Assignment Question: Do you recall what group (SC) you felt you were in a while in school and did you try to fit into another social class? (SC) Why do you think you did or did not? Were your parents doing this too?
Unit: Economic Class Stereotypes
Social class (SC) is a classification system that ranks people by their different modes of access to material, social and cultural resources. This system creates stereotypes. Stereotypes are descriptions that impact a person's individual achievements, self-evaluation, and general well-being. (Durante, F., 2017) This social classification can be used regarding jobs people have, their habits, hobbies, and lifestyles. It also can include their motivations and aspirations as well as personality traits.
High socioeconomic status (SES) typically includes well-being, health, and intelligence. They typically are perceived as more competent but also are very cold, personality-wise, especially under conditions of greater income inequality. (Durante, F., (2017)
Poorer people (SES) are stereotyped as lazy and having substance abuse problems. (Durante, F., 2017) Both Black and Whites associate the Black community with low SES status and jobs and whites with higher.(Durante, F.,2017) Both feel that undeserving, lazy, incompetent people also cover African American recipients.
Social class opinions that children have, beginning in preschool, can be classified as rich and poor. By the age of six, they begin to put competence, hardworking and smartness together with the rich and the opposite with the poor. (Durante, F., 2017) They also begin to develop a preference for wealthy groups and use the cues of this group to choose their friends. By middle school, kids become aware of their subjective social status, and they have more negative stereotypes of what constitutes poor.
References:
Durante, F., & Fiske, S. T. (2017). How social-class stereotypes maintain inequality. Current Opinion in Psychology, 18, 43-48.