97. A popular perspective on poverty among policy makers is that poverty is caused by bad habits and values. This
perspective is called the _____.
a. culture of poverty perspective
b. value-stretch perspective
c. delinquent culture thesis
d. situational perspective
98. The culture of poverty explanation of poverty contends that poverty is the result of
a. economic restructuring in the U.S.
b. the status of women in the labor market today.
c. a lack of individual motivation and ability on the part of the poor.
d. the welfare system as it presently exists.
99. Research aimed at evaluating the culture of poverty argument has found that
a. most of the poor are chronically poor, over several generations.
b. a major event such as divorce, illness or death is often the cause for falling into poverty.
c. the majority of the poor are poor throughout their entire lives.
d. the poor are most often unemployed, regardless of their ability to work.
100. Jim as a sociologist is focused on how the absence of work values is a cause of poverty for a population. He is
using the _____ argument.
a. structural causes of poverty
b. culture of poverty
c. class analysis
d. natural disasters.
101. Which of these statements regarding the restructuring of the U.S. economy is false?
a. Manufacturing jobs are disappearing
b. Fewer men are the sole support for their families
c. Newly created jobs are low-paid
d. Men are filling the newly created service positions, leaving women unemployed
102. Current welfare policy was created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act (PRWRA) in
______.
a. 1930
b. 1964
c. 1996
d. 2010
103. Under the rules for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) there is a lifetime limit of _____ years for
people to receive welfare benefits.
a. two
b. five
c. eight
d. ten
104. According to the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act (PRWRA)
a. all states must offer the same level of benefits to their residents in poverty.
b. states may offer welfare benefits that are more generous than those of PRWRA, but they must not provide
any less.
c. states have the right to be more restrictive in terms of benefits than the guidelines offered by the PRWRA.
d. welfare benefits are now only provided at the federal level.
105. Evaluations of the welfare reform of 1996 (PRWRA) have found that
a. the number of people receiving welfare has decreased.
b. the amount of poverty in the U.S. has decreased.
c. the wages earned in workfare programs are keeping women and their children out of poverty.
d. fewer Americans are poor.
106. Virtually all societies have a system of social stratification.
a. True
b. False
107. Social stratification is only found in industrialized societies.
a. True
b. False
108. Estate systems of stratification have only two classes.
a. True
b. False
109. The system of apartheid in South Africa is an example of an estate system.
a. True
b. False
110. Estate systems of stratification are most common in agricultural societies.
a. True
b. False
111. Caste systems are characterized by a high level of equality.
a. True
b. False
112. The caste system is a more open stratification system than the class system.
a. True
b. False
113. In the U.S. an individual’s ability to succeed is largely shaped by that person’s social class origins.
a. True
b. False
114. In the United States most people do not experience much social mobility; they remain close to their class of
origin.
a. True
b. False
115.
The “American Dream” is achievable for most Americans.
a. True
b. False
116. The middle class in the U.S. is robust.
a. True
b. False
117. In the U.S. most wealth is inherited, not self-created.
a. True
b. False
118. Most people in the United States define themselves as middle class.
a. True
b. False
119. There is more inequality in terms of income than of wealth in the U.S.
a. True
b. False
120. The most common way to become wealthy in the United States is to inherit wealth from one’s family.
a. True
b. False
121. By 2008 the amount of wealth held by the average Black family equaled that held by the average white family.
a. True
b. False
122.
Persons categorized as Latino in the United States don’t all share the same likelihood of achieving
economic success due to their different historical circumstances.
a. True
b. False
123. In times of economic crisis, home foreclosure impacts all racial-ethnic groups equally.
a. True
b. False
124. Unlike race and gender, age is not a significant source of stratification in the United States.
a. True
b. False
125. Social mobility is much more limited than the American Dream of mobility suggests.
a. True
b. False
126. The lower class is composed of only the unemployed.
a. True
b. False
127. The class system in the U.S. is assumed to be a closed class system.
a. True
b. False
128. “Class consciousness” refers to the perception that a class structure exists.
a. True
b. False
129. While the class revolution that Marx predicted has not occurred, the dynamics of capitalism that he predicted are
occurring.
a. True
b. False
130. Marx and Weber both believed that society contained only two classes.
a. True
b. False
131. Unlike Marx, Weber theorized that stratification had more than one dimension.
a. True
b. False
132.
According to Weber, one’s economic status is the only basis for power and prestige in society.
a. True
b. False
133. From a functionalist perspective, poverty may serve positive functions for society.
a. True
b. False
134. Married couple families are most commonly living in poverty.
a. True
b. False
135. The poverty rate has been steadily decreasing since 2000.
a. True
b. False
136. Recent studies show that those who have gone into workfare programs begin to earn enough to keep them
above the poverty line.
a. True
b. False
137. Teenagers who are parents, but do not stay in school, are not eligible to receive social welfare support.
a. True
b. False
138. How does Karl Marx explain class and capitalism?
139. How does Max Weber explain social stratification?
140. How would a conflict theorist explain social inequality?
141. Define the concept of the urban underclass. Explain how members of the urban underclass differ from others in
the lower class.
142. How do wealth and income differ? How are they similar?
143. Explain economic restructuring in the U.S. and the resulting problems.
144. Give an example of how a person might experience the overlapping stratifications systems of race, class, and
gender simultaneously.
145. What does the term “model minority” mean? How accurate is this stereotype?
146. Explain and provide examples of intergenerational and intragenerational mobility.
147. Explain the concept of the culture of poverty and outline the argument for and against this explanation.
148. Describe how estate, caste, and class systems are similar and different from one another. Give an example of
each.
149. How do Karl Marx and Max Weber compare in terms of how each analyzed class inequality in an industrialized
society?
150. Explain how race, gender, and age intersect with race.
151. Outline the major components of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
152. Using evidence from the text, answer the following question: Is welfare reform working?
153. Discuss which groups are more likely to be poor and why?