Social stratification, inequality theories, and race, class, and gender concepts from a college sociology course.
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- What is social stratification?
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A system in which groups of people are ranked into layers based on unequal access to resources and rewards.- Define class in sociology.
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A group of people who share a similar position in the economic system based on wealth, income, and occupation.- What is status in a social system?
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A person's rank or position within society, based on prestige and social honor.- Define caste system.
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A rigid system of social stratification based on birth, where movement between layers is impossible or extremely difficult.- What is social mobility?
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The ability of individuals or groups to move up or down the social hierarchy.- Define intergenerational mobility.
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Social movement where children attain a different social position than their parents.- What is intragenerational mobility?
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Social movement that occurs within a single person's lifetime.- What is structural mobility?
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Changes in social position caused by shifts in the overall economic structure, not by individual effort.- What does Marx argue about class?
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That classes are defined by their relationship to the means of production and that conflict between owners and workers drives social change.- What is Weber's theory of stratification?
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That society is stratified along three dimensions: class (economic), status (prestige), and power (authority).- What does the Davis-Moore hypothesis claim?
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That social stratification is necessary and functional because high rewards attract talented people to important positions.- Define meritocracy.
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A system in which advancement and rewards are based on individual ability and effort rather than background.- What is cultural capital (Bourdieu)?
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Non-financial social assets such as education, refined tastes, language, and manners that confer status and advantages.- Define human capital.
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The skills, knowledge, education, and experience that increase a person's economic productivity and earning potential.- Why is race considered a social construct?
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Because racial categories are defined by society and have changed over time, rather than being based on fixed biological differences.
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