Social Stratification Essay

Functions of Social Stratification from the
Point of View of Davis and Moore
Social stratification is a system that societies use to rank members into organized and functioning groups. The way that the United States stratifies its members is by a class system. Upper, middle, and lower class are determined by the amount of money individuals have available to them for spending. Social class in America is a huge determinant of an individual’s quality of life. Education and training, or better yet the access to these, are what governs the amount of opportunity an individual has to make money and move up in social class. Often, social class can predetermine one’s fate before he or she has the chance to. Ambition means little when “class-based discrimination

This theory identified the important role of education and training in establishing an individuals’ social class. Davis and Moore view a job position’s pay as a reward and motivational device for an individual. These rewards have to equally match the amount of training and education required to qualify for the position. Davis and Moore’s theory explains, “Rewards must be sufficient both to attract adequate numbers of individuals to occupy positions and to motivate adequate role performance. It is hypothesized that differences in rewards are necessary because positions are not all equally agreeable or equally important to the society, nor do they require the same talent or training” (Cullen and Novick 1424). Members in the high class have very well paying jobs that usually require a large amount of education and training before entering the workforce. This, in turn, is rewarded by the amount of money they can make when they obtain the proper qualifications to work in an intended field. The lower class individuals usually hold lower wage paying jobs that require little training and little education. These jobs are much easier to perform and therefore are awarded less capital to do. The middle class lies in the middle of the two. The jobs held in this class require a fair amount of schooling and training and earn a fair amount of

Humans work as a way to fulfill a purpose while on Earth. When the individuals of a lower class can only get the jobs that make less money and have less credibility, they begin to believe they have no impact in society. Lower class individuals never feel like they are succeeding because of societies view of it. The psychological wellbeing of these individual can be compromised because their “economic situation also affected the success. It was understood that the rate of anxiety is higher among the individuals in the low class” (Odabasi 125). The high levels of anxiety of these individuals are because they constantly are chasing the Americanized idea of success when the class system functions to make sure they