Social Stratification Review

1. Social Stratification Review

2. 1. The point of the chapter-opening story of passenger deaths that accompanied the sinking of the ocean liner Titanic is that: • social stratification sometimes has little to do with everyday life. • social stratification matters a lot, and can sometimes be a matter of life and death. • technology cannot prevent tragedy. • all people have the same right to life.

3. 2. Which one of these statements about stratification is NOT true? • Social stratification is universal and also variable. • A family's social standing typically changes a great deal from generation to generation. • Social stratification is a trait of society. • Social stratification is a matter of inequality and also beliefs about why people should be unequal.

4. 3. Comparing societies in history and around the world, we see that social stratification may involve differences in: • why people are unequal. • what is unequal. • how unequal people are. • All of the above are correct.

5. 4. What concept refers to a person moving from one occupation to another that provides about the same level of rewards? • downward social mobility • horizontal social mobility • upward social mobility • None of the above.

6. 5. If you were born into a traditional caste system, you would expect that, based on birth, you would be: • required to marry someone of your own social category. • encouraged people to socialize with other within your own category. • raised to do a certain type of job. • All of the above are correct.

7. 6. The historical replacement of caste systems with class systems: • means that categories become more clearly unequal. • means that individuals experience less social mobility. • replaces one kind of inequality with another. • brings an end to most social inequality.

8. 7. The degree of status consistency is: • greater in caste than class systems. • the same in all types of social stratification • is non-existent in caste systems • greater in class than caste systems

9. 8. A college professor with advanced degrees, moderate salary, and little power can be described as having • low status consistency. • horizontal social mobility. • downward social mobility • high status consistency.

10. 9. In English history, the "first estate" referred to: • Commoners • The clergy • The nobility • The middle class

11. 10. Historically, the largest number of people belonged to which category of England's estate system? • The third estate • The first estate • The second estate • None of the above

12. 11. For more than 2,000 years, Japanese society operated with a: • Class system • Large middle class • Caste system • meritocracy

13. 12. In Japan, as in other societies with a long history of caste, ________ may not always be discussed openly, but is never far from the surface when people size up one another socially. • Educational degree • Personal talent • Physical size • Family background

14. 13. According to the Davis-Moore thesis: • the more inequality a society has, the more productive it is. • equality is functional for society. • more important jobs must provide enough rewards to attract the talent necessary to perform them. • meritocracy is less productive than a caste system.

15. 14. According to Davis and Moore, a system of unequal rewards increases productivity by: • encouraging people to gain the schooling and skills needed to perform more important jobs. • encouraging people to perform more important jobs. • motivating people to work longer, harder, or better. • All of the above are correct.

16. 15. The concept "survival of the fittest" was coined by: • Karl Marx • Max Weber • Charles Darwin • Herbert Spencer

17. 16. In Karl Marx's analysis, another name for the capitalist class is the: • Nobility • Proletariat • Aristocracy • bourgeoisie

18. 17. According to Karl Marx, differences in wealth and power between the capitalists and proletarians necessarily lead to: • negotiation and compromise. • the abolition of work itself. • class conflict • All of the above are correct.

19. 18. Max Weber claimed that agrarian societies emphasize which dimension of social inequality? • Power • Control of information • Social prestige or honor • Economic class

20. 19. Marx claimed social stratification would end with the creation of a socialist economy. What was Weber's view? • Weber agreed with Marx. • Weber thought socialism would reduce economic differences but also create a political elite increasing differences in power. • Weber thought socialism would create a new high-prestige nobility. • Weber thought capitalism could not be changed.

21. 20. A common micro-level pattern involving social interaction is that: • social stratification is not usually evident in everyday life. • people tend to socialize with others of the same social position. • most people live and work in socially diverse settings in terms of social stratification. • social position has little to do with the friends people have.

22. 21. What approaches are the following statements connected to?--social inequality benefits society --social inequality is harmful and divides society • Social Conflict & Symbolic Interaction • Structural-Functional & Social Conflict • Structural Functional & Symbolic Interaction • Symbolic Interaction & Social Conflict

23. 22. Which of the following types of societies comes closest to being egalitarian? • horticultural/pastoral • hunting & gathering • Industrial • postindustrial

24. 23. Based on what you have read, as the United States develops a postindustrial economy, economic inequality is: • holding at about the same level. • increasing. • decreasing • likely to disappear

25. 24. If you accept the "bell curve" thesis, which of the following would you point to as the key to high social standing today? • control of information • Gender • family background • intelligence

26. 25. Social stratification refers to: • the idea that some people are more talented than others. • specialization in productive work. • ranking categories of people in a hierarchy. • All of the above are correct

27. 26. A caste system is defined as: • a meritocracy. • any social system in which categories of people are unequal. • social stratification based on personal achievement • social stratification based on ascription or birth.

28. 27. If you and most other people believed that social position reflects how talented and hard working individuals are, you would probably be living in a: • Caste System • Class System • Traditional society • Classless society

29. 28. The concept "meritocracy" refers to social stratification: • in which people "know their place." • based entirely on personal merit. • as found in the United States. • without social mobility

30. 29. The concept of structural social mobility refers to: • change in a family's social position from one generation to the next. • cultural beliefs that justify social stratification. • change in the social position of many people due to changes in society itself. • change in social position due to people's own efforts.

31. 30. If you have a job that involves manual labor, you are doing: • Farming • White-collar work • Blue-collar work • Service work

32. 31. Work involving mostly mental activity is called: • blue-collar work. • agrarian work • pink-collar work • white-collar work

33. 32. Laura wears an expensive dress to the party to impress her friends. A sociologist might say she is engaging in: • relative deprivation. • conspicuous consumption. • reference group behavior. • structural social mobility.

34. 33. According to Simon Kuznets, in which type of society is social stratification greatest? • industrial • hunting & gathering • agrarian • horticultural/pastoral