Social Stratification and Inequality: A Comprehensive Overview

Posted on Sep 11, 2024 in Psychology and Sociology

Social Construction of Meaning

Schemas

1. Person Schemas: Cognitive structures that describe the personality of others and organize our conception of them.

2. Self Schemas: Structures that organize our conception of our own qualities.

3. Group Schemas (Stereotypes): Schemas regarding the characteristics of a particular social group.

4. Role Schemas: Attributes that are typical of persons playing a particular role in a group.

5. Event Schemas: Schemas for events like weddings, funerals, and job interviews.

Stereotypes

Stereotypes are characteristics attributed to all members of a specific group or social category, used to simplify the social world. They enable us to make quick judgments, form impressions, and predict behavior with minimal information.

Socialization

Primary Socialization

  1. Based on acquiring skills from others.
  2. Primarily involves children learning the shared meanings of their groups.
  3. Produces a readiness to perform certain behaviors determined by social learning and cultural influences.

Secondary Socialization

  1. Based on physical and biological maturation, which are biologically determined.
  2. Views interpersonal responsiveness, speech development, and cognitive structure as influenced by maturation.

Group Dynamics

Cohesion and Conformity

Cohesion: The extent to which group members desire to remain in the group and resist leaving. Cohesive groups have strong member ties and perceive events similarly.

Conformity: Adherence to group norms or standards. A change in behavior or belief due to real or imagined group pressure.

Roles

Key Characteristics of Roles

  1. A role is always played in relation to other roles.
  2. Roles involve expectations, creating order and predictability in relationships. Role play is governed by rules of behavior.
  3. These rules are the basis for performing roles predictably and acceptably. They imply legitimacy, consent, and prescription.

Role Conflict

Role conflict occurs when:

  1. A person plays multiple roles with incompatible demands (e.g., woman, employee, mother).
  2. A person defines their role differently than those in related roles (e.g., teacher, parents).
  3. Related roles have incompatible expectations of the focal role (e.g., supervisor with conflicting expectations from workers and managers).

The Power of Context (Gladwell)

Gladwell defines the power of context as the influence of circumstances, conditions, time, and place, demonstrating that humans are more sensitive to their environment than we might think.

Social Stratification

Six Characteristics of Social Stratification

  1. Ranking applies to social categories with shared characteristics.
  2. Life experiences and opportunities depend heavily on social category ranking.
  3. Ranks of social categories change slowly and persist across generations.
  4. Social stratification is universal but variable.
  5. Social stratification involves inequality legitimization.
  6. Social stratification engenders shared identities.

Types of Social Inequality

Economic Inequality

Income: Money received from employment, investments, etc.

Wealth: Total assets of an individual or household.

Wealth inequality refers to the unequal distribution of assets.

Gender Inequality

Gender: A social construct assigning different roles and identities to men and women.

The division of labor between sexes has led to unequal positions in power, prestige, and wealth.

Davis and Moore’s Theory of Social Stratification

Essential Elements

  1. Some positions are functionally more important and require special skills.
  2. Limited individuals have the talents trainable into these skills.
  3. Converting talents to skills involves sacrifices during training.
  4. To induce these sacrifices, positions must offer differential rewards.
  5. Differential access to rewards leads to prestige stratification.
  6. Social inequality is functional and inevitable.

Criticisms

  1. The system should tend toward wealth equality (Collins, 2000).
  2. Neglects unequal power and influence in the labor market (conflict assumptions).
  3. Without market restraints, there would be a tendency toward equality.
  4. Are there truly so few people with the talent for demanding professions?
  5. High inequality can be dysfunctional.

Parsons’ Social Stratification Theory

Essential Elements

  1. Status hierarchy placement is determined by others’ moral evaluation.
  2. Moral evaluation is based on a common value system.
  3. The value system is shaped by the primary institution in society.
  4. Those who embody these values receive high status and rewards.

Criticisms

Parsons didn’t see people as primarily striving for power and wealth. He neglected the idea that the value system may be shaped by the powerful and wealthy. Status inequalities are primary only in small, highly integrated communities.

Social Mobility

Definition and Current State

Social mobility is the movement of individuals and groups between socioeconomic positions. Upward mobility has stagnated since 2000, leading to increased downward mobility (loss of income, property, and status).

Poverty

Objective vs. Subjective Poverty

Objective Poverty:

  • Absolute Poverty: Based on the idea of subsistence.
  • Relative Poverty: Locates poverty within a specific society.

Subjective Poverty: Based on the notion of felt poverty. People feel poor if others around them have more.