SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
CHAPTER 9
Social Stratification
Section 1: Systems of Stratification
Section 2: The American Class
System
Section 3: Poverty
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 1: Systems of Stratification
Objectives:
 Identify the characteristics of
caste systems and class systems.
 Contrast the major theories of
social stratification.
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 1: Systems of Stratification
Characteristics of Caste and Class
Systems
 social stratification – division of society into
categories, ranks, or classes
can be based on either achieved or
ascribed status
can be open or closed
 social inequality – the unequal sharing of
scarce resources and social rewards
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 1: Systems of Stratification
Characteristics of Caste and Class Systems
Caste System:
 Closed and lifelong
 Immobility and
inherited status
 Based on specific
occupations
 Ascribed status
 exogamy, endogamy
Class System:
 Open and mobile
 Reward is determined
by achieved status
 Property, prestige, and
power are important
(Weber)
 bourgeoisie, proletariat
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 1: Systems of Stratification
Dimensions of Social Stratification
 social class – grouping of people with similar levels
of wealth, power, and prestige
 wealth – made up of assets (value of everything
one owns) and income (money earned through
salaries, investments, or capital gains
 in the U.S. the richest 1% of the population
controls more than 1/3 of the wealth
 chart page 208
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 1: Systems of Stratification
Dimensions of Social Stratification
 power – the ability to control the behavior of others, with or without
their consent
 based on force, possession of special skills, knowledge, social status,
personal characteristics, custom/tradition
 prestige – respect, honor, recognition, or courtesy an individual receives
from other members of society
 based on income, occupation , education, family, residences,
possessions, club memberships
 chart page 209
 socioeconomic status – SES, rating that combines social factors such as
educational level, occupational prestige, residence, income, used to
determine an individual’s relative position in the stratification system
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 1: Systems of Stratification
Major Theories of Social Stratification
 Functionalist Theorists – view stratification as a necessary
feature of the social structure and argue that the more
important a role and the more skill needed to perform it,
the higher the reward, without varying rewards may jobs
would not be filled and society could not function
 fails to recognize not everyone has equal access to
resources, ignores the talented in lower classes that
because of stratification may not be able to contribute
to society, cannot explain why rewards sometimes do
not reflect the social value of a role
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 1: Systems of Stratification
Major Theories of Social Stratification
 Conflict Theorists – view stratification as a
result of conflict over scarce resources and
argue that groups gain power then use that
power to maintain it, based on Marx
fails to recognize that unequal rewards
are based on differences in talent, skill,
and desire
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: The American Class System
Objectives:
 Identify the characteristics of the
American class system.
 Explain how different motivations and
cultural values influence the American
class system.
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: The American Class System
The American Class System
 open system
 law forbids discrimination based on ascribed
characteristics such as race or gender
 in theory, all have equal access to resources
 rate of social mobility is not equal for all
segments of society
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: The American Class System
Determining Social Class
 reputational method – individuals are asked
to rank other community members based on
what they know of their character and
lifestyle
 subjective method – individuals are asked to
determine their own social rank
 objective method – sociologists define social
class by income, occupation, and education
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: The American Class System
Social Classes in the United States
 1% upper class
 14% upper-middle class
 30% lower-middle class
 30% working class
 22% working poor
 3% underclass
 major difference in classes is income, lifestyle,
beliefs
 chart page 214
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: The American Class System
The American Class System
 Upper Class – attend prestigious universities;
owners of large businesses, investors, heirs to family
fortunes, top business executives; 1 percent of
population
 Upper Middle Class – attend college or university,
business executives, professionals; 14 percent of
population
 Lower Middle Class – high school, some college;
lower-level managers skilled craftworkers,
supervisors; 30 percent of population
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: The American Class System
The American Class System
 Working Class – high school education; factory
workers, clerical workers, lower level
salespeople, some craft-workers; 30 percent of
population
 Working Poor – some high school; laborers,
service workers; 22 percent of population
 Underclass – some high school; undesirable,
low-paying jobs, unemployed, on welfare; 3
percent of population
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: The American Class System
Social Mobility
 social mobility – the movement between or within
social classes or strata
 horizontal mobility – movement within a social class
 vertical mobility – movement between social
classes, upward or downward
 intergenerational mobility – status differences
between generations in the same family (parent’s
social class vs. their own current class)
 structural factors that affect upward mobility include
advances in technology, changes in merchandising
patterns, and increase in education
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: The American Class System
Motivations and Cultural Values
Influence the American Class System
 Values influence Americans to try to do
better financially than their parents and
to help their children do the same
 Most Americans remain in the same
social class as their parents
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 3: Poverty
Objectives:
 Identify the groups of Americans
that are affected by poverty.
 Describe the steps that have been
taken by the federal government
to lessen the effects of poverty.
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 3: Poverty
Defining Poverty
 More than 31 million people (11% of the
population) live below the poverty level.
 poverty – a standard of living that is below the
minimum level considered adequate by society,
a relative measure
 poverty level – defined by the U.S. Bureau of
Census, the minimum annual income needed
by a family to survive
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 3: Poverty
Defining Poverty
Poverty Level:
 determined by calculating the cost of providing an
adequate diet, based on the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s
minimum nutritional standards
 this number is then multiplied by three (research has
indicated that poor people spend 1/3 of their income on
food)
 adjusted each year to reflect the cost of living
 usually stated for a family of 4
 chart page 221
 reconsiderations based on changes in spending habits
since the 1960s
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 3: Poverty
Groups Affected By Poverty
 Age – children are the largest group (37%);
three times more African American and
Hispanic children are poor than whites
 Gender – women are the largest segment
(57%); female-headed households account for
about half of all poor families
 Race and Ethnicity – African Americans and
Hispanics are far more likely than white
Americans to be poor
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 3: Poverty
The Effects of Poverty
 Poor and wealthy members of society differ in the range of
their life chances and behavior patterns.
 life chances – the likelihood that individuals have of sharing
in the opportunities and benefits of society
 health, life expectancy, housing, education
 the lower the social class, the less opportunity to share in
the benefit of society
 life expectancy – the average number of years a person
born in a particular year can expect to live
 inadequate nutrition and less access to medial care
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 3: Poverty
The Effects of Poverty
 patterns of behavior
 higher divorce rate
 committing crime
people living in poverty are more likely to
commit crimes that police pursue more
aggressively
 victims of crime
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 3: Poverty
Government Responses To Poverty
 Government attempts to reduce inequality through various
social-welfare programs using two approaches:
 Transfer Payments – redistribution of money among various
segments of society; taking a percentage of the money
collected through taxes and funneling it to groups that need
public assistance (poor, unemployed, elderly, disabled
 Supplemental Security Income (SSI): provides income
support for people age 65 and older, the blind, and
disabled with children
 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): cash
payments to families with children
SOCIOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 3: Poverty
Government Responses To Poverty
 Subsidies - transfer goods and services rather
than cash
Food Stamp Program: people receive coupons
or cards that can be used to buy food
housing, school lunches
Medicaid: health insurance program for the
poor
Medicare: government-sponsored health
insurance program for people 65 and older