Identify the key characteristics of social stratification from the li…

Identify the key characteristics of social stratification from the list given below.

(A) Social stratification is a characteristic of society, not simply a function of individual differences.

(B) Social stratification is supported by patterns of belief, or ideology.

(D) Social stratification persists over generations.

(E) Social stratification is not universal.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → (A), (B) and (D) only

(A) Social stratification is a characteristic of society, not simply a function of individual differences. Correct. Stratification is a society-wide system that unequally distributes social resources among categories of people. In advanced societies, resources go to different social categories regardless of people’s innate individual abilities.

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

(C) Social stratification is natural. Incorrect. Stratification is produced by society, not by nature. Resources are shared out unequally regardless of people’s inborn abilities, and it is the ideology behind the system that makes it look natural or inevitable.

(D) Social stratification persists over generations. Correct. It is linked to the family and to the inheritance of social resources from one generation to the next. A person’s position is ascribed: children assume the social positions of their parents, and endogamy keeps caste lines in place.

(E) Social stratification is not universal. Incorrect. Even the most technologically primitive societies, the hunting and gathering societies, had a rudimentary social stratification; in societies that produce a surplus it becomes sharper. So stratification is found in every society, from the simplest to the most advanced.

NCERT (2025-26): “5.1 What Is Social About Social Inequality and Exclusion? … Sociologists use the term social stratification to refer to a system by which categories of people in a society are ranked in a hierarchy. This hierarchy then shapes people’s identity and experiences, their relations with others, as well as their access to resources and opportunities. 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. A person’s social position is ascribed. That is, children assume the social positions of their parents. Within the caste system, birth dictates occupational opportunities. The ascribed aspect of social inequality is reinforced by the practice of endogamy. That is, marriage is usually restricted to members of the same caste, ruling out the potential for blurring caste lines through inter-caste marriage.
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. The caste system, for example, is justified in terms of the opposition of purity and pollution, with the Brahmins designated as the most superior and Dalits as the most inferior by virtue of their birth and occupation.…”