Social and Political

stratification
 LEARNING COMPETENCY

• Explain government programs and

initiatives in addressing social
inequalities, e.g., local, national, global
• Suggest ways to address social
inequalities (local, national and global)
 SOCIAL AND POLITICAL
STRATIFICATION
Social Stratification
- is a society’s categorization of people into
socioeconomic strata, based on their wealth, power
and prestige. Term used by sociologist to describe
the system of social standing.
 indicators that influences
Social Stratification
WEALTH- refers to the value of individual
family based on INCOME,PROPERTIES amount
of money in the bank.
POWER-refers to the ABILITY TO INFLUENCE
OTHERSaside from politics we also have two
institutions who execute power religion and
mass media
 Social Desirables-
indicators that influences
Social Stratification

PRESTIGE- APPROVAL BASE ON CONTRIBUTION

TO SOCIETY
 Prestige
-Refers to the evaluation of status
-Widespread respect and admiration felt for
someone or something on the basis of a
perception of their achievements or quality
-Denoting something that arouses respect or
admiration
 Social Stratification
1. Upper Class
- Consists of elite families who are the most prolific and
successful in their respective areas.
2.Middle Class
- These are mostly professional people. Their income can afford
them a comfortable lifestyle. They value education most since
education to them is the most important measure of social status.
3.Lower Class
- They are short of revenue, education or trainings,
acquaintances, and communication. They depend on their pay-check.
1.FUNCTIONALIST THEORY
2.CONFLICT THEORY
3.SYMBOLIC
INTERACTIONISM THEORY
FUNCTIONALIST THEORY
FUNCTIONALIST
THEORY
 CONFLICT THEORY
Stratification exists because it benefits certain group of
people who dominate and exploit others
It is advocated by Karl Marx (1818-1883) who saw the
injustices and unequal treatment of the upper class to the
working class during industrial Revolution
CONFLICT THEORY

EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE
 SYMBOLIC
INTERACTIONISM THEORY

• Understand stratification by looking at people’s interaction and

understanding in their daily lives
• It examines how people’s social standing affects their everyday
interactionsINTERACT ONLY WITH SAME LEVEL
• Concept of Status Symbol use of iphone, coffee starbucks
 SYMBOLIC
INTERACTIONISM THEORY
 SYMBOLIC
INTERACTIONISM THEORY

• Concept of Status Symbol Serves as the visible markers of a

persons stature and economic position
• SNOB EFFECTEXPRESSES PREFERENCE FOR GOODS BECAUSE
THEY ARE DIFFERENT FROM THOSE COMMONLY PREFERRED.
Compare the three social classes in social stratification using
Venn diagram

LOWER MIDDLE UPPER

CLASS CLASS CLASS
 Social status
• Status is the individual’s position in the social structure.
• Statuses is the higher or lower positions that come about
through social stratification.
• Example: Some people are government officials like senators,
congressman, mayors, councilors, etc. while others are just sales
representatives, electricians, or drivers. Each person has status in
the society in relation to other persons. Statuses do not relate to
the individuals themselves but rather to the category or
position into which they have been placed.
 Social status
Ascribed Status
-assigned or given by the society or group by the basis of
some fixed category, without regard to persons ability
and performance
-Example: sex, family background, race
-Achieved Status
-Status that is earned by the individual through talents,
abilities and merits
 Esteem
-Refers to the assessment of our role behavior
-The measure of esteem depends on how a role is
being performed

PRESTIGE is based on status and ESTEEM is based

on your role behavior
 Social class
Social Class is generally referred to as a
number of people who are grouped
collectively because they have similar
professional/occupational statuses, amount
of prestige, or lifestyle.
 SOCIAL MOBILITY
SYSTEM/ STRUCTURE

IS T H E R E A N Y CH A N CE T H AT W E CA N MOV E F R OM ON E
S OCI A L CL A SS T O A N OT H E R? W H AT COUL D B E T H E P OSS I B L E
ME A N S T H AT COUL D E N A B L E US T O MOV E F ROM ON E
P OS I T I ON T O A N OT H E R ?
 Social mobility
• The act of moving from one social status to
another is called Social Mobility
• Social Mobility is a movement of people from
one position to another in the social
stratification system.
 Types of Social mobility
OPEN CLASS SYSTEM CASTE/ CLOSED CLASS
SYSTEM
It means that individuals All people remain in the
can change their social social rank of their
class position in the parents in which
society based on their acknowledgement
efforts and individual accounts for more than
achievements. achievements
 TYPES OF Social mobility
People may change their social class positions
either of 2 ways
1.They can move from one position to another
position within their social class.
2.They can move into another class.
Horizontal Mobility Vertical Mobility

Is the movement Movement of the

of a person within person between
a social class level. social class level.
The movement may
be upward or
downward.
 ANSWER THE FOLLOWING:
• WHAT. What makes an individual or group of people
belong to upper, middle, or lower class? Explain the
basis for your answer
• HOW. How could education be a way for social mobility
and eventually change one’s current social class?
CHARACTERISTIC OF
STRATIFICATION
SYSTEM
ACTIVITY: Please answer the following questions.
1.It is the position that an individual holds in a
society.
2.This is act of moving from one social status to
another.
3.It is the society categorization of people into socio
economic strata.
4.It is the differences among the individuals on the
basis of social characteristics and qualities.
5.Status which are assigned to the individual from
birth.
6. It is the term given to a group of people who are
group collectively based on similar professional statuses.
7. It is the ability to carry out the spirit to delineate and
take charge.
8. It is the widespread respect and admiration felt for
someone or something on the basis of a perception of
their achievements or quality.
9. This is the movement of a person within the social
class level.
10. Status that is acquired by choice, merit and
individual effort.
 CHARACTERISTIC OF
STRATIFICATION SYSTEM
1. UNIVERSAL BUT VARIABLE.
Stratification is universal but variable
because it shows up in every society
in the world but how exactly it looks like,
how it divides and categorizes people,
and what the advantages or
disadvantages are that come with that
division- vary from society to society.
 CHARACTERISTIC OF
STRATIFICATION SYSTEM
2. NOT A MATTER OF INDIVIDUAL
DIFFERENCES. People are obviously
different from each other, so we must
assume that stratification is just a kind of
natural outcome of differences, but it is
not. (Ex. Children of wealthy families may
live longer, healthier, attend college and
excel in school)
 CHARACTERISTIC OF
STRATIFICATION SYSTEM

3. PERSIST ACROSS GENERATIONS.

Stratification serves to categorize
and rank members of society
across generations, resulting into
different life chances.
 CHARACTERISTIC OF
STRATIFICATION SYSTEM
4. A SOCIAL BELIEF. Society’s cultural
beliefs tells us how to categorize
people, and they define inequalities of
a stratification system as being
normal. Beliefs are what makes a
system of social stratification works.
 Social stratification in
sociological perspective
Social inequality
 inequality
The consequence of hierarchical social distinctions
between racial and ethnic categories within a
society and often recognized based on
characteristics such as skin color and other physical
characteristics or an individuals place of origin or
culture
 inequality
The existence of uneven opportunities and
rewards for a diverse social positions or statuses
within a group or society.
Occurs when resources in a given society are
distributed unevenly generally through norms of
allocation that bring about specific patterns along
the lines of socially defined categories of persons.
 Economic inequality
Described on the basis of the unequal
distribution of the income or wealth, is the
most frequently studied type of social
inequality.
 gender inequality
Sex and gender-base prejudice and
discrimination called SEXISM are major
contributing factors to social inequality.
 gender inequality
The emphasis on gender inequality is born out of
the deepening division in the roles assigned to
men and women particularly in the economic,
political and educational spheres.
 Gender discrimination

Cultural ideals about women’s work can

also affect men whose outward gender
expression is “feminine” within a given
society.
 Gender discrimination
The statements they make or official document
they present. In this perspective gender
normatively produces widespread cultural/
institutional of trans identities, trans person in
particular have been defined as social
unproductive and disruptive.
 Particularly regarding the lower social status of women
Consequence
has been topicofdiscussion
hierarchical
notsocial
only distinctions between
within academic and
racial and
activist ethnic categories
communities within
but also by agovernment
society and agencies
are often
recognized based on
and international characteristics
buddies such as skin color and
such as U.N.
other physical characteristics or an individual’s place of
origin or culture.

Racial/ethnic inequality
Minorities in social
structure
 Minorities in social
structure
Dominant members of a society are
those members that have more power
than other people in a society.
 Minorities in social
structure
The minorities are those who are barred
from some degree of power, prestige or
wealth and are usually denied equal
treatment by the dominant members of
society.
 discrimination
-Being deprived of equal treatment
and are kept in a lower status by the
dominant members of the society
 discrimination
-Damaging act that take many forms
Institutionalized discrimination takes part of
the structure of the society that could exist in
the educational system, economic system, the
government and often the religious
organizations of the society.
 prejudice
-Is a negative attitude toward
members of a particular group
-Preconceived idea or prejudgment
of others
 Stereotyping
-Refers to our propensity to picture all
members of a particular category as
having the same qualities
-Result of overgeneralization
 Ethnocentrism
-The belief that our own nation,
race or group is the best.
-Tendency to believe that “WE”
are “BETTER” than they
 Scapegoating
-This is a situation when people
encounter problems that they do not
know how to solve they establish a
scapegoat to blame for their
problems
 Scapegoating
-Term is taken from an ancient HEBREW
custom
-The kind of attitude which is looking for
someone or something else to be blamed for
own troubles and problems
 Racism
-It is the thinking that one’s own race
is superior and has the right to control
or direct others
ASSIGNMENT
Cut out a picture that shows discrimination
or unequal treatment based on gender,
race, age, culture or socio-economic status.
Paste it in a short bond paper and make a
brief explanation.