Success in Sociology STPGT(SELECTION TEST FOR POST GRADUATE TEACHER)

 

Social Stratification – Concept, Types, Theories, Social Mobility, Caste, Class & Gender

Short Notes

• Concept of Social Stratification: A system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy based on wealth, power, prestige, or other factors.
• Types of Stratification:
  • Slavery: People owned by others, extreme inequality.
  • Caste: Fixed social groups, hereditary, endogamous, rigid.
  • Estate: Medieval Europe, divisions between nobility, clergy, commoners.
  • Class: Economic-based hierarchy; relatively open mobility.
• Theories of Stratification:
  • Functionalist (Davis & Moore): Stratification is necessary for efficiency and role allocation.
  • Conflict (Karl Marx): Stratification results from class conflict between bourgeoisie and proletariat.
  • Weberian: Based on class (economics), status (prestige), and power (authority).
• Social Mobility: Movement of individuals or groups between social strata.
  • Vertical (upward/downward)
  • Horizontal (within same level)
  • Inter-generational (across generations)
  • Intra-generational (within one’s lifetime)
• Caste: Traditional Indian system, hereditary, based on purity and occupation.
• Class: Economic grouping based on income, wealth, education, and occupation. More flexible than caste.
• Gender Stratification: Unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, and privileges based on gender.

50 MCQs on Social Stratification (with Answers)

1. Social stratification means:
   a) Equal distribution
   b) Ranking in hierarchy
   c) Informal grouping
   d) Temporary gathering
   Answer: b
2. Which is the oldest form of stratification?
   a) Class
   b) Estate
   c) Slavery
   d) Gender
   Answer: c
3. Caste system is based on:
   a) Birth
   b) Wealth
   c) Education
   d) Political power
   Answer: a
4. Estate system was dominant in:
   a) India
   b) Europe
   c) Africa
   d) America
   Answer: b
5. Class system is mainly based on:
   a) Birth
   b) Economic factors
   c) Religion
   d) Custom
   Answer: b
6. Who said “History of all hitherto societies is the history of class struggle”?
   a) Weber
   b) Durkheim
   c) Marx
   d) Parsons
   Answer: c
7. Davis and Moore explained stratification as:
   a) Exploitation
   b) Functional necessity
   c) Political control
   d) Historical accident
   Answer: b
8. Weber’s theory of stratification includes:
   a) Class
   b) Status
   c) Power
   d) All of these
   Answer: d
9. Vertical mobility means:
   a) Change in lifestyle
   b) Movement up or down hierarchy
   c) Change in job at same level
   d) Migration
   Answer: b
10. Horizontal mobility refers to:
    a) Job change within same rank
    b) Downward shift
    c) Caste conversion
    d) Gender role change
    Answer: a
11. Inter-generational mobility means:
    a) Within one’s lifetime
    b) Between parents and children
    c) Migration
    d) Lifestyle change
    Answer: b
12. Intra-generational mobility occurs:
    a) Across generations
    b) Within a person’s life
    c) Between societies
    d) In religion
    Answer: b
13. Rigid stratification is seen in:
    a) Class
    b) Caste
    c) Estate
    d) Gender
    Answer: b
14. Open stratification is found in:
    a) Caste
    b) Slavery
    c) Class
    d) Estate
    Answer: c
15. Endogamy is a feature of:
    a) Class
    b) Caste
    c) Estate
    d) Organization
    Answer: b
16. Gender stratification deals with:
    a) Economic wealth
    b) Biological race
    c) Male-female inequality
    d) Political parties
    Answer: c
17. Who emphasized power, prestige, and property?
    a) Marx
    b) Weber
    c) Spencer
    d) Pareto
    Answer: b
18. Functionalists see stratification as:
    a) Exploitation
    b) Necessary for social stability
    c) Conflict outcome
    d) Temporary
    Answer: b
19. Conflict theory views stratification as:
    a) Functional
    b) Based on competition
    c) Natural
    d) Egalitarian
    Answer: b
20. Slavery was legally abolished in most societies by:
    a) 15th century
    b) 18th century
    c) 19th century
    d) 20th century
    Answer: c
21. Caste system restricts:
    a) Occupation choice
    b) Marriage
    c) Social mobility
    d) All of these
    Answer: d
22. Social mobility is higher in:
    a) Caste
    b) Class
    c) Estate
    d) Slavery
    Answer: b
23. Closed system is example of:
    a) Class
    b) Caste
    c) Gender roles
    d) Education
    Answer: b
24. Stratification provides:
    a) Social stability
    b) Inequality
    c) Both
    d) None
    Answer: c
25. Patriarchy represents:
    a) Female dominance
    b) Male dominance
    c) Equality
    d) Class struggle
    Answer: b
26. Who classified society into bourgeoisie & proletariat?
    a) Marx
    b) Weber
    c) Davis
    d) Parsons
    Answer: a
27. Open society promotes:
    a) Endogamy
    b) Meritocracy
    c) Heredity
    d) Immobility
    Answer: b
28. Estate system was supported by:
    a) Religion
    b) Military
    c) Law
    d) All
    Answer: d
29. Social mobility in caste is:
    a) Easy
    b) Almost impossible
    c) Always upward
    d) Always horizontal
    Answer: b
30. Gender roles are:
    a) Biological
    b) Socially constructed
    c) Fixed
    d) Natural
    Answer: b
31. Which society has maximum mobility?
    a) Caste
    b) Class
    c) Estate
    d) Tribal
    Answer: b
32. Stratification exists:
    a) Only in old societies
    b) In all societies
    c) Only in capitalism
    d) In democracy only
    Answer: b
33. Meritocracy is related to:
    a) Caste
    b) Class
    c) Ability-based ranking
    d) Gender
    Answer: c
34. Untouchability is a feature of:
    a) Estate
    b) Caste
    c) Class
    d) Gender
    Answer: b
35. Who said stratification is universal?
    a) Kingsley Davis
    b) Marx
    c) Durkheim
    d) Weber
    Answer: a
36. Which type is flexible?
    a) Caste
    b) Class
    c) Slavery
    d) Estate
    Answer: b
37. Conflict theory focuses on:
    a) Harmony
    b) Power struggle
    c) Equality
    d) Culture
    Answer: b
38. Women’s movement fights against:
    a) Gender equality
    b) Gender stratification
    c) Class system
    d) Estate system
    Answer: b
39. Stratification affects:
    a) Life chances
    b) Wealth distribution
    c) Education
    d) All of these
    Answer: d
40. Which is a global issue?
    a) Race
    b) Gender inequality
    c) Class division
    d) All
    Answer: d
41. Social closure is linked to:
    a) Weber
    b) Marx
    c) Durkheim
    d) Comte
    Answer: a
42. Class struggle leads to:
    a) Stability
    b) Revolution
    c) Equality
    d) Endogamy
    Answer: b
43. Wealth + power + prestige together define:
    a) Class
    b) Status
    c) Social stratification
    d) Role
    Answer: c
44. Endogamy means marriage:
    a) Within caste
    b) Outside caste
    c) By choice
    d) By class
    Answer: a
45. Who saw stratification as economic plus social honor?
    a) Weber
    b) Marx
    c) Spencer
    d) Sorokin
    Answer: a
46. Class is more:
    a) Rigid
    b) Flexible
    c) Closed
    d) Hereditary
    Answer: b
47. Gender pay gap is an example of:
    a) Caste issue
    b) Gender stratification
    c) Race problem
    d) Class mobility
    Answer: b
48. Estate system divided people into:
    a) Three estates
    b) Two estates
    c) Many classes
    d) None
    Answer: a
49. Slavery treated humans as:
    a) Equals
    b) Property
    c) Partners
    d) Citizens
    Answer: b
50. Social mobility promotes:
    a) Equality of opportunity
    b) Endogamy
    c) Hereditary rule
    d) Immobility
    Answer: a

Tags: Social Stratification, Sociology MCQ, Social Mobility, Caste System, Gender Inequality, Sociology Notes