Social Interaction
call this division of society into categories, ranks, or classes
the process by which people act and react in relation to others
Social Inequality
the unequal sharing o scare resources
is caused by the divisions based on individual characteristics and abilities lead to this
caste system
resources and social rewards are distributed on the basis of ascribed statuses
exogamy
marriage outside one's social category
endogamy
or the marriage within one social category usually in caste system
class system
the distribution of scarce resources and rewards is determined on the basis of achieved statuses
Bourgeoisie
the owners and means of production in a capitialist society
Proletariat
the workers who sell their labor in exchange for wages
social class
as a grouping of people with similar levels of wealth, power, and pretsige
wealth
is made up of his or her assests the value of everything the person owns and income money earned through salaries, investement retirns and other capital gains
power
is the ability to control the behavior of others, with or without consent
prestige
is the respect, honor, recgontion, or coutesy an indivual receives from others.
Socioeconomic status
to rank people according to wealth, power, prestige
class expolitation
marixist theory that social stratification comes from class exploitation
reputational method
indivuals in the community are asked to rank other community members based on what they know of their characters and lifestyles
subjective method
indivuals are asked to determine their own social rank
Objective method
sociologists define social class by income, occupation, and education.
major problem involves the selection and measurement of social factors, each combinaion of factors produces a slightly different picture of social class membership
Social Mobility
is the movement between or within social classes
horizontal mobility
refers to movement within a social class or stratum
One job to another in the same social ranking, and individuals experience this
vertical mobility
is the movement between social classes or strata
promotions to another position or downwards to working class to lower middle class
intrageneratinal mobility
social postion during one person's life
intergenerational mobility
status differences between gernations in the same family
Poverty
seen as the standard of living that is below the minimum level considered adequate by society
Poverty Level
the minimum income
Life changes
by these sociologists mean the likelihood that individuals have sharing in the opportunists and benefits of society
life expectancy
refers to the average number of years a person born in a particular year can expect to live
transfer payements
used to redistribute money within society by funneling a percentage of tax revenues to groups that need public assistance