Concept, Characteristics

and Forms of Stratification

Systems Using
Sociological Perspectives
Module 9
What social
class are you
at present?
Do you have plans in
advancing to the
hierarchy?
Differentiation
Differentiation
Differentiation is a method of
identifying the social characteristics of
people by identifying their social
categories.
 Social
Stratification
Social Stratification
This refers to the division or
categorization of people into socio-
economic strata/layer, based on
(OCCUPATION,RELIGION,GENDER,STATUS,POWER)
 Social
Desirables
Social Desirables
are the rewards of social positions of
statuses people enjoy
in the society.
(POWER, WEALTH AND PRESTIGE)
Wealth
Wealth pertains to ownership or
control of resource.
Power
Power is the ability to compel
obedience or
control a number of people.
Prestige
Prestige refers to social
recognition and deference.
 Social
Classes
Social Classes
A group of people within society who
possess the same socio-economic status.
Social classes are central to Social theory (of
Karl Marx) since they affect the formation of
states, politics, and structures of society in
general.
UPPER CLASS

MIDDLE CLASS

LOWER CLASS
Upper Class
The term upper class refers to a group of
individuals who occupy the highest place and
status in society.
Consists of the elite families who are the most
prolific and successful in their respective areas.
Example:
Stock holders, Investors
Middle Class
The middle class is the economic stratum
between the working class and the wealthy.
Professional people
Their incomes provide a comfortable life style
Example:
Lawyers, Doctors, Managers, Executives
Lower Class
It is defined as service employees, low-level
manual laborers, and the unemployed.
Office and Clerical Workers
Having the lowest status in the society
Example:
Skilled and unskilled craftsman, Farm Employees,
Underemployed
Status
-The individual’s position in the social
structure.
Ascribed Assigned or given by the society or
status group on the basis of some fixed
category.

Achieved Earned by the individual.

status
Prestige and Esteem
Prestige -refers to the evaluation of status.
The prestige does not apply directly to the
person but to the social category to which
that person belongs to.
Esteem -refers to the assessment of our role
behavior. The regard in which one is held
depends on how well he carries out his role
Stratification
System
Open System
The individual may change his/her social
status through ‘achieved status’ (meaning,
the person’s achievement in the society will
become the basis of the social status).
Example:
Class System
It is a social stratification based on both
birthand individual achievement. The system
is common in industrial societies.
In the United States of America, citizens are classified by their
income, wealth, and things like education, social status, and
livelihood. The government has no control over this social
status because the individual has the right to achieve things to
move and change your social status in the hierarchy.
Closed System
The individual has no right to change his/her
social status in the society, and if there is, it
is only very limited, because the social status
is ‘ascribed’ (meaning, from the time of your
birth, you will carry the status of your family
at definite time).
Example:
Caste System
It is social stratification based on ascription,
or birth.
In India, Hindus are split up into different societal groups
(known as ‘castes’) according to their work and birth. The
system led to the upper castes being privileged over the lower
castes. Inter-caste marriage is also forbidden.
See the societal divisions in India below:
 Social
Mobility
Social Mobility
It refers to the movement of a person
from one social status to another.
Types of Social
Mobility
Intra-generational
Mobility
refers to a person's social or economic
status over the course of their life,
without comparing them to previous or
future generations
Inter-generational
Mobility
refers to the movement or changes in
social and economic status between
different generations within a family.

Horizontal Mobility
is the movement of one
person’s status within the
same social class.
Example:
A nurse resigned at
Davao Regional Medical
Center and move as
nurse at Tagum Doctor’s
Hospital. (No change in
social level)
Vertical Example:
Mobility
is the A factory worker becomes a rich
movement of entrepreneur. (Upward, since the worker
one person’s rises up in social status).
status
A businessman becomes a company
between
worker because of bankruptcy.
social levels.
(Downward, because the businessman
It may be
moves down in social level).
upward or
downward.
 Two types of
Vertical Mobility
Upward Mobility
This is when a person moves from a
lower position in society to a higher
one. It can also include people
occupying higher positions in the same
societal group
Downward Mobility
Takes place when a person moves from
a higher position in society to a lower
one.
 Sociological
Perspectives
of Social
Stratification
 WHAT IS
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION?
Social Stratification
Social stratification refers to
the hierarchical arrangement of
individuals or groups in a
society. It involves the division
of society into different layers,
often based on factors such as
wealth, power, education, and
social status.
 Division of Society
Wealth Power Education Social Status
an abundance the ability to the process of is the relative level
of valuable do something receiving or giving of social value a
possessions or or act in a systematic person is
money. particular way. instruction, considered to
especially at a possess.
school or university.
 WHAT IS
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES?
Sociological Perspectives
Sociological perspectives on
social stratification provide
various frameworks for
understanding and analyzing
these hierarchical structures. It
also provide distinct ways of
understanding and explaining
human behavior, social
institutions, and the overall
structure of society.
 Functionalist
Three major 01. Perspective
sociological
perspectives Social Conflict
on social 02. Perspective
stratification
include: Symbolic
03. Interactionism
Perspective
Functionalist
Perspective
Views society as a complex system
composed of interrelated parts that
work together to maintain stability and
order. It emphasizes the functions of
various social institutions in
contributing to the overall health of
society.
Functionalist
Perspective
Davis and Wilbert Moore (1945)
argue that the more important a
position is to society, the more
rewards a society attaches to it.
Rewarding important work with
income, prestige, and power
encourages people to do these jobs
and to work better, longer, and
harder.
Social Conflict
Perspective
Emphasizes the role of power and
coercion in shaping social order. It
views society as a competition for
limited resources and examines how
different groups struggle for control and
dominance.
Social Conflict
Perspective
According to Karl Marx, social
stratification is created and
maintained by one group in order to
protect and enhance its own
economic interests.
According to Max Weber,
stratification involves three distinct
dimensions of inequality: class,
social status or prestige, and power.
Symbolic
Interactionism:
Concentrates on the micro-level
interactions and symbols that shape
individuals' understanding of the world.
It explores how people create and
interpret symbols, such as language
and gestures, to communicate and
construct meaning in their everyday
lives.
Symbolic
Interactionism:
People interact with others who
share the same social standing.
People can know about a person’s
position in society through status
symbol, anything than can give an
idea as to what stratum an individual
belongs to.
Thank you
very much!