Deck 4: Foundation for Social Inequality: Concepts and Structures

Question 1

The tendency for people to describe themselves as middle-class shows that

A)most people just assume they are middle class
B)consumerism reflects and media promotes the buying patterns for this group
C)there is a tendency for people to lie about their social class
D)there are more jobs available for them if they consider themselves middle-class

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Most people when asked which social class they belong to,choose working class.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Wealth is gained or lost through

A)taxation and the budget
B)taxation and regulation
C)taxation,tax cuts,and income taxes
D)taxation,the budget,and regulation

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The three most prominent policy-making groups include all but which of the following?

A)Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE)
B)Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
C)Business Roundtable (BR)
D)Committee for Economic Development (CED)

Question 5

Media framing can impact how topics such as social class differences are either openly acknowledged and discussed or ignored in the media.

Question 6

Downsizing and outsourcing has resulted in

A)a loss and diminishment of blue collar jobs
B)an increase in the number and availability of white collar jobs
C)a decline in service jobs
D)a decrease in employment opportunities for some born into low-income families

Question 7

Media conglomerates

A)have bans against interlocking directorates
B)impact what we read and what we watch
C)have unlimited numbers of television and radio stations they can purchase
D)are large in number and wealthy

Question 8

Lifestyle refers to all but which of the following?

A)innate athletic ability
B)childrearing practices
C)language usage
D)social relations
E)consumption patterns

Question 9

Income includes

A)the number of cars one owns
B)all of the homes one owns
C)stocks
D)bonds
E)individual earnings through wage and salaries

Question 10

Liberal capitalism is

A)a system in which economic production features private ownership in pursuit of profit
B)a combination of a democratic political system and a capitalist economy
C)supports free trade but restricts economic competition
D)an ineffective system for producing prosperity and economic growth

Question 11

Which of the following is not an example of a regulatory agency?

A)Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
B)Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
C)Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
D)Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Question 12

The concept of legitimation is linked to

A)the Horatio Alger myth
B)the rags to riches ideology
C)false consciousness
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 13

All but which of the following are involved in the elite policy-making process?

A)universities
B)think tanks
C)multinational corporations
D)foundations
E)policy-making groups

Question 14

The American ideology includes

A)work that is not too challenging
B)better opportunities for the wealthy
C)support for a socialist system
D)individual achievement

Question 15

Class refers to a large category of similarly ranked people distinguished by all but which of the following?

A)occupation
B)education
C)income
D)wealth
E)marital status

Question 16

The concept of a work ethic refers to the belief that

A)hard work is not as important as getting paid well
B)commitment to one's job is necessary for success and building character
C)one should change jobs frequently in order to learn a variety of skills
D)work is more important than making money

Question 17

Technological or institutional changes that can result in an increase or decrease in types of jobs available refers to this kind of social mobility

A)structural
B)intergenerational
C)interfamilial
D)interracial

Question 18

Class is found in which of the four types of subjects for sociological study?

A)macro-subjective
B)micro-subjective
C)macro-objective
D)micro-objective

Question 19

According to researchers Roberta Rehner Iversen and Annie Laurie Armstrong,all but which of the following are myths?

A)initiative gets you in the door
B)it's all about who you know
C)hard work pays off
D)pull yourself up by your bootstraps

Question 20

The text uses the standard six-class scheme that prominently features occupation but also include education and income

Question 21

A political action committee

Question 22

Social mobility is the ability to move horizontally from one job to another.

Question 23

What is the purpose of hyping bad news? How is opinion-stacking accomplished through deck stacking,spin control,and selective reporting? In engaging in these activities,how is inequality presented in the media?

Question 24

Americans overwhelmingly support liberal capitalism

Question 25

What is the purpose of a regulatory agency? Explain why the subprime mortgage crisis is related to regulatory activity.

Question 26

Wealth refers to ones economic assets.

Question 27

Lobbyists can come from a variety of backgrounds but cannot be former politicians as this would result in a conflict of interest.

Question 28

According to Max Weber,the Catholic work ethic had a strong role in the development of capitalism.

Question 29

One example of class based lobbying resulted in The Class Action Fairness Act whereby class action lawsuits were moved from state to courts to federal courts where the decisions tend to favor the plaintiffs.

Question 30

Children in the U.S.are more apt to reproduce their parents' social class level which shows that the Horatio Alger myth of rags to riches is indeed a myth.

Question 31

Most Americans believe the rags to riches ideology is a myth.

Question 32

As globalization has increased so has upward mobility.

Question 33

The measure of a child's class location and that of a parent's class location is called interfamilial mobility.

Question 34

The U.S.election system is based on proportional representation.

Question 35

Intergenerational mobility is used frequently by researchers studying social mobility.

Question 36

Distinguish between the following classes: working class,working poor,and underclass.How does belief in the America dream promote the idea of social equality rather than social inequality thus making people responsible for falling into the above three classes?

Question 37

The neoconservative policy movement has pushed for and received a relaxing of clean water and clean air standards that businesses thought were too costly.

Question 38

The amount of wealth one has,can impact one's lifestyle.