Stratification structure refers to the hierarchy of social classes in society. This book describes the class structure in the United States, focusing on the way people's class location influences their opportunities. To do this, Beeghley emphasizes three themes. The first theme is that power influences the distribution of resources in the United States. The second theme is that the social structure influences rates of events, mainly because it determines people's range of choices. The third theme is that social psychological factors influence how individuals act on, and react to, the situations in which they find themselves. One purpose of this book is to help students understand social inequality from a new angle of vision. This orientation implies that social facts are not always what they seem to be, an insight that is fundamental to sociology.