Deck 8: Stratification and Inequality, Inequality and Achievement: Social Class, and Inequality and Ascription: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender

Question 1

Stratification systems

A) tend to persist for a long time.
B) are resistant to change.
C) seem fair and just to most people in a society.
D) involve different rewards for people in different strata.
E) all of these

Answer 1

all of these

Question 2

In all societies people are evaluated on the basis of some characteristic, placed into higher or lower ranking groups, and given differential rewards. Sociologists refer to this process as

A) natural selection.
B) socialization.
C) class distinction.
D) stratification.
E) none of these

Answer 2

stratification.

Question 3

Sociologists use the term _______________ to refer to the creation of layers of people possessing unequal shares of scarce social stuff like income, prestige, and power.

A) socialization
B) social grading
C) stratification
D) proletarization
E) tracking

Answer 3

stratification

Question 4

__________________ reflect people's beliefs about why it is fair that some people are ranked higher than others and given different rewards.

A) System ideals
B) Caste and estate principles
C) Legitimating rationales
D) Constitutional principles
E) Any of these, depending on the type of stratification system.

Question 5

Which of the following statements about castes is false?

A) Marriage between people of different castes is prohibited.
B) There is a division of labor among people of different castes.
C) Different caste groups are organized into a hierarchy.
D) People who are deemed to be exceptionally brave may be promoted to a higher caste.
E) Casual contact between members of different castes is avoided as "polluting."

Question 6

Which of the following statements about the British feudal estate system is false?

A) Peasants or villeins were legally tied to the land.
B) There are no longer any legal distinctions between the estates.
C) The clergy made up the second estate.
D) Although not a legal estate, the press is sometimes called the fourth estate.
E) Contracts between members of different estates tended to be impersonal.

Question 7

According to McIntyre, which statement is false?

A) Slavery is a form of the caste system (and slaves are the "outcastes").
B) Members of any social group might become slaves in some circumstances.
C) Some people have sold themselves into slavery.
D) In most societies where it existed, slavery begins as an achieved status, and then may come to be ascribed.
E) Under some conditions, slaves can be manumitted.

Question 8

Which of the following types of mobility would you expect to find in a caste system?

A) vertical mobility
B) horizontal mobility
C) intragenerational mobility
D) intergenerational mobility
E) none of these

Question 9

Which of the following types of mobility would you expect to find in a class system?

A) vertical mobility
B) horizontal mobility
C) intragenerational mobility
D) intergenerational mobility
E) all of these

Question 10

______________ mobility is measured from one generation to the next.

A) Intragenerational
B) Intergenerational
C) Vertical and horizontal
D) Structural
E) all of these

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT an attribute of the ideal typical open system of stratification?

A) permeable (open) boundaries
B) positions within the system are achieved
C) opportunity to change ranks exists
D) legal right to marry outside of one's class (exogamy)
E) informal norms encouraging marrying outside of one's class (exogamy)

Question 12

Which of the following types of stratification systems will have rules in place to help people avoid ritual pollution?

A) caste
B) estate
C) class
D) slave
E) caste AND slave

Question 13

According to economist Simon Kuznets,

A) there is a strong relationship in any society between the intensity of social stratification and the primary means of production.
B) people who subsist on what they gather and hunt tend to be fairly egalitarian.
C) agrarian or agricultural societies tend to be the least egalitarian.
D) the relationship between technology and equality is parabolic.
E) Each of these is true.

Question 14

According to Max Weber, the term "life chances" refers to

A) the probability that one has access to important stuff (e.g., health care, jobs, housing).
B) the probability of achieving intragenerational mobility.
C) the probability of achieving horizontal mobility.
D) the probability of achieving vertical mobility.
E) the probability that one can achieve a better place in the means of production.

Question 15

Karl Marx used the term ______________ to refer to those who owned the means of production.

A) proletariat
B) working class
C) middle class
D) power elite
E) bourgeoisie

Question 16

Elizabeth Bliss comes from a wealthy family. She attended all of the right schools and an Ivy League college. Now she has fallen in love with Mike Smith, the family's gardener. Elizabeth's father forbids her to marry Mike. Clearly, Mr. Bliss is a believer in

A) endogamy.
B) exogamy.
C) monogamy.
D) ritual pollution.
E) prejudice.

Question 17

In most existing class systems, the individual's status

A) is ascribed.
B) is never ascribed.
C) may be at least partly achieved.
D) strictly depends on how hardworking the individual is.
E) is never ascribed AND strictly depends on how hardworking the individual is.

Question 18

Alexander Stone III was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Acme Manufacturing Company. When Alex Stone IV graduated from college, he was appointed Senior Vice President of the Corporation (even though he had no knowledge of the business). When Mr. Stone III died, the board of directors demoted young Alex to messenger boy. Alex IV thus experienced

A) caste busting.
B) horizontal mobility.
C) loss of face.
D) vertical mobility.
E) unintentional mobility.

Question 19

According to Karl Marx, a class consists of people

A) who share common life styles.
B) who share common life chances.
C) who share a relationship to the means of production in society.
D) who will come to share common revolutionary ideals.
E) who share a relationship to the means of production in society AND who will come to share common revolutionary ideals.

Question 20

According to Karl Marx, those who must earn their living by selling their labor make up the

A) paraprofessional class.
B) semiprofessional class.
C) proletariat.
D) bourgeoisie.
E) indigent class.

Question 21

According to Marx, the bourgeoisie

A) included the nobles and the aristocrats.
B) owned the means of production.
C) supported themselves by selling their labor.
D) controlled, but did not own the means of production.
E) sold their land to make money.

Question 22

Max Weber used the term ______________ to refer to the ability to control the behavior of others, even against their will.

A) exploitation
B) intimidation
C) prestige
D) fraud
E) power

Question 23

Max Weber suggested that

A) one's place in the stratification system is determined primarily by one's occupation.
B) one's place in the stratification system is determined primarily by one's access to capital or wealth.
C) one's place in the stratification system is determined of several factors.
D) society is divided into two major classes: those who control the means of production and those who don't.
E) raising taxes will encourage industry to move offshore and lead to a decline in workers' standard of living.

Question 24

According to Weber, which of the following determines one's place in the overall system of stratification in modern social life?

A) wealth, power, and prestige
B) wealth and legitimate authority
C) ownership of capital
D) capital, power, and control
E) rank in the occupational system

Question 25

According to Weber, when you have the ability to impose your will on others even when faced with their resistance, you have

A) class.
B) status.
C) influence.
D) membership in the bourgeoisie.
E) power.

Question 26

Read the following statements about stratification. Then, pick the summary statement below that most accurately describes the statements.
i. In every type of social stratification system, the people at the top tend to be considered "better"Than the people at the bottom.
ii. Legitimating rationales for social stratification reinforce the belief that inequality is fair and right. iii. In a caste system, one's rank is ascribed (and assigned at birth).
iv. A true open system of stratification is based on achieved, not ascribed rank.
v. According to Weber, if we are truly to understand social stratification, we must look beyond purely economic factors.
Summaries:

A) Each statement is true.
B) Some statements are .
C) Each statement is false.

Question 27

According to Weber

A) power is the ability to get one's way even in the face of opposition.
B) authority is power that people believe to be legitimate.
C) power is a form of authority.
D) all of these
E) power is the ability to get one's way in the face of opposition AND authority is power that people believe to be legitimate.

Question 28

Because it is the most stable source of social honor in modern Western society, most sociologists measure prestige in terms of

A) education.
B) income.
C) occupation.
D) intelligence.
E) parents' (especially father's) social standing.

Question 29

Debbie grew up in a working class family. After high school, she got a job as a secretary in order to earn money to go to college. Ultimately, Debbie graduated with honors from college, attended graduate school and earned the Ph.D. She is now a professor at a major university. A sociologist would say Debbie has experienced

A) intergenerational mobility.
B) feudal treatment.
C) horizontal mobility.
D) good karma.
E) all of these

Question 30

Chattel slavery is a system whereby

A) chattel are made into slaves.
B) some people are owned by others and treated as property.
C) slaves are routinely set free (or "manumitted").
D) the poorest people of society ("chattel") are worse off than slaves.
E) women cannot own chattel.

Question 31

Aunt Bertha recently died. In her will she specified that you are to receive all of her stuff-her home, Porsche, sailboat, and horse racing stables. You have just inherited Aunt Bertha's

A) income.
B) wealth.
C) life savings.
D) socioeconomic class.
E) wealth AND socioeconomic class.

Question 32

The assumption that people in different social classes have different patterns of values, beliefs, and norms, and that these make a difference in how easily people can succeed is related to __________Explanations of social stratification.

A) structural
B) cultural
C) intergenerational
D) achievement-oriented
E) volitional

Question 33

According to sociological research on tracking in schools, developing critical thinking skills and creativity would typically be expected of a ____________ student, but not a ___________ student.

A) high track; low track
B) vertically mobile; vertically immobile
C) university; high school
D) working class; middle class
E) middle class; upper class

Question 34

Most of the social mobility that took place in the twentieth century was a result of

A) the hard work of individuals.
B) social factors such as industrialization and technology.
C) changes in attitudes toward work.
D) increasing sense of competition among American workers.
E) intragenerational transmission of the work ethic.

Question 35

In the United States, the wealthiest one percent of the people own what percent of the nation's wealth?

A) 1%
B) 5%
C) 8.5%
D) 15%
E) 35%

Question 36

Technically, changes in people's statuses that result from changes in the overall structure of society (owing to economic or technological change) are referred to as

A) structural mobility.
B) social mobility.
C) intergenerational mobility.
D) extragenerational mobility
E) economic or technological mobility.

Question 37

Many United States industries have moved "offshore"-to other countries where wages and taxes are lower. As a result, many US workers have lost well-paying factory jobs and have had to make do with lower paying jobs in the retail and service sectors of society. For example, steel workers have taken jobs at Burger King. Sociologists refer to this as

A) class displacement.
B) caste displacement.
C) horizontal mobility.
D) economic downturning
E) structural mobility.

Question 38

The "Matthew effect" refers to the tendency of

A) people who already have stuff (money, prestige, power) to be given more.
B) men to be charged with the greatest burdens in society.
C) people with certain names to achieve greater popularity.
D) the Peter Principle to only apply to men.
E) none of these

Question 39

Economist Lester Thurow once explained that "Once wealth is accumulated, opportunities to make more money multiple, since accumulated wealth tends of lead to income-earning opportunities that are not open to those without wealth." Sociologists refer to this phenomenon as

A) the rags-to-riches effect.
B) the Abraham Lincoln syndrome.
C) the Matthew effect.
D) the culture of poverty process.
E) none of these

Question 40

Many high schools have different tracks (e.g., vocational, college-prep, and so on.). Which of the following statements about tracks is supported by research?

A) Kids are tracked on the basis of their intellectual ability.
B) The social class of a student has a minimal impact on how that student is tracked.
C) Race and ethnicity tend not to be factors in determining how students are tracked.
D) In most schools, kids in high tracks are treated pretty much the same way as kids in low tracks.
E) none of these

Question 41

A prejudice can be thought of as

A) a belief or an attitude.
B) an unjustified belief or attitude.
C) not only a prejudgment, but a misjudgment.
D) a belief or attitude that persists even in the face of contrary evidence.
E) all of these

Question 42

According to Gordon Allport, discrimination varies in terms of how "energetic" it is. The least energetic form of discrimination is

A) extermination.
B) avoidance.
C) active discrimination
D) antilocutions
E) none of these.

Question 43

According to Gordon Allport, antilocutions

A) are among the "least energetic" forms of discrimination.
B) involve "verbal rejection."
C) might involve telling racist jokes.
D) are a form of treating people unequally.
E) are all of these.

Question 44

Robert Merton's analysis of the relationship between prejudice and discrimination suggests that

A) not all people who are prejudiced will practice discrimination.
B) most people in the United States are increasingly dissatisfied with the degree to which others are . prejudiced and practice discrimination.
C) discrimination is becoming less and less frequent in US society.
D) prejudice tends to occur more frequently than discrimination.
E) all of these

Question 45

According to Robert Merton, a "timid bigot"

A) usually grows out of being prejudiced.
B) ironically, can do more harm than a brave bigot.
C) rarely discriminates.
D) is less prejudiced than a brave bigot.
E) none of these

Question 46

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Individual discrimination tends to be unintentional.
B) Individual discrimination has far more serious consequences than institutional discrimination.
C) Institutional discrimination tends to occur as a result of corporate or group conspiracies.
D) Institutional discrimination nearly always involves intentional discrimination.
E) none of these

Question 47

You are reading the alumni newsletter from Elite University (a very prestigious institution). In the newsletter it is mentioned that children of "generous" alumni (i.e., those who contribute large amounts of money) are guaranteed admission to the institution, regardless of their grades. Interestingly, you note from the pictures of generous alums that they are all white. You conclude that here is an example of

A) stereotyping.
B) prejudicial treatment.
C) individual discrimination.
D) institutional discrimination.
E) good financial management.

Question 48

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Prejudice and prejudgment are fundamentally the same thing.
B) When a person who is prejudiced is confronted with information that clearly proves the prejudice to be . inaccurate, the individual will likely reject his or her prejudice.
C) If an individual is prejudiced, he or she will inevitably discriminate.
D) Avoidance and extermination are both examples of discrimination.
E) The primary requirement for membership in a minority group is sheer numbers. The bigger your group, . the less likely it is to be a minority group.

Question 49

What sociologist Joe Feagin calls the "pyramiding effect" refers to

A) a variety of the Matthew effect that applies only to women.
B) the fact that even small interpersonal slights and insults can build to where they really make a difference.
C) the combined effect of race, class, and gender in modern society.
D) the combined effects of race and ethnicity.
E) ethnocentrism.

Question 50

Margaret Mead's research in New Guinea marked a turning point for social scientists. More specifically, her research among the Tchambuli, Mundugumor and the Arapesh revealed that

A) most anthropologists are more ethnocentric than most sociologists.
B) it is a mistake to equate "sex" (the biological attribute) with "gender" (the social attribute).
C) what is deviant in one society is not necessarily deviant in another society.
D) people from New Guinea are atavistic.
E) the so-called one drop theory is incorrect.

Question 51

Which of the following statements is true?

A) There are about as many occupations in which women earn more than men as there are jobs in which men earn more than women.
B) Research shows that men tend to earn more than women, but this is owing to the fact that after a few years on the job, women tend to take time off to have children.
C) The differences between men and women's earnings is explained by the fact that men and women tend to do different types of work.
D) Women who majored in such male-dominated fields as engineering and science tend to earn as much as do men in those fields.
E) None of the above

Question 52

Professor Gisel Ernst teaches in the College of Education of Washington State University. Professor Ernst was born and raised in Peru. One of the things that most struck her when she got to the USA was that, all of the sudden, she was no longer regarded as "Peruvian," but as "Hispanic."You might best explain the fact that she was no longer a Peruvian but an Hispanic is related to the phenomenon of

A) ethnocentrism in the United States.
B) ethnic stereotyping.
C) racial stereotyping.
D) ethnogenesis.
E) ethnic discrimination.

Question 53

As far as sociologists are concerned, the concept of "race" is important because

A) understanding a person's race allows us to predict his or her IQ.
B) understanding a person's race allows us to predict his or her behavior in general.
C) people in different racial groups tend to have different personalities.
D) people tend to be treated differently depending upon their racial characteristics.
E) people in different races are more or less prone to mental illness.

Question 54

Sociologists tend to argue that "race" is a creation of

A) nature.
B) genetics.
C) social scientists.
D) statisticians who have counted different racial attributes.
E) society.

Question 55

The factors that make up an ethnic group include

A) physical and genetic attributes.
B) common language, religion, and national origin.
C) biological ancestry.
D) self-selection.
E) class differences.

Question 56

Categories of people who, as a result of their shared cultural heritage, are regarded as distinct from the rest of the population are called

A) a distinctive group.
B) a dominant group.
C) a minority group.
D) an ethnic group.
E) a language group.

Question 57

Sociologists use the term "gender" to refer to

A) the rationales used to legitimate distinguishing between men and women.
B) expected behaviors associated with particular sex roles in society.
C) androgyny.
D) an achieved status.
E) biological sex.

Question 58

Research cited in The Practical Skeptic suggests that the economic inequality that exists between men and women

A) is explainable in terms of differences in men's and women's work culture.
B) is a result of sexism.
C) boils down to issues of ethnicity.
D) is related to the fact that men tend to work more hours per week than do women.
E) has to do with the fact that men tend to have more education than women.

Question 59

Differences in social-cultural expectations about how males and females ought to behave and their respective rights and duties are known as

A) sex differences.
B) gender differences.
C) cultural differences.
D) achieved statuses.
E) none of these

Question 60

Stratification systems tend to be resistant to change.

Question 61

Legitimating rationales are widely accepted beliefs that something is "right and reasonable."

Question 62

In a caste system, people's statuses are mostly achieved.

Question 63

According to Marx, the means of production is the defining characteristic of any society.

Question 64

According to Weber, occupation is the primary determinant of one's social position.

Question 65

When sociologists discuss SES they are referring to "Serious Extraneous Status"factors.

Question 66

The caste system of India is a good example of what sociologists call a "closed system"of stratification.

Question 67

Vertical mobility refers to mobility within a single strata.

Question 68

In a closed system, boundaries between strata are impermeable.

Question 69

Within a closed system, exogamy is encouraged by formal law and informal norms.

Question 70

Researchers have found that parents' social class has an effect on kids' health and education, but not with their work lives as adults.

Question 71

Rich people are more likely than poor people to be victims of crime.

Question 72

Most people in the United States tend to end up in a better social stratum than their parents occupied.

Question 73

According to the culture of poverty thesis, poor kids tend to internalize values and attitudes that keep them from taking real advantage of their many opportunities to succeed.

Question 74

Kozol's study of school found that while schools in poor neighborhoods tend to look rundown, the quality of education they provide is nearly equivalent to that provided by schools in wealthy neighborhoods.

Question 75

According to sociological researchers who adhere to structural explanations of poverty, the primary determinant of who gets ahead in society is who works the hardest.

Question 76

Katherine Newman and Chancy Lennon found that well paying jobs are hard to come by in the ghetto so that people fall back on low paying jobs (such as those found in the fast food industry) which are everywhere widely available to those who are willing to do such jobs.

Question 77

Structural mobility refers to mobility that occurs owing to changes in such things as industry, the rate of immigration, and other social factors.

Question 78

The Matthew effect explains why some students do best on objective tests rather than subjective ones.

Question 79

Kozol's comparison of schools in poor and wealthy neighborhood supports Horace Mann's (1796-1859) theory that schools are the "great equalizers"
in US society.

Question 80

A basic principle of both sociology and economics is that every persons' dollars have the same value in the market place.