Deck 8: Understanding Social Stratification and Mobility: An Analysis of Occupational Prestige, Power, and Meritocracy in Canada

Question 1

How would a functionalist analyze the concept of occupational prestige?

A) The respect and admiration a person experiences based on their occupation is deserved as those positions are more important or require more skill than other positions.
B)Inequality based on one's occupation is inevitable yet it is necessary to investigate the degree to which positions are earned versus inherited.
C) In one's occupation the level of prestige they hold is based largely on the cultural capital resources they possess
D) Prestige in one's occupation is enjoyed as a result of the reputation that person has earned within their society

Answer 1

The respect and admiration a person experiences based on their occupation is deserved as those positions are more important or require more skill than other positions.

Question 2

In a midterm exam, a student was asked the following question: "Briefly explain the components of Weber's Power, Privilege and Prestige Cycle."As an answer the student wrote the following: "Having power gives people a chance to do what they want because they have authority over others in society. Privilege similarly means that people who have power in society have a wide range of choices, options and opportunities. Prestige refers to the respect and status others confer to those who have power and privilege."How would you judge this student's answer?

A) Excellent (all components discussed with clear and correct explanations)
B) Good (all components discussed, but the explanations are not as clear as they should be)
C) Mediocre (a component is missing and/or the explanations are not clear or are irrelevant)
D) Unacceptable (more than one component is missing and the explanations are unclear and/or are irrelevant)

Answer 2

Good (all components discussed, but the explanations are not as clear as they should be)

Question 3

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: "Upward intergenerational mobility is highly valued and promoted in Canada, which is considered by many as the "land of opportunity". This is a result of the degree of social mobility possible within a meritocracy."

A) The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid
B) The assertion and the reason are both correct, but the reason is invalid
C) The assertion is correct, but the reason is incorrect
D) The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct.

Answer 3

The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid

Question 4

Having formal, post-secondary education in Canada will increase people's opportunities for which of the following in society?

A) power, prestige
B) privilege, skill
C) power, prestige, opposition
D) power, prestige, privilege

Question 5

Different social status positions in society are related to each other based on which of the following elements?

A) social stratum and social roles
B) social inequality and social norms
C) social norms and social roles
D) social inequality and social stratum

Question 6

A lawyer and a mechanic are considered to have a different occupational prestige ranking. Suppose that a former lawyer becomes a mechanic. Sociologists would refer to this kind of movement as which of the following?

A) meritocracy
B) vertical mobility
C) intergenerational mobility
D) stratification

Question 7

A new medical doctor who has become a member of the medical profession is considered part of a(n)

A) social differentiation
B) social stratification
C) social stratum
D) social mobility

Question 8

Social mobility includes changes in all but one of the following areas. Which one does not represent social mobility?

A) gender
B) education
C) geography
D) economic

Question 9

As a student you share certain valuable resources with other students such as access to education andinstructors. This is the concept of ­­__________.

A) social stratum
B) social stratification
C) social inequality
D) social norms

Question 10

You have a social status position that is based on wealth. Your social strata then is related to your __________.

A) achieved social status
B) class status
C) ascribed social status
D) social stratum

Question 11

Which sociological perspective would argue that classed, gendered and ethno-racialized social relationships are characterized by social inequality and social stratification?

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

Question 12

Which of the following statements describes how social strata overdetermines one's relationship to valuable resources in society?

A) membership in a specific classed, gendered and ethno-racialized social status offers choices as to the relationship one will have with their society's valuable resources
B) membership in a specific classed, gendered and ethno-racialized social status strongly influences the relationship one will have with their society's valuable resources
C) membership in a specific classed, gendered and ethno-racialized social status has a relevant impact on social mobility affecting one's relationship with valuable resources
D) membership in a specific classed, gendered and ethno-racialized social status strongly impacts the relationship to valuable resources from an analytically relevant perspective

Question 13

You are the first one in your family from any generation to attend a post-secondary institution in Canada. Which type of social mobility does your experience represent?

A) intergenerational mobility
B) intragenerational mobility
C) vertical mobility
D) horizontal mobility

Question 14

Which of the following statements about horizontal social mobility is untrue?

A) horizontal social mobility refers to a move to a similar social stratum
B) horizontal social mobility occurs in Canadian society because it is considered to be a meritocracy
C) horizontal social mobility can occur both intergenerationally or intragnerationally
D) horizontal social mobility will often result in improved health as a person moves to a better job

Question 15

Taking the concept of social stratification into account, we can argue that living in a society that is considered a meritocracy means that:

A) what we do and think is strongly influenced by our personal ability, effort and initiative
B) what we do and think is based on the different relationships we have to valuable resources
C) what we do and think in society is much more strongly influenced by the social stratum in which we belong
D) what we do and think is not strongly influenced by the social stratum in which we belong

Question 16

If we were to argue that intergenerational mobility is declining today because there is less of a difference between generations, then which of the following statements would be true?

A) More university students today are likely to have university educated parents.
B) Less university students today are likely to have university educated parents.
C) More university students today have an opportunity to pursue a post-secondary education than their parents did.
D) Less university students today have an opportunity to pursue a post-secondary education than their parents did.

Question 17

Canada can be considered to be a meritocracy because it is based on social relationships which are characterized by a:

A) high level of social inequality
B) high level of social differentiation
C) low level of social inequality
D) low level of social differentiation

Question 18

If you are afforded respect, regard and status in society where you have the ability to control how valuable social resources such as money are managed you are considered to have which of the following?

A) power
B) equality
C) privilege
D) prestige

Question 19

In our Canadian meritocracy which of the following groups of people are more likely to experience vertical mobility?

A) non-white upper class males
B) First Nations, working class women
C) white, upper class males
D) white middle class women

Question 20

Which of the following statements is true of social mobility in Canada?

A) the more access one has to valuable social resources the more control they will have over their private troubles and public issues
B) less access to valuable social resources will likely result in more opportunity for vertical social mobility
C) the more access one has to valuable social resources the less control they will have over their private troubles and public issues
D) less access to valuable social resources will likely result in less opportunity for horizontal social mobility