Blackwell Reference Online

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Both educational and occupational attainments are important (and related) aspects of prestige differences in the United States as well as throughout the more developed and developing countries. Prestige is used as a measure of social status and therefore is a part of the broader social stratification system. Social status is viewed as a subjective concept, based on individuals’ perceptions about lifestyles. Most of us are aware of differences in lifestyles based on styles of clothing, types (and numbers) of automobiles, value and location of housing, and so on. The point is that differences in occupation and education combine to produce differences in income, which then allow individuals and families to live a certain lifestyle. We then attach differences in social value to the different lifestyles; some are awarded high standing in society, while others are deemed to have little or no value. These judgments are played out within the contexts of gender, race/ethnicity, and class, and have been remarkably constant over time (at least since 1947 in the US) and across a wide variety of countries. Most individuals place a lot of emphasis on a person's occupation when assessing prestige. For example, we make systematic judgments about a person's lifestyle based on whether we know they are a blue-collar or a white-collar worker. Sociologists often use prestige scores to rank occupations, ... log in or subscribe to read full text