Social Class

“Social class is a division of society made up of persons possessing certain common social characteristics which are taken to qualify them for intimate, equal status relations with one another, and which restrict their interaction with members of other social classes.”
(Krech, Crutchfield & Ballachey in Dubois 2000)

Before this lecture, I had the opinion that social class is primarily based on the amount of money you or your family have. This isn’t the case, in fact, social class no longer means income and your job no longer defines your position in society. In addition to this, we also spend some of the lecture thinking about whether we become social class A if we achieve wealth.

Britain was once a class-ridden society. Class was a staple part of the British way of life. Today, multiculturalism and a changing economy are gradually eroding the British class system, but some features of the system still remain.

In societies where classes exist, class can be determined largely by:
· Income or wealth;
· Ownership of land
· Occupation
· Education and qualifications
· Family background

In Great Britain the class system is ranked so that people can fit in to different categories. The categories are as follows:
• A – upper middle class
• B - middle class
• C1 – lower middle class
• C2 – skilled working class
• D – working class
• E –lower class

In other countries the class systems are extremely different to that in Britain. In India the class system is also known as ‘Caste System’ and is as follows:
• Brahmins – priests & teachers
• Ksatriyas – warriors and rulers
• Vaisyas – farmers, merchants
• Sudras - labourers
• Untouchables – polluted labourers

A consumer’s social class can be determined by many factors including the use of symbols to indicate social status. Symbols can include the clothes you use, the type of phone you have, the car you drive etc. In the twenty first century there are many indicators of social class other than wealth. There can be marriage between classes which would result in social mobility. Social class is a better indicator of purchases that have a symbolic aspect but low to moderate prices e.g cosmetics, liqueurs. Income is a better indicator of purchase behaviour for non-symbolic, high expenditure products e.g. fridge freezers. Both social class & income data are needed to predict behaviour with expensive & symbolic products e.g. cars, homes.

Before our lecture this week we were asked to take this quiz. By answering all the necessary questions it will give you an indication of our social status. When taking the quiz, I found that it is hard to decipher which answers you want to have and which you actually have. It only takes five minutes so please take the test then take the poll on the right which will tell us which social class most of us fit into! Thanks http://quizfarm.com/quizzes/Style/gonewiththegale/what-social-status-are-you/