Deck 8: Social Stratification

Question 1

The wealth of rich people is not only greater,but more of it is in the form of investments that typically increase in value and generate income.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Social stratification is found in most-but not all-societies.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The Kuznets curve shows that industrial societies have the greatest social stratification.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Great Britain has eliminated all aspects of its historic aristocracy.

Question 5

Ideology refers to ideas that support social stratification.

Question 6

In class systems,social categories are more clearly and rigidly defined than they are in caste systems.

Question 7

The richest 20 percent of U.S.families earn 48 percent of all income,while the bottom 20 percent earn only about 4 percent.

Question 8

Structural social mobility refers to an individual's upward or downward social movement due to personal effort or,in some cases,good or bad luck.

Question 9

Compared with people in United States,people in Great Britain are more likely to experience social mobility.

Question 10

The Davis-Moore thesis implies that societies without social inequality would be the most productive.

Question 11

Class systems assign social position based on both birth and individual achievement.

Question 12

The more a society is a meritocracy,the greater the society's level of social mobility.

Question 13

Caste systems are typical of high-income societies.

Question 14

The former Soviet Union was a classless society without social stratification.

Question 15

In general,white-collar occupations have more prestige than blue-collar occupations.

Question 16

Max Weber said social stratification involved three distinct dimensions: economic class,status,and power.

Question 17

For most people in the United States,social standing remains much the same over the course of a lifetime.

Question 18

Because education is a right in the United States,there is very little inequality in schooling.

Question 19

Conspicuous consumption refers to the fact that rich people and poor people generally shop for different products,such as food and clothing.

Question 20

The concept of social mobility refers to changes in people's positions in the social hierarchy.

Question 21

Two-thirds of all poor people in the United States are African Americans.

Question 22

Intergenerational mobility refers to changes in social position within an individual's lifetime.

Question 23

In recent decades,William Julius Wilson claims,many central cities no longer have enough jobs to support the families who live there.

Question 24

People who marry and stay married accumulate only half as much wealth as people who remain single.

Question 25

If you lived in a society with a traditional caste system,you would expect your marriage to be

A)polygamous.
B)exogamous.
C)based on romantic love.
D)endogamous.

Question 26

Comparing societies in history and around the world,we see that social stratification may be universal,but ______________ varies from one society to another.

A)what is unequal
B)how unequal people are
C)why people are unequal
D)All of these are correct.

Question 27

Recent welfare reform has greatly reduced the poverty rate in the United States.

Question 28

In the wake of the recession that began in 2007,the majority of U.S.adults say their belief that their family can achieve the American dream has declined.

Question 29

Societal factors that contribute to homelessness include low wages and a lack of low-income housing.

Question 30

If you were born into a traditional caste system,you would expect that,based on birth,you would be

A)raised to do a certain type of job.
B)required to marry someone of your own social category.
C)encouraged to socialize with other people within your own category.
D)All of these responses are correct.

Question 31

The age category of the U.S.population MOST likely to be poor is children and young adults under age twenty-four.

Question 32

Today,on average,African American families have about the same income and wealth as white families.

Question 33

The working class is sometimes called the "lower-middle class."

Question 34

In the United States,there are more people in the upper class than in the lower class.

Question 35

Using the sociological perspective,we see that social stratification

A)gives some people more privileges and opportunities than others.
B)places everyone on a level playing field.
C)ensures that hard work will lead people to become wealthy.
D)means that what people get out of life is pretty much what they put into it.

Question 36

A caste system is defined as

A)social stratification based on ascription,or birth.
B)social stratification based on personal achievement.
C)a meritocracy.
D)any social system in which categories of people are unequal.

Question 37

The expansion of the global economy has helped create more high-paying jobs in manufacturing in the United States.

Question 38

Hispanic families,on average,lag behind non-Hispanic white families in both income and wealth.

Question 39

Social stratification is a concept that refers to

A)specialization in productive work.
B)ranking categories of people in a hierarchy.
C)the idea that some people are more talented than others.
D)All of these responses are correct.

Question 40

Ravi was born into a caste system in a small village in Sri Lanka.He can expect to

A)earn his social position through his own efforts.
B)change his social position many times throughout his life.
C)have the same social standing as his parents.
D)choose his life's work for himself after finishing college.

Question 41

In 1917,the Russian Revolution transformed the feudal aristocracy and placed productive property under the control of

A)the capitalists.
B)a meritocracy.
C)the nobility.
D)the state.

Question 42

The idea that social inequality is harmful and divides society is associated with the

A)structural-functional approach.
B)social-conflict approach.
C)symbolic-interaction approach.
D)social-exchange approach.

Question 43

A college professor with advanced degrees,moderate salary,and little power to shape national events can be described as having

A)high status consistency.
B)horizontal social mobility.
C)downward social mobility.
D)low status consistency.

Question 44

Who coined the concept "survival of the fittest"?

A)Charles Darwin
B)Karl Marx
C)Herbert Spencer
D)Max Weber

Question 45

The point of the story about passenger deaths that accompanied the sinking of the ocean liner Titanic is that

A)advanced technology cannot prevent tragedy.
B)all people have the same right to life.
C)social stratification is important and can sometimes be a matter of life and death.
D)social stratification often has little to do with everyday life.

Question 46

According to Karl Marx,social stratification in a capitalist society always involves

A)class conflict.
B)negotiation and compromise leading to stability.
C)the abolition of work itself.
D)All of these responses are correct.

Question 47

The concept of structural social mobility refers to

A)cultural beliefs that justify social stratification.
B)change in social position due to people's own efforts.
C)change in the social position of many people due to changes in society itself.
D)change in a family's social position from one generation to the next.

Question 48

Which of the following concepts refers to the historical practice in England of passing on property to only the first-born male descendant?

A)the law of the estates
B)the law of meritocracy
C)the law of status consistency
D)the law of primogeniture

Question 49

The degree of status consistency is

A)higher in caste than class systems.
B)the same in all types of social stratification.
C)higher in class than caste systems.
D)higher the more productive a society is.

Question 50

Work involving mostly mental activity is called

A)blue-collar work.
B)white-collar work.
C)pink-collar work.
D)agrarian work.

Question 51

According to the Davis-Moore thesis

A)complete equality is functional for every society.
B)the more inequality a society has,the more productive it is.
C)more important jobs must provide enough rewards to attract the talent necessary to perform them.
D)meritocracy is less productive than a caste system.

Question 52

The historical replacement of caste systems with class systems

A)brings an end to most social inequality.
B)replaces one kind of inequality with another.
C)means that individuals experience less social mobility.
D)means that categories of people become more clearly unequal.

Question 53

Ideology,or cultural beliefs that support social stratification,is found in

A)caste systems.
B)class systems.
C)both class and caste systems.
D)only U.S.society.

Question 54

Read the four statements below.Which is NOT a reason given in the text for why a socialist revolution never took place in capitalist societies as Marx predicted?

A)Stock places ownership of companies in the hands of tens of millions of people.
B)Living standards for the majority have gone up.
C)Wealth is no longer concentrated in the hands of a few.
D)The law affords workers far more legal protections.

Question 55

Which of the following statements accurately describes social stratification in the People's Republic of China?

A)A new set of social classes is gradually emerging.
B)There is no longer any social inequality.
C)Social standing reflects only a person's position in the Communist Party.
D)China has the same social stratification that is found in Japan.

Question 56

One good indication that caste still operates in the United Kingdom is the importance people attach to

A)graduating from college.
B)social mobility.
C)money.
D)accent in speech.

Question 57

Olga works as a district sales manager for a small corporation.Which of the following categories correctly describes her work?

A)blue-collar
B)white-collar
C)capitalist
D)agrarian

Question 58

The concept "meritocracy" refers to social stratification

A)with no social mobility.
B)in which people "know their place."
C)based entirely on personal merit.
D)as found in the United States.

Question 59

According to Davis and Moore,a system of unequal rewards increases productivity by

A)encouraging people to want an important job.
B)motivating people to work longer,harder,or better.
C)encouraging people to gain the schooling and skills needed to perform more important jobs.
D)All of these responses are correct.

Question 60

The idea that social inequality benefits society is associated with the

A)structural-functional approach.
B)social-conflict approach.
C)symbolic-interaction approach.
D)social-exchange approach.

Question 61

Being in the upper-upper class is usually the result of _____;being in the lower-upper class is more a matter of _____.

A)birth;achievement
B)business success;birth
C)gender;birth
D)high-income;low-income

Question 62

About _____ of the richest people in the United States gained at least some of their fortune from inheritance.

A)one-eighth
B)one-fourth
C)one-third
D)two-thirds

Question 63

People of low social position are more liberal on _____ issues and more conservative on _____ issues.

A)social;economic
B)economic;social
C)very few;almost all
D)almost all;almost no

Question 64

A common micro-level pattern involving social interaction is that

A)social stratification is not usually evident in everyday life.
B)most people live and work in socially diverse settings in terms of social stratification.
C)people tend to socialize with others of about the same social position.
D)social position has little to do with the friends people have.

Question 65

Looking around the world today,income inequality is greatest in which of the following regions?

A)North America
B)Latin America
C)Europe
D)China

Question 66

Which of the following concepts refers to change in social position during a person's lifetime?

A)intragenerational social mobility
B)intergenerational social mobility
C)structural social mobility
D)horizontal social mobility

Question 67

If you followed the lead of Max Weber,you would think of social stratification in terms of

A)a multidimensional status hierarchy.
B)two major social classes.
C)a middle-class society.
D)six different social classes.

Question 68

The total amount of financial assets,minus any debts,is referred to as

A)income.
B)personal property.
C)wealth.
D)power.

Question 69

Which of the statements below is FALSE?

A)Living standards in the United States have risen since Marx's lifetime.
B)More workers have unions to represent them than in Marx's lifetime.
C)Today,laws enhance workplace safety and set minimum wages,which was not the case during Marx's lifetime.
D)Today,ordinary working people no longer experience the effects of social inequality.

Question 70

Which of the following concepts refers to earnings from work or any investments?

A)income
B)personal property
C)wealth
D)power

Question 71

In 2010,the median income for U.S.families was

A)$16,099.
B)$36,077.
C)$60,395.
D)$76,055.

Question 72

The family of actor Will Smith and actress Jada Pinkett Smith would be BEST described as

A)working class.
B)middle class.
C)"old money."
D)lower-upper class.

Question 73

According to Karl Marx,which class forms the core of the industrial proletariat?

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

Question 74

Roughly 40 to 45 percent of the U.S.population falls within the

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

Question 75

The concept "conspicuous consumption" refers to

A)buying things that are popular with the most people.
B)buying more than what you need for the moment.
C)the practice of buying things to make a statement about one's social position.
D)acting as if one had a lower social position than is really the case.

Question 76

Marx thought of inequality in terms of two main classes.In contrast,Weber envisioned inequality in terms of

A)a socioeconomic ranking.
B)three main classes.
C)everyone gradually sinking into poverty.
D)society as one large middle class.

Question 77

Max Weber claimed that agrarian societies give special importance to which dimension of social inequality?

A)economic class
B)social prestige or honor
C)power
D)control of information

Question 78

Working class people might also be described as

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

Question 79

Based on what you know about occupational prestige,which of the following statements is correct?

A)Most of the highest-ranked occupations in the United States are dominated by women.
B)Occupational rankings are similar in all high-income nations.
C)White-collar work and blue-collar work have about the same social prestige.
D)In the United States,occupation has little to do with social standing.

Question 80

The wealthiest 1 percent of U.S.families (the "super-rich")controls about _____ of the nation's privately held wealth.

A)25 percent
B)35 percent
C)65 percent
D)85 percent