Chapter 9: Social Stratification

Question 1

What is social differentiation?

Answer 1

It is the process of categorizing people by age, height, occupation, or some other personal attribute. It is one of the major concepts of social stratification. It is categorized into class, race, and gender.

Question 2

What is the most focused term(s) in discussing class?

Answer 2

Class

Focus more on social class, which are the individual rights, privelages, power, rights over others, authority, life style choices, status, wealth, etc.This defines how you are places on the social stratification “scale”.

Privilege is referred to the distribution of goods and services, situations, and experiences that are highly valued and beneficial. It is pretty much saying that it is an opportunity that is always valued. Some people have more privilages than others depending what social class you fall under.

Question 3

What is the most focused term(s) in discussing race?

Answer 3

Race

Race is socially defined on the basis of a presumed common geneticc heritage resulting in distinguishing physical characteristics. It is basically discussing if you are caucasian/white, black, mexican, etc.

Ethnicity refers to the condition of being culturally rather than physically distinctive. They are bound together by their ancestors and common culture background. People of color have less power, wealth, and social status than do other people in the US.

Question 4

What is the most focused term(s) in discussing gender?

Answer 4

Gender

Gender is like race and class. It is a basic organizing principle of society. Sex-gender system is the stratification system that assigns women’s and men’s roles unequally. It combines biologically based sex roles with socially created gender roles. The sex-gender system distributes power, resources, pretige, and privilege unequally.

Sex roles refer to behaviors determined by an indicidual’s biological sex. Gender roles are social constructions. they contain the self-concepts and psychological traits as well as family, occupational, and political roles assigned dichotomously to each sex.

Patriarchy is the term for forms of social organization in which men are dominant over women. It is basically saying like the discussion the other day in class that men will typically earn more money with the same background and privileges as a women would make. They are more valued in the work force than women.

Question 5

Impacts of the primacy of profits in Capitalism?

Answer 5

1. Who gets what is determined by private profit rather than by collectibe need.
2. They maintain a suplus of laborers, because a surplus depresses wages.
3. The employeers make investment decisions without regard for their employees (potential or actual).

the fundamental assumption of captialism is individual gain without regard for what the resulting behaviors may mean for other people.

A number of political factors complement the workings of the economy to perpetuate poverty.

The powerful in society also use their political clout to keep society unequal.