How are rewards classified in society ?

Rewards : Rewards are also attributors of social stratification. Rewards may be classified into (a) wealth or property, (b) power, and (c) psychological gratification.

(a) Wealth or Property is the value of a person's or family's total economic assets, including (i) income, (ii) personal property, and (iii) income generating property.

(b) Power : It is the ability of individuals or groups to achieve their ends in spite of opposition from others.

(c) Psychological gratification : It is non-material resources or responses from others that bring contentment, well-being or pleasure or honour to a person. Such gratification are generally as intensely sought as the rewards of property and power.

Comment : Denial or absence of any of these rewards (i.e, explained in above mentioned points (a), (b) and (c)) is usually-accompanied by the denial or absence in other kinds of rewards also, though, it may not always happen.

Example : (a) For instance, an individual with low income or poor economic resources may have a low social esteem and therefore a shortage or psychic gratification. This may be easily viewed as a significant characteristic of the uneven distribution of rewards of wealth and power also.

(6) Sometimes, of course, a person may have a lot of income but no educational qualification and the prestige which it carries. Ultimately, balance of gratification and deprivation determines a person's status in society.

Conclusion : Social inequality in the distribution of different rewards or desired goods and services manifests iteself in a country like India through differences of class, caste, or status groups, power, ethnicity and even gender. Generally these different social bases overlap. This is why one usually finds that caste and class status go together. Also, gender inequality generally leads to unequal opportunities for education and income among females and males.