The key principles of the term 'Stratification' are: (A) It is a char…

The key principles of the term 'Stratification' are:

(A) It is a characteristic of society.
(B) It is supported by patterns of belief and ideology.
(C) It is a function of individual differences.
(D) It persists over generations.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (B) and (D) only

(A) It is a characteristic of society. Correct. Social stratification is a characteristic of society, a society-wide system that unequally distributes social resources among categories of people.

(B) It is supported by patterns of belief and ideology. Correct. No system of stratification lasts unless it is widely viewed as fair or inevitable. The caste system, for example, is justified by the opposition of purity and pollution.

(C) It is a function of individual differences. Incorrect. Stratification is not just a function of individual differences. In societies that produce a surplus, resources go unequally to social categories regardless of people’s innate individual abilities.

(D) It persists over generations. Correct. It is tied to the family and the inheritance of social resources: children take the social positions of their parents, and endogamy keeps the lines from blurring.

NCERT (2025-26): “5.1 What Is Social About Social Inequality and Exclusion? … Three key principles help explain social stratification:

1. Social stratification is a characteristic of society, not simply a function of individual differences. Social stratification is a society-wide system that unequally distributes social resources among categories of people. In the most technologically primitive societies – hunting and gathering societies, for instance – little was produced so only rudimentary social stratification could exist. In more technologically advanced societies where people produce a surplus over and above their basic needs, however, social resources are unequally distributed to various social categories regardless of people’s innate individual abilities.…
…2. Social stratification persists over generations. It is closely linked to the family and to the inheritance of social resources from one generation to the next.…
…3. Social stratification is supported by patterns of belief, or ideology. No system of social stratification is likely to persist over generations unless it is widely viewed as being either fair or inevitable.…”