TEST Sociology Ch. 9 Vocabulary- Class and Stratification

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Statuses that are the result of individual efforts and accomplishments

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achieved status

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A closed system of social inequality in which status is determined at birth, people are locked into their parents’ social position and differences of purity or prestige form the basis of hierarchy

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caste system

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Also called a closed class system, a social class system in which it is difficult or impossible to move up the social hierarchy.

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closed stratification system

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In America, the social class consisting of people who have a great deal of bureaucratic authority in major corporations (and government) usually not based on ownership of those corporations

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corporate class

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What people earn during a particular time period, either from employment or investments.

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income

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The opportunities to realize health, long life, and happiness in a social system

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life chances

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In America, the social class that includes people who don’t own property, who frequently have no job, and who have no authority and usually no prestige.

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lower class

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In America, the social class that comprises of people who own relatively little property, but whose occupations provide them with high-to-middle income, prestige, and authority. The middle class can be subdivided into the upper middle class and lower middle class.

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middle class

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A stratification system in which there are few obstacles to social mobility, positions are awarded on the basis of merit, and rank is tied to individual achievement.

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open stratification system

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Social esteem, respect, or approval that is awarded to people because they possess attributes that their society considers admirable.

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prestige