Social Stratification

Social Stratification
-arrangement of any social group or
society into hierarchy positions that are
unequal with regard to power property
social evaluation, and/or psychic
gratification.
All societies arrange their members in
terms of superiority, inferiority and
equality.

Stratification is a process of interaction

or differentiation whereby some
people come to rank higher than
others.
Social stratification- hierarchical ranking of
individuals based on:

family
occupation
income
wealth
(social political) power
For sociologist

- pattered inequality in society

that is due to the unequal access
to wealth, privileges, and power.
Divided into social 3 Classes
classes or sets of
people sharing
similar
socioeconomic
status.
And each class can be subdivided into
strata, example the upper stratum, the
middle stratum, and the lower stratum.
Moreover, a social stratum can be
formed upon the bases of kinship or
caste, or both.
 Components of Social Stratification

1. Social Class refers to the level or category where

persons have more or less the
same socio-economic privileges in society.

2. Social Status refers to the position of an individual or

group within a social structure
3. Social Role refers to the behavior expected of a person
who occupies a particular
status.
Bases of Social Stratification:
1. Power or Authority is the ability to secure one’s ends in
life, even against opposition. The degree to which one
directs, manages, or dominates others.

2. Property or Wealth refers to the rights over goods and

services. How much of the
resources of society are owned by certain individuals and
how much do they
gain or earn every time.
3. Prestige or Social Evaluation
-social judgment that a status or position is
more prestigious and honorable than others
-degree of honor one’s position evokes.
-fame one attains upon reaching a certain
degree of prestige.
3 Main Sociological Perspectives:
perspective -a way of looking at the world.
theory -set of interrelated propositions or
principles designed to answer a question or
explain a particular phenomenon; it
provides us with a perspective.
1. The Functionalist Perspective
based on the works of Herbert Spencer, Emile
Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton.
- society is a system of interconnected parts that
work together in harmony to maintain a state of
balance and social equilibrium for the whole.
Social institutions contributes important
functions for society:
Family -a context for reproducing,
nurturing, and socializing children
Education -offers a way to transmit a
society’s skills, knowledge, and culture to
its youth
Politics -a means of governing members of
society
Economics -production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services
Religion -moral guidance and an outlet for
worship of a higher power.
Functionalist perspective emphasizes the
interconnectedness of society by focusing on how
each part influences and is influenced by other parts.
Examples
-increase in single parent and dual-earner families
has contributed to the number of children who are
failing in school because parents have become less
available to supervise their children’s homework.
-As a result of changes in technology,
colleges are offering more technical
programs, and many adults are returning to
school to learn new skills that are required
in the workplace.
-increasing number of women in the
workforce has contributed to the
formulation of policies against sexual
harassment and job discrimination.
Functionalists use the terms functional and
dysfunctional to describe the effects of
social elements on society.
Elements of society are functional if they
contribute to social stability and
dysfunctional if they disrupt social
stability.
For example, crime is dysfunctional in that
it is associated with physical violence, loss
of property, and fear.
But according to Durkheim and other
functionalists, crime is also functional for
society because it leads to heightened
awareness of shared moral bonds and
increased social cohesion.
2 Types of Functions
a. Manifest Functions -consequences that
are intended and commonly recognized.
b. Latent Functions- consequences that are
unintended and often hidden.
Example:
Manifest function of education is to transmit
knowledge and skills to society’s youth. But
public elementary schools also serve as
babysitters for employed parents, and colleges
offer a place for young adults to meet potential
mates. The baby-sitting and mate-selection
functions are not the intended or commonly
recognized functions of education; hence they
are latent functions.
2. Conflict Perspective
Functionalist perspective views society as
composed of different parts working
together.
Conflict perspective views society as
composed of different groups and interest
competing for power and resources.
The conflict perspective - looking at which groups
have power and benefit from a particular social
arrangement.
Example-feminist theory argues that we live in a
patriarchal society—a hierarchical system of
organization controlled by men.
Although there are many varieties of feminist theory,
most would hold that feminism “demands that
existing economic, political, and social structures be
changed”
The origins of the conflict perspective can
be traced to the classic works of Karl
Marx.
As societies evolve from agricultural to
industrial, concern over meeting survival
needs is replaced by concern over making a
profit, the hallmark of a capitalist system.
Industrialization leads to the development
of 2 classes of people:
(1)bourgeoisie, or the owners of the means
of production (e.g., factories, farms,
businesses)
(2) proletariat, or the workers who earn
wages.
2 broad classes of people:
(a)“haves”
(b)“havenots”—is beneficial to the owners of the
means of production.
The workers, who may earn only subsistence wages,
are denied access to the many resources available to
the wealthy owners. According to Marx, the
bourgeoisie use their power to control the institutions
of society to their advantage.
Example, Marx suggested that religion serves as an
“opiate of the masses” in that it soothes the distress
and suffering associated with the working class
lifestyle and focuses the workers’ attention on
spirituality, God, and the afterlife rather than on such
worldly concerns as living conditions. In essence,
religion diverts the workers so that they concentrate
on being rewarded in heaven
for living a moral life rather than on questioning their
exploitation.
3. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Functionalist & Conflict Perspectives
Macro sociology -broad aspects of society
(institutions and large social groups, influence
the social world)
It looks at the big picture of society and suggests
how social problems are affected at the
institutional level.
Micro sociology - social psychological dynamics
of individuals interacting in small groups.
Symbolic interactionism reflects the micro-
sociological perspective,
-Influenced by the work of early sociologists and
philosophers, such as George Simmel, Charles
Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and Erving
Goffman.
W.I. Thomas (1966)
importance of definitions and meanings in social
behavior and its consequences.
-humans respond to their definition of a situation
rather than to the objective situation itself.
-situations that we define as real become real in
their consequences.
Symbolic interactionism
-our identity or sense of self is shaped by
social interaction.
We develop our self-concept by observing
how others interact with us a label us. By
observing how others view us, we see a
reflection ourselves that Cooley calls the
“looking glass self.”
Characteristics of Social Stratification by Melvin M.
Tumin
1. Social - does not represent inequalities which are
biologically based.
It is true that factors such as strength, intelligence,
age, sex can often serve as the basis on which status
are distinguished.
But such differences by themselves are not sufficient
to explain why some statuses receive more power,
property and prestige than others.
2. It is ancient - The stratification system is very
old. Stratification was present even in the small
wandering bands.

Age and sex wear the main criteria of

stratification. Difference between the rich and
poor, powerful and humble, freemen and slaves
was there in almost all the ancient civilization.
3. It is universal -

Difference between rich and poor, the

‘haves’ or ‘have notes’
is evident everywhere. Even in the non-
literate societies’ stratification is very much
present.
4. It is in diverse forms

-never been uniformed in all societies.

-ancient Roman society: Patricians & Plebians

-Aryan society- Varnas: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas

and the Sudras

-Ancient Greek society -freemen and slaves

5. It is consequential -

The stratification system has its own consequences.

The system leads to 2 kind of consequences:

Life chances refer to such things as infant mortality,

longevity, physical and mental illness, marital conflict,
separation and divorce.

Life styles include the mode of housing, residential area,

education, means of recreation, relation between parent
and children, modes of conveyance and so on.
 SOCIAL MOBILITY IN SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

Social Mobility is the movement of persons from one

position to another in the stratification system.

This pertains to the idea that people have an equal

opportunity to end up at the top of stratification system;
that anyone can reach the apex or peak of the hierarchy.
Take the case of many of Many Pacquiao and the
Congress as an example.

Pacquiao came from a meager family in General Santos

City.

But, because of his prestige as a boxing superstar and a

religious humanitarian, he was elected as member of the
Congress, which is usually composed of politician from
well-to-do and politically popular families.
Iah Seraspi, 2nd topnotcher of the September 2015
LET, who came from a poor family in Romblon but
still managed to top exam - a poor that money does
not equate quality.

In these cases, it is evident that the Philippines

society is open for movement
and it allows the social mobility of people,
depending on their skills and abilities.
THE SYSTEM OF SOCIAL MOBILITY

Open (Class) System

➢ Allows freer mobility
 can move through classes based upon his/her skills,
abilities, and/or achievements.
 Most societies in the world, on the other hand,
implement policies that reduce barriers for social
mobility.
Closed (Caste) System
➢ little or no possibility of moving up social ladder.

Example
India’s caste system-people from the lowest stratum are
dreadfully treated and are considered untouchables.

 determined based on family background, ethnicity or

race
Forms of Social Stratification

Caste is a hereditary endogamous social

group in which a person’s rank and its
accompanying rights and obligations are
ascribed on the basis of his birth into a
particular group.
Class stratification -dominant in modern society.

-achievement and his ability to use to advantage

the inborn characteristics and wealth that he may
possess.
Estate system of medieval Europe provides
another system of stratification which gave
much emphasis to birth as well as to wealth
and possessions.
Slavery had economic basis.
-every slave had his master to whom he
was subjected. The master’s power over the
slave was unlimited.
 Types of Social Mobility

1. Horizontal Social Mobility

This is the change of position of a person to another position of

the same rank.

For example, when a chemistry teacher decides to shift to

another job that requires his/her skills in chemistry, he/she is
practicing horizontal social mobility because he/she will
experience a similar level of difficulty and status in the new
position.
2. Vertical Social Mobility

- moves from one social class to another (upward or

downward)

A successful engineer who once was a poor working

student in a state university is an example of a person
who experiences vertical social mobility.
Relation to time
a. started with the parents and was felt by even
children.
b. within a person’s adult life.
Social Mobility may be hindered by the
following factors:

✓ educational attainment

✓ childhood poverty with associated

psychological and behavioral development
✓ the family and all the financial, social,
and cultural aspects that are formed within
it

✓ attitudes, expectations and aspirations

✓ economic barriers