Which of the following best describes upward mobility within a person's lifetime?

• A. Intergenerational mobility
• B. Horizontal mobility
• C. Structural mobility
• D. Intragenerational mobility

Answer: (D)

Upward mobility within a person’s lifetime is intragenerational mobility. It tracks changes in an individual’s social status that occur over their own life course—such as moving from a lower-income or lower-prestige occupation to a higher one through education, training, or career advancement. This is different from intergenerational mobility, which compares a person’s status to that of their parents; horizontal mobility, which involves moving to a different job with similar prestige; and structural mobility, which results from broad societal changes that shift the distribution of statuses. For example, someone born into a working-class family who becomes a physician demonstrates intragenerational upward mobility.