Sociology Chapter 8

What is the underlying assumption of this article about staying at home and not working when you are a well-educated woman?

Staying at home to raise children has lower status than working full-time.

Which is more appropriate as a level of analysis for studying educational funding and outcomes -- the macro level or the micro level?

The educational system is a social institution in society, but also involves daily individual interactions between teachers and students in the classroom. Both the macro and micro levels of analysis are essential.

According to Karl Marx, the capitalist class owns the means of production. He referred to this group of production owners as the

bourgeoisie.

Hereditary systems of rank, usually religiously dictated and tending to be fixed and immobile, are referred to as

castes.

A subjective awareness of common vested interests and the need for collective political action to bring about social change is referred to as

class consciousness.

Membership in this system of stratification is based on a combination of both birth and personal achievement.

class system

British sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf views social classes as groups of people who share common interests resulting from their authority relationships. Dahrendorf's ideology aligns BEST with which theoretical perspective?

conflict

According to Marx, exploitation of the proletariat will inevitably lead to the

destruction of capitalism.

In a class system, groups are ranked by _____________ status.

economic

Gabrielle's concern about her reputation and potential embarrassment for her lawyer parents after the DUI arrest most closely relates to which of the following aspects of stratification?

esteem

Based on the statistics, _______ have a higher rate of incarceration for drug possession and drug trafficking than the opposite sex. This may have a ______ impact on Christie's likelihood of being incarcerated for possessing the full bottle of her mother's prescription painkillers.

females, negative

According to the __________ perspective, stratification is universal.

functionalist

Kathy's concern that students from minority groups and disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds may be stereotyped and labeled as "unteachable" is an application of the _________ perspective.

interactionist

Max Weber referred to people's likelihood of obtaining valued economic resources, living conditions, and life experiences as

life chances.

Max Weber saw social class as being closely related to people's opportunities to provide themselves with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences. According to the text, these opportunities, conditions, and experiences are termed

life chances.

Sociologist William Julius Wilson, and other social scientists, have used which term to describe the long-term poor who lack training and skills?

underclass

_________ is the minimum level of resources that no family should live below.

Absolute poverty

By how much can the average income vary across the United States?

$28,000 or more

Based on the data from the Census Bureau presented in the article above, the increase in stay-at-home moms in the past ten years has been __________ percent.

15

__________ is a social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility.

A class system

Why has student loan debt become such a serious concern for American society in the last few decades? -Higher college tuition levels. -Colleges and universities have been moving away from making outright grants, such as scholarships, to deserving students, and toward low-interest student loans. -Interest rates on federally guaranteed loans have risen steadily, increasing the burden of repayment.

All of these answers are correct.

Which of the three scenarios uses the macro level of analysis for examining the corporate bailout of 2008?

Both Heather and Chrissy.

__________ is an economic system in which the means of production are largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits.

Capitalism

Founding sociologist, Karl Marx, would be most agreeable to which of the women's views from the scenarios?

Chrissy

Which of the following statements regarding poverty in the United States is FALSE?

Higher poverty rates are more common in urban rather than rural areas.

If a sociologist were to study the different meanings of social stigma in society - for a middle-class family who lost their home to foreclosure, compared to a wealthy CEO having to give up his six-figure bonus and private jet, which sociological perspective would be most valuable for understanding the impact of the financial crisis on daily lives?

Interactionist

__________ mobility involves changes in social position within a person's adult life.

Intragenerational

__________ poverty is a floating standard of deprivation by which people at the bottom of a society, whatever their lifestyles, are judged to be disadvantaged in comparison with the nation as a whole.

Relative

The term __________ refers to a minimum level of subsistence that no family should be expected to live below.

absolute poverty

From a _____ perspective, excessive executive salaries and the methods for determining compensation represent the interests of the "haves" - the CEO and board of directors within the organization, rather than the "have-nots" - the lower-level employees.

conflict

If a study of school funding and educational outcomes were to focus specifically on patterns of female students across the U.S. who were inadequately prepared for college after graduating high school, this would be an application of the feminist perspective, which is most closely aligned with the _____ perspective.

conflict

Many sociologists tend to view the debate over welfare reform in industrialized nations from a (a)n _____ perspective.

conflict

Researchers have found that very few individuals in the lower classes have access to the knowledge and resources necessary to move up in the class system. This statement best fits which perspective?

conflict theory

Membership in this system of stratification is based on birth and the distribution of farm land as a source of wealth.

estate system

Which theory focuses on why certain people are paid more to do difficult, dangerous, intellectually challenging and important jobs in society?

functionalism

From a _______ perspective, extremely generous executive compensation may be considered reasonable given the potential for gain that a talented executive brings to a corporation.

functionalist

Airline pilots and police officers have the same occupational prestige ranking. Suppose that a former airline pilot becomes a police officer. Sociologists call this kind of movement __________ mobility.

horizontal

Jeanette realizes the harsh reality of social stratification, in particular, the influence of wealth and ________, once she learns that the driver who damaged her car is from a well-to-do family with connections to the large company for whom she works.

power

The ability to exercise one's will over others is referred to as

power.

The respect or admiration that a specific occupation holds in a society is referred to as

prestige.

Having grown up on a Navajo reservation, Jeanette is highly aware of injustice and the abuse of power, leading her to doubt the value in pursuing the lawsuit. Being Native American is primarily an example of _____ as it relates to inequality within the social stratification system in the U.S. for Jeanette.

race

The term __________ describes a condition in which members of a society have different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power.

social inequality

Gabrielle's parents are both successful lawyers who are able to send her to expensive, prestigious schools. Her __________ is that of the upper class, which refers to a measure of social class that is based on income, education, and _________.

socioeconomic status (SES), occupation.

Christie's _________ will likely have a ________ impact on the outcome of her court hearing, as it relates to her ability to hire a quality attorney, rather than use an assigned public defender who is overloaded with clients and may have severely limited time to devote to her case.

socioeconomic status, negative

Weber used the term __________to refer to people who rank the same in prestige or lifestyle.

status group

Which one of the following is NOT an example of a closed class system?

the class system in U.S. society

If a family was in the bottom fifth in 1988, what group were they MOST LIKELY to move in to?

the lower middle

Which groups' families are MOST LIKELY to remain in their class ten years later?

the top fifth and bottom fifth

The stratification in the U.S. involves the opportunity for vertical mobility. In this sense, if Jeanette were to succeed at her new job, receive several promotions, start her own business and amass great wealth, she could potentially rise to a higher social position. Then if she were to encounter a similar hit-and-run driver situation, because of her elevated position, she could file a law suit and "compete" on a more level equal playing field, with individual inequality much less of a factor in the outcome.

vertical mobility