Sociology Chapt 7

working class or lower-middle class

"blue collar" or service industry workers who are less likely to have a college degree; they constitute about 30% of the U.S population

Which of the following population groups are NOT associated with higher rates of poverty in the United States?

Asian Americans

Which of the following is true of the upper class in the United States today?

They are a largely self-sustaining group and rarely add new members

"Wealthy," "poor," and "middle class" do not exist in and of themselves, but instead are constantly negotiated in interactions.

True

blue collar

a description characterizing skilled and semi-skilled workers who perform manual labor or work in service or clerical jobs

simplicity movement

a loosely knit movement that opposes consumerism and encourages people to work less, earn less, and spend less, in accordance with nonmaterialistic values

closed system

a social system with very little opportunity to move from one class to another

meritocracy

a system in which rewards are distributed based on merit

just-world hypothesis

argues that people have a deep need to see the world as orderly, predictable, and fair, which creates a tendency to view victims of social injustice as deserving of their fates

everyday class consciousness

awareness of one's own social status and that of others

Poverty can be defined in either relative or absolute terms. How does absolute deprivation measure poverty?

by considering access to food, shelter, clothing, and medical care

structural mobility

changes in the social status of large numbers of people as a result of structural changes in society

heterogamy

choosing romantic partners who are dissimilar to us in terms of class, race, education, religion, and other social group membership

homogamy

choosing romantic partners who are similar to us in terms of class, race, education, religion, and other social group membership

When young people go away to college, it's often the first time they make friends with people of substantially different class statuses. Sometimes this leads to tension when the wealthier member of a friendship is oblivious to his friend's class status and suggests activities that are beyond the friend's means. This tension results from a lack of:

class consciousness.

middle class

composed primarily of "white collar" workers with a broad range of education and incomes; they constitute about 30% of the U.S population

intersectionality

concept that identifies how different categories of inequality intersect to shape the lives of individuals and groups

white collar

description characterizing lower-level professional and management workers and some highly skilled laborers in technical jobs

social stratification

division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy

upper class

elite and largely self-sustaining group who possess most of the country's wealth; they constitute about 1% of the U.S Population

culture of poverty

entrenched attitudes that can develop among poor communities and lead the poor to accept their fate rather than attempt to improve their lot

Americans are particularly lucky to live in a country where hard work and dedication promise to lift the majority of people out of poverty.

false

The educational system in the United States serves all students equally regardless of class.

false

There have been many societies throughout history with no social stratification

false

There have been many societies throughout history with no social stratification.

false

When individuals fail to see the ways they are oppressed by the social system they live in, Karl Marx calls it:

false consciousness.

Which system of social stratification was in the final stages of breaking down when Karl Marx developed his ideas?

feudalism

caste system

form of social stratification in which status is determined by one's family history and background and cannot be changed

residential segregation

geographical separation of the poor from the rest of an area's population

Patrick Radden Keefe's The Snakehead describes (mostly) illegal immigrants to America from Fujian, a province in China. Many of the immigrants took incredible risks to get to the United States and have a hard time assimilating, but Keefe is very optimistic that their children will assimilate and have a much higher standard of living than their parents. What does Keefe believe the children will experience?

intergenerational mobility

hypogamy

marrying "down" in the social class hierarchy

hypergamy

marrying "up" in the social class hierarchy

socioeconomic status (SES)

measure of an individuals place within a social class system; often used interchangeably with "class"

wealth

measure of net worth that includes income, property, and other assets

slavery

most extreme form of social stratification, based on the legal ownership of people

upper-middle class

mostly highly-educated professionals and managers who have considerable financial stability; they constitute about 14% of the U.S population

vertical social mobility

movement between different class statuses, often called either upward mobility or downward mobility

intragenerational mobility

movement between social classes that occurs during the course of an individual's lifetime

intergenerational mobility

movement between social classes that occurs from one generation to the next

horizontal social mobility

movement of individuals or groups within a particular social class, most often a result of changing occupations

social mobility

movement of individuals or groups within the hierarchical system of social classes

absolute deprivation

objective measure of poverty, defined by the inability to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, or health care

working poor

poorly educated manual and service workers who may work full-time but remain near or below the poverty line; they constitute about 20% of the U.S. population

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

redlining.

relative deprivation

relative measure of poverty based on the standard of living in a particular society

disenfranchisement

removal of the rights of citizenship through economic, political, or legal means

status inconsistency

situation in which an individual has differing levels of status in terms of the individuals wealth, power, prestige, or other elements or socioeconomic status

What does Paul Fussell's living room scale attempt to measure?

social class

prestige

social honor people are given because of their membership in well-regarded social groups

What does Pierre Bourdieu call the tendency of social class to be passed down from one generation to the next and consequently remain relatively stable over time?

social reproduction

open system

social system with ample opportunities to move from one class to another

apartheid

system of segregation of racial and ethnic groups that was legal in South Africa between 1948-1991

feudal system

system of social stratification based on a hereditary nobility who were responsible for and served by a lower stratum of forced laborers called serfs

social class

system of stratification based on access to such resources as wealth, property, power, and prestige

Given what you have read about socioeconomic status and life chances, what activity is most likely to take the place of a yoga class for a working-class woman?

taking care of her children after work

cultural capital

tastes, habits, expectations, skills, knowledge, and other cultural assets that help us gain advantages in society

social reproduction

tendency of social classes to remain relatively stable as class status is passed down from one generation to the next

underclass

the poorest group includes the homeless and chronically unemployed who may depend on public or private assistance; they constitute about 5% of the U.S population

digital divide

the unequal access to computer and internet technology, both globally and within the United States

Belonging to a particular social class has a profound effect on almost every aspect of a person's life.

true

The higher a person's socioeconomic status, the more likely she is to feel healthy.

true

social inequality

unequal distribution or wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society

Many workers at auto plants in Michigan lost their jobs when the plants closed. For the vast majority of these workers, this has resulted in:

vertical social mobility.

According to Chapter 7, what general predictions can sociologists make about a person's life prospects if all that is known is the person's social class?

what quality of education she will receive