Social Class Amity Business School
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Relatively permanent and homogeneous
divisions in a society into which individuals or
families sharing
Similar values Lifestyles
Interests Wealth
Status Education
Economic positions Behavior
CAN BE CATEGORIZED.
Social Class and Social Status
Amity Business School
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• Status is frequently thought of as the relative
rankings of members of each social class.
– wealth
– power Social Comparison Theory
– prestige states that individuals
compare their
own possessions against those
of others to determine their
relative social standing.
Social Class Amity Business School
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Concrete variables that define social classes
include occupation, education, friendships,
ways of speaking, and possessions.
Perceived variables that define social class
include power, and prestige.
Social class, in part, determines the mix of
goods consumers will buy.
Amity Business School
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Social Class Amity Business School
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Status groups: Reflect community’s
expectations for style of life among each
class as well as the positive or negative
social estimation of honor given to each
class
Whereas classes are stratified based on
relations to production and acquisition of
goods, status groups are stratified based
on lifestyles and principles of consumption
of goods.
Convenient Approaches
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Social Class
• Social status is usually defined in terms
of one or more of the following
socioeconomic variables:
– Family Income
– Occupational Status
– Educational Attainment
Plan the approaches and targeting strategy:
Apparel
Furniture
Jewellery
Social Class Amity Business School
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What determines social class?
Occupation Income
Economic Wealth
Variables
Interaction
Variables
Political
Variables
Social Class Amity Business School
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What determines social class?
Occupation Income
Economic Wealth
Variables
Interaction Personal Prestige
Association
Variables Socialization
Political Power
Class consciousness
Variables Mobility
Social Class
Measurement Amity Business School
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• Subjective Measures: individuals are
asked to estimate their own social-class
positions
• Reputational Measures: informants make
judgments concerning the social-class
membership of others within the community
• Objective Measures: individuals answer
specific socioeconomic questions and then
are categorized according to answers
Objective Measures
Amity Business School
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• Single-variable • Composite-variable
indexes indexes
– Occupation – Index of Status
Characteristics
– Education
– Socioeconomic
– Income Status Score
– Other Variables
Social ClassAmity Business School
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Consumer analysts often focus on six
variables which determine social class.
Occupation
Personal performance
Interactions
Possessions
Value orientations
Class consciousness
Social ClassAmity Business School
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Occupation: best single indicator
of social class
Personal performance: a person’s
success relative to that of others
(often in the same occupation)
Interactions: the people with whom
one associates and socializes
Possessions: symbols of class
membership
Social ClassAmity Business School
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Value orientations: Values are indicators
of our social class.
In some countries, values are more
important than possessions and social
class is determined more by
achievements than by possessions.
Class consciousness: the degree to
which people in a social class are aware
of themselves as a distinctive group.
Social Class Amity Business School
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Social stratification: perceived hierarchies in
which consumers rate others as higher or
lower in social status
Achieved status: earn a higher status due to
work or study
Ascribed status: lucky to be born wealthy or
beautiful
Status inconsistency: when a person rates
high on one variable and low in another (some
athletes or musicians)
Social-Class Profiles
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Social Class and Amity Business School
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Consumer Behavior