Question

What are the three key indicators of the socioeconomic conditions that you were presented with in the written material that help define the different societies we have looked at through their art?

Answer 1

Socioeconomic status refers to one’s access to collectively preferred resources, for example, money, power, social networks, healthcare or educational opportunities. It is access to these resources that enable individuals and/or groups to prosper in the social world. It is because of the socioeconomic status, formation of social hierarchy or social stratification takes place. These social hierarchies are multi-dimensional and ate times, complex. This creates subgroups and subcultures, and then also provides indicators of the level of socioeconomic status an individual belongs to. Thus, socioeconomic status provides an opportunity to individuals to strive and thrive in the social world.

There are various indicators of socioeconomic status of an individual, these are- professional titles, clothing, hairstyles, automobiles, residential addresses and so forth. The main indicators are wealth, income, educational attainment, and occupational prestige. Wealth reflects intergenerational transitions as well as accumulation of income and savings. Income, age, marital status, family size, religion, occupation, and education are all predictors for wealth attainment. Thus, it may be said that the resources that are available to individuals is largely based on their socioeconomic status.