Chapter 8: Stratification and Social Mobility in the United States

What is the term for a set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests?

dominant ideology

According to Weber, minimum-wage earners constitute a social class because they share the same

economic position.

Which of the following is a factor that helps determine people's life chances?

education

Which sociological perspective argues that a differential system of rewards and punishments is necessary for the efficient operation of a society?

functionalism

Which of the following do Hispanic children of immigrant parents typically achieve that their parents do not?

home ownership a college degree

A minimum level of subsistence that no family should be expected to live below is called

absolute poverty.

Which of the following does the upper class in the United States typically pass on to the next generation?

accumulated wealth

The type of social mobility people experience when they move from one social position to another of the same rank is called mobility.

horizontal, lateral, horizantal, or horizatonal

When we look at economic stratification around the world, we often see big disparities in which two categories?

income wealth

A woman who works as a teacher's aide for years but eventually becomes superintendent of the school district experiences _________ social mobility.

intragenerational

What did Thorstein Veblen call excessive purchases made with the goal of flaunting wealth and status?

conspicuous consumption

One person buying three luxury vehicles is an example of what Veblen called

conspicuous consumption.

The working class is

declining in size.

The basis of the estate system was the nobles' ownership of the

land.

Which of the following sociological perspectives focuses on an entire society and global issues?

macrosociological

Interactionists take a(n) ______ perspective when examining how social class affects social interaction.

microsociological

Which of the following is a perspective that looks at the individual when examining social class issues?

microsociological

A person from a poor background who rises to a position of prestige, power, or financial reward has experienced

social mobility.

What is a measure of social class that is based on income, education, and occupation?

socioeconomic status

Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore believe that positions in society must be distributed and that these positions must be filled by people with the appropriate

talents and abilities.

Most social mobility in the United States is relatively

minor.

Which of the following is harder for women, making it less likely for women to seek self-employment as entrepreneurs and independent professionals?

securing financing

The trafficking (trade) of humans is tied to which form of oppressive social inequality?

slavery

What is the most oppressive form of social inequality that has existed legally for both individuals and groups?

slavery

What are the four general systems of stratification?

slavery social classes castes estates

A class system differs from a caste system in which of the following ways?

A class system offers people the opportunity to move between different levels of society.

Caste systems are most closely associated with which of the following religions?

Hinduism

Which of the following is considered to be slavery in the twenty-first century?

Illegal immigrants being forced into labor with threats of deportation

______ refers to salaries and wages, as well as interest earned on savings and stock dividend payments.

Income

Although undergoing changes brought about by urbanization, a caste system still exists in which of the following countries?

India

______ mobility involves changes in the social position of children relative to their parents.

Intergenerational

Which of the following statements is true about the lower class in the United States?

Its members lack political influence.

The estate system was associated with feudal societies during what period of history?

Middle Ages

Which of the following statements about women in poverty are true?

The increase in families with women as single heads of the household is a factor in the feminization of poverty. The percentage of women in poverty has risen since World War II.

Which of the following statements about wealth distribution in the United States in the early twenty-first century is true?

The wealthiest 1 percent have more wealth than the combined wealth of the bottom 90 percent.

What distinguishes slavery from other systems of stratification?

The workers are property owned by other people.

Karl Marx focused primarily on class conflict, whereas more recent theorists have extended the analysis to include conflicts based on gender, race, age, and other dimensions.

True

Social class standing is heavily dependent on family and ascribed factors such as race and ethnicity.

True

______ is an inclusive term that encompasses all of a person's material assets, including land, stocks, and other types of property.

Wealth

What did peasants have to do under the estate system in exchange for military protection and other services from the nobles?

Work for free on leased land

Which of the following aspects does the estate system share with slavery and the caste system?

a person's position is inherited

Which kind of society bases social placement on achieved status?

an open system

A social position that is assigned to a person by society independently of that person's unique talents or characteristics is called a(n)

ascribed status.

Reaching upper occupational levels through social mobility is extremely difficult unless a person

begins from a position of privilege.

Conflict theorists generally agree that two major sources of power in American society, ______, are closely interrelated.

big business and government

According to Karl Marx's views on capitalism, which social class owns the means of production?

bourgeoisie.

In capitalist societies the means of production are controlled by members of what Marx called the

bourgeoisie.

According to Karl Marx, the proletariat need ______ to bring about social change.

collective political action

An economic system in which the means of production are held largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profit is called

capitalism

What is the term for an economic system in which the means of production are held largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits?

capitalism

Which of the four general systems of stratification tends to be closely tied to religion?

castes

Max Weber identified distinct components of stratification. Which of the following are the components?

class status power

In developing his conflict theory, Marx focused mainly on

class conflict.

According to Karl Marx, which of the following was the crucial determinant of economic, political, and social inequality?

class differentiation

What is the term for a social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility?

class system

In Max Weber's view, social stratification is driven by ______.

class, status, and power

A social system that allows little or no possibility of individual social mobility is called a(n) ______ system.

closed

The type of system in which social mobility is nearly nonexistent because the society is rigidly controlled is the

closed system.

Functionalists believe that social inequality is

necessary.

Women offered jobs far below their skill level are more likely than men to choose to

not work at all.

Which method of measuring social class views class largely as a statistical category?

objective

Karl Marx believed that the dominant ideology in a capitalist society always serves the

ruling class.

Intergenerational mobility is declining because

there is no longer such a stark difference in the level of education between generations.

Karl Marx's main focus was on

the effects social inequality had on all aspects of society.

What was the basis of the estate system?

the nobles' ownership of the land

Which of the following contributed to the decline of the estate system?

the rise of merchants and artisans

Which of the following groups benefited the most in terms of increased wealth between 1980 and 2010?

the upper class

Which of the following would describe the proletariat according to Karl Marx?

those whose only means of subsistence is to sell their labor for a wage those who are known as the working class those who do not own the means of production

As a result of ascribed status, people with disabilities are more likely to be

unemployed. paid less.

Functionalists believe that a stratified society is

universal

According to economist John Kenneth Galbraith, which social class is "the most noticed and the least studied"?

upper class

According to Daniel Rossides, which class makes up the largest percentage of the population?

working class

Which of the following groups are more likely to financially assist their parents after they are married?

Black couples

______ refers to a floating standard of deprivation by which people at the bottom of a society, regardless of their lifestyle, are judged to be disadvantaged in comparison with the nation as a whole.

Relative poverty

Which of the following is correct according to Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore's view of stratification?

Social inequality is necessary.

______ is a structured ranking of entire categories of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society.

Social stratification

What is the term for the kind of vertical social mobility that involves children and their parents?

intergenerational mobility

What is the term for the type of vertical social mobility that occurs in a person's lifetime?

intragenerational mobility

Which sociological perspective argues that competition for scarce resources results in significant economic, political, and social inequality?

conflict theory

Which of the following plays a larger role than family background in social mobility?

education

Which of the following usually dictates one's rank in a caste system?

heredity

Which of the following are criteria used by sociologists to objectively measure people's social class?

income education occupation place of residence

In terms of false consciousness, Karl Marx worried that workers would adopt which of the following viewpoints?

individualistic viewpoint

The study of stratification is a study of what?

inequality

Conflict sociologists believe stratification will lead to

instability and social change.

What category of sociologists would be most interested in the way that social class shapes individual lifestyles?

interactionists

Compared with slavery and caste systems, social classes are

less rigid.

A social system in which competition is encouraged and class is largely determined by one's achieved status is a(n)

open system.

Women in the United States are more likely than men to be "trapped" in which of the following?

poverty

What is the federal government's money income figure that is adjusted annually to reflect the consumption requirements of families based on their size and composition?

poverty line

Which of Max Weber's three components of social inequality is directly tied to politics?

power

Which of the following is an ascribed status?

prince

Which of the following are social classes that Karl Marx focused on in a capitalist society?

proletariat bourgeoisie

People whose income places them below the standard of living of their society as a whole are said to live in _______ poverty.

relative

The movement of individuals or groups from one social class position in a society's stratification system to another is called ______ mobility.

social

Which of the following statements is true with regard to caste membership?

Marriages are typically between members of the same caste. Caste membership is determined at birth.

Conflict theorists see ______ as a major source of societal tension and conflict.

stratification

Social _________ is a system of social inequality that is based on a hierarchy of groups.

stratification

Moving to a higher social position or falling to a lower one is called

vertical mobility.

Based solely on the idea of life chances, which group would have the greatest chance of survival during time of widespread hardship?

wealthy and powerful people

According to Max Weber, the word "class" refers to a group of people

who have a similar level of wealth and income.

Which of the following is not one of the three factors that conflict theorists believe directly leads to higher levels of poverty among women?

women's inability to perform high-paying jobs