13

Social Mobility

1. INTRODUCTION

Social mobility is an act of moving from one social status to another. People in society continue to move up and down the status scale. Mobility may be for groups as well as individuals. In an open class, every individual struggles to get into a higher rank. However, the success of the struggle depends largely on the background of his ascribed status and the opportunities available in the social set-up.

The struggle to move up the ladder is a continuous process. We have instances galore of applicants trying to secure a superior job after quitting an inferior one. This is so because society values certain jobs more than others. A doctor or engineer enjoys greater prestige than a priest. Likewise, if a person becomes a minister from an ordinary shopkeeper, his or her status enhances. However, social mobility is not a one-way process. People of higher status and position may also have to move lower down the order. For example, if the political fortune of the above-mentioned minister dwindles and he or she comes back to his or her old shop, the status enjoyed by him as a minister is lost.

2. MEANING OF SOCIAL MOBILITY

Social mobility involves the entire movement of the individuals and their families, following through the social system of social hierarchy or stratification. If this movement involves change in the position held especially in occupation, but there is no change in social class system, then this is referred as ‘horizontal mobility’.

If a person moves from the post of a manager to another company at the same post, then this is a change in the social class, therefore, it is called ‘vertical mobility’ or ‘downward mobility’. Another example of social mobility is a simple industry worker, who became a wealthy businessman. He has upward movement in the social class system. On the other hand, a landed aristocrat who has lost his entire property indicates a downward move in the social system.

Usually the individuals are identified in the society based on their status that they occupy and the roles they take and enact. Entire society and the individuals in the society are dynamic. We are always engaged in endless endeavours in order to uplift our status in the society, strive to move from lower position to higher, and try to find ways to a better secure job than the present one. There may be many reasons that people belonging to higher status are forced to come down to lower status and position. Therefore, people always move up and down in the status scale. This type of movement is called social mobility. The degree of social mobility depends on the nature of stratification system. Stratification system refers to the process of positioning the individuals in different layers or strata.

According to the views of Wallace and Wallace, social mobility refers to the movement of the person from one particular status to another.

W.P. Scott has defined sociology as the type of movement seen in the individual or particular group from one social class or social stratum to another.

3. CLASSIFICATIONS OR TYPES OF MOBILITY

• Horizontal mobility: It refers to change of residence or job without status change, such as a teacher’s leaving one school to work in another or even in a factory as a welfare officer.
• Vertical mobility: It refers to movement of people from one social status to another. Vertical mobility may be upward or downward. It also refers to movement in any or all of the three areas of living: class, occupation, and power.

Figure 13.1 Classification of Mobility

• Open system mobility: It refers to the free movement in status change. It neither does nor recognizes the formal fixation of status. In such a system, status can be achieved. Mobility is motivated and encouraged. An individual is at liberty to improve his or status and position.
• Closed system mobility: It refers to status being based on birth or caste. It is impossible to change one’s caste. The Indian society furnishes the example of closed model of mobility, whereas the American society is an open model.
• Inter-generation mobility: It refers to mobility between generations, such as movement between a father’s generation and a son’s. Today, we find significant changes between the occupational structures of two generations. The present-day industrial society is marked by inter-generational mobility.

4. SYSTEMS OF SOCIAL MOBILITY

There are certain norms that prescribe mobility. Closed system of mobility mainly emphasizes on associative character of the hierarchy. This system justifies the inequality in the means of distribution and production of status symbols and power positions that discourages any type of attempt to change them. In this system, any attempt taken to change or bring any revolution to promote mobility is permanently suppressed; therefore, in such system, individuals are assigned in the social structure on the basis of ascriptive criteria such as age, birth, and gender of the individual; functional ability in providing equal opportunity is irrelevant in providing positions for different status. However, there is no specific system that in reality is perfect and close to this system. Most of the rigid systems of stratifications have limited degree of mobility; traditional caste system forms an important example for closed system of social mobility. In the open system, the rules, regulations, and norms are prescribed to encourage the mobility using the independent principles of ranking their status, class, and power. Therefore, in open system, individuals are assigned to different positions in the social structure usually based on the merit or individual achievement.

Open system of mobility usually has the characteristics of occupational diversity with flexible hierarchy and differentiated social structure with rapidity of change. These systems always hold inscriptive criteria based on the corporate groups such as caste, kinship, or extended family. There are important dominant values that emphasize equality and freedom of individual on change and innovation in the society.

5. STRUCTURAL AND INDIVIDUAL MOBILITY

If there are major changes in the society that create lot of trouble and confusion in the society where many people have the chances to move up in the social ladder at the same time is termed as structural change or mobility.

In the 20th-century America, industrialization brought major changes in educational status, increased use of computers, and helped large group of people to improve their social status and find good job than their parents and ancestors. Not everyone was able to move on to higher status but only those who battled with their education and higher status could.

Many important factors affect and influence the upward mobility in the society, such as race, ethnicity, gender, religion, level of education, occupation, place of residence, and health status. These are called individual mobility.

In United States of America, people who are handicapped and disabled, especially if they are females, have only limited opportunities to get any job or limited chances to have good upward mobility.

6. FACTORS INFLUENCING MOBILITY

On the basis of definition by Henry M. Johnson, the following factors influence mobility:

• Social prestige acts as a strong motivator. Now, what is socially valued varies from society to society. So, people strive to achieve what their society values.
• It generally does not so happen that people born in a certain class are sufficient both in terms of quality and number to fill all the positions in the class.
• Sometimes, being born in an upper class itself carries the seeds of downward mobility; this is largely because of the complacency bred by one’s higher status.
• There are certain innate qualities like intelligence that do not exhibit a tendency to be confined to upper classes. In a society that has open system mobility, the son of a farmer may become even the president of his country.
• The demand for different kinds of skills changes from time to time and at varying rates.

On the basis of some other definitions, the following factors influence mobility:

• Social change: Generally, it is the rate of social change that determines social mobility. It may be noted that political, economic, religious, or other revolutions may produce rapid social mobility so as to reduce the upper classes to the bottom of social scale and to elevate to the top classes those formerly at the bottom.
• Communication: Any system that limits communication between classes and restricts knowledge of the conditions of life to one’s own class will also tend to discourage social mobility.
• Division of labour: The amount of social mobility is influenced by the degree of division of labour that exists in a society. If the division of labour is very highly developed and if the degree of specialization and skilled training is very high, then it is correspondingly difficult for a person from one class to pass readily into other classes.
• Economic development: Economic progress is the most important factor in determining the rate of mobility in any country. It is associated with industrialization, which in turn is associated with a higher rate of mobility.

7. DIMENSIONS OF SOCIAL MOBILITY

• Unit: The unit of social mobility may be an individual, family, or group. In individual mobility, it is the individual alone that moves, even at the cost of getting dissociated from his mother group. Family or group mobility is possible only when all the members of the family or the group are of the same mind and are ready to orchestrate their efforts.

Figure 13.2 Dimensions of Social Mobility

• Direction: Social mobility may be in three possible directions: (1) upward—the individuals or groups move higher in social rank; (2) downward—they move lower in social rank; and (3) horizontal—their movement does not result in any change in their social rank.
• Time: If we consider from the point of view of duration of time, social mobility can be classified into two categories—intra-generational and inter-generational. The former compares the social positions of the same generation at different times. The latter compares the social positions of parents and offspring.
• Amount: This dimension is concerned with how much social mobility has occurred. This may differ from society to society on the basis of various factors.
• Content: P.A. Sorokin (1959) explained that no specific trend can be observed regarding the nature, amount, and frequency of mobility. Thus, we can understand social mobility only in the context of the particular ranking structure of the society.

8. DETERMINANTS OF SOCIAL MOBILITY

Social mobility cannot be attributed to any single factor alone but to a plethora of factors.

• System of mobility: We have seen that there are closed and open systems of mobility. If the social stratification is of the former kind, social mobility will be a very long process. If the stratification is of the latter kind, fast social mobility will be seen in that kind of society.
• Mechanization: Mechanization has also affected vertical social mobility. In certain occupations, machines have rendered the manpower useless, thereby compelling the practitioners of those occupations to look for an occupation with a better status. Besides, the advent of machines has created various job opportunities for semi-skilled labourers.

Figure 13.3 Determinants of Social Mobility

• Urbanization: Urban society is characterized by a widely differentiated and open system of ranking. This leads to a two-dimensional mobility: First, the high degree of vertical mobility within the urban society, and second, the migration of population from rural to urban areas which affects the mobility pattern of the society in various ways.
• Western education: Western education brought technical education along with itself. This has helped a large number of people secure high-value jobs like those of engineers, doctors, and managers. These jobs are accorded a high status both economically and socially.
• Opportunity structure: Social mobility is also determined by the opportunity structure of the society. If the role structure is highly differentiated, as in the case of the developed societies, it opens floodgates of opportunities for an individual to move upward. The upward mobility through western education could not have been achieved without equality of opportunities.
• Means of transportation and communication: This reduces the distance of space as well as time, thus increasing the opportunities for social mobility. An individual can know about an opportunity at a place far away from his residence. The scope of job opportunities has widened to a great extent with the means of transportation and communication, thus causing high rate of social mobility.
• Migration: The migration of population from one place to another within the country also generates social mobility. For example, the migration of population from rural to urban areas, and from cities to metropolises, widens the scope of job opportunities and results in a high degree of social mobility.
• Motivation: If motivational factors are present, the individuals and the group will aspire for higher status, which in turn will provide upward mobility.
• Leadership: If a group has an able leader, then he is likely to motivate the entire group to achieve a higher status and thereby improve its rank in the society.
• Consumption pattern: The consumption pattern of the society is an important factor in the degree of social mobility. If the consumption pattern is clearly visible for different ranks, then the degree of upward mobility will be higher.

9. IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MOBILITY

• Promotes efficiency: Social mobility provides opportunity for the expression of individual talents. It becomes inevitable if the most important functions of the society are to be performed by the most capable persons.
• Social justice: Social justice providing equal chances or opportunities for social mobility for all social classes is a democratic commitment.
• Job satisfaction: Social mobility is inclusive of occupational mobility also. In the traditional societies, occupations are normally hereditary in character and hence children are obliged to the occupation of their parents, whether they have a liking for it or not. In the modern society, things are different. People need not stick to their parental occupations.
• Acts as safety valves: Social mobility providing opportunities virtually means creating a safety valve to escape from danger. Since the lower classes are provided with an open chance to enhance their social status or to enter into the status-position of other upper class people by means of their performance, they do not normally organize themselves to dislodge the upper-class people from their status.

Figure 13.4 Importance of Social Mobility

• Opportunity for competition: Social mobility is of great importance in helping individuals improve their capacity and work efficiency. It provides motivation for progress and higher attainments.
• Importance of education: Education is often considered to be a potential means of social mobility. It provides advantages by increasing the individual’s ability. The levels of education indicate differences in status. Social ability depends on the nature and contents of education.
• Importance of property: Property is an important concept to indicate the social levels of individuals and groups. In some families, property is inherited and in others it is acquired.

10. CHANGES IN MOBILITY

The status competition has been fast growing in the society due to rapid urbanization and inculcation of westernization, thereby forming an important reason for the mobility of people in urbanization.

Rapid urbanization is new to Indian society. Due to tremendous growth in the information and communication technology there are no barriers in communication. Efficient distribution of goods and services and development of trading has increased the wealth and the status of the people in the community. There are more facilities for standard living in terms of education, health-care facilities, job opportunities, housing, and entertainment in the urban areas, whereas in rural areas even simple health facilities are not available. Each time people have to travel long distance to urban areas to get all facilities. Therefore, social mobility was directed from rural to urban areas. The status of the people the in the rural areas seems to be less than the people in the urban areas, but the traditional values and customs seems to be lost in urban areas as the families broke and move towards the urban areas from rural seeking job and education. Due to the facilities available naturally they get settled in those areas but the traditional values that has it birthplace of any village is lost and not followed.

According to the views of Harold Gould, based on the bureaucratic principles only the occupational facilities are organized that mobilize the people from rural areas to urban areas. Due to presence of such specialized occupation in the urban areas, there was transfer of houses in the industrialized areas. In the industrialized world to maintain stability and status each person in the society has to perform good in the job. Everyone is evaluated and rewarded for their performance.

Traditions and caste status do disappear in rapid industrialization and urbanization. However, these prevail in families, where people of same caste live together to form small communities. Although city dwellers love urbanization but they are still in touch with traditional beliefs especially in case of marriages where traditions are still followed.

People in urban societies maintain the superficial symbols of status like white collar system. Students, or professionals, by acquiring money and getting educated and getting jobs in highly developed factories improve the status of people in the urban areas. In order to survive in such areas they possess the skill in handling language.

Social mobility occurs by all means in groups of higher and lower status people. In urbanized areas more high-status people live as they flourish with the aid of technology and good growth in economy, political system, and social status, whereas in rural areas all such facilities are not available. There is major technological displacement with problems of unemployment, poverty, and lack of opportunity for any kind of improvement in their social status. Therefore, people from such communities migrate to urban areas for status jobs, for example, people of low caste become sewage disposers, sweepers on roads, and so on in urban areas.

11. HEALTH AND SOCIAL MOBILITY

The relationship between social mobility and health is complex and multifaceted, but there are consistent and robust links between socio-economic status and health.

• The social causation thesis suggests that health is related to structural factors such as work environment or behavioural factors such as diet.
• The health selection thesis proposes that social mobility is affected by health, and that the healthy move up the class hierarchy, whereas the less healthy move down it.
• Lack of work is associated with negative health outcomes, and ill health limits the capacity for work, meaning that there is a combined effect on the capacity for social mobility.
• Caring responsibilities in general can impinge on the potential for social mobility, especially where labour market participation is affected.
• While work can have very positive benefits for health and wellbeing, poor quality work can impact negatively on health, especially mental health.
• There is also evidence that health and wellbeing are related to social position and control in the workplace, implying that hierarchies of social status, including the labour market, are a significant cause of ill health.

Health-related mobility may both widen and reduce social class health differentials. Gradient constraint, that is, health-related mobility, which results in smaller social class differences in health, is likely when the initial health differentials are substantial, mobility is widespread, and the association between health and mobility is relatively weak. Changes in health differentials are usually influenced not only by social mobility but also by social causation. Without knowing the role of social causation, the specific effect of health-related mobility is difficult to establish. This empirical study analysed Norwegian data on intergenerational mobility and health. Gradient constraint seems not to be present as regards the height differential. As to the class differentials in the other health variables, the data do not allow for separating the effects of social causation from the effects of health-related mobility, the specific effects of mobility are therefore difficult to determine.

• Social mobility is the manifestation of the dynamic nature of society.
• Societies are not static but changeable. Individuals, who constitute the basic social units of society; are also moving up and down in the status hierarchy. They also move from one place to another and from one occupation to another.
• Not only are the individuals mobile but even the groups are subjected to mobility. Thus, it is clear that social mobility may be understood as the movement of an individual or group from one status or position to that of another.

I. LONG ESSAY

• Define social mobility. Explain the meaning and classifications or types of social mobility.

II. SHORT ESSAY

• Explain systems of social mobility.
• Describe the factors influencing social mobility.
• Explain the dimensions of social mobility.
• Discuss the importance of social mobility.
• Explain health and social mobility.

III. SHORT ANSWERS

• Explain changes in mobility.
• Explain migration.
• Explain individual mobility.

IV. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. An industrial society is marked by
   1. social mobility
   2. ascribed status
   3. caste system
   4. primary relationship
2. In which of the following system flexibility of mobility exists
   1. estate system
   2. caste system
   3. class system
   4. none
3. What hinders social mobility
   1. growth of large towns and pilgrim centres
   2. famines and economic changes
   3. development and expansion of civilization
   4. orthodoxy and superstitions
4. Movement of a person from one social position to another of the same rank is called:
   1. horizontal mobility
   2. vertical mobility
   3. lower mobility
   4. higher mobility
5. Movement of a position from one social position to another of a different rank is:
   1. horizontal mobility
   2. vertical mobility
   3. structural mobility
   4. rank mobility
6. Social mobility refers to the movement of group from one social class or social stratum to another
   1. W.P. Scott
   2. Bernard barbers
   3. Maclver
   4. Herbert Gold Harmer
7. Dimensions of social mobility
   1. unit and direction
   2. time and amount
   3. content
   4. all of the above
8. Status being based on birth or caste is called
   1. open system mobility
   2. closed system mobility
   3. inter-generation mobility
   4. vertical system mobility
9. What differentiates an agricultural society from an industrial society?
   1. the environment
   2. mode of occupation
   3. social mobility
   4. all of the above
10. The changes that can occur between generations
    1. inter-generation mobility
    2. intra-generation mobility
    3. extra-generation mobility
    4. horizontal mobility

ANSWERS

1. a 2. c 3. d 4. a 5. b 6. a 7. d 8. b 9. d 10. a

1. Bhushan, V. (1995). Introduction to Sociology (Allahabad: Kitab Mahal).
2. Ganesh, P. (2007). Textbook of Sociology for Nurses (Bangalore: EMMESS Publications).
3. George, M. (2007). Sociology for Nurses (New Delhi: AITBS Publications).
4. Knishnamurthy, K.V. (2007). Introductory Sociology for Nurses (Tumkur: Viswasree Publishers).
5. Shankar Rao, C.N. (2000). Fundamentals of Sociology (Mangalore: Jai Bharath Prakashana).