STRATIFICATION

- is derived from the geological concept of Strata which means rock layers created by natural processes. Social sciences have borrowed this term and applied it to the arrangement of people in society.

According to Raymond W. Murray; Social Stratification is horizontal division of society into higher and lower social units. According to Kurt B. Mayer; Social Stratification is, a system of differentiation which includes social positions whose occupants are treated as superior, equal or inferior relative to one another in socially important respect. According to Peter Robert Saunders; In modern Western Societies, Stratification depends on social and economic classes comprising three main layers: upper class, middle class and lower class. Each class is further subdivided into smaller classes related, in part, to occupation.

TYPES OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

- The term caste is derived from the Portuguese word casta which means a group. - These are closed stratification systems in which people can do little or nothing to change their social standing. - Very difficult to change status - Status typically ascribed

- It is the social stratification which exists only in India.

- Class consists of a set of people who share similar status with regard to factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation. Unlike caste systems, class systems are open. - Allows people to change their status with relative ease.

- In a class system, occupation is not fixed at birth.

Status is a persons prestige, social honor, or popularity in a society. Social respect, admiration, recognition Presentation and avoidance rituals Conspicuous leisure and consumption

A persons ability to get their way despite the resistance of others. For example, individuals in state jobs may hold little property or status but they still hold immense power.