61. Which of the following is most accurate regarding poverty if a child is under age 10?
a. They are less likely to be poor because teens make up most of youth poverty.
b. They have the same chance of being poor because all age groups are equally likely to be poor.
c. They are more likely to be poor because children in this age group are most likely to be poor.
d. They are less likely to be poor because the elderly are most likely to be poor.
62. The United States is assumed to be a _____, a system in which one’s status is based on accomplishments.
a. democracy
b. pluralist society
c. meritocracy
d. status attainment society
63. Unlike his father, Johnny has been able to go to college and enter a high paying profession. He has experienced
_____ mobility.
a. intergenerational
b. intragenerational
c. extragenerational
d. co-generational
64. Which of the following is an example of intergenerational mobility?
a. A daughter rises above the class of her parents.
b. A man’s class status changes due to a bad investment.
c. A woman’s class status changes as a result of business success.
d. After having children, a couple’s class status drops.
65. Social mobility occurring within a generation is called _____ mobility.
a. intergenerational
b. intragenerational
c. extragenerational
d. co-generational
66. Which of the following is false about social mobility in the United States today?
a. In the U.S. anyone who works hard enough can get ahead.
b. Social mobility occurs in the U.S., but less often than believed by most.
c. Most people remain in their class of origin.
d. Social mobility is greatly influenced by education.
67. Which of these statements about social mobility in the U.S. is true?
a. Social mobility is most influenced by the characteristics of individuals.
b. Being born into a particular generation may significantly influence chances for social mobility.
c. Social mobility within the U.S. is virtually impossible.
d. Most people remain in the same social class as their parents.
68. The perception that a class structure exists and the feeling of shared identification with others in one’s class is
referred to as _____.
a. false consciousness
b. class consciousness
c. normative consciousness
d. stratified consciousness
69. Which of these statements about class consciousness in the U.S. is false?
a. Americans do not tend to be very conscious of social class.
b. In the U.S. the importance placed on individualism diminishes the existence of class consciousness.
c. There is widespread belief that everyone has access to the same types of material comforts.
d. Americans display more class consciousness than most European countries.
70. When members of the subordinated classes internalize the views of the dominant class and justify inequality, Karl
Marx termed this ______.
a. false consciousness
b. class consciousness
c. normative consciousness
d. stratified consciousness
71. What was the basis of the definitions of class identified by Karl Marx?
a. Level of education
b. Relationship to means of production
c. Ownership of agricultural land
d. Amount of net wealth
72.
Which of these groups best corresponds to the “lumpenproletariat” identified by Marx as subdivision of the working
class?
a. Managers and administrators
b. Workers
c. The homeless and permanently poor
d. The owners of the means of production
73. Karl Marx used the concept of ______ to explain why people who do not benefit from a capitalist system would
still support it.
a. surplus value
b. power and prestige
c. ideology
d. lumpenproletariat
74. What is the primary difference between Marx’s and Weber’s views of social class?
a. Weber disagreed with Marx that classes were formed around economic issues.
b. Weber disagreed with Marx that economic forces are the primary basis for stratification.
c. Weber disagreed with Marx that there could be more than one dimension to stratification.
d. Weber did not believe that economic forces had any impact on other aspects of life.
75. Max Weber analyzed the connections between
a. the economic, social, and political dimensions of stratification.
b. class, race, and gender as the basis for social stratification.
c. cooperation, competition, and conflict as social processes effecting social mobility.
d. ability, ambition, and sponsorship as factors impacting on social mobility.
76. Weber believed that
a. class and access to life chances are totally unrelated.
b. while power is linked to economic standing, economic standing alone is not always the source of people’s
power.
c. systems of stratification are not part of the social structure.
d. microlevel analysis is more valid than macrolevel analysis.
77. According to Weber, what is the relationship of the dimensions of stratification to each other?
a. The economic, social, and political dimensions of stratification are usually related.
b. A person’s social, political, and economic statuses are always consistent with each other.
c. Politicalstatusismuchmoreimportantindeterminingone’spositioninthestratificationsystemthanare
economic or social status.
d. There is no relationship between the economic, social, and political dimensions of stratification.
78. Weber’s concept of _____ is the political dimension of stratification.
a. prestige
b. class
c. power
d. status
79. A politician describes inequality as a motivator for people to fill the different and necessary positions in society. He
is using an example of the _____.
a. functionalist theory
b. conflict theory
c. symbolic interactionist theory
d. social exchange theory
80. According to the _____ perspective, the most vital jobs in society usually receive the greatest economic
rewards.
a. functionalist
b. conflict
c. symbolic interactionist
d. feminist
81. _____ believe that the greater rewards attached to some positions in society help ensure that people will make
the sacrifices necessary to acquire the training those positions demand.
a. Functionalists
b. Conflict theorists
c. Symbolic interactionists
d. Social exchange theorists
82. Which of these statements best reflects the functionalist perspective on social inequality?
a. The people with the most power set the rules to the benefit of themselves.
b. Society is made up of various groups that are in constant struggle with each other over resources.
c. The occupations that require the most training and involve the highest risk work are paid the highest.
d. Some occupations are as important as others, but they do not receive as much pay because they tend to
be occupied by women.
83. _____ believe that the more stratified a society, the less likely that society will be to benefit from the talents of all
its citizens.
a. Functionalists
b. Conflict theorists
c. Symbolic interactionists
d. Feminists
84. Which sociological theory argues that the elite shape societal beliefs and practices in order to make their own
privileges appear legitimate and fair?
a. The functionalist theory
b. The conflict theory
c. The symbolic interaction theory
d. The social exchange theory
85. Which type of theorist would be most likely to see inequality in the social system as fair, because everyone has
an equal chance of getting ahead?
a. Functionalism
b. Conflict
c. Symbolic interaction
d. Social exchange
86. The _____ theory emphasizes cohesion in society, while the _____ theory emphasizes friction between groups.
a. conflict; functionalist
b. symbolic interactionist; conflict
c. functionalist; conflict
d. functionalist; symbolic interactionist
87. Which of these is not a criticism of the functionalist perspective on social inequality, from a conflict perspective?
a. The belief that economic interests are the primary force shaping social organization is overly simplistic.
b. It is a mistake to believe that the greatest rewards always go to the most talented.
c. Some of the most vital jobs for the survival of society are very low status and low-paid positions.
d. The system of inequality leads to underutilization of the skills of those people at the bottom.
88. The poverty line refers to the
a. amount of money needed to support the basic needs of a household, as determined by the government.
b. minimum amount of money a household needs to be considered middle class.
c. amount of money a family needs to be comfortable.
d. average hourly wage of the poorest workers in a society.
89. Today, about what percent of the U.S. population was officially categorized as poor?
a. 3.2
b. 14.5
c. 31.7
d. 44.9
90. Which of the following groups represent the largest number, not percentage, of people in poverty?
a. White
b. African American
c. Hispanic
d. Native American
91. The Jones family’s income is $500 dollars above the poverty line. Which of the following is most accurate about
their circumstances?
a. The poverty line is a good indicator of their circumstances.
b. The poverty line is misleading and only a cutoff for antipoverty programs.
c. People below the poverty line are different than those above it.
d. None of the above is the correct answer.
92. The rate of poverty among people in the United States has _____ since 2000.
a. been steadily decreasing
b. been steadily increasing
c. remained the same
d. been impossible to measure
93. The percentage of women and children living in poverty has been increasing. Sociologists refer to this
phenomenon as _____.
a. the feminization of poverty
b. gendered poverty
c. the gender gap
d. the Titanic phenomenon
94. According to the text, _____ of families headed by women live below the poverty line.
a. one-fourth
b. one-third
c. one-half
d. two-thirds
95. The fastest growing segment of the homeless population is ______.
a. unemployed men
b. the victims of domestic violence
c. single women
d. families
96. According to the text, the great majority of the homeless are on the streets because of unemployment and/or
_____.
a. substance abuse
b. divorce
c. poor mental health
d. the lack of affordable housing