Chapter 8 Section 2
American Class System
Determining Social Class**


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Reputational Method: individuals are asked to rank
other community members based on what they know of
their lifestyles and characters (only suitable in small
communities where everyone know each other)
Subjective Method: individuals are asked to determine
their own social rank. (Most people place themselves in
middle class and are uncomfortable identifying as upper
or lower class)
Objective Method: sociologists define social class by
income, occupation, and education level. This makes it
the least biased. (However, there is the problem that
different combinations lead to slightly different socialclass membership results.)
Social Classes of the U.S.

Upper Class (about 1% of U.S.) Old money vs.
New Money
◦ Old money means the family has been wealthy for
generations
◦ New money refers to the newly rich who acquired their
wealth through their own efforts and not inheritance

Upper Middle Class Primarily high-income
business people and professionals such as doctors
and lawyers. Most have a college education and an
advanced degree
Social Classes of the U.S.

Lower Middle Class White-collar jobs, which do
not involve manual labor. These jobs require less
education and provide less income than those of
the upper middle class. Ex. Nurses, middle
management, sales, and owners of small businesses

Working Class Jobs that typically require manual
labor such as factory workers, tradespeople, less
skilled workers, and some service workers. These
jobs are often referred to as “blue-collar.” Some fo
these jobs have a higher income but less prestige
than those of the lower middle class
Social Classes of the U.S.


Working Poor These are often the lowestpaying jobs. These jobs might be temporary or
seasonal such as housekeeping, migrant farm
work, and day laboring. Even though they are
working, these people often do not make a
living wage, many are high-school dropouts, and
rely on government assistance.
Underclass Families that have experiences
unemployment and poverty over several
generations are considered part of the
underclass. Chief source of income is usually
public assistance. Only 50% of children from
the underclass make it to another class in their
lifetime.
Social Mobility**
In an open class system, like the U.S., social
mobility is the movement between or
within social classes
 There are two types: vertical and horizontal
 Horizontal mobility is movement within
one’s class or stratum.

◦ When an individual moves from one job to
another of equal social ranking, that is horizontal
mobility
◦ If there is no major change in wealth, power, or
prestige, it is horizontal mobility
Social Mobility**

Vertical mobility is movement between
social classes
◦ The monetary and social rewards of
promotion from secretary to a management
position may move an individual from working
class to lower middle class.

There are two kinds of Vertical mobility:
intragenerational mobility and
intergenerational mobility
Social Mobility**
Intragenerational mobility is changes
in social position during a person’s life
 Intergenerational mobility is changes
in status between different generations of
the same family

◦ For example the son of a mechanic becoming
a doctor is intergenerational mobility
Social Mobility**

Structural causes of Upward mobility
◦ Change in technology
◦ Change in merchandising patterns
◦ Change in general level of education

Structural causes of Downward mobility
◦ Personal factors (divorce, illness, retirement)
◦ Change in technology
◦ Economic factors (rate of unemployment,
economic growth)
Homework
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Pg. 196 #1-5