Social Inequality and Experimental Design Flashcards
Which of these descriptions accurately characterize stage 1 of the demographic transition model?
I. The fertility rate is higher than would be expected for the same population in stage 3.
II. The overall population is shrinking due to the high mortality rate.
III. Education for children is typically mandatory.
IV. The population size tends to fluctuate moderately due to disease and catastrophe.
A. I only
B. I and IV only
C. I, II, and IV only
D. I, II, III, and IV
B. I and IV only
Which of these situations best exemplifies a proactive social movement?
A. A large number of middle-aged men who often organize in an attempt to ban women from voting in federal elections
B. Over ten thousand high school students across the nation who campaign for gender-neutral bathrooms in their institutions
C. A coalition that has a goal of preventing the expansion of green energy programs in the United States
D. More than one of the above
B. Over ten thousand high school students across the nation who campaign for gender-neutral bathrooms in their institutions
Of these statements regarding demographic shifts, which are most likely true of a poor, undeveloped country that is very racially and culturally homogenous?
I. It will have a higher rate of immigration than emigration.
II. It will have a higher rate of emigration than immigration.
III. It will exhibit a high fertility rate.
IV. The approximate magnitude of its fertility rate cannot be determined without more data.
A. I and III only
B. I and IV only
C. II and III only
D. II and IV only
D. II and IV only
A city experiencing massive economic losses across all sectors of its economy will most probably experience:
A. increased globalization due to a need for foreign business.
B. decreased globalization due to the presence of an unattractive market for foreign investors.
C. the formation of ghettoes as people migrate to cities.
D. the formation of slums as more residents become unemployed.
D. the formation of slums as more residents become unemployed.
A nation currently in stage 2 of a demographic transition will experience:
A. an increase in fertility rate and a drop in mortality rate.
B. increases in both mortality and fertility rates along with a spike in overall population.
C. decreases in both fertility and mortality rates along with a small increase in overall population.
D. a decrease in mortality rate.
D. a decrease in mortality rate.
An individual who is a member of a lower socioeconomic class is likely to:
I. have strong ties but a smaller network of connections.
II. have weak ties and a larger network of connections.
III. have less social capital, since he or she exists in a smaller network of people.
IV. have less social capital, since he or she exists in a larger network of people.
A. I only
B. II only
C. I and III only
D. II and IV only
D. II and IV only
The Jacksons are a family of four who live on a single income, well below the poverty line. The Jackson parents never talk to their children about bank accounts or credit cards; on the contrary, they often speak at home about the apparent hopelessness of their situation. Like their parents, the Jackson children have no access to financial advice or resources. In ten years, the children grow up and are impoverished as well. Which idea, initially proposed by Karl Marx, best relates to this scenario?
A. Social mobility
B. Relative poverty
C. Social reproduction
D. Meritocracy
C. Social reproduction
Cultural capital can include:
I. educational degrees or certifications.
II. networking connections gained from membership in a fraternity.
III. public speaking ability.
IV. retirement and college funds.
A. I and II only
B. I and III only
C. II, III, and IV only
D. I, II, III, and IV
B. I and III only
Mrs. Mooney is a member of the lower middle class. Mrs. Mooney is most likely:
A. a newly-hired secretary with no college education.
B. a middle school teacher with a bachelor’s degree.
C. a civil rights lawyer.
D. part of a socioeconomic stratum that comprises 15% of the population
B. a middle school teacher with a bachelor’s degree.
In the film Planet of the Apes, a society of primates grew from human civilization and eventually contained workers, teachers, professors, and politicians of different social standings. The overall prestige of each member of society sprung from his or her amount of influence, family, and pay. This societal arrangement can be described as:
A. cultural assimilation.
B. social exclusion.
C. social stratification.
D. social reproduction.
C. social stratification.
If spatial inequality exists between two areas of the same city:
A. one area must be larger in total land acreage than the other.
B. one area must be significantly more urban than the other.
C. one area must have a more densely-packed population than the other.
D. one area must have more accessible resources (such as stores, clean water, and medical facilities) than the other.
D. one area must have more accessible resources (such as stores, clean water, and medical facilities) than the other.
Which of the following would NOT be expected to occur in a typical case of environmental inequality?
A. Toxic waste dumps appear in higher frequency in areas where residents possess low amounts of financial and social capital.
B. In high-income neighborhoods, residents tend to recycle more, and stricter guidelines lead to waterways that are much cleaner than those in impoverished areas.
C. Neighborhoods in the late stages of gentrification have more particulate matter in the air than those that have only recently begun to gentrify.
D. None of the above
C. Neighborhoods in the late stages of gentrification have more particulate matter in the air than those that have only recently begun to gentrify.
In your sociology class, you are given a list of ten Los Angeles neighborhoods with demographic breakdowns by race for each. Which of these pieces of information, if added to this data, would be most useful for calculating Massey and Denton’s concentration index of segregation for the ethnic groups in these areas?
A. Household size in each neighborhood
B. Household income in each neighborhood
C. Square mileage of each neighborhood
D. Distance from downtown for each neighborhood
C. Square mileage of each neighborhood
In most regions, in comparison to men, women have:
A. higher mortality and lower morbidity rates.
B. higher mortality and morbidity rates.
C. higher morbidity and lower mortality rates.
D. lower mortality and morbidity rates.
C. higher morbidity and lower mortality rates.
Which of the following options represent demographic variables that impact lifespan?
I. Gender
II. Ethnicity
III. Diet
IV. Education
A. II only
B. I and II only
C. I, II, and IV only
D. I, II, III, and IV
C. I, II, and IV only
In the year 2015, Mr. Williams made a total salary of $40,875. While he was able to support his family of four, he struggled to keep up in a neighborhood where many made six-figure amounts. What situation did Mr. Williams and his family experience?
A. Relative poverty
B. Absolute poverty
C. Both relative and absolute poverty
D. Neither relative nor absolute poverty
A. Relative poverty
With regard to social stratification, a caste system is:
A. more open than a bureaucracy.
B. less likely to value achieved status than a class system.
C. more prone to examples of social mobility than an open system.
D. less closed than a meritocracy.
B. less likely to value achieved status than a class system.
Historically, the United States and Canada have been categorized as which type of governmental or social system?
A. Oligarchy
B. Complete plutocracy
C. Complete meritocracy
D. Partial meritocracy
D. Partial meritocracy
A family lives in Nation A, a country with a rigid caste system. Members of this family are laborers and have had trouble making ends meet for many years. If the family finally saves up enough money for travel and is approved for a visa, they will most likely:
A. immigrate from Nation A to an oligarchic society.
B. immigrate from Nation A to a meritocratic society.
C. emigrate from Nation A to an oligarchic society.
D. emigrate from Nation A to a meritocratic society.
D. emigrate from Nation A to a meritocratic society.
A high-school student is examining a hypothesis that he has held for many years: that tall people tend to display more altruistic behavior than short people. Halfway through his experiment, he decides to also test whether older people exhibit more altruism than younger individuals. This student has:
A. added a new dependent variable.
B. added a potential confounding variable.
C. added a new independent variable.
D. reduced the power of his study.
C. added a new independent variable.
Several statisticians notice an interesting relationship between a high-carb diet and a particular visual deficiency. In all populations, consumption of large amounts of carbohydrates appears to worsen the deficiency. However, in Europe, a high-carb diet has a much stronger effect on disease outcome than in Mexico, where it only slightly appears to impair patients’ vision. In this scenario, which type of variable is location?
A. Independent
B. Moderating
C. Mediating
D. Confounding
B. Moderating
Which of these experimental setups most clearly lacks external validity?
A. A study that measured athletic ability strictly based on soccer talent, but entirely neglected other forms of athletic skill
B. A protocol that established an apparent causal relationship, but calculated a p-value of >0.10
C. A procedure that found a relationship between infants in specific laboratory conditions, but may or may not apply to infants in typical households
D. A survey for which researchers could only obtain a very small number of participants
C. A procedure that found a relationship between infants in specific laboratory conditions, but may or may not apply to infants in typical households
An experimental protocol that relies entirely on surveys and questionnaires is especially vulnerable to which form of bias?
A. Social desirability bias
B. Confirmation bias
C. Stereotype threat
D. The availability heuristic
A. Social desirability bias
In an ideal study, the experimental protocol should be designed to:
A. minimize confounding variables.
B. maximize confounding variables.
C. minimize confounding and mediating variables.
D. minimize confounding, mediating, and moderating variables.
A. minimize confounding variables.
A group of public health researchers wish to determine whether emissions from a certain garbage disposal facility are carcinogenic. To assess this idea, they conduct a study of people living in the area and obtain the following results, sorted by distance downwind from the facility.
The experimental procedure described here can be most accurately characterized as a:
A. retrospective study.
B. longitudinal study.
C. cohort study.
D. ecological study.
D. ecological study.
A group of public health researchers wish to determine whether emissions from a certain garbage disposal facility are carcinogenic. To assess this idea, they conduct a study of people living in the area and obtain the following results, sorted by distance downwind from the facility.
Assume that the researchers later conducted a follow-up study that tracked a group of cancer-free individuals from the area in question. This study extended over a five-year period and focused on the potential risk factors that could play a role in causing some of the original group to develop lung cancer or melanoma. Which of the following terms best describes this new study?
A. A retrospective study
B. A cohort study
C. A double-blind study
D. A cross-sectional study
B. A cohort study
Which of the following diseases would be LEAST logistically suited for a cohort study?
A. A new, contagious form of the flu virus
B. A rare genetic disease
C. A form of cancer revealed to be promoted by a common food additive
D. A neurological syndrome caused by childhood toxin exposure
B. A rare genetic disease
The Tearoom Trade study is a much-debated example of violations to established research ethics. In this procedure, the researcher (pretending to be a gay man) offered his services as a lookout in public bathrooms while two other men engaged in a homosexual encounter. The researcher then noted the license plate numbers of the participants, tracked them down, and interviewed them in disguise for an ostensible study on an unrelated topic. In the process, he discovered that many subjects were married men who identified as “straight.” While his publication did not list names, the information from the interviews caused some men to be identified and even be divorced by their wives. Which principles of research ethics did this study NOT even attempt to uphold?
I. Minimizing the risk of harm to participants
II. Obtaining informed consent from participants
III. Maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of subjects
IV. Avoiding deceptive practices
A. I and II only
B. I and III only
C. II and IV only
D. III and IV only
C. II and IV only
