Chapter 7 - Stratification, Class, and Inequality

Question 1

What is social stratification?
A. the existence of structured inequalities among individuals and groups in a society
B. a system in which success is based on who you know
C. a system based on the simple fact that some people are lucky and others are unlucky
D. a condition that results when people’s social mobility is hindered, such as in caste-or slavery systems

Answer 1

A. the existence of structured inequalities among individuals and groups in a society

Question 2

If someone is poor when compared with the standard of living for most people in their society, they experience

A. absolute poverty.
B. relative poverty.
C. downward mobility.
D. structural mobility.

Answer 2

B. relative poverty.

Question 3

The caste system of stratification can be best classified as:

A. an open system in which a person’s intelligence and hard work determine social position
B. an open system in which individuals can move out of the social position in which they are born
C. a closed system in which all individuals stay within the social position they are born into
D. a closed system in which people are able to own other individuals as property

Answer 3

C. a closed system in which all individuals stay within the social position they are born into

Question 4

According to Karl Marx, because workers produce more than is actually needed to pay them, the relationship between workers and capitalists in an industrial society is:

A. motivational
B. easy to negotiate
C. equal
D. exploitative

Answer 4

D. exploitative

Question 5

The social honor or prestige that is accorded to individuals by other members of society is referred to as:

A. status
B. reputation
C. social class
D. fame

Answer 5

A. status

Question 6

What is the basis of Karl Marx’s theory of class?

A. Class is a by-product of the Industrial Revolution
B. Modern societies are divided into those who own the means of production and those who sell their labor.
C. People with power will always use it to protect their material interests.
D. Class is a transitory system of stratification between feudal estates and the classlessness of communist society.

Answer 6

B. Modern societies are divided into those who own the means of production and those who sell their labor.

Question 7

What term describes the movement of individuals or groups among different social positions?

A. social mobility
B. social exclusion
C. social structure
D. vertical advancement

Answer 7

A. social mobility

Question 8

What did Max Weber add to Karl Marx’s theory of class?
A. Weber argued that income was more important than property in determining class standing in modern society.
B. Weber argued that marketable skills were as important as property in determining class standing and that status was as important as class as a dimension of stratification in modern society.
C. Weber argued that society was much too complex for anything remotely resembling Marx’s historical materialism (his theory of history).
D. Weber understood the enduring significance of the middle class.

Answer 8

B. Weber argued that marketable skills were as important as property in determining class standing and that status was as important as class as a dimension of stratification in modern society.

Question 9

Which of the following systems of stratification permit the least amount of mobility?

A. caste
B. class
C. slavery
D. clan

Answer 9

A. caste

Question 10

Since the early 1970s, inequality in the United States has

A. increased.
B. decreased.
C. remained approximately the same.
D. become more difficult to measure.

Answer 10

A. increased.

Question 11

What is a major trend in global inequality over the last two decades?

A. The rich countries became richer, the poor countries became poorer.
B. All richest countries have been losing ground, looking more and more like the poorer countries.
C. The gap between rich and poor countries has remained the same.
D. The poorer countries have gained ground, looking more and more like the richer countries.

Answer 11

A. The rich countries became richer, the poor countries became poorer.

Question 12

Social stratification

Answer 12

The existence of structured inequalities among groups in society in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards.

Question 13

Slavery

Answer 13

A form of social stratification in which some people are owned by others as their property

Question 14

Caste system

Answer 14

A social system in which one’s social status is determined at birth and set for life

Question 15

Endogamy

Answer 15

The forbidding of marriage or sexual relations outside ones social group

Question 16

Class

Answer 16

No clear agreement on how the term is defined. Most use the term to refer to socioeconomic variations among groups of individuals that create variations in their material prosperity and power.

Question 17

Life chances

Answer 17

A term introduces by Max Weber to signify a persons opportunities for achieving economic prosperity

Question 18

Means of production

Answer 18

The means whereby the production of material goods is carried on in a society, including not just technology but the social relations among producers

Question 19

Bourgeoisie

Answer 19

People who own companies, land, or stocks and use these to generate economic returns, according to Marx.

Question 20

Proletariat

Answer 20

People who sell their labor for wages, according to Marx

Question 21

Surplus value

Answer 21

In Marxist theory, the value of a workers labor power left over when an employer has repaid the cost of hiring the worker.

Question 22

Pariah groups

Answer 22

Groups that suffer from negative status discrimination.

Question 23

Blue and pink collar jobs

Answer 23

Jobs that pay low wages and often invoke manual or low-skill labor. Blue-collar usually held by men, while pink-collar usually are held by women.

Question 24

Underclass

Answer 24

A class of individuals situated at the bottom of the class system, often composed of people from ethnic minority backgrounds

Question 25

Social mobility

Answer 25

Upward or downward movement of individuals among different social positions

Question 26

Intragenerational mobility

Answer 26

Movement up or down a social stratification hierarchy in ones own lifetime

Question 27

Social reproduction

Answer 27

The process whereby parents pass down their values, norms, and social practices to their children.

Question 28

Cultural capital

Answer 28

Noneconomic or cultural resources that parents pass down to their children, such as language or knowledge

Question 29

Downward mobility

Answer 29

When ones wealth, income, or status is lower then that they once had, or that of their parents

Question 30

Short-range downward mobility

Answer 30

Social mobility that occurs when an individual moves from one position in the class structure to another of nearly equal status

Question 31

Absolute poverty

Answer 31

The minimal requirements necessary for a healthy existence

Question 32

Relative poverty

Answer 32

Poverty defined according to the living standards of the majority in any given society

Question 33

Poverty line

Answer 33

An official government measure to define those living in poverty in the United States

Question 34

Working poor

Answer 34

People who work but whose earnings are not enough to life them above the poverty line

Question 35

Feminization of poverty

Answer 35

An increase in he proportion of the poor who are female

Question 36

Social security

Answer 36

A government program that provides economic assistance to persons faced with unemployment, disability, or old age

Question 37

Medicare

Answer 37

A program that reimburses hospitals for medical care provided to qualifying people over sixty-five years old

Question 38

Culture of poverty

Answer 38

The thesis that poverty is not a result of individual inadequacies but is instead the outcome of a larger social and cultural atmosphere.

Question 39

Dependency culture

Answer 39

A term used to describe individuals who rely on state welfare provision rather then entering the labor market.

Question 40

Social exclusion

Answer 40

The outcome of multiple deprivations that prevent individuals or groups from participating fully in the economic, social, and political life of the society in which they live.

Question 41

Agency

Answer 41

The Ability to think, act, and make choices independently

Question 42

What are the three shared characteristics of socially stratified systems?

Answer 42

1. The rankings apply to social categories of people who share a common characteristic such as gender or ethnicity
2. People’s life experiences and opportunities depend heavily on how their social category is ranked
3. The ranks of different social categories tend to change very slowly over time

Question 43

How is the concept of class systems different then those of caste?

Answer 43

1. Class systems are fluid
2. Class positions are in some part achieved
3. Class is economically based
4. Class systems are large-scale and impersonal

Question 44

What are the two main classes, according to Karl Marx?

Answer 44

The bourgeoisie (upper class) and the proletariat (lower class)

Question 45

What are the three main differences between Max Weber and Karl Marx’s theories of social stratification?

Answer 45

1. According to Weber, class divisions derive not only from control or lack of control of the means of production, but also from economical differences that have nothing directly to do with property.
2. Weber distinguished another aspect of stratification besides class which he called ‘status’.
3. Weber recognized that social classes also differ with respect to their power.

Question 46

Name at least three components of social class

Answer 46

Income, wealth, education, occupation

Question 47

What is the reason for racial disparity in wealth?

Answer 47

Blacks and latinos have less money to start with, but discrimination plays a very big role. As people of color make less money compared to whites, and blacks are rejected for mortgage loans 60% more often then whites.

Question 48

What classes exist in America today?

Answer 48

The Upper Class, Middle Class, Lower Class, Working Class, and Underclass.

Question 49

Contrast intragenerational mobility and intergenerational mobility

Answer 49

Intra = movement for the individual

Inter = movement throughout generations

Question 50

How does family background affect ones social class in adulthood?

Answer 50

Family background gives you a preset environment and wealth that can be hard to get out of.

Question 51

How does the U.S. government calculate the poverty line?

Answer 51

Based on cost estimates for families of different sizes. Which for a family of four in 2014 works out to an annual cash income of just over $24,000, or around $2,000 a month.

Question 52

Why are women and children at a high risk of becoming impoverished in the United States today?

Answer 52

Women make less, so female headed households have trouble making enough. Therefore, it follows that children have high rates of poverty.

Question 53

What’s the difference between the image of poverty, and the reality?

Answer 53

There’s an image that people are in poverty simply because they don’t try hard enough. But in reality, it’s very difficult to get out of a position of poverty

Question 54

What are the main reasons people are homeless?

Answer 54

Lack of affordable housing, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, and mental illness