Chapter 7

Question 0

Alienation

Answer 0

A feeling of powerless and estrangement from other people and from oneself.

Question 1

Absolute poverty

Answer 1

A level of economic deprivation that exists when people do not have the means to secure the most basic necessities of life.

Question 2

Bureaucracy

Answer 2

An organizational model characterized by a hierarchy of authority, a clear division of labor, explicit rules and procedures, and impersonality in personnel matters.

Question 3

Capitalism

Answer 3

An economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production, from which personal profits can be derived through market competition and without government intervention.

Question 4

Category

Answer 4

A number of people who may never have met one another but share a similar characteristic, such as education level, age, race, or gender.

Question 5

Cast system

Answer 5

A system of social inequality in which people’s status is permanently determined at birth based on their parents’ ascribed characteristics.

Question 6

Class conflict

Answer 6

Karl Marx’s term for the struggle between the capitalist class and the working class.

Question 7

Class system

Answer 7

A type of stratification based on the ownership and control of resources and on the type of work that people do.

Question 8

Credentialism

Answer 8

A process of social selection in which class advantage and social status are linked to the procession of academic qualifications.

Question 9

Conflict perspectives

Answer 9

The sociological approach that views groups in society as engaged in a continuous power struggle for control of scarce resources.

Question 10

Corporations

Answer 10

Organizations that have legal powers.

Question 11

Discrimination

Answer 11

Actions or practices of dominant-group members that have a harmful effect on members of a subordinate group.

Question 12

Families

Answer 12

Relationships in which people live together with commitment, form an economic unit and cafe for any young, and consider their identity to be significantly attached to the group.

Question 13

Education

Answer 13

The social institution responsible for the systematic transmission of knowledge, skills, and cultural values within a formally organized structure.

Question 14

Feminism

Answer 14

The belief that all people-both women and men-are equal and that they should be valued equally and have equal rights.

Question 15

Feminization of poverty

Answer 15

The trend in which women are disproportionately represented among individuals living in poverty.

Question 16

Health

Answer 16

A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.

Question 17

Health care

Answer 17

Any activity intended to improve health.

Question 18

Income

Answer 18

The economic gain derived from wages, salaries, income transfers, and ownership of property.

Question 19

Intergenerational mobility

Answer 19

The social movement experienced by family members from one generation to the next.

Question 20

Job deskilling

Answer 20

A reduction in the proficiency needed to perform a specific job that leads to a corresponding reduction in the wages for that job.

Question 21

Intragenerational mobility

Answer 21

The social movement of individuals within their own lifetime.

Question 22

Life chances

Answer 22

Max Weber’s term for the extent to which individuals have access to important societal resources such as food, clothing, shelter, education, and health care.

Question 23

Marriage

Answer 23

A legally recognized and/or socially approved arrangement between two or more individuals that carries certain rights and obligations and usually involves sexually activity.

Question 24

Meritocracy

Answer 24

A hierarchy in which all positions are rewarded based on people’s ability and credentials.

Question 25

Medicalization

Answer 25

The process whereby nonmedical problems become defined and treated as illnesses or disorders.

Question 26

Occupations

Answer 26

Categories of jobs that involve similar activities at different work sites.

Question 27

Occupational (white-collar) crime

Answer 27

Illegal activities committed by people in the course of their employment or financial affairs.

Question 28

Official poverty line

Answer 28

The income standard that is based on what the federal government considers to be the minimum amount of money required for living at a subsistence level.

Question 29

Pink-collar occupations

Answer 29

Relatively low-paying, nonmanual, semiskilled positions primarily held by women.

Question 30

Power

Answer 30

The ability of people or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition from others.

Question 31

Prestige

Answer 31

The respect or regard with which a person or status position is given by others.

Question 32

Relative poverty

Answer 32

A level of economic deprivation that exists when people may be able to afford basic necessities but are still unable to maintain an average standard of living.

Question 33

Slavery

Answer 33

An extreme form of stratification in which some people are owned or controlled by others for the purpose of economic or sexual exploitation.

Question 34

Social group

Answer 34

A group that consists of two or more people who interact frequently and share a common identity and a feeling of interdependence.

Question 35

Social interaction

Answer 35

The process by which people act toward or respond to other people; the foundation for all relationships and groups in society.

Question 36

Social mobility

Answer 36

The movement of individuals or groups from one level in a stratification system to another.

Question 37

Social movement

Answer 37

An organized group that acts consciously to promote or resist change through collective action.

Question 38

Social stratification

Answer 38

The hierarchical arrangement of large social groups base on their control over basic resources.

Question 39

Socioeconomic status (SES)

Answer 39

A combined measure that attempts to classify individuals, families, or households in terms of factors such as income, occupation, and education to determine class location.

Question 40

Status

Answer 40

A socially defined position in a group or society characterized by certain expectations, rights, and duties.

Question 41

Symbol

Answer 41

Anything that meaningfully represents something else.

Question 42

Symbolic internationalist perspectives

Answer 42

The sociological approach that views society as the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups.

Question 43

Unemployment rate

Answer 43

The percentage of unemployed persons in the labor force actively seeking jobs.