Social mobility and its types

The concept of "social mobility" was first introduced by P. Sorokin. What it is? Social mobility is the movement of an individual on a hierarchical ladder. It can be either ascending or descending. This social movement is divided into two types. Intergenerational mobility is the process of moving along the hierarchical ladder in relation to parents. For example, a person from a poor family becomes a businessman, or a son of scientists chooses physical labor. Intra-generation mobility means a change of status over the life of an individual. For example, it could be promotion or change of profession.

Social mobility is also classified by type. There are two main levels. Vertical mobility means moving from one class to another. For example, a person rises, or on the contrary goes down the career ladder. Horizontal social mobility is the transfer from one social group to another without changing the status. For example, a person changes his religion or moves to another country.

Social mobility and its types can refer both to group movements along the hierarchical ladder, and to individual ones. The status change is also classified into different types. Mobility can be organized. It occurs with the submission of the state, with the consent of the person or against his will. Structural mobility is caused by changes in the structure of society. Often it happens without the consent of people.

Let us consider in more detail such a concept as vertical social mobility and its types. Here two main indicators are distinguished: distance and volume of movement along the hierarchical ladder. In the first case, the number of steps that have to be crossed to a person is taken into account. Normal distance is a gradual movement along the social ladder. In most cases, a person's career growth is carried out exactly this way. However, there is an abnormal distance. It is characterized by a sharp rise or a fall along the social ladder.

The amount of movement is the number of people who have ascended or descended the vertical ladder for a certain time period. In what cases can group mobility occur? These can be revolutions, civil wars, the creation of an empire, the change of political regimes, peasant uprisings, military coups and much more.

So, we examined what social mobility is and its types. Let's try to understand, owing to what factors there is a movement on a hierarchical ladder. Vertical mobility directly depends on the social status of the family, place of residence, nationality, education received, educational level, physical and mental data. Young people usually go up professional, the elderly on political, the adults on the economic ladder.

Considering such a question as social mobility and its types, it is necessary to note one more important concept. This phenomenon, such as the appearance of marginals, often occurs when moving from one social group to another. Marginals are people who no longer belong to their previous layer, but have not yet moved to a new level. That is, they do not have adequate social status. For example, a person migrates from one country to another or moves from a village to a city. An individual can become marginalized also because his claims do not correspond to the cultural group to which he belongs.

In general, social mobility is considered positive, as it stimulates people to professional growth and improvement.