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Social Class

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Social ClassSocial Class

The division of

members of a society

into a hierarchy of

distinct status classes,

so that members of

each class have eitherhigher or lower status

than members of other

classes.

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What are the typical factors that

differentiate the social classes?

Occupation

Education attained

Behavioral standards taste culture

Source of Income Level of Income; wealth

Dwelling area

Power

Religious Affiliation; Associations

lifestyles, buying patterns, motivations andvalues

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Characteristics of Social Class

Is hierarchical

Is a natural form of segmentation

Social class conveys perception of inferior

or superior position.

Reflects a persons relative social status

Class may be indicated by cluster of

variables (occupation , income and wealth).

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Social Class and Social Status

Status - our social ranking.

Status is frequently thought of as the

relative rankings of members of each socialclass

wealth

power

prestige

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Social Comparison Theory

states that individuals compare their

own possessions against those ofothers to determine their relative social

standing.

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Social Class Categories

Most early studies in the United States

divided specific communities into fiveor six social class structures.

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What is Upper Class?

The upper class of most societies is a

varied group of individuals who

include the new social elite.

Aristocracy consists of traditional old

money families who acquired greatwealth and power and whose

members live on inherited wealth

such as maharajas and business

families.

Such families represent a very small

percentage of the population.

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What is Middle Class?

The middle 50% of household

incomes Households made up of

college-educated adults who use

computers, and are involved in

childrens education. This class is also composed of

workers at managerial levels who

likely to reach occupational status.

The people focus on achieving higher

income levels, success in their careers.

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What is Lower Class?

There are poorly

educated unskilledlaborers, revolving

around.

And are out ofwork.

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Categories of Social ClassCLASS DESCRIPTION

UPPER-UPPER Elite, wealth inherited. Gracious living. Value family

reputation. Socially responsible.

LOWER-UPPER Wealth of first generation. Choose good schools for children

.future generation have chance to move to top class. Class

of top corporate executive, successful professionals , &

proprietors of large business.

UPPER-MIDDLE Well-off financially. income above average. Moderate

successful professionals & businessman.

LOWER-MIDDLE A large class. supervisors, non-managerial staff , traders.

Clerical staff , salespeople. Respectable living. Value

education.

UPPER-

LOWER

Larger class. Wage earners. working class. strive for

respectability

LOWER-LOWER Lowest income unemployment. underdevelopment.

Uneducated. Daily wage earners. Low occupation.

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Social Class Measurement

Subjective Measures: individuals are askedto estimate their own social-class positions

Reputational Measures: informants makejudgments concerning the social-classmembership of others within the community

Objective Measures: individuals answer

specific socioeconomic questions and thenare categorized according to answers

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Objective Measures

Single-variableindexes Occupation

Education

Income

Other Variables

Composite-variable indexes

Index of Status

Characteristics Socioeconomic

Status Score

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Index of Status CharacteristicsIndex of Status Characteristics

(ISC)(ISC)

A composite measure of social class that

combines occupation, source of income (not

amount), house type / dwelling area into a

single weighted index of social class

standing.

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Socioeconomic Status Score (SES)Socioeconomic Status Score (SES)

A multivariable social class measure used by the

United States Bureau of the Census that combines

occupational status, family income, andeducational attainment into a single measure of

social class standing.

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Lifestyles and Interests

Tastes

Language

SelfImageValues

Political orientation

Access to such resources as education, health care,housing and consumer goods.

How long you will live & how healthy you will be

What sort of things does social class affect

I.e. Consumption behaviour

who spends how much and on what

The Importance of Class

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Dress: white collar vs. blue collar

Form of recreation: upper-class people are

expected to play golf rather than shoot pool downat the pool hall - but they can do it at home.

Residential location: upper-class people do not

ordinarily live in slums

Material Possessions: Kind of car: Rolex watch,

how many bathrooms a house has

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Celine

Boogie Bag

Rs.449

Vuitton

Credit Card Holder

Rs.200

How Much Money Will Be Spent

HowMoney Will Be Spent

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Singapore Airlines (SIA)

offers a first and

business-class only flight

to the United States in

2005. A first for Asia, SIAbecame the second major

airline in the world to go

all-business class: about

a year ago, Swiss Private

Air started 'no coach'flights.

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How Do the Lower and Upper Classes Differ in Their

Consumption Tastes?

Lower classesgenerally focus onmore immediateand more

utilitarian needs

Upper classes

are often likely toapproachconsumption froma more aestheticperspective

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Selected consumer behaviour

applications of social class

Clothing, Fashion, and Shopping Where one shops

External point of identification such as the name of abrand .

The Pursuit of Leisure

Attend the theater and concerts, to play bridge, and to attend

college football games Be avid TV watchers and fishing enthusiasts, and enjoy drive-in

movies and baseball games.

Furthermore lower class consumer spends more time on bowling,etc. and craft activities(reading, visiting museums)

continued

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Social Class and Marketing

Strategy

Saving, Spending, and Credit

Upper class are more future-oriented and are

more willing to invest. In comparison, lowerclass consumers are primarily concerned with

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Limitations of Social Class

Social class is more difficult to measure thanincome

Many purchase behaviours are related more to

income than social class Consumers often use expected social class for

their consumption patterns

Dual incomes have changed consumption patterns

Individual dimensions of social class aresometimes better predictors of consumerbehaviour