Chapter 8

Question 1

Social inequality

Answer 1

situation in which members of society have different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power

Question 2

Stratification

Answer 2

structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society

Question 3

Income

Answer 3

salaries and wages

Question 4

Wealth

Answer 4

inclusive term encompassing all a person’s material assets

Question 5

Ascribed status

Answer 5

social position assigned to person by society without regard for the person’s unique talents or characteristics

Question 6

Achieved status

Answer 6

social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts

Question 7

Slavery

Answer 7

individuals owned by other people, who treat them as property

Question 8

Castes

Answer 8

hereditary ranks that are usually religiously dictated and that tend to be fixed and immobile

Question 9

Estate system, or feudalism

Answer 9

peasants worked land leased to them in exchange for military protection and other services

Question 10

Class system

Answer 10

social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility

Question 11

Upper and Lower Classes

Answer 11

Upper class: 1 to 2% of U.S.
Very wealthy

Lower class: 20 to 25% of U.S.
Lacks wealth and income and politically weak

Question 12

Middle Class

Answer 12

Upper-middle class: 10 to 15% of U.S.; includes professionals

Lower-middle class: 30 to 35%; includes less affluent professionals

Question 13

Working Class

Answer 13

40 to 45% of U.S. population

People who hold regular manual or blue-collar jobs

Some may have income above those of the lower-middle class

Question 14

Factors contributing to shrinking size of middle class

Answer 14

Disappearing opportunities for those with little education

Question 15

Class Warfare

Answer 15

Occupy Wall Street
Political leaders began to speak of class conflict

Question 16

Capitalism

Answer 16

means of production held largely in private hands, and main incentive for economic activity is accumulation of profits

Question 17

Bourgeoisie

Answer 17

capitalist class; own the means of production

Question 18

Proletariat

Answer 18

working class

Question 19

Class consciousness

Answer 19

subjective awareness of common vested interests and the need for collective political action to bring about change

Question 20

False consciousness

Answer 20

attitude held by members of class that does not accurately reflect their objective position

Question 21

Class

Answer 21

group of people who have similar level of wealth and income

Question 22

Status group

Answer 22

people who have the same prestige or lifestyle

Question 23

Power

Answer 23

ability to exercise one’s will over others

Question 24

Veblen

Answer 24

top of the social hierarchy typically convert part of their wealth into conspicuous consumption

Question 25

conspicuous consumption

Answer 25

purchase goods not to survive but to flaunt superior wealth and social standing

Question 26

Functionalist Perspective

Answer 26

Social inequality necessary so people will be motivated to fill functionally important positions

Question 27

Conflict Perspective

Answer 27

Human beings prone to conflict over scarce resources such as wealth, status, and power

Question 28

Dominant ideology

Answer 28

set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests

Question 29

Lenski’s Viewpoint

Answer 29

As a society advances technologically, it becomes capable of producing surplus of goods

Question 30

The Objective Method

Answer 30

Sociologists generally rely on the objective method to determine a person’s class position

Question 31

Prestige

Answer 31

respect and admiration an occupation holds in society

Question 32

Esteem

Answer 32

reputation a specific person has earned within an occupation

Question 33

Gender and Occupational Prestige

Answer 33

Past studies of social class tended to neglect occupations and incomes of women as determinants of social rank

Question 34

Socioeconomic status (SES)

Answer 34

measure of social class based on income, education, and occupation

Question 35

Absolute poverty

Answer 35

minimum level of subsistence that no family should live below

Question 36

Relative poverty

Answer 36

floating standard by which people at the bottom of a society are judged as being disadvantaged in comparison to the nation as a whole

Question 37

Gans

Answer 37

poverty and the poor satisfy positive functions for many non-poor groups

Question 38

Life chances

Answer 38

opportunities to provide material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experience

Question 39

Social mobility

Answer 39

movement of individuals or groups from one position in a society’s stratification system to another

Question 40

Open system

Answer 40

position of each individual influenced by the person’s achieved status

Question 41

Closed system

Answer 41

allows little or no possibility of moving up ex.) slavery and caste systems

Question 42

Horizontal mobility

Answer 42

movement within same range of prestige

Question 43

Vertical mobility

Answer 43

movement from one position to another of a different rank

Question 44

Intergenerational mobility

Answer 44

changes in children’s position relative to their parents

Question 45

Intragenerational mobility

Answer 45

social position changes within person’s adult life

Question 46

Minimum Wage Laws

Answer 46

Minimum wage not high enough to support workers