Question 1

What is status consistency? Provide a description of a person with high status consistency and an example of someone with low status consistency.

Accepted Answer

Status consistency refers to the degree

Question 2

Caste systems encourage the commitment to long-term labor required by agriculture.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

Structural social mobility refers to an individual's upward or downward social movement due to personal effort or, in some cases, good or bad luck.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 4

Social stratification shapes our patterns of interaction by encouraging people to socialize with others of similar social position.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

Marx claimed social stratification would end with the creation of a socialist economy.What was Weber's view?

Accepted Answer

A) Weber thought socialism would reduce economic differences but also create a political elite, increasing differences in power. 
B) Weber thought capitalism could not be changed. 
C) Weber thought socialism would create a new high-prestige nobility. 
D) Weber agreed with Marx. 
A) Weber thought socialism would reduce economic differences but also create a political elite, increasing differences in power. 
B) Weber thought capitalism could not be changed. 
C) Weber thought socialism would create a new high-prestige nobility. 
D) Weber agreed with Marx.

Question 6

According to Karl Marx, social stratification in a capitalist society always involves

Accepted Answer

A) class conflict. 
B) negotiation and compromise leading to stability. 
C) the abolition of work itself. 
D) All of these are correct. 
A) class conflict. 
B) negotiation and compromise leading to stability. 
C) the abolition of work itself. 
D) All of these are correct.

Question 7

Read the four statements below.Only one of them is FALSE.Which is it?

Accepted Answer

A) Living standards in the United States have risen since Marx's lifetime. 
B) More workers have unions to represent them than in Marx's lifetime. 
C) Today, laws enhance workplace safety and set minimum wages, which was not the case during Marx's lifetime. 
D) Today, ordinary working people no longer experience the effects of the social inequality. 
A) Living standards in the United States have risen since Marx's lifetime. 
B) More workers have unions to represent them than in Marx's lifetime. 
C) Today, laws enhance workplace safety and set minimum wages, which was not the case during Marx's lifetime. 
D) Today, ordinary working people no longer experience the effects of the social inequality.

Question 8

In all societies, kinship plays a part in social stratification because

Accepted Answer

A) children determine their own social position based on their personal talents and efforts. 
B) parents pass their social position on to their children. 
C) children usually end up with a social position higher than that of their parents. 
D) all children begin life with about the same social standing. 
A) children determine their own social position based on their personal talents and efforts. 
B) parents pass their social position on to their children. 
C) children usually end up with a social position higher than that of their parents. 
D) all children begin life with about the same social standing.

Question 9

Today, half of all the people in Great Britain consider themselves to be in the

Accepted Answer

A) upper class. 
B) middle class. 
C) working class. 
D) lower class. 
A) upper class. 
B) middle class. 
C) working class. 
D) lower class.

Question 10

What is meritocracy? Why do caste systems have little of it? Why do class systems have more? Illustrate how class systems combine caste and meritocracy with reference to the United States and also Great Britain or Japan.

Accepted Answer

Meritocracy is a system in which individ

Question 11

When Marx argued that capitalism "reproduces the class structure," he meant that

Accepted Answer

A) it is really ordinary people who create social inequality. 
B) society operates and carries class differences from one generation to the next. 
C) class differences are the same throughout human history. 
D) society could never abolish class inequality. 
A) it is really ordinary people who create social inequality. 
B) society operates and carries class differences from one generation to the next. 
C) class differences are the same throughout human history. 
D) society could never abolish class inequality.

Question 12

Comparing societies in history and around the world, we see that social stratification may involve differences in

Accepted Answer

A) what is unequal. 
B) how unequal people are. 
C) why people are unequal. 
D) All of these are correct. 
A) what is unequal. 
B) how unequal people are. 
C) why people are unequal. 
D) All of these are correct.

Question 13

According to Davis and Moore, a system of unequal rewards increases productivity by

Accepted Answer

A) encouraging people to want an important job. 
B) motivating people to work longer, harder, or better. 
C) encouraging people to gain the schooling and skills needed to perform more important jobs. 
D) All of these are correct. 
A) encouraging people to want an important job. 
B) motivating people to work longer, harder, or better. 
C) encouraging people to gain the schooling and skills needed to perform more important jobs. 
D) All of these are correct.

Question 14

What are the basic arguments of the "bell curve" thesis? To the extent that this thesis is true, what should we conclude about social inequality in the United States? What are several criticisms of the thesis?

Accepted Answer

The basic arguments of the "bell curve"

Question 15

The Davis-Moore thesis states that social stratification has consequences that are beneficial to society.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Half of all the people in the United Kingdom today consider themselves to be in the

Accepted Answer

A) upper class. 
B) middle class. 
C) working class. 
D) lower class. 
A) upper class. 
B) middle class. 
C) working class. 
D) lower class.

Question 17

Which of the following types of societies comes closest to being egalitarian?

Accepted Answer

A) hunting and gathering 
B) horticultural/pastoral 
C) industrial 
D) postindustrial 
A) hunting and gathering 
B) horticultural/pastoral 
C) industrial 
D) postindustrial

Question 18

According to the Davis-Moore thesis

Accepted Answer

A) complete equality is functional for every society. 
B) the more inequality a society has, the more productive it is. 
C) more important jobs must provide enough rewards to attract the talent necessary to perform them. 
D) meritocracy is less productive than a caste system. 
A) complete equality is functional for every society. 
B) the more inequality a society has, the more productive it is. 
C) more important jobs must provide enough rewards to attract the talent necessary to perform them. 
D) meritocracy is less productive than a caste system.

Question 19

Davis and Moore point out that an egalitarian society

Accepted Answer

A) could never exist. 
B) could exist, but only if people are willing to allow anyone to perform any job. 
C) would be more productive than a stratified society. 
D) has existed in many societies at various times in history. 
A) could never exist. 
B) could exist, but only if people are willing to allow anyone to perform any job. 
C) would be more productive than a stratified society. 
D) has existed in many societies at various times in history.

Question 20

The degree of status consistency is

Accepted Answer

A) greater in caste than class systems. 
B) the same in all types of social stratification. 
C) greater in class than caste systems. 
D) greater the more productive a society is. 
A) greater in caste than class systems. 
B) the same in all types of social stratification. 
C) greater in class than caste systems. 
D) greater the more productive a society is.

Exam 10: Social Stratification

What is status consistency? Provide a description of a person with high status consistency and an example of someone with low status consistency.

Caste systems encourage the commitment to long-term labor required by agriculture.

Structural social mobility refers to an individual's upward or downward social movement due to personal effort or, in some cases, good or bad luck.

Social stratification shapes our patterns of interaction by encouraging people to socialize with others of similar social position.

Marx claimed social stratification would end with the creation of a socialist economy.What was Weber's view?

According to Karl Marx, social stratification in a capitalist society always involves

Read the four statements below.Only one of them is FALSE.Which is it?

In all societies, kinship plays a part in social stratification because

Today, half of all the people in Great Britain consider themselves to be in the

What is meritocracy? Why do caste systems have little of it? Why do class systems have more? Illustrate how class systems combine caste and meritocracy with reference to the United States and also Great Britain or Japan.

When Marx argued that capitalism "reproduces the class structure," he meant that

Comparing societies in history and around the world, we see that social stratification may involve differences in

According to Davis and Moore, a system of unequal rewards increases productivity by

What are the basic arguments of the "bell curve" thesis? To the extent that this thesis is true, what should we conclude about social inequality in the United States? What are several criticisms of the thesis?

The Davis-Moore thesis states that social stratification has consequences that are beneficial to society.

Half of all the people in the United Kingdom today consider themselves to be in the

Which of the following types of societies comes closest to being egalitarian?

According to the Davis-Moore thesis

Davis and Moore point out that an egalitarian society

The degree of status consistency is

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