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Lesson 8 Concept, Characteristics and Forms of Stratification System

This document discusses the key concepts of social stratification including its meaning, nature, types, and indicators. It defines social stratification as the ranking of people in a society based on factors such as wealth, power, and prestige. The three main types of social stratification systems are open, closed, and ethnic. Open systems allow social mobility, while closed like caste systems do not. Key indicators of social stratification position include occupation, education, and income level.

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Leah Joy Valeriano-Quiños
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2K views28 pages

Lesson 8 Concept, Characteristics and Forms of Stratification System

This document discusses the key concepts of social stratification including its meaning, nature, types, and indicators. It defines social stratification as the ranking of people in a society based on factors such as wealth, power, and prestige. The three main types of social stratification systems are open, closed, and ethnic. Open systems allow social mobility, while closed like caste systems do not. Key indicators of social stratification position include occupation, education, and income level.

Uploaded by

Leah Joy Valeriano-Quiños
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lesson 8

Concept,
Characteristics and
Forms of Stratification
System
UCSP
Inequality is found in all societies irrespective of time or
place.
All human societies from the simple to the most
complex have some form of social inequality.
In particular, power and prestige are unequally
distributed between individuals and groups.
Societies may differ in the degree of inequalities and
nature of stratification.
In all societies people differ from each other on the
basis of their age, sex and personal characteristics.
Human society is not homogeneous but heterogeneous.
Apart from the natural differences, human beings are
also differentiated according to socially approved
criteria.
Society is divided based on economic, social, religious
and other aspects.
Heterogeneity in society is called social stratification.
Social stratification is an inherent character of
all societies.
It is historical as we find it in all societies,
ancient and modern; and it is universal as it
exists in simple or complex societies.
The social differentiation on the basis of high
and low is the historical heritage of all
societies.
Meaning and Nature of Social Stratification

Sociologists use the term social stratification to


describe the system of social standing.
It refers to what sociologists call it as “
institutionalized inequality” of individual or “social
injustice” due to social categories (Ariola, 2012).
It is the way people are ranked and ordered in
society (Cole, 2019).
Social Stratification is Distinguished from Social
Differentiation

Social differentiation refers to how people can


be distinguished from one another.
People in a group may differ in skin color, hair
color, race, mental and physical ability, and the
like.
Social Stratification is Distinguished from Social
Differentiation

Social stratification refers to the ranking of people in


a society. In closed stratification, people cannot
change their ranks while those in open social
stratification, people can change their ranks. In short
social stratification is the separation of people into
social categories and these categories are ranked as
higer or lower.
Indicators of Social Stratification

There are some people that are treated in another


way because of the social status, power, income,
prestige and among others that they hold in their
society (Arcinas, 2016).
Indicators of Social Stratification

According to Max Weber, most societies would favor


those with power, prestige, status, wealth or class.
According to Weber’s Component Theory on Social
Stratification, these three would determine a person’s
standing in his/her community:
1. Power refers to the ability to influence other people.
It is getting what they want despite the unwillingness
of others to give in to their desires.
Indicators of Social Stratification

2. Prestige refers to the person’s position in the


society. This refers to having a certain status that
enables someone to have resources or opportunities.
3. Wealth refers to the amount of resources that a
person has (Arcinas, 2016).
Indicators of Social Stratification

As mentioned by Ariola (2012) in his book, one may


be viewed as belonging to the upper social strata or
lower social strata depending on the following
dimensions:
1. Sources of Income.
2. Occupation.
3. Education.
Indicators of Social Stratification
As mentioned by Ariola (2012) in his book, one may
be viewed as belonging to the upper social strata or
lower social strata depending on the following
dimensions:
4. Types of house dwellings. (permanent house -
concrete, semi-permanent house - semi-concrete,
temporary house - wood, and poorly constructed
house - houses in squatter areas or below the bridge
houses)
Indicators of Social Stratification
As mentioned by Ariola (2012) in his book, one may
be viewed as belonging to the upper social strata or
lower social strata depending on the following
dimensions:
5. Location of residence.
6. Kinship or family.
Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics
Generally, there are three (3) known types of
social stratification: open systems, closed
systems and ethnic systems ( Ariola, 2012).
Sociologists distinguish between two types of
systems of stratification – open system and
closed system.
For the anthropologists, they include ethnic
system as another type of social stratification.
Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics

1. Open System
It encourages people to strive and achieve
something.
It is based on achievement, allow movement and
interaction between layers and classes.
One person can move up or down to class through
intermarriages, opportunities, or achievement.
People have equal chance to succeed.
Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics

1. Open System
Categories:
1. Upper Class – The people in this class have great
wealth and sources of income. They constitute the
elite wealthy group in the society.
Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics

1. Open System
Categories:
2. Middle Class – The people in this class may belong to
the upper-middle class which is often made up of highly
educated business and professional people with high
incomes, such as doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and
CEOs or to the lower-middle class often made up of
people with lower incomes, such as managers, small
business owners, teachers, and secretaries.
Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics

1. Open System
Categories:
2. Middle Class – People in the lower-middle class have
not achieved the same lifestyle of the upper –middle
class but somehow have modest income and live in
simple life.
Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics

1. Open System
Categories:
3. Lower Class –The lower class is typified by poverty,
homelessness, and unemployment. The people in this
class belong to the bottom of socio-economic ladder.
They may be categorized into two: upper-lower class
and lower-lower class.
Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics

1. Open System
Categories:
3. Lower Class – In the upper-lower class, people are
considered as the working class or laborers. The people
in the lower-lower class are unemployed, or no source
of income except by begging or dependent from private
and government relief.
Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics

2. Closed System
Closed system accommodates little change in social
position.
They do not allow people to shift levels and do not
permit social relationships between levels.
Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics

2. Closed System
Categories:
1. Caste System – It is regarded as closed stratification
system in which people can do little or nothing to
change their social standing. Social contact is rigid and
clearly defined. People are born and die in their caste.
Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics

2. Closed System
Categories:
2. Estate System – It is somewhat a closed system in
which the person’s social standing is based on
ownership of land, birth, or military strength.
Types of Social Stratification and their Characteristics

2. Ethnic System
This type of social stratification is based on national
origin, laguage and religion.
Ethnicity sets segments of society apart and each group
has a sense of identity.
People interact more freely with those people belonging
to the same ethnic category.
Social Stratification and Social Mobility
Social mobility refers to the movement within the social
structure, from one social position to another.
It means a change in social status.
All societies provide some opportunity for social
mobility.
But the societies differ from each other to extent in
which individuals can move from one class or status
level to another.
Kinds of Social Mobility
1. Social Mobility refers to the movement upward or
downward among the social positions in any given
social stratification. Vertical mobility refers to the
movement of people of groups from one status to
another. Horizontal mobility is a change in position
without the change in status.
Kinds of Social Mobility
2. Geographical Mobility is otherwise known as physical
mobility. It may be a voluntary movement of people
from one geographical area to another due to change
in residence, communiting fro home to office, making
business trips, and voluntary migration from one country
to another.
Kinds of Social Mobility

3. Role Mobility is the individual’s shifting from


role to role. Every member of a society has roles
to play. Different situations call for enactment of
various roles.

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