Chapt.+8-+Social+Stratification


 * **Social Stratification**- a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.
 * In todays school setting the nerdy people are looked at as lower on a popularity scale. Also in the show because the guys are smart and classified as nerdy they are lower on the hierarchy scale.
 * **Status Consistency**- is the degree of uniformity in a person's social standing across various dimensions of social inequality.
 * In the show the guys try to always step outside of their comfort zone with the help of Penny's assistance. They are known to be sociallt awkward, so Penny tries to help them with their position in society.
 * **Meritocracy**- Social stratification based on personal merit.
 * Penny is perceived as just another blonde girl at first to sheldon, but she proves to him that she can too be a friend to Leonard. Through this she receives the status of being a friend.
 * **Wealth**- the total value of money and assets, minus outstanding debts.
 * Penny works as a waitress at a restruant that the guys attend regularily, she is not seen as wealthy in today's society.


 * ** Ideology- Cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality. **
 * By observing, one can assume that Sheldon and Leonard's boss is smarter because he's in charge of the whole program at the university and because Sheldon and Leonard are just workers, they're not as smart.
 * ** Blue-Collar Occupations- Lower-prestige jobs that involve mostly manual labor. **
 * Penny, who works at a cheesecake factory, and then moves up to work as a waitress, is a blue collar worker.
 * ** White-Collar Occupations- Higher prestige jobs that involve mostly mental activity. **
 * Leonard and his friends are physicists. Sheldon claims he has two PhD's. In both instances they are white-collar workers.
 * ** Income- Earnings from work or investments. **
 * Penny once told Leonard that she makes minimum wage at the cheesecake factory, meaning her income isn't the highest.