Social Mobility
Lesson 8-3
Section 5-Polling Question
Social mobility refers to
A. Horizontal mobility
B. Vertical mobility
C. All of the above
0%
A
A. A
B. B
0%
C. C
B
0%
C
Types of Social Mobility
• Mobility is the ability to move
• Social mobility- the movement of people
between social classes
• Three types of social mobility
– Horizontal-changing at the same social level
– Vertical-when status moves up or down
– Intergenerational- when vertical movement
takes place across a generation
Practice
Do 8-3 Interactive 1
Section 5
If a doctor’s son becomes a social
worker, what is this considered to
be?
A. Horizontal mobility
B. Vertical mobility
C. Intergenerational mobility
0%
A
A. A
B. B
0%
C. C
B
0%
C
Caste and Open-Class Systems
• Caste system- a stratification structure that
does not allow for social mobility
• There is no social mobility because social
status is inherited and can’t be changed
• statuses (including occupations) are
ascribed, or assigned at birth
• Only marry within your caste
India’s Caste System
• Brahmin
– Composed of priests and scholars
• Kshatriyas
– Professional, governing, and military
occupations
• Vaisyas
– Merchants and businessmen
India’s Caste System
• Sudra
– Farmers and menial workers
• Untouchables
– So impure that any physical contact
contaminates the religious purity of all other
caste members
– So low not even considered on caste system
– Collect trash and take care of dead bodies
India’s Caste System
• The caste system is maintained as a result of
the power of the higher castes
• They use their political clout and wealth to
prevent change
Apartheid
• Apartheid was a caste system in Africa
based on race
Open Class System
• A system in which social class is based on
merit and individual effort, movement is
allowed between classes.
• Most Americans believe they live in an
open class system
Section 5
The following are characteristics of a
caste system EXCEPT
A. Marriage possible only within the
same caste
0%
0%
0%
D
0%
A
D. Untouchables serve all food
A
B
C
D
C
C. Status is assigned at birth
A.
B.
C.
D.
B
B. Different castes may
not eat together
Upward and Downward Mobility
• Early American generations raised on the
rags to riches stories
• Lesson taught is any American citizen can
work hard and persevere
• Few Americans make great leaps in social
class
Upward and Downward Mobility
• After WWII, saw big increase in upward
mobility
– Explosion in high-paying manufacturing jobs
• Now U.S. companies seeking to lower their
costs move companies to foreign countries
• More workers are experiencing downward
mobility
Upward and Downward Mobility
• Downwardly mobile people experience
lower self-esteem.
Section 5
Downwardly mobile people
experience which of the following?
A. Lower self-esteem
B. Despair
C. Depression
D. All of the above
0%
A
A.
B.
0%
C.
D.
B
A
B
0%
C
D
C
0%
D