Chapter 7 Vocab

Question 1

Social Stratification

Answer 1

The division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy (175)

Question 2

Social Inequality

Answer 2

The unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society (175)

Question 3

Slavery

Answer 3

The most extreme form of social stratification, based on the ownership of people (175)

Question 4

Caste System

Answer 4

A form of social stratification in which status is determined by one’s family history and background and cannot be changed (176)

Question 5

Apartheid

Answer 5

The system of segregation of racial and ethnic groups that was legal in South Africa between 1948 and 1991 (176)

Question 6

Social Class

Answer 6

A system of stratification based on access to such resources as wealth, property, power, and prestige (178)

Question 7

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

Answer 7

A measure of an individual’s place within a social class system; often used interchangeably with “class” (178)

Question 8

Intersectionality

Answer 8

A concept that identifies how different categories of inequality (race, class, gender, etc.) intersect to shape the lives of individuals and groups (179)

Question 9

Upper Class

Answer 9

An elite and largely self‐sustaining group who possess most of the country’s wealth; they constitute about 1 percent of the U.S. population (180)

Question 10

Upper-Middle Class

Answer 10

Social class consisting of mostly highly educated professionals and managers who have considerable financial stability; they constitute about 14 percent of the U.S. population (180)

Question 11

Middle Class

Answer 11

Social class composed primarily of white collar workers with a broad range of education and incomes; they constitute about 30 percent of the U.S. population (181)

Question 12

White Collar

Answer 12

A description characterizing lower‐level professional and management workers and some highly skilled laborers in technical jobs (181)

Question 13

Working Class or Lower-Middle Class

Answer 13

Social class consisting of mostly blue collar or service industry workers who are less likely to have a college degree; they constitute about 30 percent of the U.S. population (181)

Question 14

Blue Collar

Answer 14

A description characterizing skilled and semiskilled workers who perform manual labor or work in service or clerical jobs (181)

Question 15

Working Poor

Answer 15

Poorly educated manual and service workers who may work full‐time but remain near or below the poverty line; they constitute about 13 percent of the U.S. population (181)

Question 16

Underclass

Answer 16

The poorest group, comprising the homeless and chronically unemployed who may depend on public or private assistance; they constitute about 12 percent of the U.S. population (181)

Question 17

Status Inconsistency

Answer 17

A situation in which an individual holds differing and contradictory levels of status in terms of wealth, power, prestige, or other elements of socioeconomic status (181)

Question 18

Feudal System

Answer 18

A system of social stratification based on a hereditary nobility who were responsible for and served by a lower stratum of forced laborers called serfs (182)

Question 19

Wealth

Answer 19

A measure of net worth that includes income, property, and other assets (182)

Question 20

Prestige

Answer 20

The social honor people are given because of their membership in well‐regarded social groups (182)

Question 21

Social Reproduction

Answer 21

The tendency of social classes to remain relatively stable as class status is passed down from one generation to the next (184)

Question 22

Cultural Capital

Answer 22

The tastes, habits, expectations, skills, knowledge, and other cultural assets that help us gain advantages in society (184)

Question 23

Everyday Class Consciousness

Answer 23

Awareness of one’s own social status and that of others (185)

Question 24

Homogamy

Answer 24

The tendency to choose romantic partners who are similar to us in terms of class, race, education, religion, and other social group membership (190)

Question 25

Heterogamy

Answer 25

The tendency to choose romantic partners who are dissimilar to us in terms of class, race, education, religion, and other social group membership (190)

Question 26

Hypergamy

Answer 26

Marrying “up” in the social class hierarchy (190)

Question 27

Hypogamy

Answer 27

Marrying “down” in the social class hierarchy (190)

Question 28

Social Mobility

Answer 28

The movement of individuals or groups within the hierarchical system of social classes (191)

Question 29

Closed System

Answer 29

A social system with very little opportunity to move from one class to another (191)

Question 30

Open System

Answer 30

A social system with ample opportunities to move from one class to another (191)

Question 31

Intergenerational Mobility

Answer 31

Movement between social classes that occurs from one generation to the next (192)

Question 32

Intragenerational Mobility

Answer 32

Movement between social classes that occurs during the course of an individual’s lifetime (192)

Question 33

Horizontal Social Mobility

Answer 33

The movement of individuals or groups within a particular social class, most often a result of changing occupations (192)

Question 34

Vertical Social Mobility

Answer 34

The movement between different class statuses, often called either upward mobility or downward mobility (192)

Question 35

Structural Mobility

Answer 35

Changes in the social status of large numbers of people as a result of structural changes in society (192)

Question 36

Relative Deprivation

Answer 36

A relative measure of poverty based on the standard of living in a particular society (193)

Question 37

Absolute Deprivation

Answer 37

An objective measure of poverty, defined by the inability to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, or health care (193)

Question 38

Federal Poverty Line

Answer 38

Federal index that defines “official” poverty in the United States based on household income; updated annually (193)

Question 39

Culture of Poverty

Answer 39

Entrenched attitudes that can develop among poor communities and lead the poor to accept their fate rather than attempt to improve their lot (197)

Question 40

Just-World Hypothesis

Answer 40

Argument that people have a deep need to see the world as orderly, predictable, and fair, which creates a tendency to view victims of social injustice as deserving of their fates (198)

Question 41

Residential Segregation

Answer 41

The geographical separation of the poor from the rest of an area’s population (198)

Question 42

Disenfranchisement

Answer 42

The removal of the rights of citizenship through economic, political, or legal means (198)

Question 43

Digital Divide

Answer 43

The unequal access to computer and Internet technology, both globally and within the United States (199)

Question 44

Wealth Gap

Answer 44

The unequal distribution of assets across a population (200)

Question 45

Meritocracy

Answer 45

A system in which rewards are distributed based on merit (202)