A collective ideology that justifies the existence of the hierarchy. For example, in the film Pretty Woman, Richard Gere plays a rich businessman who hires a prostitute, played by Julia Roberts, to accompany him to swank parties and other affairs. Differentiation is the acknowledgement that while there are many social roles, they're all equal. 2. The individualistic view attributes poverty to individual failings of poor people themselves, while the structural view attributes poverty to problems in the larger society. Roberts has to buy a new wardrobe and learn how to dine and behave in rich social settings, and much of the films humor and poignancy come from her awkwardness in learning the lifestyle of the rich. Why is stratification so common? The functional theory of stratification: Some neglected considerations. The general understanding of differentiation is that different statuses come with different levels ofpowerin society. According to conflict theory, stratification results from lack of opportunity and discrimination against the poor and people of color. In explaining stratification, conflict theory emphasizes ideology, or a set of ideas that justifies the status quo. Stop procrastinating with our study reminders. Your client is likely experiencing, According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 2015 (Smith, Chapter 25, Sue & Sue, 2016) guidelines that a family of four earning $24,251 per year would. New York Times, p. A19. What is accurate regarding the educational experience of African Americans? Coal miners make much less money than physicians, and professors, for better or worse, earn much less on the average than lawyers. In the midst of plenty: The poor in America. 9.3 Explaining Global Stratification - Sociology It refers to the ranking of various social groups on a scale, most commonly along the lines of gender, class, age, or ethnicity. One can be either: A member of the bourgeoisie (ruling class) with ownership over the means of production, or. The former take advantage of their position at the top of society to stay at the top, even if it means oppressing those at the bottom. The link between higher education and employment is central to the understanding of social stratification and social mobility. Debunking the big lie right-wingers use to justify black poverty and unemployment. According to symbolic interactionism, social class affects how people interact in everyday life and how they view certain aspects of the social world. Life Chances: Definition and Theory | StudySmarter The compassion gap in American poverty policy. Because poverty serves all these functions and more, according to this argument, the middle and upper classes have a vested interested in neglecting poverty to help ensure its continued existence. Set individual study goals and earn points reaching them. The everyday slights, put-downs, invalidations and insults directed toward a group. This is because they often felt uncomfortable seeking help from teachers when they needed it. Stratification results from lack of opportunity and from discrimination and prejudice against the poor, women, and people of color. It doesn't involve ranking different social groups as social stratification does. 9.2 Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States - OpenStax The first type of explanation follows logically from the functional theory of stratification and may be considered an individualistic explanation. Because identity construction is so closely related to consumption, consumerism is seen as the main cause of differentiation in postmodern society. Suppose you could wave a magic wand and invent a society where everyone had about the same income no matter which job he or she performed. 02 de julho de 2020. The functional theory of stratification: Some neglected considerations. While it's clear that there are numerous differences within and between different social groups, what differentiation highlights is that the meaning of those differences is important to understand. This explanation was developed more than sixty years ago by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore (Davis & Moore, 1945) in the form of several logical assumptions that imply stratification is both necessary and inevitable. Blow, C. M. (2011, June 25). It proposes the existence of a hierarchy where some groups are privileged, and others are oppressed. Sociological perspectives on poverty | JRF We don't get to choose who we are born as. These theories are often multi-level, examining how thesestruc-tural effects interact with communities and the poor to compound theproblems associated with poverty. Figure 8.2 Annual Family Income and Belief That Government Should Reduce Income Differences Between the Rich and Poor. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. On a more lighthearted note, examples of the symbolic interactionist framework are also seen in the many literary works and films that portray the difficulties that the rich and poor have in interacting on the relatively few occasions when they do interact. As an example, Marx called religion the opiate of the masses. By this he meant that religious beliefs influence the poor to feel that their fate in life is Gods will or a test of their belief in God. tax break: A deduction in tax that is given in order to encourage a certain economic activity or a social objective. Do CEOs of corporations really need to make millions of dollars per year to get enough qualified people to become CEOs? At a minimum, they can heavily influence the law, the media, and other institutions in a way that maintains societys class structure. Rather, it examines the differences that stratification makes for peoples lifestyles and their interaction with other people. For example, they are said to be impulsive and to live for the present rather than the future. True or false? 8.2 Explaining Stratification - Sociology - University of Minnesota 1.2 Sociological Perspectives on Social Problems, 1.3 Continuity and Change in Social Problems, 2.1 The Measurement and Extent of Poverty, 2.2 Who the Poor Are: Social Patterns of Poverty, 3.1 Racial and Ethnic Inequality: A Historical Prelude, 3.5 Dimensions of Racial and Ethnic Inequality, 3.6 Explaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality, 3.7 Reducing Racial and Ethnic Inequality, 4.4 Violence against Women: Rape and Sexual Assault, 5.2 Public Attitudes about Sexual Orientation, 5.3 Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation, 5.4 Improving the Lives of the LGBT Community, 6.3 Life Expectancy and the Graying of Society, 6.4 Biological and Psychological Aspects of Aging, 6.6 Reducing Ageism and Helping Older Americans, 7.5 Drug Policy and the War on Illegal Drugs, 7.6 Addressing the Drug Problem and Reducing Drug Use, 10.2 Sociological Perspectives on the Family, 10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families, 11.1 An Overview of Education in the United States, 11.2 Sociological Perspectives on Education, 11.3 Issues and Problems in Elementary and Secondary Education, 11.4 Issues and Problems in Higher Education, 12.2 Sociological Perspectives on Work and the Economy, 13.1 Sociological Perspectives on Health and Health Care, 13.2 Global Aspects of Health and Health Care, 13.3 Problems of Health in the United States, 13.4 Problems of Health Care in the United States, 14.2 Sociological Perspectives on Urbanization, 15.1 Sociological Perspectives on Population and the Environment, 15.4 Addressing Population Problems and Improving the Environment, 16.1 Sociological Perspectives on War and Terrorism, 16.4 Preventing War and Stopping Terrorism. Weber sees the power to influence other people, even if they don't want to be influenced, as the third key dimension of social stratification. Oakley (1972) says that gender stratification is caused by socialisation processes. Social Stratification Theories: Explanation | StudySmarter Functionalists see social stratification as inevitable and necessary, as it provides people with the motivation to work hard and achieve well in a meritocratic society. Rank, M. R. (2011). According to symbolic interactionism, social class affects how people interact in everyday life and how they view certain aspects of the social world. Which is a possible psychological reaction that might result from living in poverty? In the past, the poor were thought to be biologically inferior, a view that has not entirely faded, but today the much more common belief is that they lack the ambition and motivation to work hard and to achieve success. American Sociological Review, 18, 387393. The explanation for poverty we favor presumably affects the amount of sympathy we have for the poor, and our sympathy, or lack of sympathy, in turn affects our views about the governments role in helping the poor. Conflict theorys explanation of stratification draws on Karl Marxs view of class societies and incorporates the critique of the functionalist view just discussed. Charles Murray, author of the Bell Curve, steps back into the ring. He suggested that there are actually three interconnected aspects of stratification that we need to consider: According to Weber, class is not as dichotomised as Marx proposed. While different systems of classification have different ways of organising economic hierarchies, all are based on one's relationship to the means of production. Duncan, C. M. (2000). Stratification by class tends to be the primary system of classification nowadays, with other forms of stratification taking secondary positions. Here, the differences in the role of each person are rooted in the power relations and inequalities that are normative of teacher-student relationships, where a teacher can direct a student's behaviour but not vice versa. Harrington, M. (1962). Elementary school teachers do a very important job in our society, but their salaries are much lower than those of sports agents, advertising executives, and many other people whose jobs are far less essential. The name of this phenomenon is economic determinism. They say that class is more tied in with a person's identity, and because of this, it's much more fluid and individualised than previously thought. Social Stratification: Definition, Types & Examples - Simply Sociology Chapter 25: Counseling Individuals Living in Poverty Test Questions Question 1 Question Type: Multiple Choice Question: According to social-class stratification theory, poverty is understood a. to be at the bottom-most rung in a hierarchical system of sociocultural power relations that goes beyond differences of income b. to be stratified and Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/2012/03/15/the_truth_about_the_poor/. However, she points out that there are intersectional differences - women with different class, ethnic, and sexual backgrounds will experience these structures differently. Create the most beautiful study materials using our templates. Public Domain Images CC0 public domain. According to conflict theory, stratification results from lack of opportunity and discrimination against the poor and people of color. Differentiationinvolves ranking different social groups. Postmodernists say that processes of differentiation are linked to identity formation. Below, we will look in depth at the different sociological perspectives and their views on social stratification. Second, the functionalist explanation implies that the most important jobs have the highest incomes and the least important jobs the lowest incomes, but many examples, including the ones just mentioned, counter this view. If there are many dramatic and humorous accounts of the lifestyles of the rich and famous, there are also many sociological and other accounts of lives of the poor. In looking to explain poverty, sociologists have often tried to balance the relative importance of social structures (how society is organised) and the role of individual agency - people's independent . Outline the assumptions of the conflict theory explanation of stratification. These and other similarities in values and beliefs lead critics of the individualistic explanation to conclude that poor peoples poverty cannot reasonably be said to result from a culture of poverty. In general, the functionalist perspective and conflict perspective both try to explain why social stratification exists and endures, while the symbolic interactionist perspective discusses the differences that stratification produces for everyday interaction. Sociological Focus, 35, 381396. Banfield, E. C. (1974). Merriam-Webster defines a meritocracy as: a system in which people are chosen and moved into positions of success, power, and influence on the basis of their demonstrated abilities and merit'. Racist statements that cause minimal harm because they are micro in nature as opposed to macro. Status refers to a person's relative social position based on the honour or prestige that's attached to their occupation. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. In explaining stratification in the United States, which view, functionalist or conflict, makes more sense to you? The unheavenly city revisited. Understand the difference between the individualist and structural explanations of poverty. These problems include (a) racial, ethnic, gender, and age discrimination; (b) lack of good schooling and adequate health care; and (c) structural changes in the American economic system, such as the departure of manufacturing companies from American cities in the 1980s and 1990s that led to the loss of thousands of jobs. Which of the following is included under the term transgender? Functionalists might criticise the feminist theory by arguing that the differential roles of men and women are ascribed based on necessity rather than inequality. The LibreTexts libraries arePowered by NICE CXone Expertand are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. Feminists see society as being stratified by, . 9.6C: Explaining Poverty- The Sociological Debate is shared under a CC BY-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts. Rank, M. R. (1994). True or false? In other words, differentiation is the basis of stratification. Additionally, we do not get to choose where we are born, our gender at birth, our sexuality, our ethnicity, or our family. A meritocracy is a system where people who have the most knowledge, skills and overall ability are given the most important and highly-rewarded roles in the community. 22.2 Public Sociology and Improving Society. Max Weber (1922) expanded on the Marxist theory of social stratification. Why? The social inequality that's caused by the unequaldistribution of those resources. According to the individualistic explanation, the poor have personal problems and deficiencies that are responsible for their poverty. The upper-middle class in the United States consists of about 4.4% of all households, with incomes ranging from $150,000 to $199,000. Bradley, C., & Cole, D. J. Second, the functionalist explanation implies that the most important jobs have the highest incomes and the least important jobs the lowest incomes, but many examples, including the ones just mentioned, counter this view. Consistent with its micro orientation, symbolic interactionism tries to understand stratification and thus poverty by looking at peoples interaction and understandings in their daily lives. 2. Weber saw class as more of a continuum related to economic positions, which results in different life chances. Because of their race, ethnicity, gender, and class standing at birth, some people have less opportunity than others to acquire the skills and training they need to fill the types of jobs addressed by the functionalist approach. For example, a Supreme Court judge is said to have a much higher status than a rubbish collector. Which age group is most likely to live in poverty with a rate of 19.9% is one of the highest in the developed world? For example, many wealthy families pay low wages to nannies to care for their children, gardeners to tend to their yards, and maids to clean their homes. Attributions for poverty among college students: The impact of service-learning and religiosity. Block, F., Korteweg, A. C., & Woodward, K. (2006). Stratification affects peoples beliefs, lifestyles, daily interaction, and conceptions of themselves. Ehrenreich, B. Social Class Inequality: Concept & Examples | StudySmarter There are many different types of stratification systems, including slave systems and class systems, the latter of which is much more common in contemporary Western societies like Britain. Some principles of stratification. According to the second, structural explanation, which is a blaming-the-system approach, US poverty stems from problems in American society that lead to a lack of equal opportunity and a lack of jobs. American Sociological Review, 24, 772782. Two classic sociological approaches to poverty and social stratification are structural-functionalism and conflict theory. He shared the capitalist idea in two ways. Them thats not shall lose. New York, NY: International Publishers. Reconsidering culture and poverty. This means that people's economic rankings have the most impact on their lives and social statuses compared with other forms of inequality, like those related to gender, ethnicity, or age. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. The activity can be used in any course that contains a unit or emphasis on multicultural psychology or diversity. Living on the edge: The realities of welfare in America. Theories of stratification and differentiation seek to understand why these phenomena exist in society and whether they are inevitable. According to symbolic interactionism, social class affects how people interact in everyday life and how they view certain aspects of the social world. This is because of a 'motivational problem' inherent in societies; they always give the most important and highly-rewarded roles to the most qualified people. . Define "social stratification". The general understanding of differentiation is that different statuses come with different levels of, More about Social Stratification Theories, Social Construction of Health and Illness, Representation of Social Class In The Media, Distribution of Wealth, Poverty, and Income in the UK, Theoretical Approaches to Welfare Providers. Mirza (1992) studied the experiences of Black female students in school. Regardless of which version one might hold, the individualistic explanation is a blaming-the-victim approach (see Chapter 1 Understanding Social Problems). What are the two key ideas on which the Weberian theory of stratification is based?
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