Social Stratification
-not just material things but what we expect out of life
-DEF: System in which groups of people are divided into layers according to their relative property, power, and prestige.
-DOES not refer to individuals
-way of ranking large groups of people into a hierarchy according to their relative privileges.
Power
S.G. The ability to get your way, even over the resistance of others
Social Class
S.G. according to Weber, large group of people who rank close to one another in wealth, prestige, and power; according to Marx, one of two groups: capitalist who own the means of production and workers who sell their labor.
Three Variables that Max Weber identified as defining Social class
property: owning the property does not matter if one has control over it
power: property is not only source of power
prestige: can be turned into power. often derived from property and power. prestige can bring property and property can bring prestige.
Wealth
S.G. The total value of everything someone owns, minus the debts
sociological term does not mean wealthy. 10$ could be your wealth.
-net worth, not income of flow of money
-one can have a lot of wealth and very little income, like farmer with lots of land but little to no income
Democratic Facade
Thinking we have a bigger influence and effect on the decisions made in government. and ideology marx said is installed in us by the people of power.
This facade of power to the people is what conceals the real power in the US
Power Elite
Mill's term to refer to those who make the big decisions in the US society
-thought that no major US decision is made without the approval of the power elite group
Background Profile of most US presidents
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Status Inconsistency
S.G. ranking high on some dimensions of social class and low on others; also called status discrepancy.
-people often tend to clam the higher social status all the time even in the lower situations. These people are often politically radical
Intergenerational mobility
S.G. the change that family members make in social class from one generation to the next
-refers to the changes in society that allow large numbers of people to move up or down the class ladder
Numerically the race of the majority of the poor in the US
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Feminization of poverty
S.G. refers to the situation that most poor families in the US are headed by women
Segment most likely to experience poverty today
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How long do most remain in poverty
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relationship between amount of education an occupation requires and the prestige it holds in society
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Social class and mental problems
mental health of the lower classes is worse that that of the higher classes, partly due to the higher levels of stress that come with a low class.
social class and victims of crime
crimes of the lower class are dealt with police and court system. member of lower class are likely to be in jail on probation or parole. since those who commit street crimes tend to do so in or near their neighborhood the lower class are more likely to be robbed or burglarized.
exchange mobility
S.G. about the same numbers of people moving up and down the social class ladder, such that, on balance, the social class system shows little change.
-people move up and down the rungs of class but the in the end it balances and system remains untouched
Gender Stratification
S.G. males' and females' unequal access to property, power, and prestige
-gender is significant because it is a master status.
-gender is the basis for making people unequal
sex and gender
sex: biological characteristics, consisting of primary and secondary sex charac
gender: behaviors and attitudes that a society considers proper for its males and females - masculinity or femininity
nature V nurture
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Vietnam veteran study
that people with more testosterone tend to be more aggressive, but social class comes into play. lower class: more likely to get in trouble with law.
-study of random vietnam verterans showed that those with higher testosterone (biology) were more likely to be violent, get in trouble, use hard drugs, get into fights, get divorced, hit their wives, have affairs etc... (Sociology) testosterone compared of men from high and low classes. lower class was more likely to mistreat wives and get in trouble with the law
females as a minority group
nowhere in history is there a society where women had the decision making power over the men as a group.
females outnumber males,but minority applies because it refers to people who are discriminated against on the basis of physical or cultural characteristic regardless of numbers
sutte
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the child penalty
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Testosterone bonus
often men are started with a higher salary than a woman
Glass ceiling
S.G. Mostly invisible barrier that keeps women from advancing to the top levels at work
Sexual Harrassment
S.G. the abuse of one's position of authority to force unwanted sexual demands on someone
-used to be thought of as for women a personal problem
Race
S.G. a group whose inherited physical characteristics distinguish it from other groups
Genocide
S.G. the systematic annihilation or attempted annihilation of people because of their presumed race or ethnicity
Ethnicity
S.G. having distinctive cultural characteristics
-sense of beloning may center on their nation or region of origin, distinctive foods, clothes etc...
Ethnic work
S.G. activities designed to discover, enhance, or maintain ethnic and racial identity
-refer to the way people construct their ethnicity, maintain and enhance a groups distinction
- or for someone not sure of ethnicity it is them looking and discovering families origin or family lines
positive prejudice
exaggerates the virtues of a group as when people think that some group is superior to others.
prejudice and discrimination
prejudice: an attitude or prejudging usually in a negative way
discrimination: an act of unfair treatment directed against an individual or a group
Minority group
S.G.people who are singled out for unequal treatment and who regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination
Minority groups in text
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individual discrimination
institutional discrimination
individual: the negative treatment of one person by another on the basis of that persons perceived characteristics
institutional: negative treatment of a minority group that is built into a society's institutions also called systemic discrimination
Compartmentalization
S.G. to separate acts from feelings or attitudes