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57 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Identify: social stratification
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A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy, so that some people have more money, power, and prestige than others
- A trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences -carries over from one generation to the next - is supported by a system of cultural beliefs that define certain kinds of inequality as just - Takes two general forms:caste and class systems |
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Identify: social mobility
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A change in position within the social heirarchy
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Identify: caste system
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-social stratification based on ascription, or birth
-Permit little or no social mobility - Are common in traditional, agrarian societies |
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Identify: class system
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-social stratification based on both ascription (birth) and meritocracy (individual achievement)
-permit some social mobility -are common in modern, industrial and postindustrial societies |
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Identify: meritocracy
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social stratification based on personal merit
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Identify: status consistency
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The degree of consistency in a person's social standings across various dimensions of social inequality
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Identify: structural social mobility
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A shift in the social position of a large numbers of people due more to changes in society than to individual efforts
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Identify: ideology
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cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality
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Identify: Davis-Moore thesis
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The assertion that social stratification exists in every society because it has beneficial consequences for the operation of society
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Identify: Capitalists
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People who own and operate factories and other businesses in pursuit of profits.
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Identify: proletarians
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Working people who sell thier labor for wages
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Identify: alienation
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The experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness
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Identify:Blue-Collar occupations
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Lower-prestige jobs that involve mostly manual labor
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Identify: White-Collar Occupations
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Higher-prestige jobs that involve mostly mental activity
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Identify:Socioeconomic status
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A composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequaliy
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Identify: Conspicuous consumption
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Buying and using products with an eye to the "statement" they make about social postion
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Identify: Income
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Earnings from work or investments
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Identify: Wealth
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The total value of money and other assets, minus outstanding debts
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Identify: Intragenerational social mobility
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A change in social position occurring during a person's lifetime
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Identify: intergenerational social mobility
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Upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents
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Identify: relative poverty
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The deprivation of some people in relation to those who have more
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Identify: absolute poverty
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A deprivation of resources that is life-threatening
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Identify: feminzation of poverty
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The trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor
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Explain: The Structural-Functional Approach to Social Stratification
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- points to ways social stratification helps society to operate
- The "Davis-Moore Thesis" states that social stratification is universal because of its functional consequences. - In caste systems, people are rewarded for performing the duties of their position at birth - In class systems, unequal rewards attract the ablest people to the most important jobs and encourage effort. |
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Explain: The Social-Conflict Approach to Social Stratification
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-Claims that stratification divides societies in classes, benefiting some categories of people at the expense of others and causing social conflict
-Karl Marx claimed that capitalism places economic production under ownership of capitalists, who exploit the proletariat who sell their labor for wages -Max Weber identified three distinct dimensions of social stratification:economic class, social status or prestige, and power. Conflict exists between people at various positions on a multidimensional hierarchy of socioeconomic status. |
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Explain: The Symbolic-Interaction Approach to Social Stratification
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A micro-level analysis, explains out that we size up people by looking for clues to their social standing. "Conspicuous Consumption" refers to buying and displaying products that make a "statement" about social class systems. Most people tend to socialize with others whose social standing is similar to their own
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Concerning Social Stratification, What is the Structural-Function Approach's level of analysis?
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Macro-level
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Concerning Social Stratification, What is the Social-Conflict Approach's level of analysis?
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Macro-level
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According to the Structural-Functional Approach, what is social stratification?
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Stratification is a system of unequal rewards that benefits society as a whole
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According to the Social-Conflict Approach, what is social stratification?
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Stratification is a division of a society's resources that benefits some and harms others.
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According to the Symbolic-Interaction Approach, what is social stratification?
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Stratification is a factor that guides people's interaction in everyday life.
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According to the Structural-Functional Approach, what is the reason for our social position?
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Social position reflects personal talents and abilities in a competitive economy
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According to the Social-Conflict Approach, what is the reason for our social position?
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Social position reflects the way society divides resources
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According to the Symbolic-Interaction Approach, what is the reason for our social position?
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The products we consume all say something about our social position.
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According to the Structural-Functional Approach, are unequal rewards fair?
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Yes. Unequal rewards boost economic production by encouraging people to work harder and try new ideas. Linking greater rewards to more important work is widely accepted.
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According to the Social-Conflict Approach, are unequal rewards fair?
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No. Unequal rewards only serve to divide society, creating "haves" and "have-nots." There is widespread opposition to social inequality.
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According to the Symbolic-Interaction Approach, are unequal rewards fair?
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Maybe. People may or may not define inequality as fair. People may view their social position as a measure of self-worth, justifying inequality in terms of personal difference.
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"Map out" Social Stratification and Technology: A Global Perspective
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Hunting and Gathering, Horticultural and Pastoral, Agrarian: Gerhard Lenski explains that advancing technology initially increases social stratification, which is most intense in agrarian societies.
Industrial: Industrialization reverses the trend, reducing social stratification Postindustrial: In postindustrial societies, social stratification again increases. |
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Explain: Social Stratification involves many dimensions:
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-Income: Earnings from work and investments are unequal, with the richest 20% of families earning twelve times as much as the poorest 20% of families.
- Wealth: The total value of all assets minus debts, wealth is distributed more unequally than income, with the richest 20% of families holding 84% of all wealth -Power: Income and wealth are important sources of power -Prestige: work generates not only income but prestige. White-Collar jobs generally offer more income and prestige than blue-collar jobs. Many lower-prestige jobs are performed by women and people of color. -Family ancestry, race and ethnicity, and gender all affect socail standing. |
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Explain: Social Classes in the US
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Upper Class: 5% of the population. Most members of the "upper-upper class" or "old rich" inherited their wealth; the "lower-upper class", or "new rich" work at high-paying jobs
Middle Class: 40-45% of the population. People in the "upper-middle class" have significant wealth; average-middles have less prestige, do most white-collar work, and most attend college Working Class: One third of the population. People in the "lower middle class" do blue collar work; only about a third of children attend college. Lower Class: 20% of the population. Most people in the lower class lack financial security due to low income; many live below the poverty line; half do not complete high school |
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T or F:
People with higher social standing generally have better health, hold certain values and political attitudes, and pass on advantages in the form of "cultural capital" to their children |
T
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T or F.
Social mobility is common in the US, as it is in other high-income countries, but typically only small changes occur from one generation to the next. |
T
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T or F.
Due to the expansion of the global economy, the richest families now earn even more than ever; families near the bottom of the class system have seen only small increases. |
T
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Explain:
Poverty in the US: Poverty Profile |
-The gov classifies 37 million people, about 12.6% of the population, as poor.
-About 35% of the poor are children under 18 - 2/3 of the poor are white, but in relation to their population, African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to be poor - The "feminization of poverty" means that more poor families are headed by women -About 48% of the heads of poor families are among the "working poor" who work at least part-time but do not earn enough to lift a family of four above the poverty line |
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Explain:
Poverty in the US: Explanations of Poverty |
-Blame individuals: The "culture of poverty" thesis states that poverty is caused by shortcomings in the poor themselves
- Blame society: Poverty is caused by society's unequal distribution of wealth and lack of good jobs |
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"Social Stratification" refers to
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Ranking categories of people into a hierarchy
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A caste system of Social stratification ___
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Is based on birth!
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Sonja has 2 advanced degrees, an average salary, and is working at a low-prestige job. Which concept best describes her situation?
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Low status consistency
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According to the Davis-Morris thesis,
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More important jobs must offer enough rewards to draw talent from less-important work.
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Karl Marx claimed that society "reproduces class structure."By this he meant that,
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Class differences are passed on from one generation to antoher
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Max Weber claimed that social stratification is based on
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-economic class
-social status or prestige -power |
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The wealthiest 20% of people in the US own about how much of the country's private owned wealth?
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84%
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About what share of Us adults over the age of 25 are college graduates?
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28%
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Which of the following is another term for the "working class"?
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lower-middle class
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Which quintile (20%) of the US population has seen the greatest change in income over the last generation?
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The top quintile
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Change in social postion during a person's own lifetime is called
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Intragenerational social mobility
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Which age category of the US population has the highest poverty rate?
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Children
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