Deck 7: Social Stratification

Question 1

Welfare assistance in Ontario and across Canada is equivalent to the dollar figure set by the after-tax low-income cutoff figure.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

According to the text,what is the term for growth in white-collar occupations in industrial societies over the past half-century?

A) sector-shift mobility
B) circulatory mobility
C) structural mobility
D) exchange mobility

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The Davis and Moore theory of stratification is a cultural product of the Great Depression in the United States.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Neo-Marxists such as Eric Olin Wright argue that Marx's ideas about inequality cannot be updated to apply to the late-twentieth century.

Question 5

Contradictory class locations are occupational groupings that have divided loyalties within a class structure.

Question 6

According to the text,which statement best describes income inequality in Canada?

A) The poorest 20 percent of households receive less than 15 percent of total income.
B) The top 40 percent of households receive over 90 percent of total income earned.
C) The top 10 percent receive over 40 percent of total income earned.
D) The top 100 highest-income occupations earn five times as much as the ten lowest-earning occupations.

Question 7

According to the text,what determines a person's social location in a caste system?

A) Position is based on who you know.
B) Status is determined at birth for life.
C) Position is based on wealth/possessions.
D) Status is based on achievement.

Question 8

Low-income cutoffs are calculated for communities of various sizes and for families of various sizes within those communities.

Question 9

A poor,young man born in a coastal outport in Newfoundland grows up and gets a law degree from a prestigious law school while waiting on tables in the cafeteria where his classmates eat.Eventually he becomes a top-notch lawyer and then premier of the province.Which term would sociologists use to describe his upward career path?

A) equal opportunity
B) social mobility
C) social promotion
D) meritocratic mobility

Question 10

Compared to most industrialized countries,Canada spends more on attempts to reduce poverty.

Question 11

Reactions to inequality,and recommendations about what,if anything,should be done about it,are a reflection of the economic climate.

Question 12

French economist Thomas Piketty argues that in a capitalist system with a growing economy,increasing inequality is inevitable.

Question 13

Relative poverty is when someone barely has enough to stay alive.

Question 14

Which characteristic sociologically defines a low position in the social stratification system?

A) a person who is receiving income assistance
B) a person who belongs to a racial minority group
C) someone who has little power,prestige,or wealth
D) someone who has no fixed address or residence

Question 15

Frank Parkin's concept of exclusion refers to the organized efforts of the privileged and more powerful groups to maintain their advantaged position.

Question 16

A very large proportion of the poor in Canada are made up of the working poor.

Question 17

There has been an intensified negative stereotyping of the poor and those on welfare in Canada.

Question 18

If you are like most Canadians,you probably do not generally think of yourself as belonging to a certain social class.

Question 19

In the past,women earned less than men,but today women and men earn similar amounts in Canada.

Question 20

In a meritocracy,everyone has an equal chance to compete for higher-status positions.

Question 21

Prince William was born into the British Royal family and was assigned a higher status that could not be taken away.Which term best describes Prince William's status?

A) public status
B) achieved status
C) set status
D) ascribed status

Question 22

The Smith family has a monthly income of $2000,of which they spend $1300 (65 percent of their income)on food,rent,home heating,and electricity.According to Statistics Canada,which measure characterizes the Smith family as living in poverty?

A) absolute measure
B) low-income cutoff measure
C) market basket measure
D) social welfare measure

Question 23

A female baby is born into a Hindu family,in the city of Pune,in the state of Maharashtra,India.What term is used by sociologists to describe the particular characteristics mentioned in the preceding sentence about this baby girl?

A) born status
B) ascribed status
C) set status
D) achieved status

Question 24

According to the text,how long would it take the average Canadian worker (employed full-time and year-round)to earn as much as the average annual income of the top 100 CEOs of Canada?

A) 20 months
B) 200 months
C) 20 years
D) 200 years

Question 25

Judy is a single mother who works two jobs,but every month she must choose between paying the electric bill and buying food.Which term best classifies Judy's kind of poverty?

A) capitalist pauper
B) relative poverty
C) working poor
D) absolute poverty

Question 26

According to Gerhard Lenski's evolutionary model,which of the following societies is least stratified?

A) postindustrial
B) simple horticultural
C) modern agricultural
D) hunting and gathering

Question 27

In a particular type of system,people know exactly where they fit in and there is little to no room for social mobility.For example,some members of this system will face legal barriers if they attempt to enter into Indian politics.What type of system is this?

A) socialist
B) capitalist
C) caste
D) meritocratic

Question 28

According to Gerhard Lenski,how was the evolutionary trend toward ever-increasing inequality reversed?

A) through the development of a social welfare society
B) through ever-increasing fundamentalist religious charitable donations
C) by ever-increasing technological complexity in society
D) by the ever-increasing creation of jobs requiring more manual labour

Question 29

In a society where people are segregated through language,culture,and economics,those on the lower end of the social stratification are oppressed and refused the right for upward mobility.Which term best characterizes this type of stratification system?

A) open
B) mixed
C) closed
D) neutral

Question 30

To be a social worker in Canada,a person must be a graduate of a school accredited by the social work association,complete the association's written examination,and maintain membership in the association.According to Weber,what term best describes this association's practices?

A) social blockage
B) social closure
C) occupational restriction
D) occupational licensing

Question 31

Keith Nicholson,a Calgary resident,has worked all his life at low-paying jobs.Until recently,he lived in housing for low-income earners,but the government sold his housing development to a private real-estate company and the new owners raised the rent.Now Keith lives on the street and in shelters.Which term best classifies Keith's kind of poverty?

A) working poor
B) relative poverty
C) capitalist pauper
D) absolute poverty

Question 32

Canada,unlike Britain,does not have an aristocracy.According to the text,which statement most accurately reflects Canada's social stratification picture?

A) Canada is an egalitarian and classless society where everyone is equal in stature.
B) Canada is a stratified society;however,inheritance and privilege affect only a few.
C) Canada's social stratification is equalized by greater taxation of Canada's wealthy.
D) Canada is a stratified society characterized by a considerable amount of inheritance of privilege.

Question 33

A child complains,"It's not fair! My parents make me go to bed early just because I'm younger than them!" According to the text,which term best describes the situation the child is referring to?

A) inferior status
B) achieved status
C) set status
D) ascribed status

Question 34

What do studies of poverty in Canada show?

A) Compared to several decades ago,youth are now a smaller proportion of the poor.
B) Among Canadians below the poverty line,single men are poorer than single women.
C) Compared to decades ago,the working poor are now a larger proportion of the poor.
D) One in four Canadians can expect to be living above the poverty line in the future.

Question 35

Davis and Moore would argue that doctors,plumbers,construction workers,domestic workers,and lawyers are all necessary in a functioning society.Which necessary feature found in all societies do they believe that these many professions point to?

A) training
B) inequality
C) assistance
D) function

Question 36

The workers in a shoe factory were tired of the long hours,poor working conditions,and low pay.They demanded that the situation improve and stopped working as a demonstration of discontent to the owners.Which statement would Marx argue is the best solution to address the situation?

A) Workers must accept private ownership in a capitalist state.
B) Owners must improve working conditions for their workers.
C) Workers must realize a class consciousness.
D) Owners must realize a class consciousness.

Question 37

According to Davis and Moore,position in the status hierarchy is based on people's effort and ability: if a person's job is more important,then that person gets paid more.What was their determination based upon?

A) functional integration
B) class standing
C) life chances
D) functional necessity

Question 38

According to the text,what type of inequality has been increasing in Canada during the past decade?

A) consumer inequality
B) wealth inequality
C) subjective inequality
D) possession inequality

Question 39

Which of the following is taken into consideration when calculating the low-income cutoff in Canada?

A) size of community
B) size of the federal budget
C) size of the provincial budget
D) the number of persons applying for assistance relative to the amount of funding available

Question 40

Tiger Woods suffered a significant fall in status after his extramarital affair was discovered.He is still among the highest paid athletes,but it took him years to win another tournament.In sociological terms,what does he hope to gain by reclaiming his title as "#1 golfer in the world"?

A) mediated status
B) public status
C) economic status
D) achieved status

Question 41

For her class presentation,Janessa decided to discuss Marx's theory of social change with particular emphasis given to the force that drives it.What will Janessa focus on?

A) economic inequality
B) the petite bourgeoisie
C) class conflict
D) wealth accumulation

Question 42

James never went to high school and works as a janitor.His son,Fred,is going to university and will be a lawyer by the end of next year.What kind of occupational mobility is Fred experiencing?

A) education-based
B) status-based
C) intragenerational
D) intergenerational

Question 43

What does a low-income cutoff line (LICO)measure?

A) It is a sophisticated market basket measure of poverty.
B) It is a relative,rather than an absolute,measure of poverty.
C) It is an absolute,rather than a relative,measure of poverty.
D) It is a measure for determining if single people are poor.

Question 44

According to the text,which term identifies persistent patterns of social inequality,perpetuated by the distribution of wealth,power,and prestige passed from one generation to the next?

A) social mobility
B) social striation
C) social position
D) social stratification

Question 45

According to the text,what type of employment has been increasing in Canada since the 1980s?

A) self-employment
B) full-time work
C) blue-collar work
D) white-collar work

Question 46

Which social class did Karl Marx predict would eventually disappear within the capitalist system?

A) petite bourgeoisie
B) expert managers
C) bourgeoisie
D) proletariat

Question 47

According to the text,what lies at the root of capitalism's concept of surplus value?

A) The values of expert craftsmen ensure the production of commodities with great quality.
B) Surplus is the amount of money left over after a worker has paid the bills.
C) The value of items produced by workers exceeds the cost of material and wages.
D) Elegant furniture composed of many parts is more valuable than simpler products.

Question 48

Alexis is a manager at the local car manufacturing plant.As an engineer she is able to trouble-shoot problems and solve 90 percent of the production slow-down dilemmas on the spot.Whose theory best explains how her education has made Alexis invaluable to the owners of the car plant?

A) Marx
B) Davis and Moore
C) Lenski
D) Wright

Question 49

Weber shared with Marx a belief that economic inequalities were central to the social stratification system and that the ownership of one resource was a primary determinant of the power a person had for getting others to do as the person wished.What is that resource?

A) property
B) wealth
C) education
D) social networks

Question 50

The idea of a golf and country club membership highlights Frank Parkin's theory that social institutions are organized by the privileged to uphold class differences and prevent the disadvantaged from having access to certain opportunities.Which term refers to the act of intentionally preventing someone from engaging in particular activities to uphold class differences?

A) exclusion
B) professionalism
C) usurpation
D) credentialism

Question 51

At a high school in the country "X," the A+ student receives the highest honours at school.In country "Y," the fastest runner receives the highest honours at school.What sociological explanation can be given to explain the difference in what designates an honours status?

A) Achieved status is not celebrated in country "X."
B) Ascribed status is not celebrated in country "X."
C) Social exclusivity is always achieved through hard work.
D) Criteria for social stratification can vary across cultures.

Question 52

According to the text,what are the specific measures of a person's socioeconomic status?

A) Regardless of ascribed status,it's based on meritocracy.
B) It measures people's income,education,and occupation.
C) It measures statistical assessments of social position.
D) It is a measure of one's social standing in a given society.

Question 53

Janice Jardine works as a cashier at the SuperGrocer in Jasper,Alberta and earns about $20,000 a year.Janice has a low income,no savings in the bank,and owns no property.According to Karl Marx,what kind of inequality she is experiencing?

A) material
B) wealth
C) social
D) income

Question 54

A country such as Sweden has high levels of social equality between citizens.Based on talent and hard work,people can rise from lower classes and achieve a higher standard of life.Which term is used to describe countries with high levels of equality enabling upward mobility?

A) credentialist
B) capitalist system
C) democracy
D) meritocracy

Question 55

A brazen young woman in Iran walks unescorted through town,defying normal customs and religious norms.Over time she falls in love with a vegetable vendor of another ethnic group.When her secret liaison is discovered,she is beaten and stoned to death in the village square.What term do sociologists use to identify the type of stratification system in her culture?

A) sexist
B) closed
C) gendered
D) open

Question 56

Even though she was born the daughter of a grocer,Margaret Thatcher went on to become the prime minister of England.When describing this achievement,what could you say about the British society?

A) It allows for exchange mobility.
B) It demonstrates an acceptance of circulatory mobility.
C) It promotes horizontal mobility.
D) It has a considerable degree of social mobility.

Question 57

An organization called the Economic Council for the Status of Women runs a national advertisement campaign with the slogan,"For every $1.00 of allowance you give your son,give your daughter 75 cents." Which form of inequality best describes what this campaign is addressing?

A) social
B) sexual
C) gender
D) income

Question 58

Fight Against Poverty (FAP)is an organization that obtained daily press coverage of poverty issues during a federal election.The group was able to turn political debates into focused discussions about poverty by yelling out questions concerning living conditions,food banks,and wage freezes.How would Parkin explain FAP's success?

A) Power was with the media,not with politicians or FAP.
B) This was a mediated use of power.
C) This was a usurpation of power.
D) Power played no part;it was merely coincidence.

Question 59

What can we conclude about the impact of caste and stratification systems?

A) Both impact the potential for social mobility.
B) Both limit people's life chances equally.
C) Both allow upward social mobility.
D) Both impact gender in similar ways.

Question 60

Which statement best describes Marx's prediction for capitalism?

A) Widespread proletarian protest would end in a revolutionary upheaval.
B) There would be a settlement on a social contract between workers and owners.
C) Increasingly profitable capitalism and a growing petite bourgeoisie would prevail.
D) There would be increasingly ineffective protests by workers against their exploitation.

Question 61

Salina bought a clothing factory,upgraded the sewing machines,and purchased higher-quality cloth to make high-fashion clothing.What would Marx say she invested in?

A) mode of production
B) means of production
C) wherewithal of production
D) relations of production

Question 62

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Weber's typology of inequality?

A) employment
B) class
C) status
D) party

Question 63

Which statement best summarizes Davis and Moore's functional theory of stratification?

A) It states that social inequality is both inevitable and operationally necessary for society.
B) It denies the principle of meritocracy and downplays achievement as a mobility factor.
C) It emphasizes that status and prestige are also important factors in social stratification.
D) It is based on class struggle and the conflict between rich and poor classes in society.

Question 64

According to the text,what is structural mobility?

A) It is movement in the stratification hierarchy due to people's talent and hard work.
B) It is movement in the stratification hierarchy due to group membership and affiliations.
C) It is mobility caused by individual development of connections and networking.
D) It is mobility caused by economic changes producing change in the occupational structure.

Question 65

Chris,a dentist,furthered his education to become an orthodontist and has an annual take-home pay of around $250,000.What term best defines the type of status Chris has used to achieve his success?

A) socioeconomic status
B) accumulated social status
C) collective status sets
D) meritocratic social status

Question 66

When discussing poverty in Canada,what do most researchers use for determining the number of impoverished citizens?

A) low-income cutoff
B) absolute poverty definition
C) relative poverty comparisons
D) market basket measures

Question 67

According to the text,which term would most accurately describe India's caste structure?

A) gender-neutral system of stratification
B) mixed system of stratification
C) open system of stratification
D) closed system of stratification

Question 68

According to the text,what is the estimated poverty line for Canadians?

A) It is an income level below which one is eligible for welfare payments.
B) It was estimated to be lower than $40,000 income for a family of four people.
C) It is when a family spends more than 63 percent of their income on the basic necessities.
D) It is when a family spends more than 35 percent of their income on the basic necessities.

Question 69

A man exchanges his labour for a wage,producing some product that the capitalist sells at a price far exceeding the wage paid.What is the Marxist term used to describe what's left over after deducting the man's wage and other expenses from the sale price of the product?

A) commission
B) capital gains
C) surplus value
D) share value

Question 70

The combined income of a construction labourer and his wife,a waitress,is $40,000.They have two young children.After buying food,clothes,and medicine,and paying rent,utilities,car payments,car insurance,gas,and taxes,there is little left over.They have less than 10 percent of their income remaining.According to Canada's estimated poverty line,which statement best categorizes this family?

A) Their combined family income is above average for a family of four.
B) They are living from paycheque to paycheque but above the poverty line.
C) They are classified as among the new working poor.
D) They are living below the estimated poverty line.

Question 71

According to the text,which of the following is a statement about the current conditions of Canada's poor?

A) The largest percentage of poor people is made up of white,urban Canadians.
B) Aboriginal Canadians are among the poorest members of Canadian society.
C) More of Canada's working poor live in subsidized housing than previously.
D) Aboriginal Canadians living in the city are better off than the white urban poor.

Question 72

A soldier just received a field promotion.This is when an individual is given an on-the-spot promotion based on demonstrated leadership skills and occupational abilities.Which term best characterizes the type of society that would provide this type of promotion?

A) socialist
B) capitalist
C) democracy
D) meritocracy

Question 73

Sandra,a single mother,has a job that pays an hourly wage,but has no guaranteed hours.She can earn anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000 per month.She needs $1,500 to pay her rent and take care of her child.What does Sandra's situation illustrate?

A) Hourly wage work leads to poverty.
B) Poverty is not a static status.
C) Poverty can be avoided if you save earnings.
D) Single mothers should find salaried work.

Question 74

What prediction did Karl Marx make with his theory about social stratification in capitalist societies?

A) Emergence of an exploited working class consciousness would result in a revolution.
B) Class conflict would occur between the bourgeoisie and the petite bourgeoisie.
C) Over time,the capitalist mode of production would produce income equality.
D) Surplus value was created by workers in feudalism but not in capitalism.

Question 75

Among other variables,what did both Weber and Marx believe to be a significant contributor to social stratification?

A) the belief that economic inequalities were central to social stratification
B) the belief that sharing of property was a determinant of unequal power
C) the belief that economic factors alone account for social inequality
D) the belief that power was the ability to cooperate with others and get along

Question 76

Sarah lives on social assistance.She cannot afford to pay for her children to participate in extracurricular sports or music lessons.She worries that their chances in life will be severely limited.Which term best describes Sarah's economic situation?

A) guilt
B) social degradation
C) debt stress
D) relative poverty

Question 77

Why did Max Weber maintain that social stratification is multidimensional?

A) Social position is based upon education and other ascribed statuses.
B) Social position is based upon subjective as well as objective criteria.
C) Social position is based upon personal attributes such as attractiveness.
D) Social position is based upon power and prestige,in addition to wealth.

Question 78

In the Catholic Church,ordained priests all start their clerical careers at the same place;however,rising through the ranks is a competitive process based upon achievement.What kind of promotional structure is in place?

A) good works
B) competency
C) meritocracy
D) self-sacrifice

Question 79

People within different cultures and societies around the world struggle every day to meet basic requirements of life in order to survive.They constantly live in a state of poverty and have little to no income.How are these terrible living conditions defined?

A) absolute poverty
B) social degradation
C) unexplainable
D) relative poverty

Question 80

Whhich term would describe a world in which everyone would have an opportunity to compete for higher-status positions and those most capable would be awarded the highest ranks?

A) socialist system
B) capitalist system
C) democracy
D) meritocracy