1. STRATIFICATION IN SOCIEY Sociology Unit 3 Notes

2. 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  _____________________________________ _____________________________________

3. 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

4. ______________ 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

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

6. 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

7. Prestige Ratings for selected occupations in United States 1-100 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

8. ________________________ (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

9. 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)  ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. _________________ 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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. _____________________________________  _________________________________________