Chapter 8

Question 1

Meritocracy:

Answer 1

a system in which one’s status is based on merit or accomplishments

Question 2

Class consciousness:

Answer 2

the awareness that a class structure exists in the feeling of shared identification with others in one’s class with whom one perceives common life chances.

Question 3

Conspicuous consumption:

Answer 3

the ostentatious display of goods to mark one’s social status

Question 4

Educational attainment:

Answer 4

the total years of formal education

Question 5

Life chances

Answer 5

: the opportunities that people have in common by virtue of belonging to a particular class

Question 6

Class systems:

Answer 6

the organized pattern of social class in society

Question 7

Status:

Answer 7

an established position in a social structure that carries with it a degree of prestige

Question 8

Median income:

Answer 8

the midpoint of all household incomes

Question 9

False consciousness:

Answer 9

the thought resulting from subordinate classes internalizing the view of the dominant class

Question 10

Economic restructuring:

Answer 10

contemporary transformations in the basic structure of work that are permanently altering workplace, including the changing composition of the workplace, deindustrialization, use and enhanced technology, and the development of a global economy.

Question 11

Income:

Answer 11

the amount of money brought into a household from various sources during a given year.

Question 12

Social stratification:

Answer 12

relatively fixed hierarchical arrangement in society by which groups have different access to resources, power, and perceived social worth; a system of structured social inequality

Question 13

Status attainment:

Answer 13

the process by which people end up in a given position in the stratification

Question 14

Caste system:

Answer 14

a system of stratification (characterized by low social mobility) which one’s place in the stratification system is determined by birth.

Question 15

Social mobility:

Answer 15

a person’s movement over time from one class to another.

Question 16

Urban underclass:

Answer 16

a group of people, largely minority and people, who live at the absolute bottom of the socioeconomic ladder in urban areas.

Question 17

Occupational prestige:

Answer 17

the subjective evaluation people give to jobs is better or worse than others.

Question 18

Feminization of poverty:

Answer 18

process whereby a growing proportion of the poor are women and children.

Question 19

Culture of poverty:

Answer 19

the argument that poverty is a way of life and, like other cultures, is passed on from generation to generation

Question 20

Estate system:

Answer 20

a system of stratification in which the ownership of property and the exercise of power is monopolized by an elite or noble class that has total control over societal resources.

Question 21

Prestige:

Answer 21

the value with which different groups of people are judged.

Question 22

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF):

Answer 22

Federal program by which grants are given to states to fund welfare.

Question 23

Socioeconomic Status (SES):

Answer 23

A measure of class standing, typically indicated by income, occupational prestige, andeducational attainment.

Question 24

Ideology:

Answer 24

A belief system that tries to explain and justify the status quo.

Question 25

Poverty line:

Answer 25

The figure established by the government to indicate the amount of money needed to support the basic needs of a household.

Question 26

Concentrated Poverty:

Answer 26

Refers to geographic areas where large percentages of people are poor.

Question 27

Social differentiation:

Answer 27

The process by which different statuses in any group, organization, or society develop.

Question 28

Wealth:

Answer 28

The monetary value of everything one actually owns.

Question 29

Net worth:

Answer 29

The value of one’s financial assets minus debt.

Question 30

Class system:

Answer 30

The organized pattern of social class in society.