Social Stratification Quiz

Social Stratification, Class, and Mobility

• Social stratification is a concept used to describe structured inequalities between social groups within societies.
• Socially stratified systems share three basic characteristics: rankings apply to social categories of people who share common characteristics, people’s life experiences and opportunities depend on the relative ranking of their social category, and the ranks of social categories tend to change only slowly.
• There are different forms of stratification, including slavery, caste, estate, and class. The most extreme form of stratification still exists today in the form of trafficking, and strict divisions by religion exist in countries such as India and South Africa.
• Karl Marx focused on the economic aspect of class divisions and maintained that status distinctions are the result of class divisions, while Max Weber argued that stratification is founded on economic conditions, status, and party.
• Erik Olin Wright developed Marxist theory to include elements of Weber’s approach, and he identified three dimensions of control over economic resources in modern capitalist production that allow us to identify major classes that exist.
• The upper class is composed of the more affluent members of society who have inherited wealth, own large businesses, or hold large numbers of stocks and shares.
• The middle class is a broad spectrum of people working in professional, managerial, and administrative occupations with associated norms, values, and lifestyles, and it has expanded to a huge proportion of society.
• Social closure is the process through which social groups maintain their advantages by implementing criteria that control and exclude who is allowed to join the group.
• The embourgeoisement theory, which states that people are becoming more middle class because of increasing affluence, has been proven wrong, but there is an intersection between the lower middle class and the upper working class.
• Underclass is a term used to describe people who have a significantly lower standard of living than the majority, while social exclusion is the outcome of multiple deprivations that prevent individuals or groups from participating fully in the economic, social, and political life of the society in which they are located.
• Gender is one of the most profound examples of social stratification, and societies are structured in a way in which men are privileged over women in terms of wealth, status, and influence.
• Social mobility is the movement of individuals and groups between socioeconomic positions, including vertical and lateral mobility, intragenerational mobility, and intergenerational mobility.

Social Stratification, Class, and Mobility

• Social stratification is a concept used to describe structured inequalities between social groups within societies.
• Socially stratified systems share three basic characteristics: rankings apply to social categories of people who share common characteristics, people’s life experiences and opportunities depend on the relative ranking of their social category, and the ranks of social categories tend to change only slowly.
• There are different forms of stratification, including slavery, caste, estate, and class. The most extreme form of stratification still exists today in the form of trafficking, and strict divisions by religion exist in countries such as India and South Africa.
• Karl Marx focused on the economic aspect of class divisions and maintained that status distinctions are the result of class divisions, while Max Weber argued that stratification is founded on economic conditions, status, and party.
• Erik Olin Wright developed Marxist theory to include elements of Weber’s approach, and he identified three dimensions of control over economic resources in modern capitalist production that allow us to identify major classes that exist.
• The upper class is composed of the more affluent members of society who have inherited wealth, own large businesses, or hold large numbers of stocks and shares.
• The middle class is a broad spectrum of people working in professional, managerial, and administrative occupations with associated norms, values, and lifestyles, and it has expanded to a huge proportion of society.
• Social closure is the process through which social groups maintain their advantages by implementing criteria that control and exclude who is allowed to join the group.
• The embourgeoisement theory, which states that people are becoming more middle class because of increasing affluence, has been proven wrong, but there is an intersection between the lower middle class and the upper working class.
• Underclass is a term used to describe people who have a significantly lower standard of living than the majority, while social exclusion is the outcome of multiple deprivations that prevent individuals or groups from participating fully in the economic, social, and political life of the society in which they are located.
• Gender is one of the most profound examples of social stratification, and societies are structured in a way in which men are privileged over women in terms of wealth, status, and influence.
• Social mobility is the movement of individuals and groups between socioeconomic positions, including vertical and lateral mobility, intragenerational mobility, and intergenerational mobility.

Understanding Social Stratification: Class, Status, and Power

• Social stratification refers to structured inequalities between social groups within societies.
• All socially stratified systems have three basic characteristics: rankings apply to social categories, life experiences and opportunities depend on relative ranking, and ranks tend to change slowly.
• Different forms of social stratification include slavery, caste, estate, and class.
• The upper class consists of a small minority of individuals who have both wealth and power and are able to transmit their privileges to their children.
• The middle class is a broad spectrum of people working in professional, managerial, and administrative occupations with associated norms, values, and lifestyles.
• Social closure is the process through which social groups maintain their advantages by implementing criteria that control and exclude who is allowed to join the group.
• Lifestyle choices are an important indicator of class, according to Pierre Bourdieu, who identifies four forms of "capital" that characterize class position: cultural, social, economic, and symbolic capital.
• Gender is one of the most profound examples of social stratification, with societies structured in a way that privileges men over women in terms of wealth, status, and influence.
• Social mobility refers to the movement of individuals and groups between socio-economic positions, with vertical mobility being the movement up or down the socio-economic scale.
• Intragenerational mobility is how far people move up or down the social scale in the course of their working lives, while intergenerational mobility is mobility across generations.
• Downward mobility is often associated with psychological problems and anxieties, where individuals become unable to sustain the lifestyles to which they have become accustomed.
• Scholars have developed different models to understand class, including the elite model, the precariat model, and the postmodern model.

Understanding Social Stratification: Class, Status, and Power

• Social stratification refers to structured inequalities between social groups within societies.
• All socially stratified systems have three basic characteristics: rankings apply to social categories, life experiences and opportunities depend on relative ranking, and ranks tend to change slowly.
• Different forms of social stratification include slavery, caste, estate, and class.
• The upper class consists of a small minority of individuals who have both wealth and power and are able to transmit their privileges to their children.
• The middle class is a broad spectrum of people working in professional, managerial, and administrative occupations with associated norms, values, and lifestyles.
• Social closure is the process through which social groups maintain their advantages by implementing criteria that control and exclude who is allowed to join the group.
• Lifestyle choices are an important indicator of class, according to Pierre Bourdieu, who identifies four forms of "capital" that characterize class position: cultural, social, economic, and symbolic capital.
• Gender is one of the most profound examples of social stratification, with societies structured in a way that privileges men over women in terms of wealth, status, and influence.
• Social mobility refers to the movement of individuals and groups between socio-economic positions, with vertical mobility being the movement up or down the socio-economic scale.
• Intragenerational mobility is how far people move up or down the social scale in the course of their working lives, while intergenerational mobility is mobility across generations.
• Downward mobility is often associated with psychological problems and anxieties, where individuals become unable to sustain the lifestyles to which they have become accustomed.
• Scholars have developed different models to understand class, including the elite model, the precariat model, and the postmodern model.