Solved 2025-2026 Updated.
social inequality - Answer condition in which members of society have different amounts of
power, wealth, or prestige
stratification - Answer structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates
unequal economic rewards and power in a society
income - Answer wages + salaries
wealth - Answer encompasses all of a person's material assets
ascribed status - Answer social position "assigned" a person without regard for their talents
(race, gender, etc)
achieved status - Answer social position attained by a person largely through their own
efforts
class system - Answer people are ranked on the basis of their achievements (BASED ON
ECONOMIC POSITION)
social mobility - Answer movement from one social class to another
caste system - Answer people ranked according to ascribed statuses (hereditary; prominant
in rural not urbanized areas)
estate system - Answer required peasants to work on land leased to them in exchange for
military protection and other serviced
Rossides 5 class model - Answer (US) 1. upper class 2. upper middle class 3. lower middle
class 4. working class 5. lower class
, ex: "all workers are being exploited by the bourgeoisie"
false consciousness - Answer attitude held by members of the class that does not accurately
reflect workers objective position
ex: "I am being exploited by my boss"
Max Weber - Answer (sociological view) no single characteristic totally defines a persons
position within the stratification system (has MANY dimensions)
Veblen - Answer (Interactionist view) interested in importance of social class in shaping
persons lifestyle
functionalist view (strat) - Answer social inequality is necessary so people are motivated to
fill functionally important jobs
conflict view (strat) - Answer humans are prone to conflict over scarce resources like wealth,
status, and power; strat leads to instability and social change (causes social tension)
objective method - Answer in measuring social class, the class is viewed as a statistical
category
prestige - Answer respect and admiration an occupation holds in society
esteem - Answer reputation a person has earned within an occupation
socioeconomic status - Answer income, education, occupation
absolute poverty - Answer minimum level of subsistence that no family should live below
(poverty line)
relative poverty - Answer floating standard at which people at the bottom of society are
judged as being disadvantaged in comparison to the nation as a whole
Herbert Gans - Answer argued that society benefits from the poor