Deck 7: Stratification: Rich and Famousor Rags and Famine

Question 1

Which of the following is a social condition in which privileges, opportunities, and substantial rewards are given to people in some positions but denied to others?

A) social stratification
B) relative poverty
C) inequality
D) slavery

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which statement regarding slavery is TRUE?

A) Slavery no longer exists.
B) Men and boys make up a slight majority of slaves.
C) Children make up more than one out of every four slaves.
D) Slavery exists in some Global South nations, but is virtually non-existent in Global North countries.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In an industrial society, ownership of ______ and occupational skills determine class status.

A) the means of production
B) the proletariat
C) livestock
D) the bourgeoisie

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Knowledge, skills, language mastery, style of dress, and values that provide a person with access to a particular status in society is known as ______ capital.

A) cultural
B) economic
C) social
D) individual

Question 5

Which type of capital refers to connections or networks with people who have influence?

A) cultural
B) economic
C) social
D) individual

Question 6

Which of the following is a macro-level factor that can shape social stratification?

A) a nation's position in the world economy
B) language skills
C) educational attainment
D) state taxes

Question 7

Higher-class parents tend to stress which of the following?

A) obeying authoring figures
B) thinking and questioning skills
C) following rules
D) building hands-on skills

Question 8

Which term means being able to delay rewards or benefits until a later time?

A) status inconsistency
B) delayed gratification
C) conspicuous consumption
D) social capital

Question 9

Rational choice theorists focus on how one's ______ influence one's place in the social system.

A) biological characteristics
B) ascribed statuses
C) interactions
D) choices

Question 10

Jason is writing a paper on social stratification. The basic argument of his paper is that the CEOs deserve high salaries due to the value and difficulty of their positions.. Jason's argument reflects which of the following theories of stratification?

A) feminist theory
B) structural-functional theory
C) conflict theory
D) symbolic interactionist theory

Question 11

Which of the following is a criticism of structural-functional theory?

A) It has been criticized for its inability to recognize that some positions are more important to society than others.
B) It has been criticized for overemphasizing the conflict that societies experience.
C) It has been criticized for its inability to explain why some people who do not provide vital services for society receive great rewards.
D) It has been criticized for its inability to acknowledge that poverty actually serves certain functions for society.

Question 12

According to Karl Marx, which of the following was TRUE of the proletariat?

A) They could create a classless society if they developed a class consciousness.
B) They controlled the means of production.
C) They controlled the norms and values of society.
D) They held the power in society.

Question 13

Max Weber asserted that ______ are the three influential factors that determine stratification.

A) gender, race, and power
B) power, prestige, and gender
C) property, power, and charisma
D) property, power, and prestige

Question 14

______ is money received from work or investments, whereas ______ is the worth of a person based on his or her financial holdings.

A) Income; wealth
B) Wealth; income
C) Interest; earnings
D) Earnings; interest

Question 15

Which theory, influenced by both structural-functional theory and conflict theory, assesses how scarce resources are distributed and how that distribution informs stratification?

A) dependency theory
B) symbolic interaction theory
C) kinship-orientation theory
D) evolutionary theory

Question 16

Which term refers to one's opportunities, depending on both achieved and ascribed statuses in society?

A) social mobility
B) social capital
C) life expectancy
D) life chances

Question 17

A teacher may have high prestige but low income. This is an example of ______.

A) status inequality
B) status confusion
C) status stratification
D) status inconsistency

Question 18

Mya started her career with the local high school as a teacher's aide. Throughout her time with the school, she has moved up the ladder to become the school's superintendent. This is an example of which of the following types of mobility?

A) intragenerational
B) intergenerational
C) horizontal
D) educational

Question 19

Researchers from Harvard and Berkeley conducted the largest study of inequality in the United States to date. Which of the following did their research reveal?

A) Social mobility is higher in the United States than in other Global North nations.
B) Social mobility is highly variable by region.
C) Family income and wealth has little effect on a child's opportunity for future upward mobility.
D) Social mobility is higher than it's ever been in the United States.

Question 20

What is the term used to describe the disparity between social classes with regard to the range of words children learn at home?

A) fluency lapse
B) verbal stratification
C) word gap
D) language inequality

Question 21

In a(n) ______ , positions are allocated to a social group or organization according to individuals' abilities and credentials.

A) plutocracy
B) meritocracy
C) open class system
D) oligarchy

Question 22

Which of the following types of stratification systems refers to a system in which occupational position is pre-determined, marriage partner is based on level of prestige, and use of clothing is a prominent way of portraying ranking?

A) estate system
B) caste system
C) mobile system
D) closed system

Question 23

According to some conflict theorists, Mark Zuckerberg, chairman, CEO, and founder of Facebook, is a member of which of the following?

A) the proletariat
B) the power elite
C) the high council
D) the illuminati

Question 24

When given a choice between lower class, working class, upper-middle class, and upper class, 51% of Americans will say they are ______.

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

Question 25

Charles has no prestige, very little access to power, no accumulated wealth, and insufficient means to survive. Which type of poverty describes Charles' situation?

A) absolute poverty
B) relative poverty
C) vertical poverty
D) horizontal poverty

Question 26

In 2016, among those ages 18-64, 9.7% of males and 13.4% of females in the U.S. lived in poverty. This concentration of women make up a growing proportion of those in poverty known as the ______.

A) relative poverty line
B) feminization of poverty
C) absolute poverty
D) supplemental poverty line

Question 27

Which of the following statements about poverty and wealth is TRUE?

A) Most people living in poverty have at least some property-based income.
B) Only a small percentage of impoverished people depend on help from government agency and private organizations.
C) The top 1% of the world's population owns more wealth than the rest of the population.
D) The wealth gap is due to functional issues in select countries.

Question 28

Though technology-such as cell phones and computers-is increasingly affordable, there is still what is referred to as a ______ between the rich and the poor, for example.

A) digital rift
B) digital gap
C) digital ocean
D) digital divide

Question 29

Almost all societies stratify its members.

Question 30

According to structural-functionalists, the unequal distribution of status and wealth in society motivates people to carry out their roles.

Question 31

Karl Marx focused primarily on economic inequality in describing social stratification.

Question 32

All of Karl Marx's predictions regarding the bourgeoisie and the proletariat have come true.

Question 33

According to more recent conflict theorists, the petit bourgeoisie sell their labor to capitalists and manage the labor of others for them.

Question 34

The distribution of wealth and income in the United States is more uneven today than at any time since before the depression in 1929.

Question 35

According to evolutionary theorists, high levels of inequality may undermine motivation and productivity.

Question 36

Your lifestyle includes your attitudes, beliefs, behavior patterns, and other aspects of your place in the world, as shaped by socialization.

Question 37

Those with lower levels of education and income tend to vote liberally on many issues relating to minorities and civil rights.

Question 38

Intragenerational mobility refers to change in social class status compared with one's parents.

Question 39

A high-income student with just mediocre math scores has the same chances of earning a bachelor's degree as a low-income student with the highest math scores.

Question 40

The middle class has been growing in recent decades.

Question 41

Caste systems are typically based on ascribed statuses.

Question 42

Estate systems are based on achieved statuses.

Question 43

The members of the power elite grow up together, attending the same private schools and belonging to the same private clubs.

Question 44

Pluralist theorists argue that power is held exclusively by an elite group.

Question 45

The core idea of pluralist theorists is that many centers of power create at least come checks and balances on those in elite positions.

Question 46

The world's eight richest men own more wealth than the poorest half of the world's population.

Question 47

If you were raised by a single mother, you have a greater chance of experiencing poverty.

Question 48

The number of homeless has increased by about 15% since 2010.

Question 49

The growing use of personal computers has helped shrink the digital divide more than anything else.

Question 50

How does slavery today differ from slavery in the 19^th century?

Question 51

Compare and contrast cultural capital and social capital. Provide examples of each.

Question 52

Structural-functional theory was the dominant theory used to explain stratification until the mid-20^th century. What are the major criticisms of this approach that have led most sociologists to adopt other perspectives?

Question 53

In general, how do conflict theorists view stratification? How has this perspective evolved since Marx?

Question 54

What is the difference between income and wealth? Provide examples of each.

Question 55

How does evolutionary theory synthesize structural-functional and conflict theories?

Question 56

What is the relationship between health and wealth in the United States?

Question 57

Why can studying social mobility be a complicated process? What are some of micro-, meso-, and macro-level factors that inform social mobility?

Question 58

How can fertility rates affect a person's social mobility? Provide an example.

Question 59

How does the growth of the service sector relate to the shrinking middle class in the United States?

Question 60

What type of stratification system exists in the United States? What are the three main factors that inform our social class position? Describe each factor.

Question 61

What is the power elite? How do members of the power elite interact with each other?

Question 62

How do pluralist power theorists view interest groups?

Question 63

Compare and contrast absolute poverty and relative poverty. Provide examples of both.

Question 64

Do most people realize the extent of inequality in the United States? Explain.