Social stratification

Definition

Social stratification is one of the results of ongoing social processes taking place. Every society is segmented into different hierarchies. In almost all societies, some people considered more important than others (deserves more respect than others), either within the society as a whole or in certain situations.

Social stratification is the segmentation of society in different hierarchical arrangement or strata. It refers to the differences and disparities in socio-economic life of the people in a given society. It represents the list of individuals or social position and status in the social structure. The term is derived from geology, when it is used to explain the hierarchical arrangement of rocks and minerals on the surface of the earth. Applied to the world of men, refers hierarchical arrangement of people in different classes or layers separating the population in two or more layers, each relatively homogenous, between which there are differences in privileges , limitations, benefits and obligations.

The importance of studying social stratification

The study of social stratification is particularly important for sociologists. Some of the reasons for this may include :

• To evaluate the class members of the individual in society, with the aim of understanding the nature of life people live. It wants to know what kind of life of individuals in a particular social group or stratum life is essential for sociological study.

• To examine the basis for the allocation of individuals to different hierarchies of social structure. What is the basis for the stratification of individuals in a given stratum?

• To understand the relationship between individuals divided into different hierarchies. What kind of interactions and relationships between individuals in different layers?

• For the relationship between individuals or groups hierarchy in the same test. What are the relationships that exist between people in the same stratum?

• To understand what kind of social system gives rise to some of the types of hierarchies. That is, the kind of social stratification varies between cultures, times and forms of social system.