Deck 4: Social Class and Family Inequality

Question 1

Studies in the United States suggest that husbands and wives may belong to different classes in ________ of all two-parent, two-earner families.

A)half
B)two-thirds
C)one-third
D)the majority

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is most likely to be married when they give birth?

A)women with a college degree
B)women who attended college but didn't graduate
C)women with a high school diploma
D)women who didn't graduate from high school

Answer 2

A

Question 3

When asked on surveys (such as the General Social Survey) to which class they belong, most U.S. residents respond that they are either

A)lower class or working class.
B)working class or middle class.
C)middle class or upper class.
D)lower class or middle class.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Since the 1970s, families whose income lies in the middle of the income distribution (of all U.S. families) have kept up with the cost of living primarily by

A)having husbands take second jobs.
B)relying on parental "gifts" for purchases such as down payments on houses.
C)taking advantage of changes in the tax structure for married couples.
D)having wives take jobs outside the home.

Question 5

The concept of status group was refined by

A)Max Weber.
B)Karl Marx.
C)Anthony Giddings.
D)Andrew Cherlin.

Question 6

Which of the following is most likely to directly impact a person's life chances?

A)parental pressure
B)elementary education
C)higher education
D)peer pressure

Question 7

Which of the following best defines family inequality?

A)the extent to which some families obtain more income and wealth than do others
B)the extent to which a family member earns more than others from his/her family
C)the disparity in the social support available to families belonging to different social classes
D)the disparity between the powers wielded by men and women belonging to a family

Question 8

Which of the following is not a value emphasized by working-class parents?

A)good manners
B)obedience to authority
C)creativity
D)conformity

Question 9

Income inequality among families has increased because of all except which of the following?

A)the growing importance of education
B)the decline in the number of children born in each family
C)the growth of single-parent families headed by women
D)globalization

Question 10

A group of people who share a common style of life and often identify with each other is called a

A)class.
B)cohort.
C)status group.
D)reference group.

Question 11

Kinship networks of the poor

A)spread the burden of poverty.
B)share whatever they have even though they are poor.
C)help others to get by day by day.
D)do all of these.

Question 12

The resources and opportunities that people have to provide themselves with material goods and favorable living conditions are called

A)life chances.
B)life changes.
C)ideal types.
D)privileges.

Question 13

________ refers to a hypothetical model that consists of the most significant characteristics, in extreme form, of a social phenomenon.

A)Social value
B)Life standard
C)Status group
D)Ideal type

Question 14

All except which of the following are advantages that middle-class children gain from "the accomplishment of natural growth"?

A)They are more assertive.
B)They are more verbal.
C)They are more physically fit.
D)They have a more independent sense of self.

Question 15

Which of the following types of workers has jobs opportunities declined for as a result of polarization of the labor market since the 1970s?

A)most-educated workers
B)least-educated workers
C)workers with a moderate level of education
D)workers with technical education

Question 16

Based on sociological studies, those kinship ties that engender the strongest feelings of obligation are

A)horizontal kinship ties among siblings.
B)conjugal family ties.
C)extended family ties.
D)vertical kinship ties including parents to children to grandchildren.

Question 17

Working- and middle-class parents differ in their choice of important child-rearing values primarily because of

A)different job experiences.
B)different educational backgrounds.
C)unequal access to resources.
D)their lack of time to spend with the children.

Question 18

Upper-class families in the United States are characterized by which of the following?

A)They work part-time and tend increasingly to work in the service sector.
B)The wives tend to work outside of the home in high-paying jobs.
C)They tend to be highly recognized as part of the social and cultural elite of their communities.
D)They don't have employment stability.

Question 19

Of the following, the best example of an assortative marriage would be

A)a Protestant high school graduate marrying a Catholic college graduate.
B)a Protestant high school dropout marrying a Protestant high school graduate.
C)a Protestant college graduate marrying a Catholic college graduate.
D)a Catholic high school graduate marrying a Protestant college graduate.

Question 20

Chances of divorce have been ________ for college graduates and ________ for people who did not graduate from high school.

A)increasing; increasing
B)declining; increasing
C)declining; declining
D)increasing; declining

Question 21

A median worker in America is typically someone who does not have a high school degree.

Question 22

Dual-earner, married couples have seen their incomes shrink, just as have other families.

Question 23

Status groups mainly defined by degree of education may be more useful than those defined by class.

Question 24

The increase in the importance of education has made the three status groups model of social classification more relevant.

Question 25

Vertical kinship ties are the strongest.

Question 26

Membership in a kinship network can perpetuate poverty.

Question 27

Working-class parents are more likely to "cultivate" their children's talents and skills.

Question 28

Which of the following individuals is least likely to work for pay?

A)an upper-class wife
B)a working-class wife
C)a lower-class wife
D)a middle-class wife

Question 29

The actual distribution of family income in the United States is relatively equal.

Question 30

Each class socializes its children to fill the same positions as their parents have filled.

Question 31

The psychological contract between employers and workers is still very strong.

Question 32

Earnings among U.S. workers have become more equal over time.

Question 33

Explain what Lareau meant by concerted cultivation versus natural growth in terms of the class differences in the way parents view the task of raising children.

Question 34

Describe how education impacts the status group one would be included in.

Question 35

Income inequality among U.S. families has decreased in recent decades.

Question 36

A status group is defined by the resources and opportunities that people have to provide themselves with material goods and favorable living conditions.

Question 37

The significant differences in U.S. family incomes today is determined by whether or not the parent(s) has a college degree.

Question 38

In your own words, but using sociological concepts, describe the major social classes in the United States. What differentiates members of the different classes? How are they similar?

Question 39

American men are as likely as women to "do the work" of kinship relations.

Question 40

What reasons can you think of to explain why there is little good research on the upper class in the United States?

Question 41

Why is marriage usually less important in a female-centered kinship structure than in other kinship structures?

Question 42

Can you envision a situation in which U.S. society in the 2000s returns to the breadwinner-homemaker model of the family? Why or why not?

Question 43

How do husbands and wives decide what social class they are in?

Question 44

How does everyday life reinforce gender differences?

Question 45

In what ways do the poor actively construct extended kin networks? How can they be both a help and a hindrance?

Question 46

Discuss social class and parental values as described in your textbook. Was your own experience different or similar?

Question 47

In what respects is the husband's role within the household minimized in a female-centered kinship system?