1. Social Class What level of social class are you?
© Robert J. Atkins, Ph.D.

3. What determines your social position?
Family
Gender
Race
Education

4. What difference does birth or achievement make?
Upper upper class
Result of birth
E.g. Queen Elizabeth
Kennedy
Lower upper class
Result of achievement
E.g. Steve Jobs
Apple computer
Rock star

5. Do you want intragenerational mobility?
Changes in social position during a person’s lifetime
E.g. Oprah Winfrey
Largest gains in average income
Among highest paid 20%

6. How much income or wealth do you have?
Income = Paycheck
or monthly income from investments
Wealth (Net worth) = Assets - Debts
Basis of social stratification

7. What is conspicuous consumption?
Buying things to make a statement about your social position
Timex vs Rolex
Why you bought it is important

8. Do you remember? What determines your social class?
Oprah is an example of what type of mobility?
What is income v.s. wealth?
What is conspicuous consumption?

9. How does your social class affect your attitudes?
High social position
More liberal on social issues
More conservative on economic issues
Low social position
Liberal on economic issues
Conservative on social issues

10. How are people in the lower class different?
Less safe
More stressful
Health is worse
Live fewer years overall

11. What is poverty? Relative poverty Absolute poverty Working poor
Relative to others around you
Found everywhere
Absolute poverty
Egypt
China
India
Working poor

12. What is the feminization of poverty?
Women make up an increasing percentage of the poor. Why?
Divorce
Single women with their children

13. Do you remember? How does social class effect attitudes?
What is the effects of being in the lower class?
What is the difference between relative and absolute poverty?
What has caused the feminization of poverty?

14. Rich become richer, the the middle class people are sliding down.