Sociology Unit 4 Terms
Silverman
Unit FOUR: Social Inequality
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Social stratification – the ranking of individuals based on unequal access to scare resources and social rewards
Social inequality – the unequal sharing of social rewards and resources
Exogamy – marriage outside of one’s own social category
Endogamy – marriage within one’s own social category
Caste system – system in which scarce resources and rewards are distributed on the basis of ascribed statuses
Class system – system in which scarce resources and rewards are determined on the basis of achieved statuses
Socioeconomic status – a rating that combines social factors such as level of education, occupational prestige
and place of residence with the economic factor of income in order to determine an individual’s relative
position in the stratification system
Life chances – the likelihood that individuals have of sharing in the opportunities and benefits of society
Social mobility – movement between or within social classes or strata
Horizontal mobility – type of social mobility in which the individual moves from one position in a social-class to
another position in that same social-class
Vertical mobility – movement between social classes or strata in which the individual moves from one socialclass to another
Intergenerational mobility – a form of vertical mobility in which status differs between generations in the
same family
Poverty – the standard of living that is below the minimum level considered adequate by society
Poverty level – minimum annual income needed by a family to survive
Race – category of people who share inherited physical characteristics and who are perceived by others as
being a distinct group; social construction
Ethnicity – set of cultural characteristics that distinguishes one group from another group
Ethnic group – individuals who share a common cultural background and a common sense of identity
Minority group – category of people who share physical characteristics or cultural practices that result in the
group being denied equal treatment
Discrimination – denial of equal treatment to individuals based on their group membership
Prejudice – unsupported generalizations about a category of people
Stereotype – oversimplified, exaggerated or unfavorable generalization about a category of people
Self-fulfilling prophecy – a prediction that results in behavior that makes the prediction come true
Scape-goating – practice of placing blame for one’s troubles on an innocent individual or group
Cultural pluralism – a policy that allows each group within a society to keep its unique cultural identity
Assimilation – the blending of culturally distinct groups into a single group with a common culture and identity
Segregation – physical separation of a minority group from the dominant group
De jure segregation – law-based segregation
De facto segregation – segregation based on informal norms
Subjugation – maintaining control over a group through force
Genocide – extermination aimed at intentionally destroying an entire targeted population
Gender – behavioral and psychological traits considered appropriate for men and women
Gender roles – specific behaviors and attitudes that a society establishes for men and women
Gender identity – the awareness of being masculine or feminine as those traits are defined by culture
Sex – biological/chromosomal traits that determine physical characteristics
Sexism – belief that one sex is by nature superior to the other
Glass ceiling – the invisible barrier that prevents women from gaining upper-level positions in business
Ageism – the belief that one age category is by nature superior to another age category
Graying of America – the phenomenon of the growing percentage of elderly Americans as part as the total U.S.
population
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Baby-boom generation – collective term for the approximately 76 million children born in the United States
from 1946 through 1 964
Dependency ratio – the number of workers for each person retrieving Social Security benefits
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UNIT FOUR: ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS/STANDARDS
Essential Questions:
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How does inequality impact the life chances of individuals in that society?
How does race/ethnicity impact social structure?
What roles do gender, age and race play in our behavior and interactions with each other?
How do race and ethnicity affect group behavior?
SSSocIC1: Students will analyze forms of social inequality.
a. Explain how unequal distribution of power and resources affects the life chance of individuals in that
society
b. Analyze the sources and effects of stratification on the basis of social class; race and ethnicity; gender;
age; and emotional, mental, and physical disabilities
c. Analyze the sources of global stratification and inequality
d. Evaluate the impact of global stratification and inequality on global relations