Chapter 3

A system in which people are born into a social standing that will retain their entire lives

Social standing based on social factors and individual accomplishments

Also called class markers, the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class

A group who shares a common social status based on factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation

Buying and using products to make a statement about social standing

Thesis that argues some social stratification is a social necessity

A lowering of one's social class

Unions of people within the same social category

Unions of spouses form different social categories

A comparison of the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries as a whole

The money a person earns from work or investments

A difference in social class between different members of the same generation

A difference in social class between different generations of a family

An ideal system in which personal effort-or merit-determined social standing

The value of money and assets a person has from, for example, inheritance

The level of wealth available to acquire material goods and comforts to maintain a particular socioeconomic lifestyle