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