The essence and examples of vertical social mobility and horizontal

Social mobility: horizontal and vertical are categories related to the variability and stratification of societies. In the environment of any social group or a vast social organism, quantitative and qualitative changes occur, as a result of which the character changes This organism, new social classes are emerging and disappearing in very different sections: national, subcultural, property, and so on. Examples of vertical social mobility are the best practical confirmation. Such a dynamic society will necessarily be accompanied by constant changes in the social status of specific individuals. Actually, in these transformations there are examples of vertical social mobility. More rarely - horizontal, because it is not always accompanied by a change in social status.

Types of social mobility

As the main options for this process, modern scientists distinguish between two Following types.

Horizontal mobility. Examples

In this case, it means the transition of a person from one social group to another, but equal in status to the previous one. The most trivial examples can be moving to a new place of residence, moving to an alternative job or position, roughly equal to the previous prestige and income. Another particular case of this form is migrants, because when they move to a new country for themselves, they turn from indigenous people into foreigners for society. By the way, horizontal mobility can sometimes give rise to examples of vertical social mobility. As is often the case with the same migrants.

Vertical social mobility. Examples

Here everything is quite clear on an intuitive level. This is a decrease or an increase in personal status in a particular social group or society as a whole. Examples of vertical social mobility: increasing material incomes (or vice versa - reducing or even ruining), moving up or down the career ladder, gaining widespread popularity, which comes to musicians, artists, sportsmen and so on (or, which also does not Rarity, oblivion).

Lifts

Social mobility as a phenomenon provides for the existence in society of the mechanisms that ensure its very existence. These mechanisms Scientists called social elevators. These can be: army, school, church, political parties, family, government groups, official bodies and so on.

Degree of social mobility

An important point is also that the ability of an individual to change his status throughout his life can differ dramatically in different social systems. The so-called traditional societies are characterized by an extreme degree of tradition and taboo. Here often the social status is not only inherited, but its preservation is also ensured by a whole system of social norms and rules, the violation of which can be punished with punishments from public censure to legitimate responsibility.