Sociology 101 Quiz Study
With the recent Occupy Wall Street Movement, the people of the United States keep hearing about the top 1%. How much of the United State's wealth rests in the hands of the wealthiest top 1% of people?
a. 1 / 3
Which group within the United States has been stereotyped as the model minority?
a. The Asian American community
What is the most significant threat to the relatively high standard of living people are accustomed to in the United States?
a. The decline of the middle class
The majority of American citizens are descendants of immigrants?
a. True
In 2008 the United States, as well as the rest of the world, felt the effects of the recession. After the collapse of the housing market, people lost their jobs and they quit spending money. Many people could not afford their mortgages anymore and their homes went into foreclosure. For many people, it was a time of ________
d. Downward mobility → A lowering of one's social class.
GNI PPP, or gross national income divided by purchasing power parity, helps measure
d. Karl Marx
Hope is desperate for the new designer purse that she saw while window shopping at her local mall. She knew every girl in school would covet her bag and wish to be like her. When she walked in, she whipped out her credit card, and purchased the $5,000 bag. This kind of purchasing is called:
a. Conspicuous consumption → the act of buying and using products to make a statement about one's social standing
Cate is the daughter of a Senator and the former CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Harry grew up on a farm, tilling the land for a living. They are planning a June wedding. They will have a(n)___________ marriage.
a. Exogamous → unions of spouses from different social categories
Cedric's uncle believes that racism and discrimination have made a positive impact on society - but only in the lives of those who are members of the dominant group. Which sociological perspective is Cedric's uncle coming from?
a. Functionalism
Which of the following is an example of racial steering?
a. Real estate agents directing white clients to look for housing in certain neighorbhoods, and non-white clients to others.
Adolf Hitler blaming Germany's pre-war problems on the Jewish population is an example of
a. The scapegoat theory → a theory that suggests that the dominant group will displace its unfocused aggression onto a subordinate group
Since the social classes in the United States do not have any clear boundaries, how is a sociologist supposed to determine whether their subjects are in the upper class or the upper-middle class?
a. Upper class is often defined as having control over one's life and the lives of people around you, while the upper-middle class is often defined as having control only over one's own life.
In the United States, which race would be considered the dominant group?
b. White
Mohit spent his days combing through garbage in Mumbai, India with his brothers and sisters. Sometimes he would find food, or something to sell for money. He never tried to overcome his lower-class status because he had seen his friends try and fail. So, he accepted his fate, and tried to live life as best he could in a closed society. Mohit is an example of someone living under
c. A case system → a system in which people are born into a social standing that they will retain their entire lives
1967's Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, a case which legally allowed interracial marriage, is an example of
c. Amalgamation → the process by which a minority group and a majority group combine to form a new group
Elisa graduated from college with a double major and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa society. She was then offered a job in New York where she worked 12 hours a day and produced excellent results. Within two years she had over 100 employees working under her. Elisa's hard work was rewarded with a raise and a bonus. This form of promotion is based on the principles of:
c.) A meritocracy → an ideal system in which personal effort—or merit—determines social standing
Which factor is considered when evaluating someone's standard of living?
d. All of the above -Income -Employment -Class
Whose work do conflict theorists rely on to help form their arguments surrounding social stratification?
d. Karl Marx
Arizona Senate Bill 1070, often referred to colloquially as the "papers, please" law, was aimed widely at those of
d. Mexican descent
Symbolic interactionists have come to the conclusion that
d. Most people only socialize with people in their same social class.
According to the social construction of race school of thought, race is:
d. Not biologically identifiable
The term discrimination is defined in the text as:
d. Prejudiced action against a group of people.
Max believes that most people's racial beliefs are based on images conveyed in popular media since many people never meet members of certain races for themselves. Max's perspective is:
d. Symbolic interactionist
Which historical event was greatly responsible for global stratification as we see it today?
d. The Industrial Revolution
The term segregation is defined in the text as:
d. The physical separation of two groups, particularly in residence, but also in workspace and social functions.
A person's position in a country's social stratification is determined by:
a. Wealth, power, income, race, education
Angela believes that race relations in her country are poor because the ruling class has enacted various laws and regulations to keep other groups from achieving equality. With which sociological perspective does Angela's view best align?
b. Conflict theory
In 2010, what did controversial Senate Bill 1070 propose, causing a series of protests and legal battles?
b. During a lawful stop, detention, or arrest, Arizona police officers may establish the immigration statutes of anyone they suspect may be here illegally.
It was time for Oli to marry. He had finished school and was starting a job. His parents chose a bride for him whose parents had the same amount of wealth and belonged to the same class as they did. Oli and his bride will have a(n) _________ marriage.
b. Endogamous → unions of people within the same social category
True or False: Only the dominant racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups have privilege.
b. False
What seems to be the key (although not the rule) to upward social mobility?
b. How much education you have.
What is particularly unique about the United States middle class?
b. It is broken into two subcategories: upper and lower middle class
Asad's first grade class is diverse: there are two students from Korea, five students from South America, two students from the United States, three students from Kuwait, a student from Mexico, two students from England, and five students from western Europe. Asad's class is:
b. Pluralistic
One main issue in studying global social inequality is:
b. Social inequality is relative and therefore, difficult to compare across cultures
Charlotte was born to a lower class family in rural Pennsylvania. After taking a job in the mailroom of a large corporate office, Charlotte is slowly promoted through the ranks and becomes CEO of the company by the age of 50. Compared to her parents, Charlotte's story demonstrates what type of social stratification?
c. Intragenerational mobility → changes in a person's social mobility over the course of their lifetime.
Which of the following is NOT an example of a stereotype?
c. Isaiah cooking his girlfriend a meat-free dinner because she is a vegetarian.
The Davis-Moore Thesis states:
c. That the more society values a particular profession, the more the people in that profession will make.
Speedy Gonzalez was a popular cartoon character, but is widely considered an inappropriate stereotype. Many children were raised watching Speedy Gonzalez cartoons, unaware that such stereotypes are negative. This is a product of:
c. The culture of prejudice → the theory that prejudice is embedded in our culture
The term assimilation is defined by the text as
c. The process by which a minority individual or group takes on the characteristics of the dominant culture.