Deck 10: Social Stratification, Inequality, and Poverty

Question 1

The study of the distinctions among different social classes is called __________.

A) social differentiation
B) social stratification
C) class analysis
D) consumption analysis

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In general, technology __________ jobs that require higher levels of education while it __________ jobs that require middle and lower levels of education.

A) replaces; complements
B) complements; replaces
C) raises wages for; lowers wage for
D) lowers wages for; raises wages for

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The majority of minimum-wage employees are __________.

A) teenagers
B) whites
C) Hispanic
D) adults

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Most "one percenters" __________.

A) have jobs
B) live off of inheritances
C) pay extra taxes
D) are blue-collar workers

Question 5

As a result of economic restructuring, average wages have __________ since the 1970s.

A) increased
B) decreased
C) stagnated
D) increased then sharply declined

Question 6

According to Forbes magazine, in 2014, the richest individual in the world was __________.

A) American
B) Chinese
C) Indian
D) Mexican

Question 7

Before retirement, most people get most or all of their income from __________.

A) their jobs
B) income transfers from the government (such as Social Security)
C) investments
D) inheritances

Question 8

The primary way in which most Americans accumulate wealth is through __________.

A) retirement accounts
B) investments
C) home ownership
D) net financial assets

Question 9

Because there are no obvious ways of determining how much opportunity individuals really have, social scientists measure it indirectly by examining __________.

A) social backgrounds
B) social hierarchies
C) social mobility
D) social stagnation

Question 10

__________ is a designation of class that considers income, occupation, and salary.

A) Life chance
B) Socioeconomic status
C) Consumption utility
D) Class analysis

Question 11

Under feudalism, the laborers who were obligated to work for landowners were called __________.

A) proletarians
B) the bourgeoisie
C) serfs
D) slaves

Question 12

The fact that Apple Computer manufactures all iPads and iPhones in __________ is an example of __________.

A) China; outsourcing
B) China and India; minimum wage
C) China, Mexico, and the Philippines; deindustrialization
D) China, Mexico, and the United States; wealth

Question 13

__________ refers to the receipt of money over a period of time, whereas __________ refers to the net value of assets that one has at a given point in time.

A) Wealth; income
B) Income; wealth
C) Capital; wealth
D) Wealth; salary

Question 14

Which of the following countries is much less egalitarian than the others?

A) Sweden
B) Brazil
C) the United States
D) India

Question 15

The dominant system of inequality prior to the advent of capitalism is known as __________.

A) slavery
B) the caste system
C) the class system
D) feudalism

Question 16

__________ had the fewest opportunities for social inequality to emerge.

A) Feudal societies
B) Industrial societies
C) Hunting and gathering societies
D) Agrarian societies

Question 17

Illegal or "underground" earnings from crime or from untaxed (undeclared) work or activity are __________.

A) considered as income
B) not considered as income
C) considered as wealth
D) considered neither income nor wealth

Question 18

The premise of the __________ is that billionaires, millionaires, and all those at the top of the income ladder are expected to pay more in taxes than minimum-wage employees.

A) social mobility index
B) comparative perspective
C) correlation coefficients
D) progressive tax system

Question 19

The median family income in the United States in 2012 was approximately __________.

A) $40,000
B) $50,000
C) $60,000
D) $70,000

Question 20

In Marxist terms, the important distinction in a capitalist society was between the __________ and the __________.

A) proletariat; bourgeoisie
B) capitalists; bourgeoisie
C) proletariat; serfs
D) serfs; bourgeoisie

Question 21

Ben was a bank teller at Goliath National Bank, until the tellers at Goliath were replaced by ATM machines. As a result, Ben decided to go back to school and update his computer skills. Ben's scenario best represents a consequence of __________.

A) the talent justification
B) the efficiency justification
C) skill-biased technological change
D) globalization

Question 22

In 2012, the poverty line for a family of four was __________.

A) $23,492
B) $28,500
C) $35,678
D) $39,999

Question 23

Sociologists refer to societies in which individuals experience no social mobility as __________.

A) caste societies
B) closed societies
C) open societies
D) status-consistent societies

Question 24

Current research shows that there is a relationship between poverty, __________, and __________; this is particularly worrisome in the case of children.

A) stress; cognitive development
B) wealth; homelessness
C) the working poor; income
D) net worth; closed-society

Question 25

Who theorized that the critical divisions between classes were the result of the economic system?

A) Max Weber
B) Emile Durkheim
C) Ralf Dahrendorf
D) Karl Marx

Question 26

Labor markets and government policies are both important factors that influence __________.

A) social mobility
B) associations
C) meritocracy
D) the poverty line

Question 27

To measure __________ sociologists can use intergenerational correlations between parents' and projected children's __________.

A) social mobility; incomes
B) poverty; assets
C) deindustrialization; education
D) wages; wealth

Question 28

In a meritocracy __________.

A) rewards are linked to personal ability
B) caste, more than any other factor, influences life chances
C) personal connections have a disproportionately high impact on life chances
D) persons from an upper-class background will have fewer life chances than other members of the same society

Question 29

Why is it difficult to get an accurate count of the homeless?

A) Many of the homeless may temporarily live with friends and family.
B) Many of the homeless are adept at hiding from researchers.
C) Many of the homeless are in and out of hospitals.
D) Many of the homeless live in areas too dangerous for researchers to visit.

Question 30

In general, countries with __________ inequality also tend to have __________ social mobility.

A) high; low
B) moderate; very high
C) high; high
D) low; low

Question 31

Lana, a single woman with no dependents, is unable to afford basic necessities, such as housing and healthcare. What type of poverty is she experiencing?

A) relative poverty
B) absolute poverty
C) feminization of poverty
D) institutional poverty

Question 32

The components of Nike tennis shoes are produced in different parts of the world. The final assembly of the shoes is completed in China. Thereafter the shoes are shipped to the United States, where David purchases a pair at a suburban mall in Denver. Of the following economic phenomena, which does this scenario best represent?

A) economic restructuring
B) outsourcing
C) skill-biased technological change
D) globalization

Question 33

A true meritocracy would most likely be considered a(n) __________ society by sociologists.

A) open
B) closed
C) educational
D) wealthy

Question 34

When did homelessness begin to grow into a serious problem in the United States?

A) 1950s
B) 1960s
C) 1970s
D) 1980s

Question 35

The feminization of poverty is a term used to describe __________.

A) single-parent families in which a woman is the primary caregiver
B) two-parent families in which a woman is the primary provider
C) two-parent families in which a woman is the primary caregiver
D) single-parent families in which a woman is the primary provider and primary caregiver

Question 36

Sandra is a corporate attorney. She graduated from Harvard Law School at the top of her class and earns $250,000 a year. Sociologists who evaluate Sandra's social position based on the dimensions of her income, education, and occupation would describe her as __________.

A) upwardly mobile
B) vertically mobile
C) having high SES
D) having low SES

Question 37

Kenneth lives in a low-income, high-crime neighborhood. His home is poorly ventilated, which triggers asthma attacks. As a result of these stressors, he has high blood pressure. How would sociologists describe Kenneth's cognitive development?

A) as compromised
B) as consumptive
C) as status impaired
D) as structurally immobile

Question 38

__________ are much more likely than __________ to live in poverty in the United States.

A) Racial minorities; whites
B) Whites; Hispanics
C) Whites; Native Americans
D) Asians; blacks

Question 39

Patricia works as a sales manager and earns approximately $60,000 a year. She owns her own home and has $20,000 in the bank as an emergency fund. She also owns a rental property, from which she earns $12,000 a year. Which of the following responses best represents her wealth?

A) her gross $60,000 income
B) her rental property and the $12,000 income it produces
C) her two properties and her $20,000 savings
D) her two properties and her $12,000 rental-property income

Question 40

Which of the following scenarios best represents outsourcing?

A) the opening of a call center for an American credit card company in the Philippines
B) a reduction in airport security staff when new surveillance equipment is installed
C) the movement of a manufacturing facility from an urban center to the urban-rural fringe
D) the enrollment of unskilled laborers in trade schools

Question 41

Dawn works as a lawyer for a Fortune 500 company and recently bought her first home. She was the first person in her family to attend college. Even though while she was growing up her family was very busy working to pay rent and other bills-her dad worked as a janitor and her mother as a childcare assistant-her parents have always been supportive of her education and career goals. What sociological concept best describes Dawn's life?

A) upward mobility
B) downward mobility
C) socioeconomic culture
D) relative poverty

Question 42

Remington is involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement. He camped out for weeks at a park opposite the statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, and was eventually arrested. Remington, like other protestors, has many concerns about his economic condition, but he likely joined the movement to protest __________.

A) the unconstitutionality of healthcare reform
B) the outsourcing of American jobs to Asia
C) the disparity in income and wealth between the top 1 percent of Americans and everyone else
D) the decline of labor union participation

Question 43

It is often better to use the __________, instead of the __________, to measure household income because it is a more stable calculation that is influenced less by outliers.

A) median; mean
B) mean; median
C) mode; mean
D) median; mode

Question 44

Describe how deindustrialization has impacted workers in the United States since the 1950s. Why is deindustrialization thought to contribute to inequality?

Question 45

The United States spends __________ on programs that directly alleviate poverty than other wealthy nations.

A) less
B) more
C) about the same
D) a lot more

Question 46

Candace and Bill are married with two children. Bill works and earns minimum wage. Candace stays home to raise their two young children. Their annual household income in 2012 was below the poverty line. Given this scenario, you can accurately infer that __________.

A) they live in absolute poverty
B) neither Candace nor Bill have full-time jobs
C) their annual income is below $23,000
D) once the children are in school they will no longer live below the poverty line

Question 47

A group of friends are discussing their salaries. Among them they earn the following per year: $40,000, $50,000, $65,000, $68,000, and $75,000. What is the median salary among this group of friends?

A) $50,000
B) $63,800
C) $65,000
D) $75,000

Question 48

How is inequality of opportunity measured?

Question 49

What is the significance and limitations of the poverty line?

Question 50

Don and Cal are high school friends from the same hometown. After high school, Don started to work full-time as an overnight cleaner at a floor cleaning business. Cal attended a public university nearby and earned a bachelor's degree in marketing. At their 10-year reunion Don and Cal discuss the courses their lives have taken since they graduated from high school. Don has been working full-time for the whole 10 years and makes about $40,000 per year from the cleaning business. Cal has been working for 5 years as manager of the marketing department at a health insurance company in the area; he makes about $70,000 per year. What concept would a sociologist use to describe the differences between Don and Cal?

A) the college wage premium
B) absolute poverty
C) the technological wage deficit
D) outsourcing

Question 51

Explain the distinction between relative and absolute poverty.

Question 52

A sociologist would most likely conclude what about homeless individuals?

A) The homeless live in absolute poverty.
B) The homeless experience true opportunity in a meritocracy.
C) The homeless are part of the "1 percent."
D) The homeless have high income, but low wealth.

Question 53

Karen is a home care aid. She earns about $10 an hour and works 40 hours a week. She is unable to save, and last month her car broke down. She cannot afford to fix her car, being already late in paying her bills for gas and electricity. From this description of Karen's life, you conclude that she is a member of which class?

A) the middle class
B) the lower middle class
C) the working poor
D) the underclass