Deck 4: Social Class Variations in Us Families

Question 1

Human, social, and cultural forms of capital have little to do with socioeconomic status.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Most American families believe they are middle class.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Functionalists view a stratified society as an inevitable and necessary feature of society that contributes to stability and order.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Of all the social classes, gender equality is greatest among the wealthy or upper classes.

Question 5

Women in wealthy families are said to serve as gatekeepers for many of the institutions of the very rich.

Question 6

Plybon and Kliewer found that objective measures of low poverty and low crime in communities were correlated with lower levels of family stress.

Question 7

Karl Marx believed that capitalism created two inherent and diametrically opposed interest groups.

Question 8

Women on welfare have a fertility rate considerably higher than other women.

Question 9

The "welfare reform" of 1996 substantially lowered levels of support for poor mothers and their children.

Question 10

Living in poverty during adolescence has a larger negative impact on a child than living in poverty at any other age.

Question 11

Social Stratification refers to the ranking of persons and groups in a hierarchy of social positions.

Question 12

Different poverty indexes exist for developed and developing countries.

Question 13

Families at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale are more likely to be non-traditional in there views on gender roles.

Question 14

Lower effectiveness of parental involvement in schools is found among parents with higher levels of socioeconomic status.

Question 15

Higher wages for those working, as well as investments in education, are two very important factors in getting people off of welfare and on to economic independence.

Question 16

Single parenting among women in the U.S. is associated with higher rates of poverty.

Question 17

Data from a large, national representative sample revealed that three-quarters of welfare recipients did not grow up in households that received welfare.

Question 18

Fictive kin was the term given by Carol Stack to refer to welfare recipients who make up names of relatives to increase the amount of support they receive from the government.

Question 19

In 2006, 16.9 percent of all children under age 18 lived below the poverty threshold.

Question 20

White and collar and blue collar parents tend to raise their children differently.

Question 21

In working families that reside at the top of the stratification system:

A) education is stressed
B) children have their first sexual experiences at earlier ages
C) children are expected to get their first jobs in high school
D) all of the above

Question 22

The poverty index, as developed by the Social Security Administration, is based on

A) governmental benefits received.
B) inflation rates.
C) unemployment figures.
D) money income alone.

Question 23

Which of the following theories argues that gender differences in poverty are a function of poor economic conditions and poverty levels in general:

A) liberal economic
B) structural
C) power resource
D) feminization of poverty

Question 24

The poverty index takes into account

A) marital status and number of children under age 18.
B) age and the cost of health care.
C) family size and the cost of food.
D) all of the above factors.

Question 25

Wealthy or upper class families tend to be

A) very gender segregated.
B) the most studied of all social classes.
C) extremely concerned with what they do rather than who they are.
D) very large.

Question 26

From a Marxian perspective, the middle class is composed of

A) working class people who depend on wages.
B) people who have little control over their lives.
C) female homemakers or housewives.
D) the bourgeoisie.

Question 27

A classification of one's position in a modern system of inequality based on levels of education, occupational prestige, and income is called:

A) stratification
B) socioeconomic status
C) social class
D) all of the above

Question 28

Positive perceptions of one's neighborhood are related to:

A) decreased life satisfaction
B) lower levels of role balance
C) higher levels of work-family conflict
D) increased life satisfaction

Question 29

Which of the following appears to be characteristic of blue-collar workers?

A) Their jobs require higher levels of education.
B) Jobs of workers generally require some sort of manual skill.
C) Physical health is not important in keeping one's job.
D) All of the above are characteristics of blue-collar workers and families.

Question 30

As of 2000, the poverty rate was highest for

A) Hispanic families.
B) African American families with a female householder.
C) Asian children under 18 years of age.
D) White persons age 65 years and older.

Question 31

A review of studies on upward social mobility suggested stressful emotional relationships, tension, and parent-child estrangement associated with such mobility.

Question 32

Compared to blue collar parents, white collar parents tend to emphasize all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) reason
B) withdrawal of rewards and privileges
C) corporal punishment
D) verbal threats

Question 33

Empirical studies of social mobility conclude that most children (more than 50 percent) can expect to be at a higher class level than their parents.

Question 34

Women in wealthy upper class families were found to

A) hold a clear preference for being with people like themselves.
B) experience gender equality in their marriages.
C) not be very involved in volunteer or community activities.
D) Both A and B above were found to be true.

Question 35

Most Americans indicate the class they belong to is the

A) upper or wealthy class.
B) middle class.
C) white-collar working class.
D) blue-collar working class.

Question 36

According to the conflict perspective on social stratification,

A) since social class differentiations are inevitable, the "haves" must be sensitive to the needs of the "have-nots."
B) social class differentiations are essential for the performance of the varied tasks in society.
C) stratification leads to alienation and exploitation.
D) all societies need wealthy people to provide jobs and blue-collar workers to perform them.

Question 37

Vertical social mobility refers to movement up or down from one social class to another.

Question 38

In 2006, the number of families in the United States below the poverty level was about

A) 4 percent.
B) 10 percent.
C) 16 percent.
D) 20 percent.

Question 39

Socioeconomic status influences:

A) early socialization
B) role expectations
C) life expectancy
D) all of the above

Question 40

Social stratification refers to:

A) a ranking of persons and groups in a hierarchy of unequal social positions.
B) the influence authority, influence, and position that one has.
C) one's status, caste, and party affiliation.
D) all the above about equally.

Question 41

The likelihood of upward social mobility was described in the text as a function of three separate factors; the individuals themselves, a frictional factor, and a(n) __________.

Question 42

Which statement is true about social mobility?

A) Downward mobility is as likely as upward mobility.
B) Close to 45 percent of all persons will move upward at least one social class level during their lifetime.
C) More children will find themselves at the same level as their parents than at any other level.
D) All of the above have research support and are true.

Question 43

Upward or downward social mobility is referred to as __________ social mobility.

Question 44

__________ is the ranking of people into positions of equality and inequality.

Question 45

Which statement is true about public assistance and poverty?

A) Levels of public assistance to the poor increased dramatically during the 1990's.
B) Welfare reform was based in part on a culture of poverty argument.
C) Public assistance encourages women to have more children.
D) Most jobs available to poor women pay a 'living wage.'

Question 46

In 1996, the federal AFDC program was replaced by the _________ program.

Question 47

One study found that five years after leaving AFDC, _____ % of women remained poor.

A) 12
B) 25
C) 41 D 66

Question 48

Empirical studies of social mobility suggest that:

A) Most children will ultimately surpass their parents' class level.
B) A substantial proportion of children will experience some mobility.
C) Downward mobility is more prevalent than upward mobility.
D) Long-distance mobility is more common than short-distance mobility.

Question 49

Poor women are reluctant to marry the fathers of their children because:

A) they don't believe in marriage.
B) they feel their partners lack financial stability.
C) they prefer to depend on government benefits.
D) they aren't sure who the fathers are.

Question 50

_________ kinship refers to a network of persons which whom one is not related by birth, adoption, or marriage but who have rights and responsibilities equivalent to those who are so related.

Question 51

Salaried positions requiring higher levels of educational training are referred to as _____________ collar jobs.

Question 52

The concept "fictive kin" refers to the

A) upper class preoccupation with genealogy and the tracing of lineage.
B) increasing geographic separation of nuclear families from their immediate kin.
C) exchange of goods and services between friends that resembles kinship.
D) replacement of legal marriage by the increasing incidence of long term nonmarital cohabitation.

Question 53

What is meant by social stratification? Compare and contrast the functionalist and conflict explanations of stratification.

Question 54

According to Marx, the middle class is composed of the bourgeoisie, while the working class comprises the __________.

Question 55

The classification of one's position in a modern system of inequality based on levels of education, occupational prestige, and income is called _________________ status.

Question 56

Which statement about downward social mobility is true?

A) Very few people experience it in America as most children are doing better than their parents.
B) The largest share of downward mobility comes from the upper middle and upper classes.
C) Women separated or divorced face a high risk of downward mobility.
D) All three of the above statements are true.

Question 57

What explains the statement made by the authors of your text that "two identically equipped individuals who confront the same opportunity structure may nevertheless attain disparate levels of mobility."

A) the frictional factor
B) the opportunity structure
C) individual motivation
D) culture of poverty

Question 58

The __________ is based on the Department of Agriculture's economy food plan and reflects different consumption requirements based on family size and composition.

Question 59

The gender gap in poverty is referred to as the _________ of poverty.

Question 60

__________ theorists view a stratified society, not as leading to stability and order, but to dissatisfaction, alienation, and exploitation.

Question 61

How does the class position of working parents affect their child-rearing practices? Explain.

Question 62

Describe how families in poverty survive. How important are public assistance programs, work requirements, kin, and friends?

Question 63

What are some of the consequences of social mobility on family relationships, marriages, and individual well-being?
Chapter 5 Race and Ethnic Variations
5.1

Question 64

Which families are more likely to be poor in the U.S.? Why?

Question 65

What are some of the ways upper class families differ from those below them? Examine the importance of lineage, the different roles of women and men, and gender equality. What is the significance of the social register?

Question 66

What is 'welfare reform'? What impacts did the 1996 welfare reforms have on poverty in the U.S.?

Question 67

Define, give examples of, and explain the "feminization of poverty."

Question 68

Define vertical and horizontal mobility. What three phenomena are influential in terms of social mobility?

Question 69

How is poverty determined?