Social Inequality Flashcards

1
Q

Social stratification

A

A hierarchy in which groups have different statuses and different levels of privilege.

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2
Q

Social class

A

A group of people having the same social and economic status.

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3
Q

Age

A

Age is a form of stratification.

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4
Q

Status

A

A position that someone has in society.

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5
Q

Power

A

The ability to influence people’s behaviour.

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6
Q

Industrial societies

A

Societies that use technology for mass production, in contrast to traditional societies.

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7
Q

Minority group

A

A category of people lacking power; can be based on factors such as religion, disability and age.

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8
Q

Slavery

A

A stratification system in which one group is treated as the legal property of another group.

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9
Q

Caste

A

A closed stratification system traditionally found in India.

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10
Q

Closed society

A

A society in which mobility between different levels of stratification is not possible.

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11
Q

Ascribed status

A

A status that is given to individuals by their society or group, over which they have little or no control.

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12
Q

Traditional societies

A

Societies that are still predominantly agricultural and have not yet become industrial.

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13
Q

Discrimination

A

When an individual or group suffers a disadvantage because of their characteristics, for example being refused a job.

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14
Q

Ageism

A

Prejudice or discrimination against someone based on their age.

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15
Q

Achieved status

A

A status that individuals acquire through their own effort.

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16
Q

Life chances

A

The opportunities that people have to improve their lives.

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17
Q

Human rights

A

A wider category than civil rights, including political rights.

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18
Q

Civil rights

A

Rights that protect the freedom of individuals.

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19
Q

Working class

A

Manual or blue-collar workers.

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20
Q

Fatalism

A

Individuals’ belief that they cannot control what happens to them.

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21
Q

Deferred gratification

A

Being able to set long-term goals, planning for the future.

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22
Q

Immediate gratification

A

Choosing instant satisfaction rather than waiting for a greater reward in the future.

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23
Q

Middle class

A

Professional and other non-manual workers, below the upper class and above the working class.

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24
Q

Professional worker

A

Someone who works as a professional, such as a lawyer and architect.

25
Q

Minority ethnic group

A

A minority group with a distinct national or cultural tradition.

26
Q

Social inequality

A

The inequality between groups in a stratification system, for example in income or wealth.

27
Q

Wealth

A

Money, savings and property that can be bought and sold to generate income.

28
Q

Distribution of wealth

A

The way in which wealth is distributed.

29
Q

Income

A

The sum of earnings from work and other sources.

30
Q

Welfare state

A

The way in which governments try to provide for the less well off and reduce social inequality.

31
Q

Meritocracy

A

A society in which individuals achieve the level that their talents and abilities deserve.

32
Q

Redistribution of wealth

A

Advocated by Marxists and others to achieve greater equality by giving some of the wealth of the better off to those who are less wealthy.

33
Q

Dependency culture

A

A set of values leading people to lose the ability to look after themselves so they become dependent, for example, on welfare benefits.

34
Q

Underclass

A

A group below the working class that is effectively cut off from the rest of society.

35
Q

Maxism

A

A theoretical perspective that sees conflict between classes the most important feature of society.

36
Q

Equal opportunities

A

When all people are given the same chances (for example, in applying for a job) regardless of differences such as age, gender and social class.

37
Q

Disability

A

Covers a wide range of types of impairment in how the body functions in carrying out activities.

38
Q

Relative poverty

A

Being poor in relation to others in the same society.

39
Q

Absolute poverty

A

Being without some or all of the basic necessities of life.

40
Q

Poverty line

A

The level of income below which people are judged to be in poverty.

41
Q

Cycle of poverty

A

When poverty tends to be inherited, so the new generation cannot escape the poverty of their parents.

42
Q

Poverty trap

A

When poor people are unable to escape from being poor.

43
Q

Culture of poverty

A

When poor people have a set of values that keep them in poverty.

44
Q

Social exclusion

A

People who are unable to take part in the society in the same way as most people are excluded from social goods.

45
Q

Capitalism

A

The economic system of most countries today based on private ownership of the means of production.

46
Q

Bourgeoisie

A

The ruling or upper class in Marxist class theory.

47
Q

Reserve army of labour

A

People who are employed when an economy is booming or when they are needed, but then are out of work when they are not required.

48
Q

Lifestyle

A

The way of life of an individual, group or culture.

49
Q

Privileged groups

A

Groups enjoying higher status than others or material advantages.

50
Q

Racism

A

Prejudice or discrimination against an individual or group because of their ethnicity or perceived race.

51
Q

Prejudice

A

An unexamined opinion that a group of people are inferior or different.

52
Q

Institutional racism

A

When the way that an organisation works has racist results, even when individuals do not intend this.

53
Q

Elite

A

A privileged group at the top of a stratification system.

54
Q

Apartheid

A

The stratification system in South Africa until 1994 based on keeping racial groups apart.

55
Q

Unskilled worker

A

Workers who need no or minimal training to perform their work.

56
Q

Skilled worker

A

Workers who need skills acquired through training to perform their work.

57
Q

Scapegoating

A

When individuals or groups are blamed and sometimes punished for something which is not their fault.

58
Q

Domestic labour

A

The work that has to be done within the home, such as housework; understanding how domestic labour is divided is important for understanding gender inequality in families.

59
Q

Feminism

A

Political movement and sociological perspective advocating equality of the sexes.