx
• Karl Marx


  Considered society as being divided between two groups: the bourgeoisie (upper class) and proletariat (lower class)
• Symbolic Interactionism


  • Refrains from looking into the larger structural factors that define social stratification and contribute to inequality and poverty
• Theory of conspicuous consumption


  Refers to buying certain products to make a social statement about status
• Types of Social Mobility


  • Upward mobility
  • Downward mobility
• Upward Mobility


  Refers to an upward movement in social class (eg. people who have gained wealth)
• Downward Mobility


  Refers to the lowering of an individual's social class
• Mobility can be classified as


  • Intragenerational
  • Intergenerational
• Intragenerational Mobility


  Focuses on the experience of people who belong to the same generation
• Intergenerational Mobility


  Refers to the changes in social standing experienced by individuals belonging to different generations
• Social Inequality


  • Class
  • Gender
  • Religion
  • Ethnicity
  • Age
• Social Inequality and Poverty


  • Upper class
  • Middle class
  • Lower class
  • Underclass
• Upper class


  Usually composed of the rich, well-born, powerful, or a combination of these
• Middle class


  Most contested of the three categories, refers to a group of people who fall socioeconomically between the lower and upper classes
• Lower class


  Refers to those employed in low-paying wage jobs with very little economic security
• Underclass


  Also utilized to refer to the segment of society that is not only affected by poverty but is also a subject to social exclusion
• Absolute poverty


  Refers to the lack of basic resources like food, clean water, safe housing, and access to health care needed to maintain a quality lifestyle
• Relative poverty


  Applies to those who may be able to obtain basic necessities but are still unable to maintain an average standard of living compared to the rest of society
• Subjective poverty


  A type of poverty that is defined by how an individual evaluates his/her actual income against his or her expectations and perceptions
• Gender Inequality


  Another important aspect of social inequality
• Gender


  Refers to the culturally-imposed characteristics that define masculinity and feminity
• Sex


  Refers to biological and anatomical differences that distinguish male from females
• Gender role


  Refers to specific tasks and behaviors expected of a person by virtue of his or her sex