<P> Ascribed status is when one's position is inherited through family . Monarchy is a widely recognized use of this method, to keep the rulers in one family . This usually occurs at birth without any reference as to how that person may turn out to be a good or bad leader . </P> <P> Status can be changed through a process of social mobility . Social mobility is change of position within the stratification system . A move in status can be upward (upward mobility), or downward (downward mobility). Social mobility allows a person to move to another social status other than the one he or she was born in . Social mobility is more frequent in societies where achievement rather than ascription is the primary basis for social status . </P> <P> Social mobility is especially prominent in the United States in the late 20th century, with an ever - increasing number of women entering into the workplace as well as a steady increase in the number of full - time college students . This increased education as well as the massive increase in multiple household incomes has greatly contributed to the rise in social mobility obtained by so many today . With this upward mobility; however, comes the philosophy of "Keeping up with the Joneses" that so many Americans obtain . Although this sounds good on the surface, it actually poses a problem because millions of Americans are in credit card debt due to conspicuous consumption and purchasing goods that they do not have the money to pay for . </P> <P> Social stratification describes the way people are placed or "stratified" in society . It is associated with the ability of individuals to live up to some set of ideals or principles regarded as important by the society or some social group within it . The members of a social group interact mainly within their own group and to a lesser degree with those of higher or lower status in a recognized system of social stratification . Such ties between people are often fluid and amorphous . Some of the more common bases for such raking include: </P>

Which of the following is the most common form of social stratification in the world today