Chapter 8

In the long run, a college education pays for itself.

True

intragenerational social mobility

an individual moving up (or down) the social scale in his or her own lifetime

Absolute poverty means, essentially, not having enough to eat. What does relative poverty mean?

being worse off than most people in one's society

In a study of the admissions practices of an elite New England college with a stated commitment to diversity, which applicants tended to be targets for admission?

upper-class African American students

Identify each description as a member of either the upper middle class or the lower middle class.

upper: 1. owns a comfortable-sized home 2. owns a small business 3. active in local politics lower: 1. works for hourly wages 2. not politically active

restaurant cook

working class ($20,000 to $40,000)

Which are main causes behind rising economic inequality in the United States over the past few decades?

1. economic globalization 2. the declining role of governments

Identify the sociology research topic that most centrally uses an intersectional approach.

How do race, gender, and social class interplay in the experience of poverty in America?

Since 1970, what has happened to the percentage of people on welfare in the United States?

It has dropped significantly.

What is the single biggest reason why an increasing proportion of those in poverty are women?

Single women are more likely to be raising small children than single men.

In Max Weber's theory, where does status (social honor or prestige) come from?

how other members of society esteem a group

What does the phrase "real income" refer to?

income that has been numerically adjusted to remove the effects of inflation

How much higher is the average CEO's annual salary (CEOs of companies listed on the Standard & Poor's stock index) than the average worker's salary?

more than 300 times

Historically, American society has been characterized by high social mobility.

False

According to Thomas Piketty, author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century, growth of inequality over time is the norm in capitalist societies and has been the pattern in most developed economies—with one exception. What is the one exception?

the mid-twentieth century (1930-1960)

bourgeoisie

the owner of a large restaurant

In 2011, what was the most common status of recent high school graduates who did not go on to college?

unemployed and looking for work

university president

upper class (> $200,000)

engineer

upper middle class ($100,000 to $200,000)

Among the superrich, some people are considered "old money" and others are considered "new wealth." What is the difference?

"Old money" refers to people who own wealth passed down to them by earlier family generations, while "new wealth" refers to people who made their money as entrepreneurs.

Identify each statement about homelessness in the United States as either correct or incorrect.

1. A large majority of the homeless have a history of drug or alcohol abuse or mental health issues. 2. One cause of homelessness today is the rising cost of housing. 3. The number of homeless families with children has risen in recent years.

Identify each person as either homeless or not homeless.

1. Annabella left her abusive boyfriend. She and her infant son stay at a free women's shelter. 2. Felipe is an unemployed veteran. He sleeps in a town park. The police know him and leave him alone.

Place the U.S. population groups in order from highest to lowest high school graduation rates.

1. Asian Americans 2. whites 3. Hispanics 4. American Indians

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which began in 1997, differs from earlier forms of welfare assistance for the poor. Identify each statement about the TANF program as either correct or incorrect.

1. Families can only receive five years' worth of assistance. 2. Recipients must begin working after two years to continue benefits.

Some sociologists speak of an "underclass." Identify each statement about this class as either correct or incorrect.

1. It is extremely difficult for a member of the underclass to move out of it. 2. The underclass is in many ways disconnected from the rest of society.

What does it mean when a mortgage loan is "subprime"?

The interest rate will be higher than usual.

Which U.S. government programs have been especially important in keeping elderly people out of poverty?

1. Medicare 2. Social Security

Identify each statement about the middle class in the United States as either correct or incorrect.

1. Most U.S. households are middle class. 2. The middle class represents a shrinking share of the total U.S. population.

Identify the statements about how class systems differ from slavery and castes as either correct or incorrect.

1. The main basis of class is economic. 2. Individuals have some ability to move between social classes.

Identify each item as a sociological measure of income or wealth.

1. a weekly paycheck 2. money received from an investment

Identify each trait as being characteristic of either the proletariat or the bourgeoisie in Marx's economic theory.

1. earn money by selling their labor 2. produce surplus value with their labor

Which factors may make it harder for people with college degrees to find work in the future?

1. increased workplace automation 2. increased competition from overseas workers 3. increased competition from others with college degrees

According to economist Simon Kuznets, social inequality naturally rises and falls over the course of a society's development. Place each label in the correct position on the curve to illustrate this concept.

1. preindustrial societies 2. in transition 3. industrial societies 4. since 1970

Which U.S. employment sectors were hit hardest by the recession in 2008?

1. real estate 2. construction 3. finance

The phrase social - refers to inequalities arising not from local factors such as personality and small-group dynamics but from broad differences in race, gender, and -. Inequalities based on how such differences locate people in a social system are called - inequalities.

1. stratification 2. religion 3. structured

By which criteria does Erik Olin Wright differentiate the class locations of the workers who must sell their labor power?

1. the relationship to authority 2. the possession of skills or expertise

How has public opinion about the causes of poverty changed over the past two decades?

People are less likely to blame the poor for their situation.

What functionalist explanation for social stratification do Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore offer?

Stratification has the benefit of matching the best-qualified workers to the most important jobs.

What reason is there to believe that standard measures of poverty underestimate the rate of poverty among the elderly?

The elderly have far greater medical expenses than younger people do.

intergenerational social mobility

a measure of social movement from one generation to the next

What is the principal form of wealth for most Americans?

a family-owned home

proletariat

a miner in a coal mine

What does Max Weber mean by a "pariah group"?

a negative-status group that suffers from loss of social opportunity

In terms of annual income for a family of four, what is the poverty line in the United States, as defined by the federal government?

about $24,000

How large is the American "upper class," as a percentage of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census?

about 5 percent

Place the professions in order from highest to lowest social prestige score.

architect veterinarian firefighter farm manager local delivery truck driver bartender

As with earlier recessions, the recovery following the 2008 recession brought with it a drop in the child poverty rate.

false

part time janitor

lower class (< $20,000)

registered nurse

lower middle class ($40,000 to $100,000)

Identify the elements that Max Weber includes among the bases of class divisions.

one's control of intangible economic resources one's control of the means of production

structural social mobility

social mobility resulting from changes in the number and types of jobs available in society

exchange mobility

talented people tend to move up the economic hierarchy, while less talented ones tend to move down

Identify the person who, in Marx's theory, is a member of the bourgeoisie.

the factory owner

contradictory class location

the head of printing press operations at a major newspaper

If American households are divided into five equal-sized groups based on income, which fifth has benefited the most from the increase in economic inequality over the last 40 years?

the highest fifth