STRATIFICATION IN SOCIEY Sociology Unit 3 Notes

Social Stratification _________________: _______________________________ _______________________________ __  Examples: ancestry, race, age, physical appearance and gender most common characteristics  ______________________: the unequal sharing of scarce resources  _____________________________________ _____________________________________  Access to social rewards based on any characteristics employed by a society  _____________________________________ _____________________________________

2 Traditional Examples __________ System  Scarce resources and social rewards are distributed on the basis of _________________________  Determined by status of his or her parents  Norms govern interaction among different castes  Forbid marriages involving ______________  Marriage outside one’s own social category  Emphasis on _____________________  Marriage within one’s own social category

______________ System  Distribution of scarce resources and rewards is determined on the basis of ________________________  Ability to move up and down the social ladder  Social class defined in terms of who own the ______________________________________  Materials and methods used to produce goods and services  ______________: the owners of means of production  ___________________: workers who sell their labor in exchange for wages

Dimensions of Social Stratification: Social Class in America ______________________: grouping of people with similar levels of wealth, power and prestige  Wealth  _____________________________________________  Power  _____________________________________________  Prestige  _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________

Social Mobility ____________________________________________  Movement between or within social classes or status  Upward and Downward mobility causes ____________________________________________  View the movement of individuals or generations ____________________________________________  Movement within a social class or similar occupational rank ____________________________________________  Movement between multiple social classes or different occupational rank ____________________________________________  Involves status or occupational ranking differences between multiple generations ____________________________________________  Involves status or occupational ranking change in your own lifetime

Prestige Ratings for selected occupations in United States ratings scale Physician 86 Lawyer 75 Architect 73 Pharmacist 68 Secondary school teacher 66 Athlete 65 Editor/reporter 60 Actor 60 Electrician 51 Realtor 49 Mail carrier 47 Musician 47 Secretary 46 Farmer 40 Hairdresser 36 Baker 35 Cashier 29 Waiter/waitress 28 Bartender 25 Door-to-door 22

________________________ (SES) _________________________________ _________________________________  Used to determine relative position in stratification Different methods used in determining Social Class  ______________________________________  Individuals rank other members of the community  ______________________________________  Individuals determine their own social ranks  ______________________________________  Sociologists determine social rank based on income, occupation and education

Social Classes in America Different ranking systems exist identifying levels of social class  Varies from 3-7 levels typically in the United States Upper Class (1% of population)  _______________________________________________________________ Upper-Middle Class (14% of population)  _______________________________________________________________ Lower-Middle Class (30% of population)  _______________________________________________________________ Working Class (30% of population)  _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Working Poor (22 % of population)  _________________________________________________________________________ Under Class (3% of population)  ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

Poverty in the U.S. Standard of living that is below the minimum level considered adequate by society  Looks at ____________ ONLY, not ________________ The U.S. measures poverty by a standard developed more than 40 years ago, when data indicated that families spent about one-third of their income on _______ (________________________________). The official poverty level was set by multiplying food costs by three. Since then, the same figure has been updated annually for inflation but has otherwise remained unchanged  MOST people spend more than 1/3 of their income on food...poverty level not accurate

Poverty Risks Age: ___________ make up largest group (__%)  African-American and Hispanic children more than 2 times more likely  Children make up 25% of the population Sex: ________ are ___%, head of household in half of poor families  African-American and Hispanic households make up 40% compared to 25% for families headed by white woman Race/Ethnicity: ________________ and _________________ more likely than whites to live in poverty

Poverty Effects Life Chances– likelihood that individuals have of sharing opportunities & benefits of society  Lower _________________-> less opportunity  People in poverty more likely to have _____________  People in poverty have a lower __________________  Less opportunities for ________________________  Poor Nutrition because it is high $ for _______________________________________  Poor ________________ opportunities Patterns of Behavior: divorced, arrested, convicted  More likely to be a _________ & _________ crimes

_________________ and Poverty Social Security for older Americans Medicare – healthcare for older Americans Social Welfare Programs – Transfer Payments  Redistribution of the wealth (public assistance)  AFDC – Aid For Dependent Children  ‘Food ‘Stamps’  Others: Housing, School Lunch Program, Medicaid

Racial and Ethnic Stratification _____________________  _____________________________  Viewed as distinct group  Importance is how people REACT to differences _____________________  _____________________________  May also be based on physical characteristics  National origin, religion, language, customs and values _____________________  _____________________________  Based on who holds power in society

Attitudes and Actions of Stratification _________________________________  _______________________________________  ___________________________________ Upheld by law  ___________________________________ Outgrowth of the social structure _________________________________  _______________________________________  ___________________________________ Oversimplified, exaggerated or unfavorable generalization about a group of people  ___________________________________ Belief of superiority of one race or ethnicity over another

Patterns of Minority Group Treatment __________________________________________  Each group allowed to keep its unique cultural identity (________________) __________________________________________  Blending of culturally distinct groups into a single dominant group (____________) __________________________________________  Legal steps to protect rights of minority groups __________________________________________  Separation of minority group from dominant group  __________________: segregation based on laws  __________________: segregation based on informal norms (not officially recorded) __________________________________________  Slavery __________________________________________  Minority group transferred to a new territory __________________________________________  ___________________: intentional destruction of an entire population  Ethnic Cleansing: removing a group through terror, expulsion and mass murder

Gender Stratification _______________________________  _____________________________________  ___________________________________________  Socially created _______________________________  Behaviors and attitudes established  Formation of ____________ Identity _______________________________  Process where we learn gender roles through society and our interaction _______________________________  Belief that one sex by nature is superior to the other

Gender Roles and Socialization Areas of Inequality  Work Force  _____________________________ The statistics that show women on average are paid less for doing the same job as a man  _____________________________ Invisible barrier that prevents women from gaining upper-level positions in business  _____________________________ Expectation women face of not only working full-time outside home bus also the household duties School  Women make up ____% of college population and earn ____% of Bachelor’s Degrees Government  Suffrage passed with ____ th Amendment in 1920  Role of women in local, state and national positions

Age Stratification _______________: The belief that one category is by nature superior to another age category  ___________________________________________  Elderly are given highest level of respect  ___________________________________________  Middle-aged people hold greatest social power  Employment becomes more difficult beyond middle-aged years Media influence in the U.S. of age groups  Teenagers behavior and stereotypes  Elderly  Products they endorse, difficulties with modern living, a burden, etc. _____________________________________  _________________________________________