Social Stratifictaion Key Studies

Question 1

What was Davis and Moore theory of stratification?

Answer 1

Society must allocate different roles to people- some roles are more functionally important,

Question 2

What is Davis and Moores functionalist theory?

Answer 2

• society needs a way placing individuals in different roles/ all roles filled
  -some roles more functionally important than others
  -these roles must have desirable rewards/ people have no motivation to work/ train for these
• ensures most talented people get most important jobs
• people should be treated by their status/rewards

Question 3

What are criticisms of davis and Moore?

Answer 3

• many important jobs have low wages (nursing)
  -some high payed people and status may be due to power not role
  -assume society is meritocratic

Question 4

What is Karl Marx’s theory?

Answer 4

• argues 2 main social classes (b+p)
• b have more power
  -p exploited and experience alienation (class conflict)
• b impose their ideology on wc and create false class consciousness
• other classes include lumpenproletariat and petty bourgeoisie
• over time the petty b would sink into p (increasingly poor)

Question 5

What is Webers theory ?

Answer 5

-class is group with similar life chances/ each have different market situations
- 4 main classes (property owners, professionals, petty b, wc)
- classes based on economic factors, status and power

Question 6

What was Goldthorpe and Lockwoods study?

Answer 6

• rejected embourgeoisment and thought affluent workers formed a new class that represented the middle class
  -affluent workers had instrumental attitude to paid work
  -affluent workers supported Labour Party for individual gain/ unlike the wc attitude to work/stick togther

Question 7

What was devines study?

Answer 7

-revisited G and L study and disagreed
- wc lifestyles have not changed as much as they suggested
- interviewees not purely instrumental attitude
- plenty of evidence of solidarity not individualism

Question 8

What was Townsends relative dep study?

Answer 8

• developed a deprivation index to measure relative deprivation
• found almost 23% of population in poverty
  -much higher than 6% (state measure of poverty)

Question 9

What was Murray’s new right study?

Answer 9

-argues welfare benefits create dependency- people discouraged to go find join and create poverty
- underclass are threat to society- drain resources and don’t work (associates to rising crime and single-parent families)

Question 10

What is Walbys feminist theory?

Answer 10

• patriarchal structure where woman are exploited by men
• paid employment, household, culture, sexuality, male voice, state