CHAPTER 12: Income, Social Class, Family Structure

Question 1

Behavioural economics

Answer 1

the study of behavioural determinants of economic decisions

Question 2

Discretionary income

Answer 2

money available to a household above that required for a comfortable standard of living

Question 3

Consumer confidence

Answer 3

Measures consumers state of mind; optimism or pessimism about economic conditions

*feelings towards the economy

Question 4

Social class

Answer 4

overall rank of people in a society

Question 5

Social stratification

Answer 5

the process in a social system in which scared and valuable resources are distributed unequally to status positions

Question 6

Social hierarchy

Answer 6

ranking of social desirability in terms of consumers across resources such as money, education, luxury goods

Question 7

Ascribed vs. achieved

Answer 7

those who were born into money & those who created their wealth

Question 8

Occupational status

Answer 8

which company would you like to work for?

Are there companies you would avoid?

Question 9

Cultural capital

Answer 9

importance of unspoken knowledge or skills

i.e. taking out to dinner before presenting if they got the job or not

Question 10

Status symbols: conspicuous

Answer 10

desire to provide prominently visible evidence of their ability to afford luxury goods

Question 11

Status symbols

Answer 11

products that are purchased and displayed to signal membership in a desirable social class

Question 12

Status symbols: fraudulent symbolism

Answer 12

if you can’t make it you fake it - the black market version

Question 13

family life cycle

Answer 13

classified consumers based on trends in income, family consumption & demands placed upon income