Types of Strat.
This system is based on birth and is usually lifelong, like in India’s traditional hierarchy.
Caste System
He argued that conflict between classes drives social change.
Karl Marx
A person’s position in society based on wealth, education, and occupation
Socioeconomic Status
Moving up or down the social ladder within one person’s lifetime.
Intragenerational mobility
Buying goods to show wealth or status rather than for basic need.
Conspicuous Consumption
A system where social position can change based on wealth, power, or education.
Class System
He believed inequality is natural and rewards talent and ability.
Herbert Spencer
This group works full-time or multiple jobs but still struggles to meet basic needs.
When social class changes from one generation to the next in a family.
Intergenerational mobility
A luxury car, designer bag, or newest iPhone can be examples of this.
Status symbols
Ownership of one person by another defines this system
Slavery
Developed a three-component theory of stratification: class, status, and power.
Max Weber
Name three factors typically used to determine a person’s socioeconomic status
Income, education, occupation
This term describes a person’s opportunities to improve their quality of life based on their social position.
Life chances
This sociologist first introduced the idea of conspicuous consumption.
Thorstein Veblen
The belief that people generally earn what they deserve through talent, effort, and hard work.
Meritocracy
What is one way Weber’s ideas differ from Marx’s?
Weber includes status and power as separate from class
Name one factor that contributes to the “working poor” remaining in low-income jobs
Low wages, limited education, systemic inequality, lack of social capital
When a large group of people experience mobility because of changes in the economy, such as new industries creating jobs.
Structural mobility
Give one way conspicuous consumption can impact the environment.
Increased waste, overproduction, pollution, resource depletion, fast fashion waste, etc.
The ranking of countries or societies based on wealth, resources, and standard of living.
Global Stratification
According to Marx, these two groups are in constant conflict.
Proletariat & Bourgeoisie
Explain how socioeconomic status (SES) can impact a person’s life chances. Give one specific example
SES affects access to education, healthcare, housing, job opportunities, etc., which shapes opportunities and outcomes
A student’s parents did not attend college, but the student earns a degree and enters a higher-paying career. What type of mobility is this?
Intergenerational
How does conspicuous consumption reinforce social stratification?
It signals wealth and status, makes inequality visible, separates social classes, and maintains social hierarchies.