'Social Stratification' has the following features:
(A) Intergenerational
(B) legitimised by belief and ideology
(C) leads to discrimination
(D) helps in the equitable distribution of resources
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A), (B) and (C) only
(A) Intergenerational Correct. 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: children assume the social positions of their parents.
(B) legitimised by belief and ideology Correct. Social stratification is supported by patterns of belief, or ideology. No system of stratification lasts unless it is widely seen as fair or inevitable; the caste system, for example, is justified in terms of purity and pollution.
(C) leads to discrimination Correct. Stratification ranks categories of people in a hierarchy, and this hierarchy shapes their access to resources and opportunities. Groups placed low are often kept out of opportunities open to others, which is discrimination: actual behaviour that disqualifies members of one group, as when a person is refused a job because of caste.
(D) helps in the equitable distribution of resources Incorrect. It does the reverse: social stratification is a society-wide system that unequally distributes social resources among categories of people.
NCERT (2025-26): “Social Inequality … 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.…” “…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.…” “…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.…” “…If prejudice describes attitudes and opinions, discrimination refers to actual behaviour towards another group or individual. Discrimination can be seen in practices that disqualify members of one group from opportunities open to others, as when a person is refused a job because of their gender or religion.…” |