SOC 1101 Sample Questions

Match the definition: a social position linked to an individual's acquisition of socially valued skills a. Achieved status b. Class c. Social Category

A

Match the following: Car a. Wealth b. Income

A

Match the following: Owning property (real estate) a. Wealth b. Income

A

Match the following: inancial investments such as stocks and bonds a. Wealth b. Income

A

Match the following: the amount of money a person or household earns in a given period of time a. Income b. Wealth c. Status

A

Match the following; number of deaths of infants under the age of 1 for every 1,000 live births a. Infant mortality rate b. Total fertility rate

A

Impoverished urban and rural neighborhoods characterized by poor access to _______________and affordable food are known as food desserts. The textbook describes Jesse Caldwell (p.180) who regularly takes a ______________________________(p.180). a. tasty; 20 minute bike ride to get good cakes and pies b. frozen; 30 minute car ride to get vegetables c. healthy; one hour bus ride to get fresh vegetables and meat d. elegant; 15 minute walk to get high end organic foods

C

Match the definition: people sharing common characteristics without interacting or identifying with one another a. Achieved status b. Class c. Social Category

C

Match the following: prestige associated with a social position a. Income b. Wealth c. Status

C

Neighborhoods where 20% or more of the households are living in poverty are defined as [x] areas. a. heavily stratified b. high poverty c. poverty d. unequal

C

Net financial assets differ from net worth. Net financial assets are a measure of wealth that exclude illiquid assets (read about what this means on page 174-175). Which of the following are examples of net financial assets (see p.175)? a. Home b. Car c. Financial Investments such as stocks and bonds d. all of the above

C

Children in disadvantaged families are more likely than their better off peers to have poor physical and mental health (see pp.179-180). Which of the following have been identified as causes of this inequality? a. lack of health insurance b. lack of safe places to exercise, reducing their access to physical activity c. lack of access to healthy food d. all of the above

D

When looking at inequalities of wealth, more Americans than ever are investing in the stock market and this has resulted in: a. more wealth inequality than income inequality b. a more equal distribution of wealth in America c. no minority group differences in wealth d. none of the above

A

Racially discriminatory policies and practices including limitations on Black access to mortgages or to homes in White neighborhoods made them more vulnerable than their white counterparts to becoming trapped in poor neighborhoods. a. True b. False

A. True

Research suggests that being poor in a poor neighborhood (where 20% or more of the households are living in poverty) has more negative social and economic consequences than being poor in an economically mixed neighborhood (p.184). a. True b. False

A. True

The decline of manufacturing in the 1970's had a profound effect on neighborhood poverty for some urban areas such as Chicago and Detroit (p.185) a. True b. False

A. True

Let's say that you have accumulated the following wealth: You have invested in stocks and bonds that are worth $20,000. You also own a car that is worth $5,000.00 You have paid off your car and no longer owe any monthly payments. You also purchased a house for the market value of $100,000 and you have paid $25,000 in equity (see p.174), This means that you owe the bank $75,000. Your total net worth would be a. $50,000 b. -$25,000 c. $125,000 d. $25,000

B

Match the definition: refers to a person's economic position in society which is associated with income, wealth and occupation a. Achieved status b. Class c. Social Category

B

Match the following: the amount of money you earn in a given year a. Wealth b. Income

B

Match the following: the value of everything a person owns minus what they owe a. Income b. Wealth c. Status

B

Match the following; the average number of children a woman in a given country will have in her lifetime (if age specific fertility rates hold throughout her lifetime, ages 15-49) a. Infant mortality rate b. Total fertility rate

B

Neighborhoods where 40% or more of the households are living in poverty are defined as [y] areas. a. heavily stratified b. high poverty c. poverty d. unequal

B

The Apartheid system in South Africa existed from 1948-1994. "Apartheid" means separate. Black South Africans were not allowed free movement throughout the society. The levels of opportunity for jobs and education were closed off to Black South Africans, they were forced to remain at the social level of their birth throughout out life. The Apartheid system is a a. Class system b. Caste system c. Open mobility system d. Free market system

B

Functionalist perspectives on economic inequality begin with the assumption that a. regardless of the functions it serves, stratification is morally wrong b. economic stratification is inherently damaging to society c. workers are divided into two classes: the bourgeoisie (capitalists) and the proletariat (labor) d. stratification benefits society as a whole

D

Poor areas are more likely than mixed income or high income neighborhoods to experience: a. higher levels of crime b. low quality housing and education c. few job opportunities d. all of the above

D

The United Nations estimates that as of 2015, there were approximately___________________people around the world living in extreme poverty, on less than a $1.25 day. (Read "Behind the Numbers" pp.200-201) a. 6 million b. 36 million c. 136 million d. 836 million

D

The United Nations estimates that, globally, over __________________children under the age of five are dangerously underweight (p.201). a. 5 million b. 20 million c. 30 million d. 90 million

D

The thrifty food basket is a. a collection of food recommendations for those living in food deserts b. a set of dietary recommendations published annually by the U.S. government c. the list of grocery items that can be purchased with food stamps d. the basis for a formula used to calculate the poverty threshold

D

Which of the following is true? a. female headed households are more likely than any other type of household to live in poverty areas where more than 20% of the households are in poverty b. more than one in four of the black poor and one in six of Hispanic poor live in areas of extreme poverty where 40% or more of the households are in poverty c. One in thirteen white poor live in extreme poverty areas where 40% or more of the households are in poverty d. all of the above

D

Among challenges to poor neighborhoods is that individual households that have enough resources to leave choose to do so, this results in a. less circulating capital and increasing withdrawal of businesses b. fewer employed residents and weaker social and economic networks c. less empty buildings d. all of the above e. a and b only

E

Which of the following did Herbert Gans identify as functions that poverty serves in society? a. Ensures there will be low wage laborers b. Creates jobs for people who help the poor (i.e.,social workers), protect society from those poor who violate the law (prison guards) , profit from the poor (cheap grocery stores and motels) and study the poor (sociologists) c. provides a market for those goods that would otherwise go unused (day old bread, second rate doctors and lawyers, etc..) d. Serve as scapegoats for society's problems e. all of the above

E

Identify the components sociologists use to determine one's social class position. a. Wealth b. Income c. Political Voice d. Status e. All of the above

E.

According to the article "Life Expectancies Vary Widely Across Franklin County" (from previous question), which of the following are factors associated with lower life expectancy ? a. race and ethnicity b. poverty c. neighborhood environment d. genetic factors e. access to benefits to seniors (age 65 and over) f. all of the above

F

Which of the following best describes functionalist's Kingsley Davis and Wilbur Moore's explanation for stratification and inequality in society? a. Stratification and Inequality are necessary because the reward of money, prestige and leisure motivates people to work hard to develop expertise of skills that are needed in society b. stratification and inequality exist because those who have power use it to create economic and social conditions favorable to them and their children even if it is detrimental to the lower classes. c. Stratification and inequality are fluid and unstable and constructed through the meanings we construct in our daily interactions d. none of the above

A

According to your textbook, one of the most significant reasons for the rise of inequality in the United States was the shift to low wage service sector jobs. a. True b. False

A. True

Class systems of stratification provide opportunity for open mobility. a. True b. False

A. True

Herbert Gans argues that those who are better off in society benefit from poverty and are not motivated to fight poverty comprehensively because poverty is demonstrably functional for them. a. True b. False

A. True

Public housing built in the post WWII period was intended to provide affordable housing for the poor, but also led to the concentration of poverty and blocked the possibility of mixed-income neighborhoods (see p.184). a. True b. False

A. True

A society in which success is based on talent and individual effort best describes a. ascription b. meritocracy c. aristocracy d. modernization

B

In Brazil, many people have enough to eat and a place to live, but they lack the resources necessary to meet social expectations and participate fully in the practices and customs of their culture in the way middle-class families are able to. Which concept best captures this situation? a. the cultural capital index b. relative deprivation c. the cultural participation index d. absolute poverty

B

In a class system of stratification, all of these are taken into account when determining one's economic position EXCEPT this: a. wealth b. religion c. income d. occupation

B

In the United States, the poverty line is a. calculated by subtracting the amount of a household's expenses from its income b. set by the government c. calculated by subtracting gross domestic product (GDP) from gross domestic expenditures (GDE) d. the proportion of people considered poor

B

The ______ provides a means of gauging a society's physical health, particularly the health of women and children; a society's level of medical care; and a society's ability to meet the nutritional needs of its people. a. total fertility rate b. infant mortality rate c. TANF coefficient d. Gini index

B

Which of the following are the principle sources of wealth that allow the rich to secure their position in the economic hierarchy through reinvestment and accumulate still more wealth? a. Net worth b. Net financial assets c. Illiquid wealth d. Income

B

Which of the following best characterizes the social conflict perspective's explanation of stratification and inequality? a. Stratification andInequality are necessary because the reward of money, prestige and leisure motivates people to work hard to develop expertise of skills that are needed in society b. stratification and inequality exist because those who have power use it to create economic and social conditions favorable to them and their children even if it is detrimental to the lower classes. c. Stratification and inequality are fluid and unstable and depend on the meanings we create through social interaction d. None of the above

B

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a class society? a. Class systems are fluid, boundaries between classes can be crossed b. the social levels are closed, individuals remain at the social level they were born into throughout their life c. social mobility allows an individual to change his or her socioeconomic position d. status is understood to be achieved rather than ascribed; status is not based on one's social position at birth

B

Which of the following is true? a. Families who experience household level poverty all share the same social and economic consequences regardless of neighborhood level poverty b. A census report reveals that a growing number of Americans reside in poverty areas where 20% or more of the households are in poverty. c. Female headed households are least likely to live in poverty areas d. All of the above

B

______ refers to the relative honor or esteem attached to a social position. a. Income b. Status c. Wealth d. Occupation

B

Caste systems are more common in countries today than they were in the past. a. True b. False

B. False

Class position at birth does not strongly influence a person's life chances. a. True b. False

B. False

Political power is the ability of a person or group to exercise influence on political institutions. Sociological analysis reveals that all social classes have the same amount of political power in the United States (see p.176). a. True b. False

B. False

The Affordable Care Act has eliminated health care inequality in the United States. a. True b. False

B. False

Which of the following is NOT a common criticism of the metrics the U.S. government uses to gauge poverty? a. Because the thrifty food basket is based on the assumption that food will account for one third of a family's budget, using it to determine how much money a family requires to survive will yield a figure that is too low. b. Because noncash benefits (such as government transfers in the form of food and housing subsidies) are not considered in calculations, the poverty rate is overestimated. c. Because family size is not considered when calculating how much money a family needs to live, the poverty line is invalid d. Because the cost of living varies from one geographic region to another, a single national figure cannot be used to determine which families are poor and which are not.

C

______ distinguishes a blue-collar job from a white-collar job. a. Wealth b. Pay attached to the position c. Type of work d. Gender

C

_______________ refers to the opportunities and obstacles a person encounters in education, social life and other areas critical to social mobility a. material culture b. ascribed status c. life changes d. resocialization

C