Social Stratification Survey For each question, answer with one of the following: a. Never/No b. Rarely c. Often d. Always/Yes I can tell a lot about a person by the clothes he/she wears. I would describe my family as middle class. I would describe my family as wealthy. I mostly spend time with people who have a similar lifestyle as I do. I am prejudiced against certain groups of people. Some of my friends or family members are prejudiced in their speech or behaviors. When I see a homeless person, I think he/she probably made poor decisions that led him/her to that lifestyle. I believe that people on welfare or other government assistance are lazy. People have a lot of control over their own economic success. In America, if a person works hard, he/she will achieve economic success.

Social Stratification Survey For each question, answer with one of the following: a. Never/No b. Rarely c. Often d. Always/Yes When I see a wealthy person, I assume he/she must be smarter or more talented than the general population. There are clear social classes in the US. It is easy to move up from one social class to another in the United States. A person is paid according to how important his/her job is to society. Adults who work minimum wage jobs deserve a pay increase to keep up with the living wage. Wealth inequality exists because some people are willing to exploit others for their own gain. Wealthy people in the United States use the legal system to their advantage. Wealth inequality is a major issue in the United States.

Bell Ringer: Prestige Prestige is the recognition, respect and admiration attached to specific positions within society Prestige is based on the values within a particular society (or group) The office of the President has a lot of prestige (at least it used to)

Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation Prestige Ratings Rate each of the following jobs on a scale of 1-100 on the prestige each job carries (100 for highest-1 for lowest) Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation Occupation Rating Physician Child Care Worker Lawyer Farmer Registered Nurse Police Officer Janitor Sociologist Garbage Collector Actor Waiter/Waitress Firefighter High School Teacher Electrician Airline Pilot Mail Carrier Computer Programmer Musician/ Composer Retail apparel Worker Accountant

Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation Actual Ratings Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation Occupation Rating Physician 86 Child Care Worker 36 Lawyer 75 Farmer 40 Registered Nurse 66 Police Officer 60 Janitor 22 Sociologist 61 Garbage Collector 28 Actor Waiter/Waitress Firefighter 53 High School Teacher Electrician 51 Airline Pilot Mail Carrier 47 Computer Programmer Musician/ Composer Retail apparel Worker 30 Accountant 65

Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation Prestige vs. Wealth Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation Occupation Rating Physician 86 Child Care Worker 36 Lawyer 75 Farmer 40 Registered Nurse 66 Police Officer 60 Janitor 22 Sociologist 61 Garbage Collector 28 Actor Waiter/Waitress Firefighter 53 High School Teacher Electrician 51 Airline Pilot Mail Carrier 47 Computer Programmer Musician/ Composer Retail apparel Worker 30 Accountant 65 Why do lawyers and physicians have high prestige but child care workers and garbage workers have low prestige? Are there high paying jobs with low prestige? Are there low paying jobs with high prestige? What do these prestige ratings tell you about American values? Survey of American adults—Pew research center No definition of prestige given

Sociological issues Surveys You have 30 minutes in the library to refine and finalize your survey questions! Conserve space! 10 point font Narrow margins Column layout, if possible Give response options whenever possible (this will help with data analysis!) Email to zimmer.molly@westada.org You will be graded on the quality of your questions and how well they align with your sociological questions

Bell Ringer! What social classes exist in America (name them, if you can)? What factors besides wealth determine a person’s social class?

Stratification Game You will be randomly assigned a role in our society A sticker will be placed on your back (don’t look at it!) You will mingle with the rest of society, but you must treat everyone according to their role (how you talk to them and what you talk about) You must not tell others their roles, nor give away details that will make it obvious! Pay attention to the way people treat you and react accordingly Your goal is to figure out where you belong within the social structure

Stratification Game Social Class Description Income Range UU-Upper Upper Top 1% in terms of wealth; “old money”; wealth inherited and passed down $500,000+ LU-Lower Upper Top 1% as well; “new money”; wealth has been earned during lifetime; often more wealthy than “upper-upper” UM-Upper Middle Doctors, lawyers, management; highly educated; highly skilled $100,000+ MM-Middle Middle Teachers, police, firefighters, etc. moderate-highly educated; moderate skills $30,000-70,000 WC-Working Class Skilled trades; lower education level $15,000-30,000 WP-Working Poor Service industry workers; manual labor; low skill; low education $15,000 or less UC-Underclass Usually unemployed (often cyclical); sometimes homeless; often on gov’t assistance $0

Now, line up according to your social rank! Stratification Game Now, line up according to your social rank! UU-Upper Upper LU-Lower Upper UM-Upper Middle MM-Middle Middle WC-Working Class WP-Working Poor UC-Underclass

Stratification & Wealth inequality As you watch the video, think about these questions and be ready to discuss: Is wealth inequality a problem in the United States? If so, what can be done about it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM&sns=em

Stratification Visual With a partner, create a visual representation of social stratification in the United States (pp. 254-257). Include the following: Classes: Upper (combines UU and LU), Upper Middle, Middle Middle, Working Class, Working Poor, Underclass Label percentage of population this group makes up (according to your book). Describe each class in terms of education, skills and civic participation. Give some examples of jobs a person in this class might have. Your visual must tell us something about the classes relative to each other (could use size, color, symbols, etc. to convey this)