Deck 15: Social Stratification

Question 1

The social-class system is defined as the arbitrary division of society into permanent, heterogeneous groups with respect to social power.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The functional approach to social class categorisation is based on:

A) occupational role, income and living conditions.
B) the status of an individual's peer and reference groups.
C) an individual's status in a community.
D) the dollar value of the house an individual lives in.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The lower, or working, class accounts for over half of the Australian population.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A reputational approach to social class structure:

A) focuses on occupational role, income level, living conditions and identification with a possibly disadvantaged ethnic or racial group.
B) is designed to reflect popular imagery and observation of how people interact with one another.
C) pays more attention to capitalist ownership and to occupational division of labour as defining variables.
D) includes the Gilbert-Kahl social class structure.

Question 5

Which of the following is not an achievement-based status dimension?

A) occupation
B) age
C) income
D) education

Question 6

Occupation is the most widely used single-item index in marketing studies.

Question 7

For a social class to be bounded it is necessary that:

A) a rule is devised for each class that will include or exclude any particular individual.
B) the classes are arrayed in terms of some criteria.
C) an individual belongs to only one class.
D) every individual in the system fits into some class.

Question 8

A social-class system is defined as:

A) the division of a society into relatively permanent and heterogeneous groups with respect to attitudes, values and lifestyles.
B) the hierarchical division of society into relatively permanent groups.
C) the hierarchical division of a society into relatively homogeneous groups with respect to attitudes, values and lifestyles.
D) the arbitrary division of society into permanent, heterogeneous groups with respect to social power.

Question 9

For a social class to be bounded there must be clear breaks between each social class.

Question 10

For a social class to be exhaustive it is necessary that:

A) a rule is devised for each class that will include or exclude any particular individual.
B) the classes are arrayed in terms of some criteria.
C) an individual belongs to only one class.
D) every individual in the system fits into some class.

Question 11

For a social class to be mutually exclusive it is necessary that:

A) a rule is devised for each class that will include or exclude any particular individual.
B) the classes are arrayed in terms of some criteria.
C) an individual belongs to only one class.
D) every individual in the system fits into some class.

Question 12

Warner's index uses occupation, income level, house type and dwelling area as key socioeconomic indicators.

Question 13

Warner's system is based on socioeconomic factors.

Question 14

For a social class to be influential there must be behavioural variations within a class.

Question 15

Status crystallisation involves:

A) the extent to which one is a 'star' on one or more status dimensions.
B) the degree of consistency an individual has across all the status dimensions.
C) the degree to which an individual's status is visible to others.
D) the degree to which one's apparent status exceeds one's actual status.

Question 16

The weighting system in the Hollingshead index is (7 x occupational score) + (4 x education score).

Question 17

The more consistent an individual is on all status dimensions:

A) the lesser the degree of status crystallisation for the individual.
B) the greater the degree of status crystallisation for the individual.
C) there is no difference in the degree of status crystallisation.
D) the more that individual will earn.

Question 18

For a social-class system to exist in a society the classes must meet all of the following criteria except:

A) They must be specified.
B) They must be ordered.
C) They must be mutually exclusive.
D) They must be bounded.

Question 19

For a social class to be ordered individuals can only belong to a single social class.

Question 20

Education has served as the primary path for upward social mobility.

Question 21

Relative occupational class income is:

A) the relationship of a household's total income to the median income of other households in the same occupational class.
B) the basis of the Hollingshead two-factor index.
C) the basis of the Duncan Socioeconomic Index.
D) the basis of the NORC Index.

Question 22

Social class affects all of the following except:

A) consumers' evaluative processes.
B) consumers' willingness to learn about products.
C) the number and type of attributes that may apply in a purchase decision.
D) the specific threshold that may apply in a purchase decision.

Question 23

Knowing the subjective discretionary income of a consumer is important for marketers because:

A) it is useful in predicting the use of financial services.
B) for some product categories it can predict purchases that family income cannot.
C) it adds predictive power to total family income.
D) All of the given answers are correct.

Question 24

The relationship of a household's total income to the median income of other households in the same occupation class is known as:

A) Hollingshead's two-factor index.
B) Carmen's Index.
C) relative occupational class income.
D) Warner's Relative Prestige Index.

Question 25

The weighting system in the Hollingshead index is:

A) (7 x occupational score) + (4 x education score)
B) (4 x occupational score) + (7 x education score)
C) (5 x occupational score) + (4 x education score)
D) (4 x occupational score) + (5 x education score)

Question 26

Higher social classes use credit cards for convenience while lower classes tend to use them for instalment purchases. This illustrates that:

A) different purchase motivations for the same product may exist within social strata.
B) different purchase motivations for the same product may exist between social strata.
C) purchase motivations vary according with product category.
D) None of the given answers are correct.

Question 27

Compared to multi-item indexes, single-item indexes are:

A) more difficult to utilise.
B) less accurate at predicting an individual's overall position in a community.
C) more accurate at predicting an individual's overall position in a community.
D) not as useful in applied studies.

Question 28

In using social stratification to develop marketing strategy, the following steps should be followed:
A) 1. Make marketing mix decisions; 2. Target social strata; 3. Relate status variables to product consumption; 4. Develop product position.
B) 1. Target social strata; 2. Relate status variables to product consumption; 3. Make marketing mix decisions; 4. Develop product position.
C) 1. Relate status variables to product consumption; 2. Target social strata; 3. Develop product position; 4. Make marketing mix decisions.
D) 1. Relate status variables to product consumption; 2. Make marketing mix decisions; 3. Develop product position; 4. Target social strata.

A)

Question 29

In the Coleman-Rainwater social class structure the 'new rich' refers to the:

A) upper-middle class.
B) middle class.
C) upper-upper class.
D) lower-upper class.

Question 30

Regarding social class:

A) Many older individuals are quite content with their social standing.
B) Many younger people are quite content with their social standing.
C) Many teenagers aspire simply to the lifestyle of their parents.
D) All of the given answers are correct.

Question 31

Warner's Index of Status Characteristics is made up of:

A) occupation, source of income, house type and dwelling area.
B) education, occupation and income.
C) education, house type, income and occupation.
D) occupation, dwelling area, education and income.

Question 32

Broom developed a status scale for Australian occupations by doing all of the following except:

A) weighting income by occupation.
B) asking people to rank the prestige of certain occupations.
C) reviewing how age, education and other variables contribute to ranks of prestige.
D) estimating composite status scores for all occupations based on prestige ranks by occupation.

Question 33

Which of the following is the most widely used basis for single-item indexes in marketing studies?

A) income
B) type of residence
C) education
D) occupation

Question 34

The Hollingshead Index of Social Position uses:

A) income and education.
B) income and occupation.
C) education and occupation.
D) income and residence type.

Question 35

The scale that fully accounts for the reality of dual sources of status for a household:

A) is the Broom scale.
B) is the Daniel scale.
C) is yet to be developed.
D) is the Hollingshead Index of Social Position.

Question 36

The working class is the ____________ in the Coleman-Rainwater social-class system.

A) largest category
B) same size as the middle class
C) second largest, just after the middle class
D) same size as the lower class

Question 37

Which of the following is not one of the most common single-item indices?

A) income
B) type of residence
C) education
D) occupation

Question 38

A major problem with multi-item indexes compared to single-item indexes is:

A) the difficulty of computing the individual scores.
B) overall status may mask useful associations between individual status dimensions and the consumption process for particular products.
C) there are no major problems as the multi-item index is generally superior to the single-item index.
D) multi-item indexes are not as accurate as single-item indexes in predicting an individual's overall community standing.

Question 39

The primary path, in our culture, for upward social mobility is:

A) occupation.
B) income.
C) education.
D) residence.

Question 40

Which of the following is not an ascribed status dimension?

A) race
B) age
C) gender
D) All of the given answers are ascribed status dimensions.

Question 41

According to McGregor all of the following are true of working-class Australians except:

A) They form a homogeneous class.
B) They speak in different accents relative to other classes.
C) They work different hours relative to other classes.
D) They vote for different parties relative to other classes.

Question 42

Conspicuous consumption:

A) can enable consumers to call the attention of others whom they wish to impress.
B) is the process of consuming products privately.
C) is the process of consuming products endorsed by celebrities.
D) None of the given answers are correct.

Question 43

The underclass constitutes:

A) chronically disadvantaged groups outside the traditional class structure.
B) those under the working class.
C) the unemployed, homeless, sick and poverty-stricken members of society.
D) all of the given answers.

Question 44

Which concept addresses the question 'Will an individual with high status based on one dimension have high status based on the other dimensions?'

A) masstige
B) status stratification
C) status crystallisation
D) status consistency

Question 45

According to your text, which are some of the issues and assumptions marketers face in using social class?

A) Marketers tend to assume that all consumers desire upward social mobility.
B) Marketers tend to assume all consumers want to emulate the behaviours and consumption patterns of those above them in the social-class system.
C) Marketers tend to assume consumers always want to be exposed to advertising.
D) Marketers tend to assume that all consumers desire upward social mobility and that all consumers want to emulate the behaviours and consumption patterns of those above them in the social-class system.

Question 46

Traditional views of social class assume that for a social-class system to exist in a society the individual classes must meet five criteria. They must be:

A) bounded, ordered, mutually exclusive, inclusive and influential.
B) bounded, ordered, mutually exclusive, exhaustive and status system.
C) bounded, ordered, mutually exclusive, exhaustive and influential.
D) bounded, ordered, structured, exhaustive and influential.

Question 47

According to Daniel all of the following are true of Australians except:

A) The most prestigious occupation is that of scientist.
B) Occupational prestige remains the most powerful single indicator of the power and privilege any individual or group may command.
C) The status of occupations reflects the class structure.
D) The governing elite in society comes from the upper class.

Question 48

Using income as a measure of status poses a number of measurement problems. Basically, the researcher must decide which income to measure. This involves such decisions as:

A) individual or family income.
B) income before or after taxes.
C) salary or total income.
D) all of the given answers.

Question 49

The use of social class as an explanatory consumer behaviour variable has been heavily influenced by two studies, both of which have developed a multiple-item index to measure social class. These studies are called:

A) Hollingshead Index of Social Position and Warner Bros. Index of Status Characteristics.
B) Hollingshead Index of Social Position and Harris's Index of Status Characteristics.
C) Hollingshead Index of Social Position and Warner's Index of Status Characteristics.
D) none of the given answers.

Question 50

Define masstige and illustrate how this may link to social class.

Question 51

According to your text, in 2005 occupations of the employed in Australia and New Zealand reflect:

A) 'professionals' as the largest occupational group in Australia.
B) service and sales workers as the smallest occupational group in New Zealand.
C) advanced clerical and service workers as the largest occupational group in Australia.
D) None of the given answers are correct.

Question 52

What does the concept of relative occupational class income refer to? Give an example of how this may affect consumer behaviour.

Question 53

Marketers often use high social status products and services to attract members of the middle class. This is called an:

A) aspiring-push strategy.
B) aspiring-pull strategy.
C) upward-pull strategy.
D) None of the given answers are correct.

Question 54

The relationships that help us to develop the taste preferences we use to make consumption decisions are defined by Bourdieu as:

A) social capital.
B) social networks.
C) extended family.
D) social class.

Question 55

Provide examples of indicators used in the Hollingshead Index of Social Position.

Question 56

Which of the following is not a category listed in the ANZSCO classification?

A) managers
B) educators
C) community and personal service workers
D) clerical and administrative workers

Question 57

In the text, when discussing social class Holt believes that:

A) the upper class will always be interested in how a purchase might improve their social standing.
B) the higher class individuals value certain products for the instrumental opportunity they provide to demonstrate high levels of cultural knowledge, whereas those in the lower classes value these products' functional or terminal benefits.
C) higher class individuals value certain products based on how these fulfil their ego needs whereas those in the lower class are more interested in meeting their lower order needs.
D) None of the given answers are correct.