SOCIAL CLASS

1. SOCIAL CLASS • Social class is a large group of people who rank closely to one another in wealth, power and prestige. Measuring Social Class. 1. Subjective Method – ask people what their social class is.

2. 2. Reputational Method –ask people what class others belong to. 3. Objective Method -- rank people according to objective criteria such as wealth, power and prestige.

3. Social Classes in the U.S. 1. Upper class • Upper-upper class • Lower-upper class 2. Middle class • Upper-middle class • Average middle class

4. 3. Working class 4. Lower class

5. American Class Structure

6. SOCIAL MOBILITY There are three types of social mobility: • Intergenerational and Intragenerational • Structural Mobility • Exchange Mobility

7. Poverty in the U.S. • Relative poverty – deprivation of some people in relation to those who have more. • Most people who are poor are children • Minorities are more likely to be poor than whites although in absolute numbers there are more whites who are poor. • Women are more likely to be poor than men. This leads to a situation known as feminization of poverty – women represent an increasing proportion of the poor.

8. Measuring Poverty • Absolute poverty • Determined by annual income. • Anything below a determined (absolute) amount is poverty. • Relative poverty • Contrasts income groups at the bottom of the stratification structure with those above them.

9. The Distribution of Poverty in the United States