SOCI 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 36: Social Stratification, Social Inequality, Meritocracy

• School: UBC
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOCI 102
• Professor: Catherine Corrigall- Brown

Document Summary

Occupations and prestige: prestige: respect or regard, generally, the most prestigious jobs share four elements. Displaying prestige: wearing purple, wearing lace, no one could sit while the king was on his throne, the display of prestige permeates society, status symbols vary with social class. Status consistency: individual who has a similar rank in all three dimensions of social class. Status inconsistence: individuals who have a mixture of high and low ranks. Individuals with status inconsistency then are likely to confront one frustrating situation after another. They claim the higher status, but are handed the lower. Society offers greater rewards for its more responsible, demanding and accountable positions. Society works better if its more qualified people hold its most important positions. However social stratification is dysfunctional to many. Whenever a group gains power, it uses that power to extract what i can form the groups beneath it. Uses social institutions to keep other groups weak and itself in power.