Concept, Characteristics

and Forms of
Stratification Systems
UCSP
 LEARNING COMPETENCY

• At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

• - Examine the concept, characteristics and forms of
stratification systems using sociological perspectives.
 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.
 VARIOUS MEANING OF SOCIAL

It refers to what sociologists call it as “ institutionalized inequality” of

individual or “social injustice” due to social categories (Ariola, 2012).
It is an institutionalized pattern of inequality in which social categories are
ranked on the basis of their access to scarce resources (Brinkerhoff & White, 1988).
It is the way people are ranked and ordered in society (Cole, 2019).
 It is a system whereby people rank and evaluate each other as
superior or inferior and, on the basis of such evaluation, unequally
reward one another with wealth, authority, power, and prestige. One
result of each differentiation is the creation of a number of levels
within the society. (Hebding & Glick, 1992)
 It is the differentiation of a given population into hierarchically
superposed classes. It is manifested in the existence of upper and
lower social layers. Its basis and very essence consist in an unequal
distribution of rights and privileges, duties and responsibilities,
social values and privations, social power and influences among the
members of a society (Sorokin, 1927).
 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).
status
individual’s position in the social structure

statuses.

higher or lower positions that come about through social

stratifications
Ascribed statuses
are assigned or given by the society or
group on the basis of some fixed category,
without regard to a person’s abilities or
performance.
Achieved statuses are earned by the individual
because of his or her talent, skills, occupation and
persevernace. These include, degree or
educational attainment, promotion, position,
earned wealth and the like.
 Prestige
refers to the evaluation of status. You have prestige
according to your status. For example, being the president
of the Supreme Student Government of your school, you
have the prestige of a president whether or not you
perform and carry out well the duties and responsibilities
of SSG president (Baleña et.al., 2016).
According to Max Weber, most societies
would favor those with power, prestige,
status, wealth or class.
 Weber’s Component Theory on Social Stratification,

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.
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).
 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. There are different sources of income. These are the
inhereted wealth, earned wealth, profits, professional fees, salaries, wages,
private relief, among others. Wealth is everything that is owned by a person.
Inherited wealth is acquired since birth and without effort.
Acquired wealth is achieved through ones effort either by talent, income or by
marriage. Income refers to the amount of money a person receives.
2. Occupation.
What people do for a living determines, to a large extent,
the social position of the person. Occupation may be
classified into professionals, non-professionals (clerks,
drivers, etc) proprietors of small business, skilled workers,
semi skilled workers, and unskilled workers.
Examination of the mentioned occupations indicates
disparities in prestige, income and power.
3. Education.
Educational attainment of a person may be categorized
as masteral or doctoral degree holder, college graduate,
high school graduate, elemetary school drop-out, among
others. Possession of the person of any of these
educational backgrounds may characterize the person’s
status in the community.
4. Types of house dwellings.
Dwellings can be categorized as permanent house (concrete
and excellent in appearance), semi-permanent house (semi-
concrete and very good in appearance and construction),
temporary house (wood and fair in appearance and
construction), and poorly constructed house (houses found in
squatter areas, or those considered below-the-bridge houses).
5. Location of residence.
Power, prestige and wealth are also attached to the
location of residence. There is disparity of social
status when one residence is located in Forbes Park,
White Plains, squatter area, mountainous-rugged area,
in subdivision and non-subdivision area.
6. Kinship or family.
In the Philippines, when a person belongs to the Ayala’s, Soriano’s,
Zobel’s, Villar’s, that person is regarded as belonging to the upper class
(rich) status. Children of sultans and datus are hgihly regarded as rich. If
a person is from a family whose house is situated in the squatter’s area,
that person is regarded as poor or belonging to lower class status.
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.
A. Open System

General Characteristics CATEGORIES

The class structure is an open system. It encourages 1. Upper Class – The people in this class have great wealth and
people to strive and achieve something. People sources of income. They constitute the elite wealthy group in the
belonging to one social class have similar society. They have high reputation in terms of power and prestige.
opportunities, similar lyfestyles, attitudes, behavior
and possibly similar socio-economic positions. 2. Middle Class – The people in this class may belong to the
It is based on aachievement, allow movement and upper-middle class which is often made up of highly educated
interaction between layers and classes. One person business and professional people with high incomes
can move up or down to class through
intermarriages, opportunities, or achievement. 3. Lower Class –The lower class is typified by poverty,
People have equal chance to succeed. Whether homelessness, and unemployment. The people in this class belong
people do something to improve their lives or not this to the bottom of socio-economic ladder. They may be categorized
greatly depends on them. into two: upper-lower class and lower-lower class. In the upper-
lower class, people are considered as the working class or laborers.
B. Closed Systems
General Characteristics Categories
Closed system accommodates 1. Caste System – It is regarded as closed stratification system in which
little change in social position. people can do little or nothing to change their social standing. Social
They do not allow people to shift contact is rigid and clearly defined. People are born and die in their caste.
Contact between and among the caste is minimal and governed by a set of
levels and do not permit social
rules – especially those who belong to the lower degree, as this will tend to
relationships between levels.
bring them down. We do not practice caste sytem in the Philippines. It
existed for centuries in India and this includes the Brahmans who are
associated with the priesthood, the Kahatryias (the warriors), the Vaishyus
(the businessmen and traders), and the Shudrus (the servants).
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.
Individuals who were born into one of the estates remained there
throughout life but in extreme cases there is social mobility, that is people
could change their status. In the middle ages there are three (3) major
estates in Europe – nobility, clergy, and the peasants.
C. Ethnic System

General Characteristics
This type of social stratification is based on national origin, laguage and religion.
Ethinicity 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. During the
Spanish and American colonial systems in the Philippines, the colonizers perceived
themselves to be occupying the upper social class than the Filipinos or the natives whom they
called as Indios.
Immigrants usually belong to a lower status than the inhabitants. The Gaddangs, Itawis,
Ituweraw, Ilonngots, and other ethnic minority groups are considered inferior than the others.
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.

Thus, people in society continue to move up down the status scale. This movement is called ‘social mobility’.
For example, the poor people may become rich, the bank peon may become bank officers, farmers may
become ministers, a petty businessman may become a big industrialist and so on. At the same time a big
businessman may become a bankrupt and ruling class may be turned out of office and so on.
Kinds of Social Mobility

In a democratic state like the Philippines, a person can improve his

social status but the degree of mobility varies. In an open system, every
individual is provided equal opportunities to compete for the role and
status derived regardless of gender, race, religion, family background
and political inclination. There are three (3) types of social mobility:
social mobility, geographical mobility, and role mobility.
1. Social Mobility
refers to the movement upward or downward among the social positions in any
given social stratification. It may be upward (vertival) mobility and downward
(horizontal) mobility. Vertical mobility refers to the movement of people of
groups from one status to another. It involves change in class, occupation or
power. For example, the movement of people from the poor class to the middle
class. Horizontal mobility is a change in position without the change in status. It
indicates a change in position, within the rage of the status. A change in status
may come about through one’s occupation, marrying into a certain family and
others. For example, an engineer working in a factory may resign from his job
and join another factory.
2. Geographical Mobility
is otherwise known as physical mobility. It may be a
vluntary 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. It may be also a
forced migration which include forced relocation or
residence, eviction, dispossession of unwanted people, and
transportation of slaves.
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. For example, the father is the bread earner of the
family but may be a teacher in school, or the leader at home or a
follower in the school or office. A daughter may be submissive at
home but very active and active as a campus student leader. A
teacher may have varied roles such as being a mother, a wife, a
guidance counselor, a community leader and many more (Ariola,
2012).