What is the difference between social class and social status

Social class is different from the social status as the basis of social class is the economic background of a person, while the basis of social status involves factors like family descent, honour or prestige of an occupation, and cultural position. We generally divide the population of a country or society into different classes. Furthermore, many sociologists suggest five social classes for this division: upper, upper-middle, lower-middle, working-class, and poor. The upper class consists of elites, typically the leaders and the wealthiest families in the society.

The upper-middle and lower-middle classes mainly consist of positions like administrative officers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, etc. The basis of social class is the economic background of a person, while the basis of social status involves factors like family descent, the prestige of an occupation, and cultural position.

Moreover, we can divide social status into two: ascribed social status and achieved status. Of all the wealth represented on the Forbes list, more than half is inherited. Represent scientific and technical knowledge — engineers, accountants, lawyers, architects, university faculty, managers and directors of public and private organizations. Have both high incomes and high social prestige. Social class is one of the most important concepts that sociologists discuss and yet its definition is often illusive.

There are two classical sociologists who are most important in the discussions about class — Karl Marx and Max Weber. And what is frustrating about both is that they did not produce a viable definition of the things that they wrote extensively about. Marx felt that the lack of power of workers was the source of exploitation and the basis of class conflict.

Marx argued that owners and workers developed ideas, understandings about their positions and this Marx called class consciousness. When owners convinced workers that their situations were compatible — Marx called this false consciousness. Although Marx talked mainly about the two great classes — owners and workers — he was aware as well of a third category which he called petit bourgeoisie — literally little middleclass and these were owners of own small businesses. Finding a location for this group was difficult because they lacked the power if the owners and at the same time had control over their work and wages unlike the workers.

Moreover, according to Marx, sometimes they identified with the owners and sometimes with the workers. The other sociologist was Max Weber. Not a member? Sign up for My OBO. Already a member? Publications Pages Publications Pages. Subscriber sign in You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Username Please enter your Username.

Password Please enter your Password. Forgot password? Don't have an account? Sign in via your Institution. Members of different classes encounter different stressors—lower class people likely face more financial stress as it pertains to day-to-day sustenance and well-being, while upper class people might experience stress from the intense social pressures associated with elite circles.

The evaluation of which mental states can be considered healthy and which require medical intervention also varies by class. Mental health is a socially constructed and socially defined concept; different societies, groups, cultures, institutions, and professions have very different ways of conceptualizing its nature and causes, determining what is mentally healthy, and deciding what interventions are appropriate. Definitions of mental health depend on cultural understandings in addition to biological and neurological findings.

Members of different social classes often hold different views on mental health. Similarly, different social classes have different levels of access to mental health interventions and to information about mental health. Thus, the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders varies widely by social class. Mental Disorders : To say that mental health is socially constructed means that its definition and criteria can change across time and culture.

This lithograph illustrates the eight mental health disorders that were thought to be prominent in England during the earlyth century: dementia, megalomania, acute mania, melancholia, idiocy, hallucination, erotic mania, and paralysis.

Since , many of those disorders have been erased from medical textbooks or modified in light of changing social norms.

Family life, including marriage, childbearing and household composition are strongly influenced by social class. Family life — marriage and childbearing patterns, household composition, and home stability — are strongly influenced by social class. In the United States, the probability of a first marriage ending is substantially higher for couples with low socioeconomic statuses than for those in the middle or upper class.

Research shows that the higher rates of divorce for individuals in lower social classes can often be attributed to the greater financial stress these couples face, though factors like class expectations can also play a role. Thus, social class bears on rates of marriage dissolution. Globally, the birth rate in countries with large impoverished populations is much higher than in wealthier countries, indicating that income and wealth play a role in shaping family structures.

Demographers have identified a direct relationship between average number of children per household and the economic development of a nation. Today, less developed countries struggle with overpopulation while many governments in developed countries are instituting policies to deal with low birth rates.

In nations with high levels of fertility, upper class individuals tend to have more children than their lower class peers.

In nations with low levels of fertility, upper class families exhibit even lower fertility than average. Social class has both a cause and an effect relationship with family composition. For example, single-parent households are likely to have a lower social class because they violate social norms.

At the same time, single-parent families can contribute to financial and social instability. Educational attainment is tied to social class, with upper class individuals acquiring higher degrees from more prestigious schools. Education is a major component of social class, both directly and indirectly. Directly, individuals from higher social classes are more likely to have the means to attend more prestigious schools, and are therefore more likely to receive higher educations.

Indirectly, individuals who benefit from such higher education are more likely to land prestigious jobs, and in turn, higher salaries. Just as education and social class are closely intertwined, stratification in education contributes to stratification in social class. Educational attainment refers to the level of schooling a person completes — for instance, high school, some college, college, or a graduate degree.

Upper class individuals are likely to attend schools of higher quality and of greater prestige than those attended by their lower class counterparts. Because members of high social classes tend to be better educated and have higher incomes, they are able to offer greater educational advantages, such as private schooling, to their children as well.

Upper-class parents are better able to send their children not only to exclusive private schools, but also to public state-funded schools. Such schools are likely to be of higher quality in affluent areas than in impoverished ones, since they are funded by property taxes within the school district.

Wealthy areas will provide more property taxes as revenue, which leads to higher quality schools. Educational inequality is one factor that perpetuates the class divide across generations. Such educational inequality is further reinforced by legacy admission, the preference given by educational institutions to applicants who are related to alumni of that institution. Germane to to university and college admissions particularly in the United States , this practice emerged after World War I, primarily in response to the resulting immigrant influx.

Educational Attainment and Income : Households with higher educational attainment are likely to have higher incomes than those with low educational attainment — members of the lowest income bracket tend to have no more than a high school education, while the highest income bracket members tend to hold graduate degrees.

This affiliation has more to do with how religion is practiced rather than degree of religiosity. Members of lower classes tend to be affiliated with more fundamentalist religions and sect-like groups.

Members of the middle class tend to belong to more formal churches. For example, American Presbyterians and Episcopalians two highly formal Protestant denominations , tend to have above average socioeconomic statuses.