Deck 3: Status Inequality

Question 1

Social status refers to an individual's ranking with respect to:

A) the amount of education one has
B) some socially important characteristic
C) the amount of money one makes
D) the number of possessions one owns

Answer 1

some socially important characteristic

Question 2

People are often evaluated and ranked on the basis of:

A) education
B) religion
C) speech patterns
D) all of the above

Answer 2

all of the above

Question 3

Which of the following does Weber NOT include among his characteristics of status groups?

A) a specific level of wealth or income
B) a tendency to marry within one's own rank
C) monopolization of economic opportunities
D) emphasis upon ownership of certain types of possessions

Answer 3

a specific level of wealth or income

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a quality that Weber argued may elicit honor or dishonor?

A) one's family name
B) the street where one lives
C) the number of possessions one owns
D) the kind and degree of education one has

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a norm that Murray Milner (2004) posits an individual's status within a group is dependent on conformity to? (43)

A) social relationships
B) certain physical characteristics
C) use of appropriate symbols
D) none of the above

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a type of 'boundary work' performed by status groups to reinforce status distinctions?

A) endogamy
B) a careful screening process
C) interracial relationships
D) none of the above

Question 7

Milner (2004) has demonstrated how teenagers maintain status distinctions among their peers by using their:

A) physical beauty
B) consumption and buying power
C) grades
D) all of the above

Question 8

Lamont (2000) found that working-class men use _______ as a way to distinguish themselves as an honorable and distinct status.

A) wealth
B) political power
C) integrity
D) masculinity

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of deferential behavior that is expected to be shown towards those in more prestigious or honored groups?

A) addressing your boss by their first name
B) addressing your close friend by their last name
C) addressing your professor as "Dr." or "Professor"
D) addressing your mother by her first name

Question 10

Individuals with higher-ranking occupations have been found to have:

A) a wider array of clothing
B) more economic resources
C) more travel experiences
D) broader taste in music

Question 11

According to a 2005 Harris Poll, ________ ranked near the top in terms of occupational prestige while _______ ranked near the bottom

A) stockbroker/nurse
B) fireman/real estate broker
C) doctor/nurse
D) scientist/fireman

Question 12

Bourdieu (1977a) suggests that higher education helps to:

A) equalize the playing field by providing people with opportunities for success
B) reproduce the class structure by reinforcing the value and status differences between classes
C) mitigate class inequality by ensuring equality of result
D) none of the above

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a finding based on studies of elite prep schools? Education is teaching students how to:

A) mask their wealth
B) acquire taste
C) maintain healthy relationships
D) carry out class obligations

Question 14

The 'brick wall syndrome' regarding prep schools is the belief that:

A) there is nothing wrong with exclusivity and separation from out-groups
B) equality should be the norm
C) success is based on individual performance
D) none of the above

Question 15

Which of the following is an important step in class cultivation at the college level?

A) maintaining strong ties with professors
B) playing a leading role on athletic teams
C) maintaining a high grade point average
D) getting into the right sorority or fraternity

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT an institution found by E. Digby Baltzell (1958) to serve the upper class?

A) boarding schools
B) select eastern colleges and universities
C) financial and lending institutions
D) the Episcopal Church

Question 17

Which category may have sufficient economic resources to be accepted into the inner circle of
The established rich within a community, but lacks sufficient status resources to do so?

A) the self-made rich
B) avant garde artists
C) young, urban professionals
D) none of the above

Question 18

"Cultural capital" refers to:

A) the social connections one has
B) the amount of money one possesses
C) how much wealth is accumulated in one culture as opposed to another
D) a group's values, experience, knowledge, and skills passed on through generations

Question 19

Prestigious prep schools:

A) help to reproduce status groups
B) lack formal and informal discipline
C) encourage the acceptance of all types of values
D) serve as a major impetus for greater equality in society

Question 20

High-school cliques:

A) are often stigmatized
B) often have lifestyles that distinguish them from other groups
C) tend to reduce boundaries separating individuals and groups
D) are seldom found today, but rather appear to be a phenomenon of the past

Question 21

Education at prestigious prep schools:

A) stresses the development of particular values
B) focuses on vocational training for specific occupations
C) is rather loosely organized and not taken too seriously
D) is not very predictive of entrance into high-ranking universities

Question 22

Taking significant steps to insure that your child is placed in the "right" pre-school or private
School illustrates Annette Lareau's concept of:

A) social deference
B) conspicuous waste
C) concerted cultivation
D) invidious comparison

Question 23

Which of the following is a type of "boundary work" performed by a status group to limit entry into its ranks?

A) deference
B) credentials
C) group ranking
D) cognitive dissonance

Question 24

According to Veblen, the expensive and impractical fashions worn by the wives illustrated the concept of:

A) parody display
B) the beauty myth
C) conspicuous waste
D) leisure class theory

Question 25

The lifestyle of the upper class includes the expectation that:

A) children will marry whom they wish
B) children will be free to choose their occupation
C) a family is supposed to live in a diverse neighborhood
D) there will be a sexual division of labor in the family

Question 26

Thorstein Veblen held:

A) high praise for elite boarding schools
B) that women were the ornaments of men
C) that productive labor defined one as being in the upper class
D) that men rather than women have done most of the productive labor in society

Question 27

Veblen's term that describes engaging in ostentatious displays of wealth and status is referred to as:

A) generosity
B) invidiousness
C) conspicuous addition
D) conspicuous consumption

Question 28

Research has suggested that individuals who are considered physically attractive are also considered to:

A) have happier marriages
B) have more mental illness
C) be worse performers in the classroom
D) be less likeable than those who are less attractive

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding physical beauty?

A) Physical beauty can be used as a resource, like wealth or talent.
B) A study shows that physical beauty impacts that way that they treat their children.
C) Physical beauty may be used to reinforce gender inequality.
D) Definitions of physical beauty are culturally universal.

Question 30

Alison Lurie considers the technique of unnecessarily wearing several layers of clothing (i.e. scarves and vests) to be:

A) conspicuous division
B) conspicuous multiplication
C) conspicuous addition
D) conspicuous labeling

Question 31

Higher-end clothing and accessory manufacturers often place the designer's name or logo on the Outside of the product. This practice promotes which status function for the wearer? It Demonstrates:

A) the superior quality of the product to onlookers
B) the "good taste" and wealth of the wearer to onlookers
C) that being able to afford the product is irrelevant to the wearer
D) none of the above

Question 32

Which of the following has been shown to be true regarding space and gender inequality:

A) women's work spaces tend to be more private than men's work spaces
B) women's lower status was historically used to keep them out of college
C) at home, men and women use the same spaces and entrances
D) none of the above

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT a factor that contributed to inequality in Appalachia?

A) outside corporate intrusion with little infrastructural investment
B) racial, educational, and employment discrimination
C) its complete isolation
D) the elites' narrow political agenda

Question 34

Which of the following is a true statement regarding Appalachia?

A) The 1980s and 90s were economically stagnant in Appalachia compared to the rest of the U.S.
B) The proportion of Appalachian workers with college educations is about the same as the rest of the nation.
C) Around 1980, 99 percent of the local Appalachians controlled almost all the land.
D) Mountaintop mining brought a boost of tourism to Appalachia.

Question 35

Which of the following is evidence of the development of new status communities as a result of globalization?

A) a decrease in immigration to the U.S. from Latin America and Asia
B) public discussions about various racial groups
C) concerns about the global educational and digital divide
D) none of the above

Question 36

Caste systems are characterized by:

A) exogamy
B) easy social mobility across the system
C) openness of access to a wide range of occupations
D) classification into a position on the basis of some fixed characteristic like race or lineage

Question 37

Studies of Appalachia suggest that:

A) it has few of the characteristics of a colony
B) the negative image of Appalachians was created to justify the exploitation of their region
C) outside investors and owners have played only a small role in Appalachia's economy
D) none of the above are true

Question 38

Which of the following personality characteristics has NOT been associated with Appalachians?

A) fatalistic
B) backwards
C) refusal of modern progress
D) sense of control over their lives

Question 39

The popular images of Appalachia include a view of it as:

A) a stagnant and backward region
B) a mystical region of natural beauty
C) a colony exploited by greedy outside interests
D) all of the above

Question 40

Social status is mainly rooted in having a particular lifestyle and set of social characteristics as opposed to having wealth and power.

Question 41

While economic inequality primarily focuses on qualities, status inequality is about quantities.

Question 42

The dormitory in which a student lives may determine the status ranking that they are assigned by their peers.

Question 43

The economic position of an individual has very little impact on their social position.

Question 44

Attempts to separate or distance themselves from other groups are characteristic of status groups.

Question 45

According to Weber, a caste system developing out of a status system happens only when the main distinction is 'ethnic' in nature.

Question 46

As long as you are in an occupation that is honorable (i.e., not criminal or unethical in nature), others will give you significant deference.

Question 47

Community service work can serve as grounds for deference in some locations.

Question 48

The most commonly used measure of occupational ranking tap the economic dimension as opposed to the prestige one.

Question 49

Bensman (1972) found that musicians, as a 'status community,' are internally stratified according to the instrument one plays and the level of skill with which it is played.

Question 50

The elitism and degree of selectivity associated with a school is linked to its level of prestige.

Question 51

Unambiguous categorization of individuals according to appearance, behaviors, values, and attitudes develops as a teenager.

Question 52

A study showed that many students would rather pay for lunch even if they could not afford it or go without eating rather than lower their status by showing their peers that they are in the subsidized lunch program.

Question 53

Because they tend to separate themselves, belonging to a clique often intensifies social isolation.

Question 54

Being stuck-up increases popularity while being super nice to everyone decreases one's rank.

Question 55

Veblen thought that nonfunctional, unproductive activity characterized the leisure class.

Question 56

Upper-class families tend to be characterized by egalitarian relationships between parents and children.

Question 57

What is significant about the goods owned by high-ranking status groups is their symbolic, rather than their economic value.

Question 58

Veblen argued that a person's worth and honor in modern times was linked to their ability to pay, i.e., their wealth and possessions.

Question 59

Many possessions such as cars have a level of prestige that differs drastically from their monetary value.

Question 60

Clues to an individual's status group can often be found in their use of language.

Question 61

Black women, more often than White women, have negative feelings about their body shape and weight.

Question 62

When beauty is used as a weapon in a crime, more attractive individuals receive more severe punishments.

Question 63

It has been well-established that the most often-used status symbol in urban settings is the car one drives.

Question 64

The appearance of second-hand clothing stores that cater to the not-quite affluent demonstrates the importance people place on making an impression.

Question 65

Historically, sociologists have paid much attention to the impact that the arrangement of space and the role of space have on social inequality. .

Question 66

High concentrations of the upper class reside in New England, Florida, and California.

Question 67

Public housing contains disproportionate numbers of elderly and children.

Question 68

Living in a particular neighborhood or community is almost always the result of free choice.

Question 69

"Turf wars" in terms of control of space are not only perpetuated by those at the bottom of the status system, but also by those at the top.

Question 70

Historically, Appalachia has been very poor in natural resources.

Question 71

In the early 1990s, rural Appalachia actually had a lower poverty rate than the national average.

Question 72

Appalachia is a region with varied resources, differentiated geography, and varied ethnicities.

Question 73

According to Weber, legalization of status privileges is not a characteristic of caste systems.

Question 74

The high poverty rates in Appalachia appear to be due principally to subcultural characteristics of the people in the region.

Question 75

Both Blacks and women have been characterized as belonging to separate status groups.

Question 76

Although globalization impacts economic inequality, it has very little impact on status inequality.

Question 77

Recent "terrorist" activities have helped to unify those of different relgions.

Question 78

What particular elements characterize status groups? Provide examples.

Question 79

In what sense does Appalachia serve as an example of both economic and status inequality?

Question 80

Discuss Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class and how it demonstrates the linkage between class position and status.