Question 1

What sort of social mobility often results from losing a job?

Accepted Answer

A)  horizontal 
B)  upward 
C)  career 
D)  vertical

Question 2

Manohla Dargis called the movie The Pursuit of Happyness "the same old bootstraps story, an American Dream artfully told, skillfully sold. How you respond to this man's moving story may depend on whether you find Mr. Smith's and his son's performances so overwhelmingly winning that you buy the idea that poverty is a function of bad luck and bad choices, and success the result of heroic toil and dreams." What idea is being expressed here?

Accepted Answer

A)  The American Dream is an ideology. 
B)  America is a largely class-free society. 
C)  Poverty is absolute, not relative. 
D)  Most Americans will inherit their parents' class status.

Question 3

Oscar Lewis was the first to suggest that the poor develop a way of life with fundamentally different values and goals because they are excluded from mainstream social life. Consequently, they are much less likely to join the middle class. This way of life is usually called

Accepted Answer

A)  the culture of poverty. 
B)  the invisibility of poverty. 
C)  the social contract. 
D)  oppression norms.

Question 4

According to Pierre Bourdieu, ________ is the tendency of social class to be passed down from one generation to the next and consequently remain relatively stable over time.

Accepted Answer

A)  the invisibility of poverty 
B)  slavery 
C)  ideology 
D)  social reproduction

Question 5

The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 ended the concept of entitlements by requiring recipients of welfare to find work within two years of receiving assistance. How has this changed the lives of the poor?

Accepted Answer

A)  Moving from welfare to work helped single people much more than it did families or single mothers. 
B)  Moving from welfare to work caused many former welfare recipients to plunge into homelessness. 
C)  Moving from welfare to work did not substantially increase income levels; it simply shifted the poor from welfare to low-paying jobs. 
D)  Moving from welfare to work increased both the self-esteem of the poor and their incomes.

Question 6

The sociologist Susan Mayer studied poverty and welfare. She concluded that character traits in parents such as "diligence, honesty, good health, and reliability" led to increased achievement in children. Which theory do her conclusions support?

Accepted Answer

A)  conflict theory 
B)  structural functionalism 
C)  feminist theory 
D)  the culture of poverty

Question 7

What term describes the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy?

Accepted Answer

A)  social inequality 
B)  apartheid 
C)  social stratification 
D)  social divisions

Question 8

What defines so-called official poverty in the United States based on household income?

Accepted Answer

A)  social stratification 
B)  the federal poverty line 
C)  relative deprivation 
D)  absolute deprivation

Question 9

In Japan, men rank higher than women in the social hierarchy. However, Yoshiko Shinohara is one of Japan's 50 richest people and has appeared on Forbes's Asia 50 Power Businesswoman list. Explain how both of these statements are true, utilizing the principles of stratification.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In Japan, men rank higher than women...

Question 10

Homogamy is the practice of choosing a romantic partner based on similarities in background and group membership. Why do so many people choose life partners with racial, religious, and class backgrounds similar to their own?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Homogamy is the practice of choosing a...

Question 11

In the United States, hard work and dedication lift the majority of people out of poverty.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

Which of the following is a form of stratification in which all positions are awarded on the basis of accomplishment and skill?

Accepted Answer

A)  democracy 
B)  meritocracy 
C)  oligarchy 
D)  technocracy

Question 13

The practice of refusing mortgages for the purchase of houses in poor and minority neighborhoods is called

Accepted Answer

A)  disenfranchisement. 
B)  redlining. 
C)  residential racism. 
D)  economic hegemony.

Question 14

A social scientist argues that inner-city families cannot escape a cycle of poverty because they see the lack of opportunities around them, decide that the world of the middle class is permanently closed to them, and do not try to maintain steady employment or send their children to college. What concept does this example highlight?

Accepted Answer

A)  just-world hypothesis 
B)  disenfranchisement 
C)  closed system 
D)  culture of poverty theory

Question 15

What general predictions can sociologists make about a person's life prospects if all that is known is the person's social class?

Accepted Answer

A)  the level of education they will receive 
B)  their college major 
C)  if they will be a "dog person" or a "cat person" 
D)  whether they will have everyday class consciousness

Question 16

Explain two ways in which belonging to a particular social class has a profound effect on almost every aspect of a person's life.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain two ways in which belonging to...

Question 17

The wealth gap involves the unequal distribution of prestige or social honor that some individuals receive for being members of particular groups.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

The feudal system, which is a closed social hierarchy, was dissolving and making way for a more open system when Karl Marx wrote about inequality. Why was Marx so worried about the new capitalist system that was emerging?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The feudal system, which is a closed...

Question 19

Karl Marx spent much of his life attempting to understand and describe how capitalism works. In one particularly vivid passage, he described the turbulence he saw as inherent in capitalism: "All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real condition of life and his relations with his kind." What sort of relationships did he think his readers had with other people?

Accepted Answer

A)  relationships of community and religion 
B)  relationships based on social bonds and solidarity 
C)  economic relationships 
D)  cultural relationships

Question 20

What is it an example of when the children of working-class parents manage to attend college and get a job in a professional field?

Accepted Answer

A)  intragenerational mobility 
B)  horizontal social mobility 
C)  a lack of mobility 
D)  intergenerational mobility

Exam 7: Social Class: the Structure of Inequality

What sort of social mobility often results from losing a job?

Oscar Lewis was the first to suggest that the poor develop a way of life with fundamentally different values and goals because they are excluded from mainstream social life. Consequently, they are much less likely to join the middle class. This way of life is usually called

According to Pierre Bourdieu, ________ is the tendency of social class to be passed down from one generation to the next and consequently remain relatively stable over time.

The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 ended the concept of entitlements by requiring recipients of welfare to find work within two years of receiving assistance. How has this changed the lives of the poor?

The sociologist Susan Mayer studied poverty and welfare. She concluded that character traits in parents such as "diligence, honesty, good health, and reliability" led to increased achievement in children. Which theory do her conclusions support?

What term describes the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy?

What defines so-called official poverty in the United States based on household income?

In Japan, men rank higher than women in the social hierarchy. However, Yoshiko Shinohara is one of Japan's 50 richest people and has appeared on Forbes's Asia 50 Power Businesswoman list. Explain how both of these statements are true, utilizing the principles of stratification.

Homogamy is the practice of choosing a romantic partner based on similarities in background and group membership. Why do so many people choose life partners with racial, religious, and class backgrounds similar to their own?

In the United States, hard work and dedication lift the majority of people out of poverty.

Which of the following is a form of stratification in which all positions are awarded on the basis of accomplishment and skill?

The practice of refusing mortgages for the purchase of houses in poor and minority neighborhoods is called

What general predictions can sociologists make about a person's life prospects if all that is known is the person's social class?

Explain two ways in which belonging to a particular social class has a profound effect on almost every aspect of a person's life.

The wealth gap involves the unequal distribution of prestige or social honor that some individuals receive for being members of particular groups.

The feudal system, which is a closed social hierarchy, was dissolving and making way for a more open system when Karl Marx wrote about inequality. Why was Marx so worried about the new capitalist system that was emerging?

What is it an example of when the children of working-class parents manage to attend college and get a job in a professional field?