Social Class Study Guide

social stratification

a society’s categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, and social status

property

wealth; what a person owns

wealth

value of a person’s property and income (what they own)

income

incoming wages from a job, rent, interest, or royalties

power elite

a closely knit alliance of military, government, and corporate officials perceived as the center of wealth and political power in the US

status consistency

people with similar levels of power, property, and prestige

status inconsistency

people with varying levels of power, property, and prestige

status

responsibilities and benefits that a person experiences according to his or her rank and role in society

age stratification

members of a society are stratified by age just as they are stratified by race

race stratification

refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power

social security

any government system that provides monetary assistance to people with an inadequate or no income

age and aging social stratification

social construction because of biological changes, biographical events, gender age, and cultural timetables

biological changes

wrinkles, graying, health issues

biographical events

becoming a grandparent early in life, having poor health

gender age

value a culture places on men and women’s ages

cultural timetables

markers of old age, such as birthdays or retirement

3 sociological perspectives

symbolic interactionist, functionalist perspective, conflict perspective

symbolic interactionist

thinks that age is a social construct, goes by 4 factors of OLD: biological changes, biographical events, gender age, and cultural timetables

functionalist perspective

how retirement affects society in different theories: disengagement theory, activity theory, and continuity theory

disengagement theory

pass the torch to the next generation

activity theory

keeping busy makes life satisfying

continuity theory

the more roles a person has, the more continuity will be experienced in retirement

conflict perspective

the old and the young struggle for limited resources. the power elite exploit the less privileged through programs like social security. aging impacts roles and genders different (ex: women live longer than men.)

race and gender (scientific examples)

in the chart, hispanic people have the longest average lifespan, and black people have the shortest. Due to the population of hispanic people in the workforce, where they are subject to physical labor as opposed to white people who may struggle more with obesity and late life health issues; gender, women live longer bc they may be caretakers for their spouses and are more likely to be poor

challenges facing aging population

less percentage of people in the workforce, top heavy economy, large amount of people on social security, and healthcare concerns

5 stages of grief

denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance

denial

characterized by the person not wanting to believe their dying, with common thoughts like “i feel fine,” or “this isn’t real.”

anger

when loss of life is seen as unfair or unjust

bargaining

trying to negotiate with a higher power to postpone the inevitable by reforming or changing the way they live

depresion

allows for resignation as the situation begins to seem hopeless

acceptance

the person can face death honestly, by regarding it as a natural and inevitable part of life.

intergenerational social mobility

changes in a family’s social class from one generation to the next

upward social mobility

moving to a higher social class

downward social mobility

moving to a lower social class

structural social mobility

society changes, causing a shift in structure

exchange social mobility

so many people are moving up and down the class ladder that the structure shows little change

upper class health

have time to stay fit and can afford the best health care

middle class health

generally have personal physicians and typically have healthcare provided through work

lower class health

higher chance of early death and often cannot afford any type of healthcare

upper class consumption

does not care about money spent because they have so much

middle class consumption

homes and cars and expensive items are a symbol of achievement

lower class consumption

work is used to purchase enjoyment; leisure items are very important to them

upper class parenting

focus on how they represent the family and typically outsource the day to day parenting

middle class parenting

focus on creativity and typically have verbal punishments and reprimanding

lower class parenting

focus on obedience; use physical punishment; let children develop naturally

upper class education

send kids to exclusive private schools, ivy league

middle class education

preschool and attending college is important; doing well in all levels of school is stressed

lower class education

obedience in school is important; “street smarts” is often more cared about than “book smarts”

upper class religion

high church episcopalian

middle class religion

middle church; methodius

lower class religion

baptist or pentecostal; show faith through loud music

upper and middle class crime

white collar crime often dealt with outside the justice system

lower class crime

street crime dealt with by criminal justice system; often ends in jailtime