Deck 7: Stratification

Question 1

Which kind of inequality did Rousseau believe would always exist?

A) physical
B) social
C) neither physical nor social
D) both physical and social

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What is the term that refers to a form of wealth that can be stored for the future?

A) assets
B) equality
C) resources
D) stocks

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Thomas Malthus had a positive view of inequality.He defended disease,slavery,and child murder.Why?

A) He was mentally ill.
B) He was the forerunner to Gandhi.
C) He felt this would allow the population to thin itself out naturally.
D) He felt this would create more jobs for medical personnel and morticians.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

One of the best ways to reduce the number of children born (according to Sachs)is to:

A) disallow marriages.
B) decrease infanticide.
C) provide family planning.
D) make access to education more difficult.

Question 5

Rousseau believed that the source of all social ills was:

A) income.
B) private property.
C) racism.
D) business ownership.

Question 6

Hegel argued that notions of inequality are constantly evolving in a larger historical arc and will eventually lead to:

A) conflict.
B) anomie.
C) equality.
D) organization.

Question 7

The game of Monopoly follows the rules of what standard of equality?

A) ontological equality
B) equality of opportunity
C) equality under God
D) equality of condition

Question 8

According to the German philosopher Hegel,the master-slave relationship is one of mutual:

A) benefit.
B) dependency.
C) work.
D) independence.

Question 9

An example of the ideology of equality of condition put into practice is:

A) segregation.
B) affirmative action.
C) health care.
D) slavery.

Question 10

You are dependent on your professor for your grade.Your professor,in turn,is dependent on you for his or her job.Hegel would call this a(n):

A) dialectic relationship.
B) equality of condition.
C) example of private property.
D) example of affirmative action.

Question 11

Karl Marx and Jean-Jacques Rousseau tended to agree on at least one thing.They both felt that the primary source of social ills in society was due to the emergence of:

A) religion.
B) private property.
C) the caste system.
D) the estate tax.

Question 12

What term refers to a two-directional relationship,one that goes both ways like a conversation between two people (such as master-slave)?

A) dialectic
B) conversing
C) stimulation
D) cognition

Question 13

Which standard of equality is most concerned with the distribution of resources?

A) equality of opportunity
B) ontological equality
C) equality of outcome
D) equality of condition

Question 14

According to Rousseau,there are two forms of inequality: ____________,or natural,and ____________,or political.

A) biological; physical
B) social; environmental
C) physical; social
D) social; biological

Question 15

Ferguson and Millar saw social developments resulting from the establishment of private property as representing a huge improvement in society because private property leads to higher degrees of social organization and:

A) individuals.
B) efficiency.
C) incentives.
D) bureaucracy.

Question 16

A system in which advancement is based on individual achievement or ability is referred to as:

A) meritocratic.
B) opportunistic.
C) individualistic.
D) entrepreneurial.

Question 17

Hegel felt that the relationship between slave and master was dialectic.This means that:

A) each is dependent on the other.
B) the slave has more power over the master than vice versa.
C) the relationship is short-lived.
D) the relationship can evolve into an intimate one.

Question 18

From Malthus's perspective,what keeps the population in check?

A) royalty
B) politics
C) social controls
D) inequality

Question 19

The modern capitalist society is an example of which type of society?

A) meritocratic
B) socialist
C) anarchist
D) bourgeois

Question 20

Thomas Malthus believed that the human population grows ____________,but the ability to produce food increases ____________.

A) slowly; quickly
B) arithmetically; geometrically
C) geometrically; arithmetically
D) quickly; slowly

Question 21

Which group exploits the working class by taking more of the value of the work of laborers than they repay in wages?

A) bourgeoisie
B) proletariat
C) elites
D) hierarchy class

Question 22

A stratification system with a governing elite-that is,few leaders who broadly hold the power in society-is called a(n)____________ system.

A) status hierarchy
B) elite-mass dichotomy
C) class
D) caste

Question 23

Which theorist argues that members of a class are grouped by their value in the commercial marketplace?

A) Weber
B) Marx
C) Millar
D) Simmel

Question 24

What group sells its labor to the bourgeoisie in order to receive wages?

A) elites
B) working class
C) proletariat
D) bourgeoisie

Question 25

Business managers are examples of what concept?

A) in-between group
B) middlemen
C) conflict class
D) meritocracies

Question 26

Mills argues that there are three major institutional forces in modern American society in which the power of decision making has become centralized.Which of the following is NOT one of these forces?

A) economic institutions
B) social order
C) political order
D) military order

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT a type of social stratification mentioned in your text?

A) estate system
B) class system
C) status hierarchy system
D) proletariat system

Question 28

Let's say you are best at building with your hands and you become a carpenter working for a local building contractor.A friend of yours is very good at programming computers,so he or she works at IBM.Yet another friend excels at science,so he or she goes to medical school and becomes a physician.Each of you is paid the exact same salary and each of you lives in the same neighborhood and drives the same type of car.What standard of equality would this be an example of?

A) equality of opportunity
B) ontological equality
C) equality of condition
D) equality of outcome

Question 29

Which social stratification system was favored in feudal Europe and the American South before the Civil War?

A) estate system
B) class system
C) hierarchy system
D) elite-mass hierarchy

Question 30

The process in India whereby an entire caste can leapfrog over another and obtain a higher position in the hierarchy is called:

A) sanskritization.
B) vaishya caste.
C) Brahminization.
D) Upanayanam.

Question 31

A type of stratification that is based on hereditary notions of religious and theological purity and in which there is little to no individual mobility within the strata is the:

A) caste system.
B) estate system.
C) hierarchy system.
D) elite-mass hierarchy.

Question 32

Although Indian castes historically have been ____________,increasing rates of ____________ have made classifying children more difficult.

A) endogamous; exogamy
B) rigid; movement
C) fluid; rigidity
D) exogamous; endogamy

Question 33

Each society has a type of social stratification.How does the United States ideologically justify its type of stratification system?

A) The class a person is in has nothing to do with ability; one is born into it.
B) A person is in complete control over the class he or she is in. Hard work (or lack of it) determines class.
C) One's relatives are responsible for one's social class.
D) Luck determines class.

Question 34

Under what system is your societal position related to your position in the economic market?

A) hierarchy
B) class
C) caste
D) estate

Question 35

The examination of how race and ethnicity affect income is really an examination of:

A) stratification.
B) segregation.
C) levels of wealth.
D) egalitarianism.

Question 36

When more than one person is responsible for getting something done,the incentive is for each individual to shirk responsibility in the hope that the others will pull the extra weight.This is referred to as:

A) Communist ideology.
B) Marxism.
C) the balanced principle.
D) the free rider problem.

Question 37

According to the "Relative Social Prestige of Selected U.S.Occupations" table (Table 7.1 in your text),which blue-collar occupation has the highest prestige score?

A) firefighter
B) police officer
C) electrician
D) aircraft mechanic

Question 38

Sometimes individuals seek to assert or increase their status,not just through occupation but also through:

A) experiencing illness.
B) living in gated communities.
C) denouncing their American citizenship.
D) taking public transportation.

Question 39

Professionals,small business owners,and craftsmen are referred to as:

A) petit bourgeoisie.
B) proletariats.
C) lumpen proletariats.
D) middlemen.

Question 40

According to the "Relative Social Prestige of Selected U.S.Occupations" table (Table 7.1 in your text),which white-collar occupation has the highest prestige score?

A) physician
B) lawyer
C) university professor
D) dentist

Question 41

The effect of globalization has been to bifurcate labor into:

A) upper class and middle class.
B) technical and support.
C) high skilled and low skilled.
D) middle class and working class.

Question 42

Pareto argues that societies based on strict military,religious,and aristocratic stratification tend to collapse; in other words,history is:

A) a graveyard of aristocracies.
B) a plethora of inadequacies.
C) filled with working class collapses.
D) predictive of the future.

Question 43

What is another term for the nonworking poor?

A) mentally challenged
B) proletariat
C) deserving poor
D) underclass

Question 44

Mills believed that centralized power in the hands of a few ____________ democracy.

A) expanded
B) helped
C) hurt
D) stabilized

Question 45

A subsystem of stratification that Mills mentions is the outer fringes of the power elite.These are:

A) the people who have no say at all in decisions that affect even them.
B) individuals who are considered friends of the elite, but who don't associate with them on a business basis.
C) the people who make the major decisions, but the policies are carried out by others.
D) individuals who count in the decisions that affect all of us, but who don't actually make those decisions.

Question 46

The government's definition of poverty for a family of four (as of 2011)is a total yearly salary of just under:

A) $15,000.
B) $23,000.
C) $32,000.
D) $45,000.

Question 47

In political speeches about the poor,those who are believed to deserve our assistance are termed the:

A) handicapped.
B) mentally challenged.
C) working poor.
D) nonworking poor.

Question 48

What is the primary source of income for the upper class?

A) wage labor
B) returns on investments
C) inheritance
D) yearly bonuses

Question 49

What is the fastest-growing job market for people with only a high school education?

A) mechanical work
B) secretarial work
C) factory work
D) food preparation

Question 50

Elliot Essman asserts that America is a(n)____________ because the very wealthy do not have much impact on the country in general.

A) elite-class nation
B) middle-class nation
C) working-class nation
D) upper-class nation

Question 51

C.Wright Mills argues that there are three major institutions in the United States today that have the power to make decisions for the masses.Which one of the following is NOT one of these?

A) economy
B) religion
C) politics
D) military

Question 52

Pareto believed in a society in which status and mobility are based on individual attributes and ability,called:

A) meritocracy.
B) intelligence.
C) morals.
D) biology.

Question 53

The upper class is composed primarily of CEOs,government officials,celebrities,and very successful professionals.What percentage of the population does this represent,according to the textbook?

A) 1 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 25 percent
D) 50 percent

Question 54

Historically,Marx's capitalist class was made up of members of the:

A) upper class.
B) clergy.
C) proletariat.
D) special class.

Question 55

The movement between different positions within a system of social stratification in any given society is called ____________ mobility.

A) structural
B) social
C) vertical
D) horizontal

Question 56

Trade of goods and services across national boundaries,as well as the mobility of businesses and labor through immigration,is called:

A) international business.
B) globalization.
C) national labor.
D) intercommerce.

Question 57

Which American job sector has greatly increased since the oil crisis of 1973?

A) unionized jobs
B) pink-collar office work
C) factory work
D) low-wage service work

Question 58

C.Wright Mills had a negative view of the elite-mass dichotomy.His viewpoint fits into what paradigm?

A) symbolic interactionism
B) functionalism
C) conflict
D) feminism

Question 59

Which term refers to everything you own minus debts (such as a mortgage on your home and credit card debt)?

A) income
B) wealth
C) investments
D) stocks

Question 60

Sociologists often describe an individual's position in a stratified social order that attempts to classify groups,individuals,families,or households in terms of indicators such as occupation,income,wealth,and education.Sociologists call this:

A) social levels.
B) economic levels.
C) socioeconomic status.
D) stratum.

Question 61

Connect C.Wright Mills's view on capitalist society with Karl Marx's view.Give an example of the three decision-making institutions,as discussed by Mills.Which one of these institutions would Karl Marx see as the major contributor to a capitalist society's ills?

Question 62

Compare and contrast the terms income and wealth.Use examples in your answer.How does wealth help in giving individuals an unfair advantage?

Question 63

Mobility that is inevitable from changes in the economy is called:

A) vertical.
B) horizontal.
C) escalating.
D) structural.

Question 64

An example of horizontal social mobility is a(n):

A) secretary changing firms but retaining his or her occupational status.
B) barista's promotion to store manager.
C) family that migrates from low-income housing to an upper-middle-class gated community.
D) office manager who moves into a similar position in a much larger firm, where he or she earns greater status and income.

Question 65

Soros has suggested that repealing the estate tax would result in a shift of the tax burden onto earnings,which would shift it onto people:

A) in the upper class.
B) with the most money.
C) in the middle class.
D) with less money.

Question 66

The German philosopher Georg Hegel explained inequality from a master-slave perspective.Describe and explain the interdependence of the master-slave analogy for inequality.

Question 67

____________ social mobility refers to a group or an individual transitioning from one social status to another that is situated more or less on the same rung of the ladder.

A) Horizontal
B) Vertical
C) Stagnant
D) Situational

Question 68

Opponents of the estate tax have consistently portrayed ____________ as its undeserving victims,although it only affects a small number of such individuals.

A) physicians
B) CEOs
C) farmers
D) the middle class

Question 69

Typically,one moves vertically (up or down)the social ladder.If factories are moving from the United States to Mexico and that is causing major job losses in the United States,one would say that downward mobility is due to:

A) individual merit.
B) structural mobility.
C) exchange mobility.
D) status attainment.

Question 70

The prestige of a person's first job out of school factors into his or her position on the ____________ model.

A) status-attainment
B) structural
C) vertical
D) horizontal

Question 71

Proponents of the estate tax assert that the tax:

A) hits hardest at the people who have the least money.
B) bolsters small businesses.
C) results in major increases in the national debt.
D) provides an important source of government revenue.

Question 72

Define the three types of equality mentioned in your text: equality of opportunity,equality of condition,and equality of outcome.Use examples in your answer.

Question 73

The United States is stratified into levels describing individuals' socioeconomic status: upper class,middle class,working class,and poor.Describe each level.Why is the middle class so difficult to define?

Question 74

Compare and contrast Rousseau's perspective of social inequality with that of Malthus,Millar,and Ferguson.

Question 75

Explain the estate,caste,class,and status hierarchy systems,using examples.

Question 76

The rise and fall of an individual (or group)from one social stratum to another is called ____________ social mobility.

A) elevator
B) horizontal
C) vertical
D) structural

Question 77

Opponents of the estate tax argue that taxing accumulated wealth:

A) discourages would-be entrepreneurs from taking risk.
B) discourages individuals from investing in stocks.
C) creates a greater wealth gap.
D) encourages individuals to hide their assets.

Question 78

The U.S.estate tax is sometimes called the ____________ tax.

A) elite
B) death
C) middle-class
D) inheritance

Question 79

There are five types of social stratification systems.Name each of these and describe how they justify inequality.

Question 80

Ugo's promotion to regional manager at Sears with a higher salary and more prestige is an example of what type of vertical social mobility?

A) ascending
B) escalating
C) descending
D) advancement