Ch 8-Social Class and Social Stratification Vocabulary
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29 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 caste system | a system of stratification (characterized by low social mobility) in which one's place in the stratification system is determined by birth |
| class consciousness | the awareness that a class structure exists and the feeling of shared identification with others in one's class with whom one perceives common life chances |
| class system | the organized pattern of social class in society |
| conspicuous consumption | the ostentatious display of goods to mark one's social status |
| culture of poverty | the arguement that poverty is a way of life and, like other cultures, is passed on from generation to generation |
| economic restructuring | contemporary transformations in the basic structure of work that are permanently altering the workplace, including the changing composition of the workplace, deindustrialization, the use of enhanced technology, and the development of a global economy |
| educational attainment | the total years of formal education |
| estate system | a system of stratification in which the ownership of property and the exercise of pwer is monopolized by an elite or noble class that has total control over societal resources |
| false consciousness | the thought resulting from subordinate classes internalizing the view of the dominant class |
| feminization of poverty | the process whereby a growing proportion of the poor are women and children |
| ideology | a belief system that tries to explain and justify the status quo |
| income | the amount of money brought into a household from various sources during a given year (wages, investment, income, dividends, etc.) |
| life chances | the opportunities that people have in common by virtue of belonging to a particular class |
| median income | the midpoint of all household incomes |
| meritocracy | a system in which one's status is based on merit or accomplishments |
| net worth | the value of one's financial assets minus debt |
| occupational prestige | the subjective evaluation people give to jobs as better or worse than others |
| poverty line | the figure established by the government to indicate the amount of money needed to support the basic needs of a household |
| prestige | the value with which different groups or people are judged |
| social class | the social structural hierarchical position groups hold relative to the economic, social, political, and cultural resources of society |
| social differentiation | the process by which different statuses in any group, organization, or society develop |
| social mobility | a person's movement over time from one class to another |
| social stratification | a relatively fixed hierarchical arrangement in society by which groups have different access to resources, power, and percieved social worth; a system of structured social inequality |
| socioeconomic status (SES) | a measure of class standing, typically indicated by income, occupational prestige, and educational attainment |
| status | an established position in a social structure that carries with it a degree of prestige |
| status attainment | the process by which people end up in a given position in the stratification system |
| Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) | federal program by which grants are given to states to fund welfare |
| urban underclass | a grouping of people, largely minority and poor, who live at the absolute bottom of the socioeconomic ladder in urban areas |
| wealth | the monetary value of everything one actually owns |
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