Deck 7: Stratification,class,and Inequality

Question 1

One of the main differences between Marx's and Weber's understanding of social class is that

A) Marx emphasized one's life chances in his understanding of social class.
B) Weber recognized that social classes also differ with respect to their power and status.
C) Marx put more emphasis on how race and gender intersected with class.
D) Weber argued that social discrimination can lead to class inequality.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The money a person gets from a wage,salary,or investments is ______;the assets an individual owns are ______.

A) wealth;property
B) income;wealth
C) wealth;income
D) income;inherited

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Caste systems like the one in India require that individuals marry within their social group.This is referred to as

A) social reproduction.
B) endogamy.
C) social exclusion.
D) monogamy.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Karl Marx called those who own the means of production ______ and those who make their living by selling their own labor power for a wage ______.

A) the bourgeoisie;the proletariat
B) producers;consumers
C) merchants;consumers
D) the working class;capitalists

Question 5

Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty and raised by a single mother,yet today she is one of the richest women in America.According to the textbook,the social position we are born into affects our life chances,but our class position is also

A) based on caste.
B) based on looks.
C) in some part achieved.
D) determined by affirmative action.

Question 6

According to Karl Marx,the working class in industrialized countries would remain poor and live near subsistence level.Marx was right about the persistence of poverty in industrialized countries,but he was wrong in thinking that

A) there would be very few poor people in most industrialized countries.
B) most people would own the means of production collectively in capitalist countries.
C) the income of most of the population would remain extremely low.
D) industrial capitalism would decrease the wealth and income gap.

Question 7

The social honor or prestige that other members of society accord to individuals is referred to as

A) status.
B) power.
C) class.
D) surplus value.

Question 8

What does Max Weber mean by a "pariah group"?

A) a group whose presence is a threat to the social order
B) a group that is both admired and feared
C) a negative-status group that suffers from loss of social opportunity
D) a disadvantaged group that is pitted and afforded special opportunities

Question 9

We can conclude that one of the main differences between a society based on caste versus one based on class is that

A) boundaries between groups are not prevalent in systems based on class.
B) caste societies are spreading to countries around the world.
C) social mobility is more prevalent in class-based societies.
D) globalization will eventually do away with class positions.

Question 10

Davis and Moore's explanation of class stratification differs from that of Marx and Weber because

A) they tend to focus more on the role of inheritance in attaining social status.
B) they argue that blue-collar occupations deserve more prestige in our society.
C) they argue that rewards for one's social position are based upon the needs of society.
D) they pay more attention to the need for the redistribution of resources to make society more equal and stable.

Question 11

A stratification system in which certain people are owned as property is known as

A) capitalism.
B) caste.
C) class.
D) slavery.

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of a caste system?

A) forcing rural women in Thailand into sex work
B) the racial wealth gap in the United States
C) forcing children to accept their parents' status as their own in India
D) high rates of child poverty in Slovenia

Question 13

From 1977 to 2016,the richest 20 percent saw its income rise ______,while the poorest 20 percent saw its income rise by ______.

A) 67 percent;8 percent
B) 15 percent;60 percent
C) 100 percent;0 percent
D) 75 percent;95 percent

Question 14

Scholars believe that ______ has encouraged a shift to class-based systems in countries such as India that have been traditionally caste-based systems.

A) morality
B) globalization
C) religion
D) a high divorce rate

Question 15

Andrew is a twenty-something,currently unemployed Jewish male from a wealthy background.Louis is a thirty-year-old Puerto Rican man who currently works in retail.In addition to class,which other difference might Max Weber point to in attempting to understand their respective social positions?

A) status distinctions
B) functionalist distinctions
C) ethnic distinctions
D) age distinctions

Question 16

Suheir Shedd is a university professor.Which of the following would constitute her wealth?

A) the cultural capital in her network
B) all the assets she owns
C) the money she makes in a year
D) the estimated earnings over her life

Question 17

Workers picking strawberries can pick 100 baskets an hour,but the value of 20 baskets is all it costs the employer to pay them their hourly wages.According to Karl Marx,the income the employer collects from the extra baskets is

A) cultural capital.
B) surplus value.
C) endogamy.
D) wealth.

Question 18

Today people are taken against their will and forced to work as bricklayers in Pakistan or as sex workers in Thailand.According to the textbook,these examples are best described as

A) modern-day slavery.
B) a caste system based on occupation.
C) cheap labor in a capitalist system.
D) the worst occupations in a class system.

Question 19

According to the textbook,what is one of the reasons that slavery does not exist in most societies around the world today?

A) It is an inefficient economic system.
B) Slaves are too expensive to buy.
C) The Civil War outlawed it.
D) Around the world,slavery has always been considered immoral.

Question 20

In systems of stratification,people are typically ranked by

A) personality.
B) social categories.
C) intelligence.
D) social capital.

Question 21

According to the textbook,members of the lower middle class today

A) work at primarily blue-collar jobs.
B) make up about 90 percent of American households.
C) are rarely politically active beyond exercising their right to vote.
D) make over $200,000 annually.

Question 22

Wealth and income are both important determinants of social class.Which of the following best characterizes the relationship between wealth and income in the United States?

A) Income disparities between rich and poor have increased in the past three decades,whereas wealth disparities have decreased during the same time.
B) Wealthy people almost always inherit their money;thus,there is no relationship between wealth and income.
C) The same factors that limit people's incomes also limit their ability to accumulate wealth.
D) While race,education,and age influence income,wealth is independent of these variables.

Question 23

According to the textbook,what has been the relationship between higher education and social stratification in recent years?

A) College education has become much more difficult,causing students to drop out.
B) College education has become more accessible,causing more students to enroll.
C) The importance and value of a college education in the job market have increased.
D) Colleges have become less selective.

Question 24

Working-class children are most likely to do which of the following after graduating from high school?

A) travel around Europe
B) attend a four-year college
C) attend a two-year college
D) immediately start working

Question 25

Studies in which people are asked to rate jobs in terms of "prestige" show some differences in ratings by age.Which person would a millennial rate higher on occupational prestige than older Americans?

A) Mary Dolan,a doctor
B) June Brewer,a sociologist
C) Colin Kaepernick,a professional athlete
D) Jerry Valdez,a police officer

Question 26

According to the textbook,members of the lower class today

A) make up roughly 50 percent of American households.
B) have household income typically lower than $20,000.
C) own their own homes.
D) are less likely to be nonwhite than other social classes.

Question 27

According to the textbook,what is one conclusion we can draw about how social class is defined in the United States?

A) Racial disparities in wealth can be explained solely by family advantages.
B) Most American sociologists can agree on the boundaries between social classes.
C) Famous people have the highest occupational prestige.
D) One's educational attainment is one of the strongest predictors of one's occupation,income,and wealth later in life.

Question 28

The super-rich in the United States were able to accumulate vast amounts of wealth partly because globalization enabled them to

A) use low-wage labor in other countries.
B) sell products to consumers in the United States.
C) make investments locally.
D) produce their products in one place.

Question 29

In the U.S.class system,the poorest of the poor,who are structurally disadvantaged and are least likely to move out of their class position,are called the

A) untouchables.
B) lower class.
C) Dalits.
D) underclass.

Question 30

People in blue-collar occupations,such as plumbers,and pink-collar occupations,such as hotel workers,make up the

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

Question 31

Which of the following is a true statement about social class?

A) In a single social class,lifestyles and personal characteristics are extremely similar.
B) Social class is a problematic concept because members of even a single social class do not share distinctly similar,life-defining experiences.
C) There are sharply defined boundaries between the classes.
D) There is wide agreement among sociologists on exactly where the boundaries between classes should fall.

Question 32

According to the textbook,how active are members of the lower class in politics?

A) They often have significant influence on American politics.
B) They often are active in local politics.
C) They are rarely politically active beyond exercising their right to vote.
D) They do not participate in politics,and they seldom vote.

Question 33

Today,the gap between rich and poor in the United States is the largest it has been since

A) 1947,when the United States started to measure the gap.
B) 1970,when the United States started to outsource jobs.
C) 2000,after the economic boom of the 1990s.
D) None of these choices are correct;the gap has been getting smaller.

Question 34

Among the superrich,some people are considered "old money" and others are considered "new wealth." What is the difference?

A) "Old money" refers to people who made their fortunes in traditional manufacturing industries,while "new wealth" refers to people who were information technology innovators.
B) "Old money" refers to people who are socially conservative and support conservative causes,while "new wealth" refers to people who are socially progressive and support liberal causes.
C) "Old money" refers to people who come from families that have been in the United States for several generations,while "new money" refers to people who are first- or second-generation immigrants.
D) "Old money" refers to people who own wealth passed down to them by earlier family generations,while "new wealth" refers to people who made their money as entrepreneurs.

Question 35

Dr.Ramirez is a sociology professor,and while he makes much less money than doctors and lawyers,he is viewed as having relatively high prestige because of

A) his professional clothing.
B) his work hours.
C) his education.
D) his publications.

Question 36

Identify which of the following is one of the main causes of the rising economic inequality in the United States over the past few decades.

A) economic globalization
B) high and rising inflation
C) increased international conflict
D) reduction in global trading

Question 37

According to the textbook,one conclusion we can draw about the upper class in the United States is that

A) it is made up of the wealthiest 20 percent of the population.
B) it has a distinctive lifestyle and is politically influential.
C) it does not include people who get their wealth from investments.
D) it is easily accessible to all Americans with a college education.

Question 38

Eddie is a factory worker.Eddie's husband,Dustin,works part time as a sales clerk.Their combined income is just enough to pay their mortgage and make ends meet.Eddie and Dustin are considered

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

Question 39

Which of the following best explains why Latino household income has recently worsened?

A) The intensifying of the culture of poverty among Latinos discourages achievement and saving money.
B) Recent immigrants from Mexico and Central America are in low-wage jobs.
C) The unemployment rate among Latinos is increasing.
D) The divorce rate among Latinos is increasing.

Question 40

Which of the following individuals is most likely to identify as a member of the lower middle class?

A) professor
B) doctor
C) school teacher
D) upper-level manager

Question 41

When a person does not have adequate resources to maintain his or her health,such as enough food to eat,the person is said to be in

A) absolute poverty.
B) relative poverty.
C) downward mobility.
D) upward mobility.

Question 42

When sociologists examine how far an individual moves up or down the socioeconomic scale in his or her lifetime,they are studying

A) absolute poverty.
B) social reproduction.
C) life chances.
D) intragenerational mobility.

Question 43

What is meant by the phrase feminization of poverty?

A) the fact that women are more likely not to marry until they find a rich man
B) an increase in the proportion of the poor who are female
C) the notion that women are not as likely to pursue education or other skill development and end up in lower-paying jobs
D) the idea that women do not work as hard as men and are therefore more likely to be poor

Question 44

According to Pierre Bourdieu,working-class parents are just as interested in their children's education as middle- and upper-class parents,but they lack the _______ to help their children experience social mobility.

A) dependency culture
B) cultural capital
C) surplus value
D) structural continuity

Question 45

Intergenerational mobility is best described as when

A) a person achieves a different class position than the one he or she thought they would have.
B) a person maintains the same class position as his or her parents or grandparents.
C) a person has a different class position from that of his or her parents or grandparents.
D) a person achieves a different class position from his or her siblings.

Question 46

Those who believe that poverty results from structural factors beyond the control of individuals would see which of the following as a source of poverty?

A) unequal distribution of educational resources
B) universal health care
C) decreasing income inequality
D) immorality of the poor

Question 47

How does the government determine the poverty line?

A) It calculates a strict,no-frills budget based on cost estimates for different family sizes.
B) It multiplies the cost of an average household's rent by three.
C) It calculates the average cost of living in each of four regions of the United States and divides that number by the average cost of rent in those places.
D) Because the cost of living varies across the country,it calculates the cost of living in each region and determines a poverty line for each U.S.region.

Question 48

Social Security accounts for about ______ of the income of the typical retiree.

A) 13 percent
B) 33 percent
C) 53 percent
D) 73 percent

Question 49

Which of the following is an example of what Pierre Bourdieu refers to as cultural capital?

A) the ability to pay for cultural events and resources such as art museums,opera companies,and symphony orchestras
B) parents paying for school tutoring
C) parents reading to their children and encouraging them to do well in school
D) having an uncle who works for Goldman Sachs

Question 50

At the beginning of her sophomore year of high school,Janis's family cannot afford to buy her new clothes and shoes or enough supplies for school.Janis feels poor compared to her classmates who can afford these things.Janis is experiencing

A) absolute poverty.
B) relative poverty.
C) downward mobility.
D) upward mobility.

Question 51

According to Peter Blau and Otis Dudley Duncan,the key factor behind occupational status is

A) ambition.
B) genetics.
C) education.
D) luck.

Question 52

Absolute poverty means,essentially,not having enough to eat.What does relative poverty mean?

A) being worse off than one was before
B) lacking the means to improve one's situation
C) lacking access to modern amenities
D) being worse off than most people in one's society

Question 53

Which period saw increasing rates of child poverty?

A) 1960s
B) late 1970s and 1980s
C) 1990s
D) 2010 to 2016

Question 54

Sarah believes her neighbors are poor because they have been socialized into a set of values,beliefs,and norms that result in behavior that leads to poverty.Sarah supports which of the following theories of poverty?

A) culture of poverty
B) structural poverty
C) blame the system
D) feminization of poverty

Question 55

According to William Sewell and Robert Hauser,the key factor behind occupational status is

A) educational and career aspirations.
B) genetics.
C) power.
D) luck.

Question 56

Although official estimates show that relatively few elderly people live in poverty,these statistics may be misleading because

A) they do not consider the large number of elderly people who go hungry.
B) they do not consider the large number of elderly people who are homeless.
C) they do not consider the vast gender,race,and marital status differences of older adults.
D) they do not consider the high cost of rent.

Question 57

Which of the following is an example of downward mobility?

A) Danisha,who was just hired at Wells Fargo bank
B) George,who stopped receiving welfare payments because he had reached his lifetime limit
C) Harel,who started to care for his ill parents
D) Jane,who was raised in a middle-class professional household and now works as a clerk in a grocery store full time

Question 58

What is the single biggest reason why an increasing proportion of those in poverty are women?

A) Single women are more likely to be raising small children than single men.
B) Women are facing increasing discrimination in the job market.
C) Fewer women than men have earned their high school diplomas.
D) In many cultural groups within the United States,women are discouraged from seeking employment.

Question 59

Which of the following is an example of social mobility?

A) Jasper,who grew up in a lower-class neighborhood and became a wealthy doctor
B) Antonio,who moved from New York City to a suburb
C) Smita,who does not identify with her Brahmin caste background
D) Tia,who was raised as a man but identifies as a woman

Question 60

French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu emphasizes the importance of "cultural capital" in determining a child's later social class.Identify the example of cultural capital.

A) safe transportation to and from school
B) adequate nutrition and rest
C) social awareness and emotional support
D) having parents who help with homework

Question 61

In two or three sentences,compare and contrast caste and class as systems of stratification.

Question 62

In one to two sentences,explain how the official definition of poverty is calculated.Based on what you read in the text,what are some of the problems with this way of calculating poverty today?

Question 63

In a short paragraph,answer the following questions: What are the differences in average income and wealth between whites,African Americans,and Latinos? What are the sociological explanations for why these gaps exist?

Question 64

Answer the following question in three to five sentences.How has the distribution of income in the United States changed over the past thirty years? Apply one of the stratification theories discussed in the chapter to explain the reason for this change.

Question 65

According to the textbook,what three main characteristics do social systems of stratification share? Provide an example of each.Your answer should be one paragraph in length.

Question 66

In three to four sentences,consider why sociologists say we are seeing the feminization of poverty.

Question 67

According to a Pew Research poll conducted in 2015,which household income category is MOST likely to answer that they had recovered "hardly at all" from the economic recession that began in 2008?

A) less than $30,000
B) $30,000-$74,999
C) $75,000-$99,000
D) $100,000 or more

Question 68

In three to four sentences,why do you think when Americans are asked to identify their social class the majority claim to be middle class?

Question 69

In two to three sentences,describe the working poor.Using the discussion in your textbook,what is one explanation for why those who are working are still in poverty?

Question 70

The outcome of multiple deprivations that prevent individuals or groups from participating fully in the economic,social,and political life of the society in which they live is called

A) social exclusion.
B) dependency culture.
C) culture of poverty.
D) absolute poverty.

Question 71

Answer the following questions in a few sentences.What is the difference between income and wealth? How are income and wealth related?

Question 72

Do you think you will experience intragenerational mobility in your lifetime? In two to four sentences,consider why or why not.Be sure to mention at least one sociological explanation of mobility in your answer.

Question 73

Whose explanation of social stratification do you think best describes the United States today: Karl Marx's,Max Weber's,or Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E.Moore's? Justify your answer in a short paragraph.