Deck 8: Social Class and Social Stratification

Question 1

What is the difference between stratification and differentiation?

A) Differentiation is based on different social statuses, stratification is never based on statuses.
B) Differentiation is not necessarily unequal, but stratification is.
C) Stratification develops in many groups and organizations, but differentiation is less common.
D) Stratification exists in modern societies, and differentiation existed in previous societies.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The Smiths compare their wealth, income, and lifestyle to others in their neighborhood. Which of the following are they comparing?

A) Life chances
B) Ascribed statuses
C) Achieved statuses
D) Class systems

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Class systems differ from caste systems in that one's status in a class system may be , to some extent; while in a caste system it is not.

A) ascribed
B) achieved
C) economic
D) social

Answer 3

B

Question 4

If an individual discovers he has certain opportunities to succeed, he is examining his .

A) life chances
B) social setting
C) ascribed status
D) status symbols

Question 5

The position one holds in relation to the economic, political, social and cultural resources in a society is called one's _____.

A) social achievement
B) social organization
C) social class
D) cohort

Question 6

Max Weber called the opportunities that people have in common by virtue of belonging to a particular class .

A) strata indicators
B) social attributes
C) life chances
D) social anomalies

Question 7

A relatively fixed, hierarchical arrangement in society by which groups have different access to resources, power, and perceived social worth is called social _.

A) differentiation
B) stratification
C) inequality
D) status

Question 8

Which of these statements about social class is false?

A) Social class may be observed in the everyday habit of a person.
B) The social class one is born into has enormous consequences for one's life.
C) Social class is personal and individual, not social structural.
D) Social class is a major determinant of life chances.

Question 9

What do sociologists use to measure social class?

A) Education level
B) Occupation
C) Income
D) All of these

Question 10

Which of the following mostly likely happened to the Joneses if they were in the top 1 percent of earners in 2009?

A) They saw a decrease in income.
B) They saw a large tax increase.
C) They saw little or no decline in net worth.
D) None of the above answers is correct.

Question 11

Which of the following is false regarding social class?

A) Social class shapes one's access to resources in society.
B) It is not possible to directly observe social class.
C) It is not possible for people to change whatever social class they are born into.
D) People in the same social class share similar opportunities.

Question 12

What type of system did black workers experience during South Africa's period of Apartheid?

A) Estate
B) Caste
C) Class
D) Socialist

Question 13

A college graduate examines her income and wealth in relation to others. She is interested in social _.

A) differentiation
B) stratification
C) equality
D) change

Question 14

In a caste system, one's place in the stratification system is a(n) status; in a class system, one's place in the stratification system is a(n) status.

A) achieved; ascribed
B) master; achieved
C) ascribed; master
D) ascribed, achieved

Question 15

In a caste system, one's place in the stratification system is a(n) status.

A) ascribed
B) achieved
C) temporary
D) ambiguous

Question 16

The feudal societies of Europe in the Middle Ages are an example of a(n) system of stratification.

A) estate
B) caste
C) class
D) socialist

Question 17

Social refers to the process by which different statuses develop in any group, organization, or society.

A) differentiation
B) stratification
C) inequality
D) mobility

Question 18

Which of the following is not one of the groups within a feudal system?

A) Nobles
B) Priesthood
C) Commoners
D) Doctors

Question 19

. People at a party are comparing clothing, automobiles, and personal possessions. They are comparing elements of _____.

A) social class status
B) social conflict
C) social greed
D) social caste

Question 20

Which of the following is true about stratification systems?

A) Most societies do not have true stratification systems.
B) Most societies share the same amount of complexity in their stratification systems.
C) Stratification systems are somewhat unusual in modern societies.
D) Stratification systems vary in degree and complexity of stratification.

Question 21

Which of these statements is the best description of social class in the United States?

A) There is a very simple class structure with a very few wealthy landowners, while the majority of the population having no property.
B) The social class system is very simple because throughout the society there is relative equality.
C) Social class status is determined almost exclusively by the occupation that one has.
D) The U.S. class system is elaborate; it could be depicted by a ladder with a different social class at each rung.

Question 22

Occupational prestige ratings

A) are subjective evaluations people give jobs.
B) are determined by sociologists who measure income and education requirements for the jobs.
C) are not related to overall socioeconomic status.
D) are based on economic potential.

Question 23

By 2012, in order for a person to be in the list of the top 400 wealthiest people in the U.S. her or she had to have more than in wealth.

A) $1 million
B) $100 million
C) $1 billion
D) $100 billion

Question 24

The sociological perspective that defines classes in terms of their structural relationship to other classes and their relationship to the economic system is the .

A) functionalist perspective
B) conflict perspective
C) symbolic interactionist perspective
D) exchange perspective

Question 25

Beth, a sociology major, is trying to determine what she owns and how much she owes in debt. From this she will be able to determine her _.

A) class position
B) wealth
C) income
D) prestige

Question 26

In the United States

A) it is very common for people to start out poor and yet achieve great wealth.
B) most people live their entire lives as members of a social class very close to the one they were born into.
C) a person's individual achievements have no effect on his or her social class.
D) most individuals move down the social class ladder during their lifetimes.

Question 27

Jan is totalling her wages, the amount she received for child support, and interest from her investments. She is calculating her _.

A) income
B) wealth
C) assets
D) tax receipts

Question 28

John shows off his new car and clothes to other students. He is exhibiting an example of of _.

A) class consciousness
B) conspicuous consumption
C) social differentiation
D) social stratification

Question 29

As a woman, Jane is _.

A) more likely to receive subprime mortgages
B) less likely to receive subprime mortgages
C) unaffected by subprime mortgages
D) none of the above

Question 30

What is the sociological term for the process by which people end up in any given position in the stratification system?

A) Stratification achievement
B) Ascription
C) Status attainment
D) Goal orientation

Question 31

The Parkers are considered part of the upper class and earned all their wealth in the last year from a very successful business. The Parkers are considered part of the:

A) upper-upper class.
B) nouveau riche.
C) achieved class.
D) ascribed caste.

Question 32

The Bakers are part of the upper class. Which of the following is likely be the reason for their wealth?

A) They achieved their wealth completely on their own.
B) They were born into the middle class.
C) They are a family who have held wealth for generations.
D) None of the above is the correct answer.

Question 33

According to William Julius Wilson, the "urban underclass" is

A) affected negatively by structural transformations in the economy.
B) the product of a welfare system that is so generous that going to work is not an attractive option.
C) actually comprised of unemployed individuals from rural, more than urban, areas.
D) mostly found in the suburbs of big cities.

Question 34

In the United States, the lower class

A) has little formal education.
B) is disproportionately represented by people of color and women.
C) includes the working poor.
D) all of these are correct.

Question 35

The urban underclass differs from others among the lower class in a number of ways. Which of the following is not one of these reasons?

A) The urban underclass have almost no means of economic support.
B) The working poor are more likely to engage in illegal activities.
C) The urban underclass is very likely to be dependent on public assistance programs.
D) The urban underclass consists of mostly recent immigrants.

Question 36

income is defined as the midpoint of all household incomes.

A) Mean
B) Median
C) Modal
D) Measured

Question 37

Most of the wealth represented by the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people and families in the U.S.

A) has been earned in the oil industry.
B) was built on borrowed wealth from family.
C) belongs to major athletes.
D) is earned by an individual during their lifetime.

Question 38

Which of the following does not represent a reason why "middle class" is difficult to define?

A) A very large portion of people, with widely varying lifestyles and resources, consider themselves middle class.
B) Being middle class tends to mean more than just economic status.
C) Calling oneself middle class is the norm in the U.S.
D) The middle class is a very small and homogenous group.

Question 39

Sociologists who analyze class using the conflict perspective

A) see class basically as a continuum.
B) argue that class is basically a matter of what individuals possess in terms of income and prestige.
C) see class as defined by the relationship of the classes to the larger system of economic production.
D) base their views on the early work of Emile Durkheim who pointed out the dysfunctional consequences of division of labor.

Question 40

How is the measure of occupational prestige determined?

A) Employers are asked how prestigious they believe their businesses are.
B) Employees are asked to evaluate the prestige of their jobs.
C) A nationwide sample of people is asked to evaluate a series of different jobs.
D) Jobs are ranked according to how much they are paid.

Question 41

Which of the following is false regarding social class in the United States?

A) Social classes are becoming more polarized with the wealthy increasing their wealth and the middle class stagnating.
B) Rising debt among the middle class has increased inequality between the classes.
C) The lower class has little power to control the working environment.
D) Tax policies favor the middle and lower classes.

Question 42

The idea that Asian Americans are a "model minority:"

A) is accurate.
B) obscures obstacles to success that they face.
C) overestimates the contributions of other minorities.
D) acknowledges poverty among Asian American groups.

Question 43

Currently, the pattern of home foreclosures in the U.S. includes which of the following?

A) Foreclosures are occurring at the same rate in all neighborhoods.
B) Middle-class neighborhoods have been able to avoid foreclosures.
C) Foreclosure rates for African Americans are nearly twice the rates as whites.
D) Wealthy Americans have foreclosure rates surpassing the middle-class.

Question 44

Who benefits most from U.S. tax policies?

A) The wealthy
B) The poor
C) The government
D) Corporations

Question 45

How is the pattern of wealth distribution in the U.S. influenced by race?

A) Asians are a "model minority."
B) Black families have higher levels of wealth than white families.
C) Discriminatory practices in banking and housing have resulted in inequality of wealth, even after several generations.
D) The patterns of wealth distribution in the U.S. is not influenced by race.

Question 46

One percent of the U.S. population controls approximately of the total wealth in the nation.

A) one-third
B) one-quarter
C) one-half
D) two-thirds

Question 47

According to Marxian conflict theory, as capitalism progresses

A) the professional-managerial class will become part of the elite.
B) many of those in the middle class will drop into the working class as they are pushed out of managerial jobs into working class jobs.
C) corporate mergers will redistribute wealth from being in the hands of the few to society's "have-nots."
D) the classes will become polarized with no overlap or mobility.

Question 48

The Black middle class

A) does not experience racism.
B) earns wages equal to those earned by the white middle class.
C) is becoming more like the model minority.
D) continues to experience segregation.

Question 49

When researchers calculate a basketball star's net worth they are measuring the star's _.

A) wealth
B) wages and income
C) income and wealth
D) total value

Question 50

One-fifth of the population has zero or negative net worth, meaning

A) their debt exceeds their assets.
B) their debt exceeds their annual income.
C) their tax burden is more than double their income.
D) their education debt exceeds their potential income.

Question 51

While Marx predicted a specific set of events, which of the following actually occurred?

A) The middle class was pushed into the working class.
B) The middle class remains fragile while the upper class grows in wealth.
C) The upper class has been overthrown by the working class.
D) The working class is growing in size and power.

Question 52

What does economic restructuring refer to?

A) The decline in manufacturing jobs in the U.S.
B) The process of consumers consolidating their debt
C) A shift in the percentage of Americans in each social class
D) The inheriting of wealth passed down from one generation to the next

Question 53

In the United States, the concept of the "model minority"

A) is based on a stereotype of Asian Americans being the most successful minority group in the United States.
B) takes into account the successes of all other minority groups.
C) changes based on the experiences of racial groups.
D) hides the successes of whites.

Question 54

Measured by their average education and income levels, most women would be considered

A) poor.
B) working class.
C) middle class.
D) upper class.

Question 55

Class inequality in the United States have been growing due to all of the following, except

A) the recent economic restructuring.
B) the loss of savings and investments.
C) global economic changes.
D) that Americans have unrealistic expectations of wealth.

Question 56

The most important predictor of Bobby's class location is _.

A) his income
B) his wealth
C) his inheritance
D) his debt

Question 57

Which of the following is true about the effects of gender on stratification?

A) Based on their own income and education levels, most women would be considered middle-class.
B) The median income for women is far below the national median income level.
C) When women have as much education as men, they have jobs that pay as well.
D) Women are more likely than men to work in upper-middle class jobs.

Question 58

In recent years, both the African American and Latino middle class have expanded because of

A) increased access to education and middle-class occupations for people of color.
B) increased intermarriage rates with White Anglos.
C) legislation that has brought an end to de facto discrimination.
D) a significant upturn in the U.S. economy during the past decade.

Question 59

With regard to the intersection of race and class, Black Americans

A) in the middle class are not segregated from whites as are poorer Blacks.
B) are more likely to be working class than are whites.
C) are more likely to be middle class than working class.
D) look more like Asian Americans than Whites.

Question 60

Regarding race and class, which of the following is true?

A) Blacks have less wealth than whites, Asians, and Latinos.
B) Latinos have been unable to move into the middle class.
C) Racial minorities do not aspire to be part of the middle class.
D) The race-class debate has largely been concluded.

Question 61

What is the primary difference between Marx's and Weber's views of social class?

A) Weber disagreed with Marx that classes were formed around economic issues.
B) Weber disagreed with Marx that economic forces are the primary basis for stratification.
C) Weber disagreed with Marx that there could be more than one dimension to stratification.
D) Weber did not believe that economic forces had any impact on other aspects of life.

Question 62

What was the basis of the definitions of class identified by Karl Marx?

A) Level of education
B) Relationship to means of production
C) Ownership of agricultural land
D) Amount of net wealth

Question 63

Which of these groups best corresponds to the "lumpenproletariat" identified by Marx as subdivision of the working class?

A) Managers and administrators
B) Workers
C) The homeless and permanently poor
D) The owners of the means of production

Question 64

According to Weber, what is the relationship of the dimensions of stratification to each other?

A) The economic, social, and political dimensions of stratification are usually related.
B) A person's social, political, and economic statuses are always consistent with each other.
C) Political status is much more important in determining one's position in the stratification system than are economic or social status.
D) There is no relationship between the economic, social, and political dimensions of stratification.

Question 65

Max Weber analyzed the connections between

A) the economic, social, and political dimensions of stratification.
B) class, race, and gender as the basis for social stratification.
C) cooperation, competition, and conflict as social processes effecting social mobility.
D) ability, ambition, and sponsorship as factors impacting on social mobility.

Question 66

When members of the subordinated classes internalize the views of the dominant class and justify inequality, Karl Marx termed this .

A) false consciousness
B) class consciousness
C) normative consciousness
D) stratified consciousness

Question 67

Which of these statements about social mobility in the U.S. is true?

A) Social mobility is most influenced by the characteristics of individuals.
B) Being born into a particular generation may significantly influence chances for social mobility.
C) Social mobility within the U.S. is virtually impossible.
D) Most people remain in the same social class as their parents.

Question 68

A politician describes inequality as a motivator for people to fill the different and necessary positions in society. He is using an example of the _.

A) functionalist theory
B) conflict theory
C) symbolic interactionist theory
D) social exchange theory

Question 69

Which of the following is an example of intergenerational mobility?

A) A daughter rises above the class of her parents.
B) A man's class status changes due to a bad investment.
C) A woman's class status changes as a result of business success.
D) After having children, a couple's class status drops.

Question 70

Which of these statements about class consciousness in the U.S. is false?

A) Americans do not tend to be very conscious of social class.
B) In the U.S. the importance placed on individualism diminishes the existence of class consciousness.
C) There is widespread belief that everyone has access to the same types of material comforts.
D) Americans display more class consciousness than most European countries.

Question 71

Karl Marx used the concept of to explain why people who do not benefit from a capitalist system would still support it.

A) surplus value
B) power and prestige
C) ideology
D) lumpenproletariat

Question 72

The United States is assumed to be a , a system in which one's status is based on accomplishments.

A) democracy
B) pluralist society
C) meritocracy
D) status attainment society

Question 73

Weber believed that

A) class and access to life chances are totally unrelated.
B) while power is linked to economic standing, economic standing alone is not always the source of people's power.
C) systems of stratification are not part of the social structure.
D) microlevel analysis is more valid than macrolevel analysis.

Question 74

Unlike his father, Johnny has been able to go to college and enter a high paying profession. He has experienced _____ mobility.

A) intergenerational
B) intragenerational
C) extragenerational
D) co-generational

Question 75

According to the perspective, the most vital jobs in society usually receive the greatest economic rewards.

A) functionalist
B) conflict
C) symbolic interactionist
D) feminist

Question 76

Which of the following is most accurate regarding poverty if a child is under age 10?

A) They are less likely to be poor because teens make up most of youth poverty.
B) They have the same chance of being poor because all age groups are equally likely to be poor.
C) They are more likely to be poor because children in this age group are most likely to be poor.
D) They are less likely to be poor because the elderly are most likely to be poor.

Question 77

The perception that a class structure exists and the feeling of shared identification with others in one's class is referred to as .

A) false consciousness
B) class consciousness
C) normative consciousness
D) stratified consciousness

Question 78

Weber's concept of is the political dimension of stratification.

A) prestige
B) class
C) power
D) status

Question 79

Social mobility occurring within a generation is called mobility.

A) intergenerational
B) intragenerational
C) extragenerational
D) co-generational

Question 80

Which of the following is false about social mobility in the United States today?

A) In the U.S. anyone who works hard enough can get ahead.
B) Social mobility occurs in the U.S., but less often than believed by most.
C) Most people remain in their class of origin.
D) Social mobility is greatly influenced by education.