Chapter 15
Social Class
Social Class
What is social class?

The division of members of a society into a
hierarchy of distinct status classes, so that
members of each class have relatively the
same status and members of all other
classes have either more or less status
Why does social class matter to marketers?
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Social class is a natural form of segmentation
Social class membership serves consumers as a
frame of reference (reference group) for the
development of their attitudes and behavior
Thus members of a social class turn to other
members of that class for cues regarding
appropriate behavior
If they aspire to a higher social class, they will
emulate the behavior of members of that class

Classifying society’s members into a small number
of social classes enables researchers to note
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

the existence of shared values, attitudes, and behavior
patterns among members within each social class; and
the differing values, attitudes and behavior between social
classes
Researchers are also able to relate social class
standing to consumer attitudes toward specific
products and to examine social class influences on
the actual consumption of products
Social class structure in the U.S.

Researchers disagree on how many distinct
class divisions are necessary to adequately
describe class structure in the U.S.
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As few as two
As many as nine
Choice depends on the amount of detail the
researcher believes is necessary to explain
the attitudes or behavior under study
Variations in the Number and Types of
Social-Class Categories
TWO-CATEGORY SOCIAL CLASS SCHEMAS
•Blue-collar, white-collar
•Lower, upper
•Lower, middle
THREE-CATEGORY SOCIAL CLASS SCHEMAS
•Blue-collar, gray-class, white-collar
•Lower, middle, upper
FOUR-CATEGORY SOCIAL CLASS SCHEMAS
•Lower, lower-middle, upper-middle, upper
FIVE-CATEGORY SOCIAL CLASS SCHEMAS
•Lower, working-class, lower-middle, upper-middle, upper
•Lower, lower-middle, middle, upper-middle, upper
continued
SIX-CATEGORY SOCIAL CLASS SCHEMAS
•Lower-lower, upper-lower, lower-middle, upper-middle, lower-upper,
upper-upper
SEVEN-CATEGORY SOCIAL CLASS SCHEMAS
•Real lower-lower, a lower group of people but not the lowest,
working class, middle class, upper-middle, lower-upper, upper-upper
NINE-CATEGORY SOCIAL CLASS SCHEMAS
•Lower-lower, middle-lower, upper-lower, lower-middle, middlemiddle, upper-middle, lower-upper, middle-upper, upper-upper
Percent Distribution of Five-Category
Social-Class Measure
SOCIAL CLASSES
Upper
Upper-middle
Middle
Working
Lower
Total percentage
PERCENTAGE
4.3
13.8
32.8
32.3
16.8
100.0
Marketing implications


Many mass marketers have chosen either to
ignore the upper class or to combine them
with the upper-middle class
Small size and highly cultivated tastes make
the upper class a desirable target market for
specialty firms with the ability to cater to a
small number of affluent consumers
Social class distinctions in the U.S.
1.
2.
3.
Egalitarianism
Size of the middle class
Upward mobility
Marketing implications of upward
mobility

Recognizing that individuals often aspire to
the lifestyle and possessions enjoyed by
members of a higher social class, marketers
frequently incorporate the symbols of higherclass membership--both as products and
props--in advertisements targeted to lower
social-class audiences
Downward mobility
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Social commentators have suggested that
some young adults, particularly Gen-X’ers,
are unlikely to do better than, or even as well
as, their parents
The number of young men reaching middle
class income-levels by their 30th birthday has
been declining
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The middle class is shrinking in size and purchasing
power
The upper class is growing in size and purchasing
power
The lower class is growing in size but not in
purchasing power
The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting
poorer
We are becoming a two-tiered society
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
The haves
The have-nots
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Today U.S. has the most unequal distribution of
wealth and income of any western society
The wealthiest 1% own more wealth than the
bottom 95%
The richest 13,000 families earn more than the
bottom 20 million
In 1997, Bill Gates owned more wealth than the
bottom 45% of American households combined
Over the last 30 years, the top 100 CEO’s went
from earning 39 times the pay of their ordinary
workers to more than 1,000 times
Median household net worth matches the sticker
price of a new Ford Expedition
Marketing implications

Many marketers have adopted a “Tiffany/WalMart” strategy
Measuring social class
There is no general agreement on how to
measure social class
Researchers are uncertain about the
underlying dimensions of social class
structure
Systematic approaches for measuring social
class fall into the following broad categories:
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1.
2.
3.
Subjective measures
Reputational measures
Objective measures
1. Subjective measures
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Individuals are asked to estimate their own
social class positions; response is based on
participants’ self-perceptions or self-images
Can lead to an inaccurate profile of social
classes
Subjective measures of social class
membership tend to produce an
overabundance of people who classify
themselves as middle class
2. Reputational measures
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Selected community informants make initial
judgments concerning the social class
membership of others within the community
Trained researchers then assign community
members to social class positions
3. Objective measures

1.
2.
3.
4.
Researchers use questionnaires that ask
respondents several factual questions about
themselves, their families, or their places of
residence
Amount and source of income
Location and type of residence
Education
Possessions

Marketing managers who have developed
socioeconomic profiles of their target markets
can locate these markets by studying
socioeconomic data provided by
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the U.S. Bureau of the Census
numerous commercial geodemographic data
services
mass media organizations
Indexes

1.
2.
Objective measures of social class fall into
two basic categories:
Single-variable indexes
Composite-variable indexes
Single-variable indexes
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Occupation is the most widely accepted
single variable
Occupation often equates with other
variables, such as


Education
Income level
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Business executives and professionals who
are self-employed or entrepreneurs are
substantially more likely to be very wealthy
than their counterparts who work for
someone else
This link is consistent with the trend of
increasing numbers of business school
graduates seeking to work for themselves
rather than going to work for “big business”
1. Education

Generally speaking, the more education a
person has, the more likely it is that the
person is well paid and has an admired or
respected position
The Relationship between Formal Education
and Household Income
TOTAL
NO MORE
THAN
ELEM.
SCHOOL
HIGH
SCHOOL
GRAD.
1 TO 3
YEARS
OF
COLL.
4+
YEARS
OF
COLL.
SOME
HIGH
SCHOOL
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
11.7
31.9
24.4
11.4
8.3
3.3
$10,000 to $14,999
8.5
18.0
16.0
9.1
6.8
3.3
$15,000 to $24,999
15.5
22.0
23.3
18.2
14.5
7.5
$25,000 to $34,999
14.0
12.0
13.3
16.9
15.1
10.3
$35,000 to $74,999
17.6
5.6
7.5
16.9
21.2
23.2
$75,000 and Over
15.6
2.1
3.3
8.7
14.3
35.2
94,364
8,062
9,683
29,507
23,670
23,424
$35,235
$15,043
$18,298
$31,376
$39,637
$58,052
ALL HOUSEHOLDS
Under $10,000
Households (000’s)
Median income
2. Income
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Researchers use either amount or source
Not all researchers agree on this variable as
an accurate indicator of social class
It is the difference in values, not money, that
differentiates social classes
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Overprivileged middle class are more likely
to own products such as campers,
motorboats, pickup trucks, tractor
lawnmowers, and backyard swimming pools
Underprivileged upper class are more likely
to spend money on private club
memberships, special educational
experiences for their children and cultural
objects and events
3. Possessions
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Chapin’s Social Status Scale focuses on
the presence of certain items of furniture and
accessories in the living room
Lower class families are likely to place their
television sets in the living room
Middle class families usually place their
television sets in the bedroom or family room
Composite-variable index
Variables vary depending on the specific
index chosen
Index of status characteristics measures
the following socioeconomic variables:
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Occupation
Source of income
House type
Dwelling area (quality of neighborhood)

Socioeconomic Status Scores, developed
by the Bureau of the Census, combines the
three basic variables:
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Occupation
Amount of family income
Educational attainment