Deck 6: Social Stratification-Canadian and Global Perspectives

Question 1

The average earnings of Canadian families today are 20 times greater than the earnings of families in 1951. The gain is not as dramatic as it sounds because part of it is due to inflation. The other part is due to which of the following?

A) workers working longer hours and more work weeks than in 1951
B) improved reporting of income
C) inclusion of income streams outside the primary income
D) greater numbers of people in the average family earning an income

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Ryan is interested in working at a multinational corporation as a manager. In order to increase his chances of getting hired there, he has enrolled in the Business Administration program at his university. What is he investing in by going to university?

A) cultural capital
B) developmental capital
C) social capital
D) human capital

Answer 2

D

Question 3

How do Robinson Crusoe, Swept Away, and Titanic all illustrate issues of social inequality?

A) They develop a functionalist account of class differences.
B) They provide a symbolic interactionist account of inequality.
C) They illustrate patterns of social relations that underlie and shape inequality.
D) They illustrate the necessity and inevitability of social stratification.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

At a recent public meeting organized to discuss poverty reduction, Tobin proposed that an extra tax of 0.0001 percent be imposed on every single transaction worth more than $1 million carried out at the stock exchanges. This would be an example of which of the following poverty-reduction strategies?

A) consumption cutoffs
B) income redistribution
C) transaction penalties
D) subsistence enhancement

Question 5

The fact that social investment in education is important means that economic well-being depends on which of the following?

A) human capital
B) democratic governments
C) Marxist governments
D) abundance of natural resources

Question 6

Janet was chatting with her grandfather about how times have changed since his youth. It turns out that Janet and her husband earn about the average income for Canadians in 2011. Thinking back to 1951, her grandfather figured out that his family income would also have been about the average income of Canadian families. How much higher would Janet's family income be compared to her grandfather's?

A) about 20 times more
B) about 15 times more
C) about 10 times more
D) about 5 times more

Question 7

Social stratification is the division of society into strata or levels of inequality. One measure of that inequality is the wealth of each Canadian family. In the past 21 years in Canada, what has happened to the distance between the lowest quintile and the highest quintile for total family wealth?

A) The distance between them has increased because the net worth of the top three quintiles has increased while the bottom quintiles have remained the same.
B) The distance between them has increased because the net worth of the richest quintile has increased and the bottom quintile has decreased.
C) The distance between them has increased because the rate of increase in the top quintile is double the increase in the lowest quintile.
D) The distance between them has decreased because the social welfare system has minimized income disparities.

Question 8

Which of the following will be most likely to occur as Canada's occupational structure moves farther from its traditional resource-based foundation?

A) The importance of education will continue to grow.
B) There will be more work available.
C) The mandatory retirement age will be lowered.
D) Incomes for those employed in lower-income occupations will begin to rise.

Question 9

Why, despite inflation and the increased participation of women in the labour market, has average family income in Canada increased?

A) Workers are more likely to work overtime.
B) Workers are more productive.
C) Workers are more educated.
D) Workers are more numerous.

Question 10

Which of the following theoretical perspectives emphasizes the increased centrality of education as a factor in economic success?

A) conflict theory
B) human capital theory
C) functionalism
D) symbolic interactionism

Question 11

In a family conversation with her teenage children, Carmela described the family's financial situation. She told her children that the total value of everything they owned minus the total amount of debt that they owed was approximately $1200. Which of the following is the term sociologists use to describe this number?

A) goods
B) tangibles
C) articles
D) wealth

Question 12

Which of the following is the term used for the amount of money an individual is able to earn in a given period of time?

A) social compensation
B) income
C) net worth
D) wealth

Question 13

What effect is income tax collection and redistribution meant to have on income inequality?

A) It's supposed to eliminate income inequality.
B) It's supposed to increase income inequality.
C) It's supposed to stabilize income inequality.
D) It's supposed to decrease income inequality.

Question 14

Which of the following is the best explaination why, on average, Canadian families earn considerably more now than they did in 1951?

A) They are more productive.
B) Genetic qualifications have improved.
C) Social mobility has remained static.
D) They are more materialistic.

Question 15

What do the statistics provided about the survivors of the Titanic disaster reveal abut social relations?

A) the ineffectiveness of generosity
B) the need for inequality
C) the effects of class differences
D) the myth of marginality

Question 16

When comparing income in 1951 with income in 2001, which of the following must be factored in to ensure that the comparison is meaningful?

A) stratification
B) inflation
C) deflation
D) stagflation

Question 17

Which of the following describes patterns of income inequality in Canada since the 1980s?

A) Income inequality has increased in the Western provinces.
B) Income inequality has increased across the country.
C) Income inequality has decreased in B.C. and Ontario, but has increased in the other provinces.
D) Income inequality has decreased in the Maritimes.

Question 18

According to the textbook, what is the range of the net worth of Canada's 26 billionaires?

A) US$1.0 billion to US$17.5 billion
B) US$1.0 billion to US$33.2 billion
C) US$1.2 billion to US$26.7 billion
D) US$1.6 billion to US$41.5billion

Question 19

According to the textbook, which of the following provides the most complete list of factors that account for income inequality in Canadian society?

A) natural talent, effort, developed skills, assets, and social network
B) natural talent, social network, social capital, assets, and money
C) natural talent, effort, social network, assets, and developed skills
D) natural talent, effort, developed skills, social capital, and cultural capital

Question 20

According to the textbook, what is the definition of wealth?

A) assets minus liabilities
B) income after taxes
C) purchasing power
D) accumulated income

Question 21

Which of the following perspectives explains poverty as the consequence of inadequate child-rearing practices?

A) stereotypical
B) functionalist
C) collective
D) social-psychological

Question 22

Rajesh works at a local convenience store where she earns the minimum wage of $8.75 per hour. Although she has asked for extra shifts, her boss will only guarantee her 20 hours per week, with additional hours on call when he needs her to cover a co-worker's shift. Which of the following myths about people who are poor does this scenario contradict?

A) Most poor people are immigrants.
B) Most poor people are trapped in a cycle of poverty.
C) Most poor people are lazy.
D) Most poor people are welfare cheats and frauds.

Question 23

The concept of the welfare state conjures up the image of which fictional figure?

A) Santa Claus
B) Robin Hood
C) Frankenstein
D) Scrooge

Question 24

Garrett is interested in working at a large multinational manufacturing company. His uncle knows the family who owns the company, so Garrett asks his uncle if he can help get him an interview. What is Garrett making use of in asking his uncle?

A) cultural capital
B) network capital
C) social capital
D) human capital

Question 25

Why does Canada have no statistics on the number of poor people living in the nation?

A) because, relative to poverty in other nations, Canada has no "real" poor people
B) because there are so few of them that it is not worth counting
C) because it is too difficult to count poor people
D) because there is no official definition of poverty

Question 26

Which of the following best describes Canada's progressive tax system?

A) It has done little to erode poverty.
B) It makes Canada one of the most socially responsible countries in the Western world.
C) It makes any social inequalities the fault of the poor.
D) It has caused the poverty rates in Canada to fall steadily.

Question 27

Most stereotypes about the poor-for example, that they are lazy and unwilling to work-are inaccurate perceptions of the reality and causes of poverty. What effect does promoting such myths have?

A) It blames the poor and deflects attention away from the flaws of the social system.
B) It motivates the poor to better their circumstances.
C) It creates urgency within the government to decrease poverty.
D) It exposes the mental-emotional illnesses suffered by the poor.

Question 28

In discussing an absolute definition of poverty, sociologists focus on the essentials that are required to simply survive. Which of the following best explains the considerable disagreement among sociologists around the proper definition of absolute poverty?

A) Many poor people don't participate in the census.
B) Deciding what is essential is a matter of values.
C) People tend to overstate what they own.
D) People tend to understate what they own.

Question 29

John attends the symphony and the opera, is an excellent gourmet cook, and prefers to drink fine wine. In the North American context, John's preferences are indicators of which of the following?

A) individual capital
B) social capital
C) human capital
D) cultural capital

Question 30

Which of the following most affects the distribution of the opportunities and rewards that shape the patterns of inequality in Canada?

A) demographics
B) international trade
C) education
D) social policy

Question 31

Which of the following best describes the majority of the poor?

A) They are either criminals or immigrants.
B) They are likely able to escape poverty.
C) They are likely to be poor for several generations.
D) They are happy in their adaptive culture of poverty.

Question 32

According to the textbook, "definitions matter" when it comes to discussing poverty. Why do these definitions matter?

A) because social policies and programs have to refer to specific definitions to set up criteria for inclusion and exclusion
B) because people need to know how to categorize themselves so they are motivated to work harder
C) because people feel more secure when they know they belong to an identifiable, defined group
D) because people need to be able to compare themselves to others so they understand their position

Question 33

Ruth has spent much of her adolescence away at school where, in addition to academic subjects, she was taught other skills such as how to speak and walk properly, manners, and public speaking. What has Ruth invested in by learning these skills?

A) cultural capital
B) network capital
C) social capital
D) human capital

Question 34

The National Council of Welfare argues that the proportion of people who are poor in our country is an indicator of which of the following?

A) poor voter turnout
B) how well Canadian democracy is working
C) the level of apathy in citizens in our society
D) dysfunction in our society

Question 35

According to the thresholds that have been adopted by the Canadian government as measures of poverty, what percentage of Canadians were living in poverty in 2009?

A)7.5 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 15 percent
D) 20 percent

Question 36

What does Statistics Canada use instead of an official definition of poverty?

A) low income cutoffs
B) income-wealth indexes
C) individual inequity rates
D) poverty rates

Question 37

Carla and Stephanie have both recently graduated from university with a degree in electrical engineering. They both graduated with the same, very high grades. They have both applied for the same position in a prestigious engineering firm. An important part of the job they are interviewing for involves meeting with clients to discuss the details of multi-million dollar contracts. Stephanie prefers bowling, country music, and reality TV. Carla likes ballet, classical music, and foreign films. Which of the following best describes their situation with respect to the job they are applying for?

A) Carla is more likely than Stephanie to get the job because she has more social capital.
B) Carla is more likely than Stephanie to get the job because she has more cultural capital.
C) Stephanie is more likely than Carla to get the job because she has more social capital.
D) Stephanie is more likely than Carla to get the job because she has more cultural capital.

Question 38

In contrast to explanations of poverty that emphasize individual inadequacies of the poor, what does the sociological view of poverty examine?

A) the family roots of individual inadequacies that lead to poverty
B) the social organization of society and of social subsystems that create poverty
C) the lack of educational achievements among the poor
D) the interactive patterns that reinforce a self-definition of poverty

Question 39

The definition and measurement of poverty is important because of its impact on which of the following?

A) social policies
B) incarceration rates
C) stereotypes about the poor
D) the definition of undeserving poor

Question 40

What is the term for statements such as these: "Those people are poor but honest"; and "Those people are poor because they don't want to work"?

A) functionalist analysis
B) noblesse oblige attitude
C) class consciousness
D) stereotypes

Question 41

Which of the following echoes Marx's analysis of capitalism?

A) Things are as they should be.
B) The richer get richer and the poor get poorer.
C) From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
D) Capitalism is a proletarian paradise.

Question 42

Which of the following nations was once a relatively underdeveloped country in which communism developed?

A) New Zealand
B) Denmark
C) China
D) South Africa

Question 43

According to Marx, which of the following is determined by a person's relationship to the means of production?

A) proletariat
B) bourgeoisie
C) class
D) exploitation

Question 44

According to Davis and Moore, how does the work done by a judge compare with the work done by a janitor?

A) The judge's work is less time-consuming.
B) The judge's work is more important.
C) The judge's work is more enduring.
D) The judge's work is less obvious.

Question 45

In his prediction of a growth in the gap that separated the bourgeoisie and the proletariat-one that would lead to the eventual overthrow of the bourgeoisie-what did Marx fail to take into account?

A) that technological developments that improve profits would be resisted by the workers
B) that a large, heterogeneous, middle class of high-income workers would emerge
C) that a sense of community spirit and caring would emerge among the bourgeoisie
D) that factory owners would invest profits into improving working conditions

Question 46

Which theory states that society needs to create incentives so the most talented people are motivated to train for the most important jobs?

A) functionalist theory
B) Marxist theory
C) Weberian theory
D) conflict theory

Question 47

According to functionalist theory, people would not be motivated to achieve high-prestige jobs unless those jobs rewarded them for which of the following?

A) their prior lateral mobility
B) their prior upward mobility
C) their prior status and achievements
D) their prior sacrifice, effort, and educational investment

Question 48

According to the text, which of the following is a criticism of Davis and Moore's functionalism?

A) the concept of importance is insufficiently precise
B) the concept of stratification is too subjective
C) many people inherit wealth
D) functionally unimportant jobs have more prestige

Question 49

Karl Marx claimed that capitalist societies would one day be replaced by a communist society. Which of the following statements follows from that prediction?

A) Stratification is not inevitable.
B) Socialism would destroy the "idiocy of rural life."
C) Poverty would increase.
D) Social mobility would cease to matter.

Question 50

Weber believed that the emergence of a classless society was highly unlikely. Which of the following theories agrees with this perspective?

A) conflict theory
B) symbolic interactionist theory
C) functionalist theory
D) Marxist theory

Question 51

In Weber's view, which of the following do the possession of goods, opportunities for income, level of education, and degree of technical skill make up?

A) one's market situation
B) one's "means of production"
C) one's Protestant ethic
D) one's status groups

Question 52

In terms of Weber's categorization of the different kinds of groups in society, which of the following would best describe professional baseball players?

A) propertyless manual workers
B) status group
C) well-paid employees
D) vocational group

Question 53

Members of undervalued groups experience the consequences of negative ideologies. One of these consequences is a reduction in their opportunities for employment. Based on this situation, which of the following statements is most accurate?

A) The poor and unemployed must be taught to adopt mainstream ideologies and dress.
B) Discrimination is one cause of poverty in Canada.
C) Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been ineffective.
D) Canada uses a progressive tax system to counter negative ideologies.

Question 54

According to Davis and Moore's theory of stratification, talented people require an incentive or they will not be motivated to undergo the sacrifices required to train for most important jobs. Which of the following correctly identifies these incentives?

A) money and employment satisfaction
B) money and leisure time
C) prestige and employment satisfaction
D) money and prestige

Question 55

The functionalist analysis of how people achieve positions in the social system can be compared to a foot race in which those who win earn their positions based on their skills and talents. What is a basic problem with this analysis of placement in the stratification system?

A) The participants are not equally talented so not all of them can win.
B) The race isn't fair because some people's advantages make the race easier for them.
C) Social positions are not all equally valuable to society.
D) Social positions are not all equally difficult to achieve.

Question 56

According to the text, there is an absence of political will among Canadians to change our current social policies in order to reduce poverty. This is the result, still according to the textbook, of many Canadians holding which of the following beliefs?

A) Poverty is cyclical, so numbers of poor will drop naturally, only to rise again.
B) Such initiatives are far too complicated to get to the true roots of poverty.
C) Welfare benefits actually dampen people's work ethic.
D) Immigration policies have led to tremendous increases in poverty levels in Canada.

Question 57

The idea that a judge's work contributes more to society than the work of a janitor is an illustration of which theory of stratification?

A) Marxist theory
B) conflict theory
C) functionalist theory
D) Weberian theory

Question 58

Which of the following do functionalists contend?

A) that stratification is inevitable
B) that stratification is less evident in caste societies
C) that stratification can be permanently overcome
D) that stratification is a modern phenomenon

Question 59

What is Marx's term for workers' growing awareness that they belong to the same exploited group?

A) class-consciousness
B) proletarian identification
C) bourgeois identification
D) revolutionary readiness

Question 60

Yuri has been feeling increasingly resentful at the long hours he is forced to work in dangerous conditions without being paid adequately, while his boss is taking more exotic vacations every year. In the lunchroom at work, the other workers are beginning to echo Yuri's discontent, and a union organizer is finally called to come to talk to the workers. What Marxist concept do the actions of Yuri and his co-workers represent?

A) social consciousness
B) class consciousness
C) false consciousness
D) worker consciousness

Question 61

Which of the following factors is in play when a person's position in the stratification system is determined more by the features he or she was born with than by his or her accomplishments?

A) social ritual
B) talent
C) ascription
D) achievement

Question 62

Doing well on a sociology test because you studied and worked hard illustrates which of the following?

A) an achievement-based accomplishment
B) a sociologically based accomplishment
C) an ascription-based accomplishment
D) a ritual-based accomplishment

Question 63

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was born the son of a working-class electrician. Mulroney went on to become a very successful lawyer, and eventually leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and then Prime Minister of Canada. His life story is an example of which of the following?

A) functional necessity
B) class consciousness
C) stratification
D) upward mobility

Question 64

What is the term for a change in social status from the time of a person's first job to their current job?

A) intergenerational mobility
B) intragenerational mobility
C) upward mobility
D) downward mobility

Question 65

According to Weber, how are status groups differentiated?

A) according to property ownership
B) according to ancestry
C) according to social class
D) according to social honour and prestige

Question 66

Which of the following best characterizes a caste system?

A) Status is based on achievement.
B) Status is based on money or material possessions.
C) Status is based on being at the right place at the right time.
D) Status is determined by birth and cannot be changed.

Question 67

In which type of society is social mobility greatest?

A) cumulative
B) open
C) preliterate
D) closed

Question 68

In which of the following types of societies is social mobility restricted?

A) open societies
B) cumulative societies
C) closed societies
D) preliterate societies

Question 69

What is one's social status based on in a closed society?

A) membership in a favoured group
B) education
C) ascription
D) race

Question 70

Which of the following types of society is a meritocracy consistent with?

A) an ascription-based society
B) an achievement-based society
C) a horizontally based society
D) a cyclically based society

Question 71

Which of the following can be said of a society in which it is possible for persons and groups to achieve upward social mobility?

A) Its members have equality of opportunity.
B) The educational status of its member is equitably distributed.
C) It has a high degree of social stratification.
D) It is a well-ordered democracy.

Question 72

Which of the following explains why the link between family background and educational achievement persists?

A) The system of inequality became more open in the last half of the twentieth century.
B) Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds tend to be streamed into vocational and college diploma programs.
C) Canadians are completing fewer years of schooling than ever before.
D) The school system has become increasingly less differentiated.

Question 73

According to Weber's view of social stratification, how many main classes are there in a capitalist society?

A) three: property owners, propertyless workers, and the unemployed propertyless
B) two: property owners and propertyless workers
C) four: large property owners, small property owners, the well-educated, and manual workers
D) three: the lower class, the middle class, and the upper class

Question 74

What term did Weber use for organizations that seek to impose their will on others through the exercise of power?

A) social classes
B) intellectual workers
C) parties
D) status groups

Question 75

As she files her papers with her employer for retirement, Libby looks back over her career, comparing her current occupation with where she started in her first job. What is she examining?

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

Question 76

In an open society, one's chances for social mobility are based on which of the following?

A) familial status
B) ascription
C) prestige
D) achievement

Question 77

How is Weber's analysis of social stratification different from that of Marx?

A) Weber thought that class was not a factor in social stratification.
B) Weber believed that class was not the only factor in the way a society is stratified.
C) Weber was sure that a classless society was possible.
D) Weber thought that parties were more important than classes.

Question 78

According to their website, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives "is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization composed of the CEOs of Canada's leading enterprises. We engage in an active program of public policy research, consultation and advocacy. The CCCE is a source of thoughtful, informed comment from a business point of view on issues of national importance to the economic and social fabric of Canada." What is the Weberian term for this group?

A) social faction
B) party
C) status group
D) social class

Question 79

What social position is determined by birth status?

A) a normative status
B) an ascribed status
C) a master status
D) a role status

Question 80

In Mordecai Richler's novel The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, which of the following might the main character, "Duddy," be said to represent?

A) downward mobility
B) lateral mobility
C) fixed mobility
D) upward mobility