The American Class Systems

social class that relies on public assistance

underclass

nursing and sales are professions associated with this social class

lower middle class

Social mobility is not an important feature of an open class system.

False

The reputational method is always the best method for determining social class.

False

The subjective method is used to define social class by income, occupation, and education.

False

Identify and describe the three types of social mobility.

Horizontal mobility: movement within a social class or stratum. Vertical mobility: movement between social classes or strata. Intergenerational mobility: status differences between generations in the same family.

Name the three basic techniques used to rank individuals according to social class and describe each briefly.

Reputational method: individuals in the community are asked to rank other community members based on what they know of their character and lifestyle. Subjective method: individuals are asked to determine their own social rank. Objective method: social class is defined by income, occupation, and education.

Underclass families have experienced unemployment and poverty over several generations.

True

Advances in technology can cause workers with outdated skills to experience _____. a. Downward social mobility b. Upward social mobility c. Relative job security d. No changes in their social status.

a. Downward social mobility

A groundskeeper who moves from a school to a church and remains a groundskeeper is experiencing _____. a. Horizontal mobility b. Vertical mobility c. Intergenerational mobility d. Parallel mobility

a. Horizontal mobility

Differences between social classes in the United States are based on a. income, lifestyles, and beliefs. c. age. b. cultural background. d. race.

a. income, lifestyles, and beliefs.

Those who hold jobs that require manual labor are in the a. working class. c. underclass. b. upper middle class. d. lower middle class.

a. working class.

The method of ranking social status that asks people to rank themselves is called the _____. a. Reputational method b. Subjective method c. Objective method d. Middle method

b. Subjective method

A doctor whose father works as a janitor would be an example of _____. a. Horizontal mobility b. Vertical mobility c. Intergenerational mobility d. Parallel mobility

c. Intergenerational mobility

____ individuals can attend prestigious schools and their families have usually been wealthy for generations. a. Upper middle class c. Upper class b. Lower middle class d. Working class

c. Upper Class

Techniques used to rank individuals according to social class are a. reputational. c. objective. b. subjective. d. all of the above

d. all of the above

The United States has an open class system based on social mobility that includes a. horizontal mobility. c. intergenerational mobility. b. vertical mobility. d. all of the above

d. all of the above

Families that experience unemployment and poverty over several generations are considered a. working class. c. lower middle class. b. working poor. d. underclass.

d. underclass

social class known to have small communities and based on knowledge of lifestyle

reputational

social class that is comprised of migrant farm workers

working poor