Ch6 Verified Test Bank Social Structures, Social Inequality

Chapter 6

Social Structures, Social Inequality,

and the Life Course

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following are patterned relationships that differentially rank or distribute individuals according to socially evaluated characteristics related to privilege and power?
   1. Generations
   2. Values and beliefs
   3. Social structures
   4. Political parties

Page: 167

1. According to McDaniel (1997), which of the following is not a criterion for evaluating and understanding intergenerational transfers?
   1. The direction of the transfer
   2. The content of the transfer
   3. The sector
   4. The party that benefits most from the transfer

Page: 190

1. Which of the following is considered to be an achieved attribute in relation to social positions?
   1. Social class
   2. Race
   3. Gender
   4. Ethnicity

Page: 169

1. Which of the following is considered to be an ascribed attribute in relation to social positions?
   1. Social class
   2. Age
   3. Education
   4. Culture

Page: 169

1. What does biological sex refer to?
   1. The genetic and biological difference between males and females
   2. The socially constructed concept that defines what it means to be male or female in a given society
   3. Intimacy
   4. An emergent property of situated interaction rather than a role or attribute

Page: 172

1. Which of the following is not an aspect of women’s gendered reality?
   1. Less access to education and income
   2. Fewer difficulties in later life
   3. More responsibility for unpaid family caregiving
   4. A greater degree of poverty, in general

Page: 172

1. How has aging been described?
   1. As a man’s issue
   2. As a woman’s issue
   3. As an education issue
   4. As a family issue

Page 172

1. According to Ven et al., what is needed in order to fully understand the unique experiences of women and men, both separately and in relation to one another?
   1. Double jeopardy
   2. A gendered lens
   3. Feminism
   4. Intersectionality perspective

Page: 173

1. What is the feminization of later life?
   1. Dependence of men on their wives in later life
   2. Independence and wealth of older women
   3. Greater value of older women in society
   4. Vulnerability of women in later life because of lifelong gender differences

Page: 173

1. What type of environment encourages opportunities for education, work, and leisure at all ages?
   1. Alternative
   2. Age-segregated
   3. Age-integrated
   4. Adaptive

Page: 181

1. How have some scholars referred to the multi-dimensional impact of age and gender that can lead to social inequality?
   1. Double jeopardy
   2. Multiple jeopardy
   3. Age grading
   4. Ageism by gender

Page: 174

1. Who experiences the highest poverty rate in Canada?
   1. Senior men
   2. Senior women
   3. Single, unmarried, widowed, or divorced men
   4. Single, unmarried, widowed, or divorced women

Page: 176

1. What percentage of a man’s wage do women typically earn?
   1. 51 per cent
   2. 61 per cent
   3. 71 per cent
   4. 81 per cent

Page: 176

1. Which of the following is not one of the four major generations of the twentieth century?
   1. Adults who had just entered or were about to enter the labour force during the Great Depression of the 1930s
   2. The parents of the Depression generation
   3. The children of the Depression generation
   4. The baby-boom generation

Page: 179

1. Which term refers to the subgroups of a generation who hold different world views or have a unique group consciousness?
   1. Cohorts
   2. Sub-generations
   3. Generational units
   4. Divergent cohorts

Page: 179

1. Which of the following refers to the comparison of specific cohorts—or groups of adjacent cohorts—on the basis of socio-historical experiences?
   1. Cohort analysis
   2. Generational analysis
   3. Lineage effect analysis
   4. Structural age analysis

Page: 180

1. Which of the following is not used to explain lineage gaps in the extended family?
   1. Differences in values and attitudes
   2. Generational effects
   3. Education
   4. Cohort effects

Page: 187-188

1. What is cohort-centrism?
   1. Members of a cohort seeing an older cohort as a threat to their pension
   2. Members of a cohort succeeding one another over time
   3. Members of a cohort believing that they are superior to another cohort
   4. Members of a cohort interpreting all social or historical events from their own point of view

Page: 184

1. What are most studies of generational succession and social change based on?
   1. Cross-sectional studies
   2. Longitudinal studies
   3. Interviews
   4. Focus groups

Page: 186

1. The Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign is an example of which of the following?
   1. Ageism by older adults
   2. Social change by older adults
   3. Community healing
   4. Cohort effects

Page: 185-186

1. Which of the following should be considered when attempting to determine whether a generation gap exists at the societal level?
   1. Age or cohort differences
   2. Social class
   3. Ethnicity
   4. Religion

Page: 186-187

1. Why is it important to understand intergenerational strain?
   1. When intergenerational strain decreases, it could lead to cohort effects or social disintegration.
   2. When intergenerational strain arises, it could lead to generation gaps or inequities.
   3. When intergenerational strain arises, it could lead to societal harmony or equality.
   4. When intergenerational strain decreases, it could lead to generation gaps or inequities.

Page: 186

1. Which of the following is not a debate surrounding societal gaps?
   1. To what extent a gap, if it exists, leads to generational conflict, social disharmony, or social change
   2. Whether there are societal or only lineage gaps
   3. Whether there are societal or only generational gaps
   4. Whether and to what extent generation gaps are widened due to the adoption of new technologies

Page: 188

1. Which of the following groups is least likely to integrate mobile and social technology?
   1. Gen Y
   2. Gen X
   3. Baby boomers
   4. Millennials

Page: 189

1. Which of the following continues to be debated in Canada as part of a discussion of changes in intergenerational relations and public policy that are needed to address population aging, both of which are complex issues?
   1. Generational ineptitude
   2. Generational norming
   3. Generational unity
   4. Generational equity

Page: 194

True or False Questions

1. Social structure is entirely responsible for an individual’s life course or outcome.

Page: 168

1. Economic security and health in later life are influenced by gender, race, ethnicity, and class (especially the level of education) and to one’s marital and employment history across the life course.

Page: 170

1. Age structures are social dimensions of age that influence individuals and society.

Page: 167

1. Early and sustained poverty can predict higher rates of disability in later life.

Page: 170

1. Education cannot facilitate upward mobility within the social structure.

Page: 170

1. Transgendered older adults are an over-researched group.

Page: 172

1. Very few female Indigenous elders experience social isolation in rural and remote communities because of social structures.

Page: 176

1. The terms “generation” and “cohort” are often used interchangeably in the media.

Page: 179

1. Lineage effects are the same as cohort effects.

Page: 180

1. Age strata are groups in a classification system in which individuals are classified according to chronological age.

Page: 181

1. Private transfers are those that occur from the state to individuals or families.

Page: 190-192

1. Age grading is the process through which age influences social positions, roles, and norms.

Page: 181

1. Ascriptive age norms are based on rules and constraints related to specific ages, such as the legal voting age.

Page: 181

1. Consensual age norms are when men and women agree to have sexual relations.

Page: 181

1. Institutions for older adults should be age-segregated rather than age-integrated.

Page: 181-182

1. There are likely more similarities in values, ideals, and behaviour in the family and extended kinship system than there are at the societal level.

Page: 186

1. The definition of “old age” is generally the same for Indigenous people as it is for the rest of the population.

Page: 183

1. Cohort flow is the process whereby individuals look older than their age.

Page: 184

1. Teenagers feeling that their parents are out of touch with fashion is an example of a lineage gap.

Page: 187

1. Role transitions across the life course tend to be shaped more by predisposition to disease than environmental factors.

Page: 188-190

1. Because younger generations are so immersed in it, social media always intensifies generational separation and never facilitates bringing generations together.

Page: 188-190

1. The concept of “linked lives” refers to the idea that different cohorts at the societal level and different individuals at the family level are connected over time.

Page: 190

1. Private transfers across generations are a modern event.

Page: 192

1. Generational equity issues are important in pension debates because they raise the problem of resource allocation across age groups.

Page: 193-194

1. Social inequity across age groups helps keep a society functioning smoothly.

Page: 194-195

Short Answer Questions

1. What are age structures are and why are they important?

Page: 167-168

1. Which theories guide our thinking about social structures and aging? Provide four or five examples.

Page: 168

1. How is social inequality connected to one’s position in the social system? Use the example of a 65-year-old man to illustrate your answer.

Page: 169

1. How are social positions assigned? What is the consequence in terms of opportunity?

Page: 169

1. What variations can occur in the number of interlocking social classes or strata?

Page: 170

1. In what ways is the social class structure strongly influenced by the level of formal education attained by individuals?

Page: 170

1. What is the difference between gender and sex? Why is it important to understand gender when studying aging?

Page: 172

1. According to Ven et al. (2011), why are women disadvantaged in accessing adequate pensions?

Page: 174

1. Why is female poverty a catch-22 cycle?

Page: 176-177

1. What is generational analysis?

Page: 180

1. How do race, ethnicity, and age interact?

Page: 175-178

1. What is age grading?

Page: 181

1. What characterizes the debate surrounding age-segregated versus age-integrated social structures?

Page: 181-182

1. Describe the concept of cohort flow.

Page: 184

1. What causes the structural lag in relation to policies and programs for older adults? How might this lag be reduced or eliminated?

Page: 183

1. How can successive cohorts change the social stratification of society through agency?

Page: 185-186

1. What is intergenerational strain within immigrant families?

Page: 187

1. Is the technology generation gap widening?

Page: 189

1. What is the generational equity debate?

Page: 193-194

1. What are intergenerational transfers?

Page: 190

1. How can intergenerational transfers create generational conflict?

Page: 190-192

1. What are four developments that suggest a loss of generational equity?

Page: 193

1. How can debts due to population aging be eliminated?

Page: 193-194

1. There has been a growing feeling among younger generations that the benefits older people receive from publicly-funded programs are disproportionate to their cur­rent or past contributions or to their real need. What are four commonly-held opinions regarding this issue?

Page: 194

1. What is the difference between a generation and a cohort?

Page: 178