Test Bank Chapter 7 Social Class The Structure Of Inequality - The Real World Sociology 7e Test Bank by Kerry Ferris. DOCX document preview.
Chapter 7 Social Class: The Structure of Inequality
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. What is one of the basic principles of social stratification?
a. | Low-level groups often have basic access to the rewards and privileges of higher-level groups. |
b. | Families’ social positions start anew with each new generation. |
c. | All societies stratify according to wealth accumulation. |
d. | It is maintained through beliefs that are widely shared in a society. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.1 Social Stratification and Social Inequality
MSC: Remembering
2. Sociologists often point out that systems of stratification in the United States systematically favor white men. People sometimes contest this by referencing wealthy and powerful black women like Oprah Winfrey or Toni Morrison. A valid counterpoint to this argument is that
a. | black women are often the exception to this tendency. |
b. | Winfrey and Morrison have higher social statuses because of other markers of class that they inherited, such as regional accents. |
c. | stratification is a characteristic of a society rather than a reflection of individual differences. |
d. | Winfrey and Morrison must have inherited a high social status from their parents. |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.1 Social Stratification and Social Inequality
MSC: Applying
3. What term describes the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy?
a. | social inequality |
b. | apartheid |
c. | social stratification |
d. | social divisions |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.1 Social Stratification and Social Inequality
MSC: Remembering
4. What term describes the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society?
a. | social stratification |
b. | social inequality |
c. | apartheid |
d. | social divisions |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.1 Social Stratification and Social Inequality
MSC: Remembering
5. Which is true of social mobility in a caste system?
a. | Social mobility is common with hard work. |
b. | A great deal of social mobility occurs. |
c. | A small part of each generation will experience upward social mobility. |
d. | There is virtually no chance of social mobility. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification
MSC: Understanding
6. Apartheid is a specific example of what system of social stratification?
a. | caste |
b. | class |
c. | slavery |
d. | oligarchy |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification
MSC: Remembering
7. A young girl from a poor family is sent to live with wealthy distant relatives. Her relatives expect her to take care of the household, cooking and cleaning instead of going to school. They do not pay her and threaten her when she attempts to return home. Her situation is an example of
a. | the new caste system. |
b. | modern apartheid. |
c. | modern slavery. |
d. | the new Jim Crow. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification
MSC: Applying
8. ________ is a system of stratification commonly used in modern capitalist societies.
a. | Gender |
b. | Social class |
c. | Social caste |
d. | Slavery |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification
MSC: Remembering
9. The criteria used by a social class system to stratify its members include
a. | power, heredity, and employment status. |
b. | wealth, occupational attainment, and gender. |
c. | property, power, and prestige. |
d. | gender, race, and ethnicity. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification
MSC: Remembering
10. How does social class relate to race, ethnicity, gender, and age in the United States today?
a. | Race and ethnicity are more important than any other factor in determining social class. |
b. | These multiple dimensions of status and inequality intersect to shape who we are and how we live. |
c. | These other variables matter for members of the upper class but not for members of the middle or lower classes. |
d. | These variables matter for members of the lower class but not for members of the upper or middle class. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification
MSC: Analyzing
11. A black man in the United States was convicted of a felony when he was 17. He is now 58 and has not committed any crimes since his release. However, he is still not permitted to vote. Michelle Alexander would describe this as an example of
a. | everyday class consciousness. |
b. | status inconsistency. |
c. | the underclass. |
d. | the new Jim Crow. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification
MSC: Applying
12. What is the estimated number of people trapped in modern-day slavery?
a. | 15,000,000 |
b. | 25,000,000 |
c. | 30,000,000 |
d. | 40,000,000 |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification | InQuizitive
MSC: Remembering
13. Most Americans claim they
a. | are upper class. |
b. | are lower class. |
c. | are middle class. |
d. | do not feel they have a class status or they are unaware of it. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Remembering
14. The upper class makes up just 1 percent of the total U.S. population, but its total net worth is greater than that of ________ percent of the rest of the population.
a. | 10 |
b. | 53 |
c. | 90 |
d. | 99 |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Remembering
15. Which of the following is accurate about the upper class in the United States today?
a. | It is a largely self-sustaining group and rarely adds new members. |
b. | It is comprised mainly of skilled workers in technical fields. |
c. | It makes up about 30 percent of the population. |
d. | Those in the upper class usually work in executive, managerial, and professional jobs. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Remembering
16. “White collar” workers employed in technical and lower-management positions belong to the
a. | working class. |
b. | lower class. |
c. | middle class. |
d. | upper-middle class. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Remembering
17. ________ are the types of jobs usually available to members of the lower-middle class.
a. | Technical or professional jobs |
b. | Executive or managerial positions |
c. | Blue collar or manual labor jobs |
d. | Lower-management jobs |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Remembering
18. An accountant with a college degree and a license from the state accounting board works for the Department of Defense as a senior auditor. He makes about $100,000 per year and will soon retire with benefits and a pension. To what class would you expect him to belong?
a. | upper class |
b. | working class |
c. | middle class |
d. | upper-middle class |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Applying
19. What is Mother Teresa an example of, given that she was a person with tremendous power and prestige yet she was very poor?
a. | status inequality |
b. | status inconsistency |
c. | status contradiction |
d. | status reversal |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Applying
20. Which social class category is comprised of people who live in poverty conditions and typically earn $15,000 or less per year?
a. | underclass |
b. | working poor |
c. | working class |
d. | blue collar |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Remembering
21. Maxine comes from a working-class background. Her father worked in construction his whole life and her mother was a stay-at-home mom who dropped out of high school but later got her GED. Maxine becomes interested in computer programming at a young age and spends many hours in the school library teaching herself. Maxine attends the state university on a scholarship. While there, she develops a valuable algorithm for identifying neurological diseases that makes her a multi-millionaire. She drops out of college to continue her work. Which term related to social class best describes this scenario?
a. | intersectionality |
b. | social inequality |
c. | status inconsistency |
d. | social stratification |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Analyzing
22. ________ was the system of social stratification in the final stages of breaking down when Karl Marx developed his ideas.
a. | Feudalism |
b. | Capitalism |
c. | Slavery |
d. | Communism |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Remembering
23. According to Karl Marx, the social relations that matter MOST in a capitalist system are
a. | family and kin. |
b. | community bonds. |
c. | economic relations. |
d. | nationalistic bonds. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Remembering
24. Karl Marx spent much of his life attempting to understand and describe how capitalism works. In one particularly vivid passage, he described the turbulence he saw as inherent in capitalism: “All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real condition of life and his relations with his kind.” What sort of relationships did he think his readers had with other people?
a. | relationships of community and religion |
b. | relationships based on social bonds and solidarity |
c. | economic relationships |
d. | cultural relationships |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Applying
25. Which of the following demonstrates Karl Marx’s conviction that social inequality would continue to grow?
a. | “No one knows who will live in this cage in the future, or whether at the end of this tremendous development entirely new prophets will arise, or there will be a great rebirth of ideas and ideals, or, if neither, mechanized petrification, embellished with a sort of convulsive self-importance.” |
b. | “The modern laborer . . . instead of rising with the process of industry, sinks deeper and deeper below the conditions of existence of his own class. He becomes a pauper, and pauperism develops more rapidly than population and wealth.” |
c. | “A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, i.e., things set apart and forbidden—beliefs and practices which unite in one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them.” |
d. | “For the metropolis presents the peculiar conditions which are revealed to us as the opportunities and the stimuli for the development of both these ways of allocating roles to men.” |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Analyzing
26. How is Max Weber’s idea of social class different from Karl Marx’s?
a. | Weber did not believe owning the means of production mattered in any way. |
b. | Weber believed class status was inherited and that it was an extension of the old feudal system. |
c. | Weber believed wealth was the only factor that mattered, regardless of how that wealth was acquired. |
d. | Weber believed that wealth, power, and prestige all affected a person’s social class. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Analyzing
27. Priests, ministers, rabbis, imams, and clergy are often prestigious members of their communities, although they make very little money. Which social theorist first suggested that this is an important element of class status?
a. | Karl Marx |
b. | Émile Durkheim |
c. | Pierre Bourdieu |
d. | Max Weber |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Remembering
28. According to Pierre Bourdieu, ________ is the tendency of social class to be passed down from one generation to the next and consequently remain relatively stable over time.
a. | the invisibility of poverty |
b. | slavery |
c. | ideology |
d. | social reproduction |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Remembering
29. ________ is/are the tastes, habits, and expectations that children “inherit” or learn from their parents, which help them achieve material success in life.
a. | Cultural capital |
b. | Ideology |
c. | Social welfare |
d. | Education |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Remembering
30. An individual might be trying to gain ________ if they take adult education classes, attend lectures and concerts, or travel to Europe.
a. | cultural capital |
b. | souvenirs |
c. | intersectionality |
d. | wealth |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Applying
31. In House of Yes, a play by Wendy MacLeod, the character Marty brings his fiancée Lesly to meet his family. She comes from a different social class, which leads to miscommunication and difficult interactions among Lesly, Marty, and Marty’s two siblings. According to Pierre Bourdieu, Lesly not having enough ________ could cause the strained relations.
a. | wealth |
b. | cultural capital |
c. | intersectionality |
d. | ideology |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Applying
32. In the 1960s, many sociologists noticed that economic obstacles alone were insufficient in explaining disparities in the educational attainment of children from different social classes. Which concept was introduced to explain these disparities?
a. | the American Dream |
b. | cultural capital |
c. | status inconsistency |
d. | class consciousness |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Analyzing
33. The school of social thought that insists all social structures, including systems of stratification, are built out of everyday interactions is called
a. | functionalism. |
b. | symbolic interactionism. |
c. | Weberianism. |
d. | conflict theory. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Understanding
34. Observers determine someone’s socioeconomic status when meeting them for the first time by their
a. | speech and gestures. |
b. | age. |
c. | gender. |
d. | parents’ occupations. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Understanding
35. It is often said that you can always tell a millionaire by her shoes. She may dress like a slob in every other respect, but someone from the upper class is bound to have expensive, custom-made footwear. Whether this is true or not, it helps demonstrate the way we
a. | try to “better ourselves” by increasing the amount of cultural capital we possess. |
b. | allow relative levels of prestige to determine our class status. |
c. | make split-second judgments about who people are and what social statuses they occupy based on their appearances. |
d. | surrender to the impersonal forces of the market. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Applying
36. Going away to college is often the first time young adults make friends with people of substantially different class statuses. This sometimes leads to tension when the wealthier member of a friendship is oblivious to their friend’s class status and suggests activities that are beyond the friend’s means. This tension results from a lack of
a. | historical materialism. |
b. | status inconsistency. |
c. | prestige or power. |
d. | everyday class consciousness. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Applying
37. Symbolic interactionists stress the way we make “snap judgments” about other people’s class statuses. We often pay close attention to what cues we display because we are aware that other people are judging us. Given this, why did Paul Fussell decide to measure class status with a “living room scale” rather than assessing some other part of the house?
a. | The living room is a part of the house the whole family uses. |
b. | The living room is where we receive guests. |
c. | The living room is where the most expensive furniture goes. |
d. | The living room is where the television is usually found. |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Evaluating
38. Sociologists call the awareness of our own and others’ class statuses
a. | everyday class consciousness. |
b. | everyday ideology. |
c. | everyday false consciousness. |
d. | cultural capital. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Remembering
39. Paul Fussell’s living room scale attempts to measure
a. | judgment. |
b. | the pace of interaction. |
c. | social class. |
d. | ideology. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Understanding
40. French sociologist and postmodernist Pierre Bourdieu suggested that social reproduction, or the tendency of social classes remaining relatively stable as class status is passed down from one generation to the next, occurs in part through the acquisition of
a. | prestige. |
b. | culture. |
c. | everyday class consciousness. |
d. | cultural capital. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class | InQuizitive
MSC: Remembering
41. What general predictions can sociologists make about a person’s life prospects if all that is known is the person’s social class?
a. | the level of education they will receive |
b. | their college major |
c. | if they will be a “dog person” or a “cat person” |
d. | whether they will have everyday class consciousness |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
42. What is the tendency to choose romantic partners based on similarities in background and group membership?
a. | homogamy |
b. | background knowledge |
c. | reflexivity |
d. | heteronormativity |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Remembering
43. What is realistic about so-called Cinderella stories like the film Pretty Woman, in which a low-status woman marries a wealthy, powerful man?
a. | Sex work is a common route to social advancement. |
b. | Class boundaries are often crossed in marriage. |
c. | Women usually marry up while men marry down when class boundaries are crossed. |
d. | Marriage customs are usually heterogamous. |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
44. Although “like usually marries like,”________ is more common for heterosexual women, whereas ________ is more common for heterosexual men when class boundaries are crossed in marriage.
a. | a closed system; an open system |
b. | hypogamy; hypergamy |
c. | an open system; a closed system |
d. | hypergamy; hypogamy |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
45. Newlyweds were asked about how they met. The newlyweds explained that they were friends as children because their families attended the same church, but they did not start dating until much later when they ended up at the same university. This couple is an example of
a. | heterogamy. |
b. | homogamy. |
c. | an open system. |
d. | a closed system. |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Applying
46. Greg J. Duncan and a team of researchers analyzed the effect of parental income on the academic achievement of children. What do you think Duncan found given what you have read about socioeconomic status and life chances?
a. | There was no correlation between class status and educational achievement. |
b. | Class status helped to predict high school grades but had no relationship to later academic success. |
c. | Children from working-class families had a better work ethic and, therefore, were more likely to attend and graduate from college. |
d. | Parental income was strongly correlated with academic achievement, especially in low-income families. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Analyzing
47. People are more likely to marry individuals with social and cultural backgrounds similar to their own because
a. | parents and other family members always exert pressure to marry within the group. |
b. | people spend a great deal of time alone and, therefore, have few opportunities for meeting people. |
c. | people have greater access to individuals like themselves. |
d. | people develop irrational fears of out-group members and are scared to date them. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
48. “Homogamy” is a term sociologists use to explain the tendency to choose romantic partners based on similarities in background and group membership. Why is this common?
a. | We tend to have more access to people like ourselves. |
b. | People are rebelling against the common knowledge that “opposites attract.” |
c. | We are hardwired to actively look for partners similar to ourselves. |
d. | It is too difficult to raise children with people who have different backgrounds from us. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
49. Members of the lower class exercise less often because
a. | exercise is a luxury often accessible only to those who do not have to struggle with day-to-day existence. |
b. | the poor are lazy. |
c. | poor people care less about their health. |
d. | the lower classes do not have health problems that make exercise necessary. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
50. What activity is MOST likely to take the place of a yoga class for a working-class woman given what you have read about socioeconomic status and life chances?
a. | taking care of her children after work |
b. | watching television |
c. | meeting neighbors for drinks at the local bar |
d. | taking a night class at a community college |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Analyzing
51. What sort of jobs can support a middle-class lifestyle in America today?
a. | jobs in manufacturing |
b. | jobs associated with blue-collar work |
c. | jobs associated with skilled trades like carpentry |
d. | jobs in the service, information, and technology sectors |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
52. Being born into a lower social class means that an individual will be more likely to
a. | feel at risk of being harassed by law enforcement. |
b. | complete college due to receiving need-based scholarships. |
c. | overcome criminal charges due to the assistance of a public defender. |
d. | be healthy due to access to Medicaid. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
53. What is a society called if social mobility is highly restricted by formal or informal rules like those of a caste system?
a. | capitalism |
b. | a system of achieved status |
c. | a closed system |
d. | an open system |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Remembering
54. What is it an example of when the children of working-class parents manage to attend college and get a job in a professional field?
a. | intragenerational mobility |
b. | horizontal social mobility |
c. | a lack of mobility |
d. | intergenerational mobility |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Applying
55. Social mobility that occurs over the course of an individual’s lifetime is called ________ mobility.
a. | life-cycle |
b. | intragenerational |
c. | structural |
d. | intergenerational |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Remembering
56. What do sociologists call it when an individual changes their career but remains within the same social class?
a. | vertical social mobility |
b. | structural mobility |
c. | intergenerational mobility |
d. | horizontal social mobility |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Remembering
57. What sort of social mobility often results from losing a job?
a. | horizontal |
b. | upward |
c. | career |
d. | vertical |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Understanding
58. Many people became instant millionaires during the so-called dot-com boom of the late 1990s, although we usually think of social mobility as a result of individual effort. This is an example of
a. | structural mobility. |
b. | wise investing. |
c. | savvy technological genius. |
d. | horizontal mobility. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Applying
59. What do sociologists call it when large numbers of people move up or down the social class ladder as a result of changes to society as a whole?
a. | social welfare |
b. | structural mobility |
c. | horizontal mobility |
d. | intergenerational mobility |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Understanding
60. The folk-pop singer Jewel is famous for having lived in her van when she first moved to San Diego and started performing in a coffee shop. Soon after Atlantic Records signed her, her advance allowed her to rent a house and buy a new car. Of what class-based phenomenon is this an example?
a. | socioeconomic status and life chances |
b. | apartheid |
c. | the culture of poverty |
d. | social mobility |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Applying
61. A reporter who covers the police beat at a newspaper changes careers. She becomes an editor of nonfiction books and is paid the same salary as she was at the newspaper. What has she experienced?
a. | structural mobility |
b. | intragenerational mobility |
c. | horizontal social mobility |
d. | vertical social mobility |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Applying
62. Many workers at auto plants in Michigan lost their jobs when plants closed. What has this resulted in for the vast majority of these workers?
a. | welfare reform |
b. | vertical social mobility |
c. | horizontal social mobility |
d. | intergenerational mobility |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Applying
63. Some immigrants have a hard time assimilating to a new culture. What are the children of immigrants experiencing if they assimilate and have a higher standard of living than their parents?
a. | intergenerational mobility |
b. | intragenerational mobility |
c. | structural mobility |
d. | immigrant mobility |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Applying
64. People are optimistic that the jobs lost in the U.S. recession of the late 2000s will be replaced with others. However, even if the optimists are right, the shift in the economy may permanently alter the social class status of many people. This is due to the jobs lost being largely in manufacturing and new jobs being mostly in information technology. This suggests that the newly unemployed will have trouble competing for newly created jobs. If this is the case, what is it called?
a. | structural mobility |
b. | intergenerational mobility |
c. | intragenerational mobility |
d. | absolute deprivation |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.6 Social Mobility
MSC: Applying
65. If researchers find that the Great Recession of 2008 led to large numbers of middle-class people experiencing downward mobility to the lower-middle class, it would be an example of
a. | relative deprivation. |
b. | a closed system. |
c. | structural mobility. |
d. | horizontal social mobility. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.6 Social Mobility | InQuizitive
MSC: Applying
66. Poverty can be defined in either relative or absolute terms. How is poverty defined according to relative deprivation?
a. | by comparing the standard of living among the poor to the basic necessities of life |
b. | by comparing the poor with people with low socioeconomic status in other countries |
c. | by determining if the poor have minimal food and shelter |
d. | by comparing the poor with more affluent members of society |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
67. Poverty can be defined in either relative or absolute terms. How is poverty defined according to absolute deprivation?
a. | by considering access to food, shelter, clothing, and medical care |
b. | by comparing the poor with more affluent members of society |
c. | by asking which groups within a society have power and prestige |
d. | by comparing the poor with the poor of other historical periods |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
68. In the United States, the federal poverty line is calculated using food costs based on the cheapest possible diet that can still provide basic nutrition. What sort of measure of poverty is this?
a. | a measure of poverty based on conflict theory |
b. | a measure of absolute deprivation |
c. | a measure of relative deprivation |
d. | a measure of social welfare |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Applying
69. In 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau identified the poverty threshold for a family of four as
a. | $52,700. |
b. | $42,000. |
c. | $35,500. |
d. | $25,570. |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Remembering
70. Which of the following is a serious flaw in the way the federal government defines poverty?
a. | It is too complicated because it takes into account too many factors, especially the cost of housing in each major metropolitan area. |
b. | It justifies a welfare system that supports a great number of people who simply do not want to work. |
c. | It does not take into account regional differences in the cost of living. |
d. | It overestimates the number of people who cannot afford basic necessities. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
71. What sort of measure of poverty are we using when we compare the salaries of the lowest-paid members of a corporation with the salary of the CEO?
a. | relative deprivation |
b. | cultural poverty |
c. | absolute deprivation |
d. | horizontal poverty |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Applying
72. Several members of the Indian government have argued that poverty in India should be calculated according to how many calories per day people consume, not in relation to their incomes. What sort of measure of poverty would this be?
a. | vertical |
b. | structural |
c. | absolute |
d. | relative |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Applying
73. One cost-of-living indicator shows that a salary of $40,000 in Santa Barbara, California is equivalent to $14,000 in Wichita, Kansas. This is primarily because of the cost of housing, which is much less expensive in Wichita. What does this difference say about how the federal government calculates poverty?
a. | It shows that poverty is connected to the local cost of living, which reflects the differences in rates of poverty in different parts of the country. |
b. | It shows that the poverty line is more or less accurate, because it has been recalibrated to take into account housing costs. |
c. | It points to a flaw in the way the government calculates the poverty line, as the standard is uniformly applied without regard to regional differences. |
d. | It points to a flaw in the way the government calculates the poverty line, as it proves there are far more poor people in the Midwest. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Analyzing
74. Americans are conflicted in their opinions about people living in poverty. About half think that circumstances beyond one’s control are to blame if a person is impoverished, while about a third say
a. | people living in poverty do not try hard enough. |
b. | there are no people living in poverty in the United States. |
c. | poverty was created by social welfare programs. |
d. | poverty can only be fixed by turning toward oligarchy. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
75. The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 ended the concept of entitlements by requiring recipients of welfare to find work within two years of receiving assistance. How has this changed the lives of the poor?
a. | Moving from welfare to work helped single people much more than it did families or single mothers. |
b. | Moving from welfare to work caused many former welfare recipients to plunge into homelessness. |
c. | Moving from welfare to work did not substantially increase income levels; it simply shifted the poor from welfare to low-paying jobs. |
d. | Moving from welfare to work increased both the self-esteem of the poor and their incomes. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
76. Under the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, ________ years was the total amount of time in which families could receive assistance.
a. | five |
b. | ten |
c. | fifteen |
d. | twenty |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Remembering
77. Which of the following is a form of stratification in which all positions are awarded on the basis of accomplishment and skill?
a. | democracy |
b. | meritocracy |
c. | oligarchy |
d. | technocracy |
DIF: Easy
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Remembering
78. Oscar Lewis was the first to suggest that the poor develop a way of life with fundamentally different values and goals because they are excluded from mainstream social life. Consequently, they are much less likely to join the middle class. This way of life is usually called
a. | the culture of poverty. |
b. | the invisibility of poverty. |
c. | the social contract. |
d. | oppression norms. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Remembering
79. What defines so-called official poverty in the United States based on household income?
a. | social stratification |
b. | the federal poverty line |
c. | relative deprivation |
d. | absolute deprivation |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Remembering
80. Samira does not have a computer in her house, so she uses computers in the library to complete school assignments. However, she often has less time than her peers to do research and type her assignments because the computers are sometimes occupied and the library closes early. What term describes Samira’s situation?
a. | the digital divide |
b. | the federal poverty line |
c. | the simplicity movement |
d. | disenfranchisement |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Applying
81. What is the principal sociological critique of the culture of poverty?
a. | The poor often move into the middle class. |
b. | The values and norms of many Americans in all class groups include attitudes of resignation and fatalism. |
c. | It tends to blame the victims of poverty for their own misfortunes while ignoring the structural causes of inequality. |
d. | Some people simply have a predisposition to making poor choices regarding finances. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
82. What makes the just-world hypothesis psychologically appealing to the average person?
a. | It is supported by a wealth of empirical data. |
b. | Most people’s everyday experiences teach them that society tends to distribute rewards and punishments fairly. |
c. | Most people have a strong need to believe that the world is orderly, predictable, and fair. |
d. | Many people develop skewed perceptions based on their worst experiences with the poor, which makes it hard for them to see things objectively. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
83. According to social psychologists, what do people tend to do when they encounter a situation that seems to be unfair and they cannot or will not act to make things right?
a. | dedicate themselves to bringing about change |
b. | try to find an authority figure who can take over the responsibility |
c. | try to use other resources, especially financial, to rectify the problem |
d. | convince themselves nothing bad has happened |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
84. The sociologist Susan Mayer studied poverty and welfare. She concluded that character traits in parents such as “diligence, honesty, good health, and reliability” led to increased achievement in children. Which theory do her conclusions support?
a. | conflict theory |
b. | structural functionalism |
c. | feminist theory |
d. | the culture of poverty |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Applying
85. In “The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation,” Drew Westen argues that advocates of health care reform turn many people against universal health care when they talk about it as a way to help the “uninsured” or “underinsured.” This is because there is an underlying assumption that poor people are getting what they deserve. What do sociologists call this assumption?
a. | disenfranchisement |
b. | the just-world hypothesis |
c. | class consciousness |
d. | the invisibility of poverty |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Applying
86. A homeless shelter in Illinois held a “sleep out” to protest cutting funding for homeless shelters. The organizers of the rally suspected that most residents did not realize just how many homeless people existed in their community. This was a result of what sociologists would call
a. | problematic categories. |
b. | the invisibility of poverty. |
c. | the latent function of welfare. |
d. | the just-world hypothesis. |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Applying
87. According to the text, which of the following has the effect of making poverty socially “invisible”?
a. | political engagement |
b. | the use of law enforcement to move the homeless away from visible locations |
c. | highlighting successful attempts by the poor to organize |
d. | cultural products such as movies that highlight the lives of the poor |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
88. The practice of refusing mortgages for the purchase of houses in poor and minority neighborhoods is called
a. | disenfranchisement. |
b. | redlining. |
c. | residential racism. |
d. | economic hegemony. |
DIF: Easy REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Remembering
89. How do law enforcement policies make the poor less visible?
a. | increasing scrutiny of the lower class |
b. | profiling the lower class |
c. | moving the homeless out of high-profile locations |
d. | attacking political protests that are organized by the poor |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
90. Some municipalities in the Los Angeles area have zoning rules that prohibit multifamily dwellings and require that all homes be built on lots of a certain size. What is the effect of these policies?
a. | residential segregation |
b. | political disenfranchisement |
c. | homelessness |
d. | social mobility |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Applying
91. In a six-to-three vote, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Indiana law that required residents to present photo identification before voting. Advocates of the law believe that it will help to prevent voter fraud. Opponents believe that the law contributes to ________ by targeting the poor, who are less likely to have photo identification.
a. | political disenfranchisement |
b. | status inconsistency |
c. | the ideology of the American Dream |
d. | meritocracy |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Applying
92. Who acted kindly toward John Coleman when he went undercover as a homeless person and lived on the street for ten days?
a. | his co-workers |
b. | other homeless men |
c. | a police officer |
d. | pedestrians who gave him food |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Remembering
93. Which of the following set of characteristics can be categorized as the average minimum-wage worker?
a. | a teenager who works part-time |
b. | nineteen years old, male, nonwhite, and working full-time |
c. | thirty-six years old, female, white, and working full-time |
d. | a post-retirement senior working full-time |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Remembering
94. Recent research by the Pew Research Center on attitudes about the government’s responsibility to help those in poverty revealed that
a. | Americans are largely divided on this issue, with those favoring government aid for those in poverty decreasing. |
b. | Americans largely believe that it is the government’s responsibility to provide aid for those who are in poverty. |
c. | the majority of Americans agree that the government should do more to help those in need. |
d. | most Americans believe government aid does more harm than good. |
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
95. A social scientist argues that inner-city families cannot escape a cycle of poverty because they see the lack of opportunities around them, decide that the world of the middle class is permanently closed to them, and do not try to maintain steady employment or send their children to college. What concept does this example highlight?
a. | just-world hypothesis |
b. | disenfranchisement |
c. | closed system |
d. | culture of poverty theory |
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty | InQuizitive
MSC: Applying
96. What is the relationship between the American Dream and the social class system by which the United States is stratified?
a. | The American Dream promises that one day social stratification will be overcome. |
b. | People who believe in the American Dream can usually overcome the class system. |
c. | The American Dream is a nice idea, but everyone really knows that it is just an inconsequential daydream. |
d. | The American Dream legitimizes inequality by reinforcing the idea that everyone has the same chance to get ahead. |
DIF: Difficult
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Understanding
97. What does Karl Marx call it when individuals fail to see the ways they are oppressed by the social system in which they live?
a. | false consciousness |
b. | ideology |
c. | hegemony |
d. | meritocracy |
DIF: Easy
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Remembering
98. José has been working hard for the past ten years, but most of the wealth he has is the result of inherited properties. Erin has also been working hard for the past ten years, but has accumulated virtually no wealth because she is paid the federal minimum wage and also supports her elderly mother. José and Erin demonstrate
a. | the just-world hypothesis. |
b. | the wealth gap. |
c. | hegemony. |
d. | meritocracy. |
DIF: Easy
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Applying
99. Why might someone resist treating Oprah Winfrey as the ultimate symbol of the American Dream?
a. | She was born into a fairly wealthy family. |
b. | She represents the exception rather than the rule. |
c. | She has recently lost most of her resources and is not particularly well off. |
d. | Her family might not have had much money, but it did have social connections that helped her career. |
DIF: Easy
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Understanding
100. What is the movement called that encourages people to work less, consume less, and generally “downshift” their lifestyles?
a. | class consciousness |
b. | the just-world movement |
c. | cultural capital |
d. | the simplicity movement |
DIF: Easy
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Remembering
101. The idea of the American Dream is MOST closely related to which of the following?
a. | social conflict theory |
b. | structural mobility |
c. | vertical social mobility |
d. | class consciousness |
DIF: Difficult
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Analyzing
102. Manohla Dargis called the movie The Pursuit of Happyness “the same old bootstraps story, an American Dream artfully told, skillfully sold. How you respond to this man’s moving story may depend on whether you find Mr. Smith’s and his son’s performances so overwhelmingly winning that you buy the idea that poverty is a function of bad luck and bad choices, and success the result of heroic toil and dreams.” What idea is being expressed here?
a. | The American Dream is an ideology. |
b. | America is a largely class-free society. |
c. | Poverty is absolute, not relative. |
d. | Most Americans will inherit their parents’ class status. |
DIF: Difficult
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Applying
103. Lilly Ledbetter, a supervisor at a Goodyear tire plant, discovered late in her career that she had been paid considerably less than any of the other people in her position. She argued that being paid less was simple discrimination since she was the only female supervisor. Assuming Ledbetter was right, it shows that her workplace was NOT
a. | class conscious. |
b. | aware of the law. |
c. | a meritocracy. |
d. | gender biased. |
DIF: Moderate
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Applying
104. A young doctor fresh out of medical school is looking for a position where he can work about twenty hours a week, even though he will make much less money than other doctors. He is likely
a. | lazy and selfish about helping people in need. |
b. | part of the simplicity movement. |
c. | experiencing structural mobility. |
d. | not very skilled. |
DIF: Moderate
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Applying
105. ________ is a form of stratification in which all positions are awarded on the basis of merit.
a. | Democracy |
b. | Meritocracy |
c. | Oligarchy |
d. | Technocracy |
DIF: Easy
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Remembering
TRUE/FALSE
1. There have been many societies throughout history with no social stratification.
DIF: Easy REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification
MSC: Remembering
2. In the United States, the denial of citizenship rights such as voting to convicted felons, who are disproportionately African American, has been compared to the caste system.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification
MSC: Understanding
3. The caste system is the most extreme system of social stratification.
DIF: Easy REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification
MSC: Remembering
4. Examples of caste systems can be found in both South Africa’s apartheid and in the United States as a result of Jim Crow laws.
DIF: Easy REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification
MSC: Remembering
5. The upper class represents just 1 percent of the U.S. population, but it has more wealth than the entire bottom 90 percent.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Remembering
6. The middle class is made up of mostly blue-collar workers.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Remembering
7. Culture is a source of shared norms and values, but cultural capital can never generate profits like economic capital can.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class
MSC: Understanding
8. Some sociologists suggest that, like extreme poverty, extreme wealth should be thought of as a social problem.
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Remembering
9. In the United States, hard work and dedication lift the majority of people out of poverty.
DIF: Easy
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Understanding
10. The wealth gap involves the unequal distribution of prestige or social honor that some individuals receive for being members of particular groups.
DIF: Easy
REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream MSC: Understanding
SHORT ANSWER
1. In Japan, men rank higher than women in the social hierarchy. However, Yoshiko Shinohara is one of Japan’s 50 richest people and has appeared on Forbes’s Asia 50 Power Businesswoman list. Explain how both of these statements are true, utilizing the principles of stratification.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.1 Social Stratification and Social Inequality
MSC: Understanding
2. Explain the system of stratification that currently exists in the United States in two to three sentences.
DIF: Easy REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification MSC: Understanding
3. In a few sentences, compare and contrast the class and caste systems of stratification.
DIF: Easy REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification MSC: Analyzing
4. According to Max Weber, what are the three components of class? Explain each of them in your own words.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class MSC: Understanding
5. Explain Bourdieu’s postmodern theory of social reproduction and the powerful role of cultural capital.
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class MSC: Understanding
6. What observations might people make that contribute to their everyday class consciousness?
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class MSC: Analyzing
7. Explain two ways in which belonging to a particular social class has a profound effect on almost every aspect of a person’s life.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
8. Briefly explain the concept of social mobility. What is the current trend of social mobility in the United States today?
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.6 Social Mobility MSC: Understanding
9. In what ways does the digital divide contribute to social inequality?
DIF: Easy REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
10. Contrary to popular myth, most people living in poverty are employed. Explain how the current minimum wage contributes to someone being part of the working poor.
DIF: Easy REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
ESSAY
1. A social stratification system exists in every society. Discuss the characteristics that all social stratification systems share.
DIF: Easy REF: 7.1 Social Stratification and Social Inequality
MSC: Understanding
2. Not all systems of slavery were like the one found in the United States. In some countries, enslaved people were not kidnapped from a distant country, and owners had the same racial and ethnic backgrounds as the people they enslaved. Discuss how this type of slavery worked and how certain people were enslaved within a society.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.2 Systems of Stratification MSC: Remembering
3. Explain status inconsistency and give two examples of it.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Understanding
4. Most people describe themselves as belonging to the middle class, but in reality, only about 30% of Americans are part of the middle class. Describe the typical occupations, lifestyles, and earnings of people from each of the major social classes of the United States. What do sociologists consider to be problematic about these measures?
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.3 Social Classes in the United States
MSC: Remembering
5. Describe and analyze Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital in terms of microsociology and macrosociology. What elements of his theory are more like conflict theory? What elements are more like symbolic interactionism?
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class MSC: Evaluating
6. Half of all children grow up to have the same socioeconomic class as their parents. Discuss the ways in which Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital influences this phenomenon.
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class MSC: Understanding
7. According to Max Weber, the traditional source of wealth, owning the means of production, is not the only factor in determining social status. How does Weber conceptualize power and prestige? Why does he argue that power and prestige, in addition to material wealth, are important factors in determining a person’s social status?
DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class MSC: Understanding
8. The feudal system, which is a closed social hierarchy, was dissolving and making way for a more open system when Karl Marx wrote about inequality. Why was Marx so worried about the new capitalist system that was emerging?
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 Theories of Social Class MSC: Understanding
9. Homogamy is the practice of choosing a romantic partner based on similarities in background and group membership. Why do so many people choose life partners with racial, religious, and class backgrounds similar to their own?
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
10. Studies show that people from higher socioeconomic backgrounds tend to live longer and report feeling healthier than people from lower classes. What are some explanations for this phenomenon?
DIF: Easy REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
11. How can a person’s socioeconomic status affect their chances of succeeding financially and professionally?
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.5 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances
MSC: Understanding
12. What do sociologists mean when they say that the homeless population of the United States is often “invisible”?
DIF: Easy REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
13. Residential segregation is the geographical isolation of the poor from the rest of a city’s population. Explain how residential segregation is able to flourish in the United States and what characterizes a neighborhood that is segregated in this manner.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
14. Oscar Lewis’s concept of a culture of poverty suggests that a fatalistic and resigned attitude exists among the poor, which leads them to accept their social status. Discuss some of the major criticisms of this controversial point of view.
DIF: Easy REF: 7.7 Poverty MSC: Understanding
15. The American Dream is the pursuit of material and personal success as well as the idea that anyone can achieve such success. How does widespread belief in the American Dream and individualism actually serve to reinforce socioeconomic barriers?
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.8 Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream
MSC: Understanding