Social Stratification

Lesson 7
 STARTER

Who are the bourgeoisie?

WALT: Understand how sociologists
have studied social class
 THE EMBOURGEOISEMENT THESIS
Em - bor - shwah - zee - ment

In the 1950s and 1960s, Working-class families used

some sociologists thought to be based around the
embourgeoisement was ideas of community and
taking place. solidarity.

But as living standards in incomes improved, some

sociologists believe they started adopting privatised
lifestyles based around the home and based success
on buying more things.
 THE EMBOURGEOISEMENT THESIS

Working-class families BEFORE

embourgeoisement:
Community-centered. Solidarity with other
working-class families

Working-class families AFTER

embourgeoisement:
Family-centered and wanting
material goods.
The embourgeoisement thesis is the idea that working-class
families are becoming similar to middle-class families.

Some sociologists think this is happening because of increasing

income and improving living conditions.
 THE EMBOURGEOISEMENT THESIS

A sociologist named Goldthorpe studied this in

Luton in the 1960s.

If you had wanted to find out whether

or not this process was happening,
which research method would you
use and why?
 THE EMBOURGEOISEMENT THESIS

Goldthorpe used structured interviews with

people to ask about their attitudes to work,
lifestyles and aspirations.

Give one strength and weakness of

using this research method.
 THE EMBOURGEOISEMENT THESIS

Goldthorpe concluded that the thesis is partly

correct.

A sociologist named Devine repeated this

research in 1992 and found that the thesis is
not correct at all.
Describe what sociologists mean by embourgeoisement
[3 marks]

Identify and explain one criticism of using structured

interviews for researching attitudes [4 marks]

STRETCH: Link this to Goldthorpe and Devine. Structured interviews

only show attitudes at one point in time.