Deck 6: Stratification: Structured Social Inequality

Question 1

According to Farley and Flota, the likelihood of poverty in female-headed households would be reduced if:

A) Women were paid at the same rate for their work as men.
B) Women worked harder towards upward mobility.
C) Day care was publicly funded.
D) Health care was publicly funded.
E) A,C, and

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The poverty rates of African Americans and Hispanic Americans are approximately:

A) The same as non-Hispanic whites.
B) Ten percent lower than non-Hispanic whites.
C) Twice as high as non-Hispanic whites.
D) Three times as high as non-Hispanic whites

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Structural inequalities in income and wealth is called:

A) Status
B) Class stratification
C) Division of labor
D) None of the above.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Movement up or down in the stratification system relative to the positions of other people is called:

A) division of labor
B) ascribed status
C) exchange mobility
D) occupational prestige

Question 5

Which of the following is most influential in regards to upward mobility in class systems?

A) income distribution
B) one's gender
C) one's ascribed status
D) ones caste

Question 6

If you are born into poverty in the United States,

A) you have an above-average chance of experiencing adult poverty.
B) you have the same chances of experiencing adult poverty as anyone else.
C) you have lower chances of experiencing adult poverty as anyone else.
D) It is unpredictable to determine one's chances of experiencing poverty as an adult.

Question 7

According to sociological studies, there is a strong tendency for people to end up:

A) In the same social class as their parents.
B) In a higher social class as their parents.
C) In a lower social class as their parents.
D) There are no tendencies regarding social class; everybody is different and it depends on how hard they work.

Question 8

Which of the following reflects a status inconsistency relating to social class?

A) A person from a blue-collar family earns an income above the median family income.
B) A person from a blue-collar family earns an income comparable to other blue-collar families.
C) A person from a white-collar family earns an income comparable to other white-collar families.
D) None of the above reflect an inconsistency.

Question 9

An individual's movement from one place to another on the stratification system is known as:

A) Lateral interaction
B) Social mobility
C) Risky shift
D) Status mobilization

Question 10

Compared to some other countries such as Canada, U.S. laws related to labor are:

A) Comparable
B) More favorable to labor
C) Less favorable to labor
D) Nonexistent

Question 11

The level of inequality in the U.S. is comparable to or perhaps higher than inequality in other democratic industrialized countries.

Question 12

Poor Americans spend more of their incomes on housing and food than do the non-poor, but they are less adequately housed and fed.

Question 13

Conflict theorists believe that socioeconomic inequality exists because it serves a social need related to productivity.

Question 14

The income distribution in the United States is becoming more polarized with more people at the top and bottom with fewer in the middle.

Question 15

Women and racial ethnic minorities generally receive lower pay and work at lower-status jobs than do white males in the United States.

Question 16

Achieved statuses are the predominant factor influencing success in a class-based system.

Question 17

A term similar to social class is __________________.

Question 18

Movement up or down in the stratification system relative to other people is known as ________.

Question 19

Define deindustrialization and explain its affects on society, communities, and families, particularly in U.S. central cities known as the "Rust Belt". What populations are most impacted by deindustrialization? How?

Question 20

What can be done to counteract the effects of deindustrialization? Identify at least three efforts or projects that can be done to alleviate issues in areas most likely to be impacted by deindustrialization.

Question 21

Define both of the terms income and wealth and compare and contrast them. Give examples of both.

Question 22

Describe poverty in the United States. How is poverty defined? Who comprises the group of those living in poverty and what are the causes of their impoverishment?

Question 23

What are the main reasons why those who are unemployed in the United States, do not work?

Question 24

What are some of the main reasons why the rise in unemployment in recent decades, according to your text? Which groups are disproportionately impacted by unemployment over others?

Question 25

Discuss the impact of race and gender on class mobility.

Question 26

How do ascribed statuses make a difference in terms of upward mobility? Provide an example to support your argument.

Question 27

What is an estate system or feudal system? How important is ascribed status in a feudal system?

Question 28

What were according to W.E.B. DuBois some of the obstacles that blocked economic success for blacks after Emancipation? Are there lingering effects from that era that still impact people today? How so? How does this group fare economically today and why?

Question 29

Define deindustrialization, and discuss the impacts on 1) individuals 2) communities, and on 3) economic conditions.

Question 30

Do you think the underclass can be eliminated in America? Why or why not? If yes, explain how you think this can be done. If not, explain why not.

Question 31

Explain how an individual gains social capital to establish upward social mobility today.

Question 32

What are the underlying causes of poverty in the United States today? Which groups are most likely to be poor?

Question 33

Discuss Karl Marx's theory related to social class structure, urbanization, and industrial society.

Question 34

How are income, wealth, and prestige connected? Begin by defining each term, and then identify the connections to each other.

Question 35

What is the difference between a caste system and a class-based system? How does ascribed and achieved status affect each system? How much mobility can be found in a caste system?