Question 1

Which of the following is one of the basic principles of social stratification?
A) Low-level groups often have basic access to the rewards and privileges of higher-level groups.
B) With each new generation, families' social positions start anew.
C) All societies stratify according to wealth accumulation.
D) It is maintained through beliefs that are widely shared in a society.

Accepted Answer

The basic principle of social stratification is that it is maintained through beliefs that are widely shared in a society. This means that the dominant group in a society has the power to shape cultural beliefs and values that reinforce their position and justify the lower status of other groups. This can manifest in ideas such as meritocracy or the belief that hard work and talent should be rewarded with success, which may obscure the ways in which social and economic opportunities are unevenly distributed.

Question 2

Which is true of social mobility in a caste system?
A) Social mobility is common with hard work.
B) A great deal of social mobility occurs.
C) A small but significant percentage of each generation will experience upward social mobility.
D) There is little or no chance of social mobility.

Accepted Answer

In a caste system, social mobility is very limited or impossible. Social status is determined by one's birth and is believed to be predetermined by karma from a previous life, with very little possibility for upward mobility.

Question 3

What criteria does a social class system use to stratify its members?
A) heredity and employment status
B) occupational attainment and gender
C) wealth, property, power, and prestige
D) race

Accepted Answer

A social class system uses wealth, property, power, and prestige to stratify its members. Heredity, employment status, race, and gender may play a role in determining one's social class, but they are not the primary criteria. Occupational attainment may also be a factor in determining social class, but it is often linked to one's wealth and power rather than being a separate criterion.

Question 4

Although they make very little money,priests,ministers,rabbis,imams,and clergy are often very prestigious members of their communities.Which social theorist first suggested that this is an important element of class status?
A) Karl Marx
B) Emile Durkheim
C) Pierre Bourdieu
D) Max Weber

Accepted Answer

Max Weber was the social theorist who first suggested that occupation, income, and prestige are the three elements of social class. Prestige is related to the level of respect and admiration that a particular occupation receives in society. This can explain why clergy members are often considered prestigious members of their communities despite their minimal income.

Question 5

To what social class do "white collar" workers (workers employed in technical and lower-management positions)belong?
A) the working class
B) the lower class
C) the middle class
D) the upper-middle class

Accepted Answer

White collar workers typically have higher education levels and incomes than working class and lower class individuals, but may not have the wealth or social status of those in the upper-middle or upper class. Therefore, they are most commonly classified as belonging to the middle class.

Question 6

What system of stratification is commonly used in capitalist societies?
A) gender
B) social class
C) social caste
D) slavery

Accepted Answer

In capitalist societies, social class is the most commonly used system of stratification. This is because capitalism is based on the ownership and control of resources, specifically capital (e.g. land, factories, and money), which creates inequalities in wealth, income, and power among individuals and groups. Social class is determined by an individual's position in the economic hierarchy, with those at the top having greater access to resources, opportunities, and social status, while those at the bottom have fewer resources and face greater hardship. Gender, social caste, and slavery may also exist within capitalist societies, but they are not the primary systems of stratification.

Question 7

An accountant with a college degree and a license from the state accounting board works for the Department of Defense as a senior auditor.He makes about $100,000 a year and will soon retire with benefits and a pension.To what class would you expect him to belong?
A) upper class
B) working class
C) middle class
D) upper-middle class

Accepted Answer

Based on the given information, the accountant has a college degree, a state accounting board license, and is a senior auditor at the Department of Defense with a salary of $100,000 a year. These factors suggest a higher socioeconomic status, placing him in the upper-middle class. The fact that he will soon retire with benefits and a pension further supports this classification.

Question 8

Karl Marx spent much of his life attempting to describe and understand how capitalism works.In one particularly vivid passage,he described in this way the turbulence he saw as inherent in capitalism: "All that is solid melts into air,all that is holy is profaned,and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real condition of life and his relations with his kind." What sort of relationships did he think his readers had with other people?
A) relationships of community and religion
B) relationships based on social bonds and solidarity
C) economic relationships
D) cultural relationships

Accepted Answer

Marx was primarily focused on analyzing economic relationships and how they shape society, so it is most likely that he thought his readers had economic relationships with other people. The quote about "all that is solid melts into air" suggests that he saw capitalism as a constantly changing and unstable economic system, which would necessarily affect the relationships between individuals.

Question 9

Which of the following is true of the upper class in the United States today?
A) They are a largely self-sustaining group and rarely add new members.
B) They are comprised mainly of skilled workers in technical fields.
C) They make up about 30 percent of the population.
D) They usually work in executive, managerial, and professional jobs.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is true of...

Question 10

Sociologists often point out that systems of stratification in the United States systematically favor white men.Sometimes people contest this,pointing to wealthy and powerful black women like Oprah Winfrey or Toni Morrison.A valid counterpoint to this argument is that:
A) black women are often the exception to this tendency.
B) Winfrey and Morrison have higher social status because of other markers of class that they inherited, like regional accents.
C) stratification is a characteristic of a society rather than a reflection of individual differences.
D) women like these must have inherited a high social status from their parents.

Accepted Answer

The fact that there are wealthy and powerful black women like Winfrey and Morrison does not negate the fact that systems of stratification in the United States systematically favor white men. It is important to recognize that stratification is a characteristic of a society as a whole, and not a reflection of individual differences or exceptions.

Question 11

Which of the following demonstrates Karl Marx's conviction that social inequality would continue to grow?
A) "No one knows who will live in this cage in the future, or whether at the end of this tremendous development entirely new prophets will arise, or there will be a great rebirth of ideas and ideals, or, if neither, mechanized petrification, embellished with a sort of convulsive self-importance."
B) "The modern laborer . . . instead of rising with the process of industry, sinks deeper and deeper below the conditions of existence of his own class. He becomes a pauper, and pauperism develops more rapidly than population and wealth."
C) "A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, i.e., things set apart and forbidden-beliefs and practices which unite in one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them."
D) "for the metropolis presents the peculiar conditions which are revealed to us as the opportunities and the stimuli for the development of both these ways of allocating roles to men."

Accepted Answer

Marx believed that the capitalist system would lead to increasing social inequality, with the working class sinking deeper into poverty while the wealthy elite continued to accumulate more wealth. This is reflected in option B, which states that the modern laborer sinks deeper below the conditions of their own class and becomes a pauper. Options A, C, and D are unrelated to Marx's views on social inequality.

Question 12

According to Karl Marx,what social relations matter most in a capitalist system?
A) family and kin
B) community bonds
C) economic relations
D) nationalistic bonds

Accepted Answer

According to Marx, economic relations are the most important social relations in a capitalist system. He believed that the relationships between capitalist employers and workers, and the exploitation inherent in those relationships, were at the heart of capitalism. While family and community bonds are present in society, they are not as central to Marx's understanding of the workings and injustices of capitalism. Nationalistic bonds may be important in certain contexts, but they are not a central concern of Marx's critique of capitalism.

Question 13

Mother Teresa was a person with tremendous power and prestige,yet she was very poor.Mother Teresa is an example of which of the following?
A) status inequality
B) status inconsistency
C) status contradiction
D) status reversal

Accepted Answer

Status inconsistency occurs when an individual has different levels of status in different areas of their life. In the case of Mother Teresa, she held tremendous power and prestige due to her status as a humanitarian and religious leader, but she lived a life of poverty, creating a contradiction in her status.

Question 14

What do most Americans claim about their class status?
A) They are upper class.
B) They are lower class.
C) They are middle class.
D) They do not feel they have a class status, or they are unaware of it.

Accepted Answer

The majority of Americans claim to be part of the middle class, regardless of their actual income level or social status. This is often true even for individuals who are technically part of the upper or lower class, as there is a cultural association with being middle class in American society. Some individuals may also not feel they have a class status or be unaware of it, but this is not the most common response.

Question 15

What sorts of jobs are usually available to members of the lower-middle class?
A) technical or professional jobs
B) executive or managerial positions
C) blue collar jobs, or manual labor
D) lower-management jobs

Accepted Answer

Members of the lower-middle class typically have access to jobs that require manual labor, such as factory work, construction, or skilled trades. These jobs often provide steady income, benefits, and opportunities for advancement within the company. Technical or professional jobs (A) require advanced education or training, while executive or managerial positions (B) are typically reserved for those with higher levels of education and experience. Lower-management jobs (D) may be available to some members of the lower-middle class, but these positions often require some level of education and experience as well.

Question 16

What is the relationship between social class and race,ethnicity,gender,and age in the United States today?
A) Race and ethnicity are more important than any other factor in determining social class.
B) These multiple dimensions of status and inequality intersect to shape who we are and how we live-a concept known as intersectionality.
C) These other variables matter for members of the upper class but not for members of the middle or lower classes.
D) These variables matter for members of the lower class but not for members of the upper or middle class.

Accepted Answer

Intersectionality recognizes that a person's social class is not solely determined by one factor such as race, ethnicity, gender, or age, but rather by the intersection of all of these variables. For example, a woman of color may face more barriers and discrimination in society than a white woman or a man of color. Therefore, understanding the intersectionality of social class is crucial in examining and addressing issues of inequality and injustice.

Question 17

Which system of social stratification was in the final stages of breaking down when Karl Marx developed his ideas?
A) feudalism
B) capitalism
C) slavery
D) communism

Accepted Answer

Feudalism was the dominant system of social stratification in Europe during the Middle Ages. However, by the time Karl Marx developed his ideas in the 19th century, feudalism was in its final stages of breaking down and being replaced by capitalism. Marx's theories focused on the exploitative nature of capitalism and the need for a socialist revolution to overthrow the capitalist system.

Question 18

The upper class makes up just 1 percent of the total U.S.population,but its total net worth is greater than that of ________ of the rest of the population.
A) 10 percent
B) 53 percent
C) 90 percent
D) 99 percent

Accepted Answer

According to the statement, the upper class makes up just 1 percent of the total U.S. population, but its total net worth is greater than that of 99 percent of the rest of the population.

Question 19

Apartheid is a specific example of what system of social stratification?
A) caste
B) class
C) slavery
D) racial

Accepted Answer

The answer of Apartheid is a specific example of what...

Question 20

How is Max Weber's idea of social class different from Karl Marx's?
A) Weber did not believe that owning the means of production mattered in any way.
B) Weber believed that class status was inherited and was an extension of the old feudal system.
C) Weber believed that wealth was the only factor that mattered, regardless of how that wealth was acquired.
D) Weber believed that wealth, power, and prestige could all affect a person's social class.

Accepted Answer

Weber's idea of social class was based on three dimensions: wealth, power, and prestige, which could all have an impact on a person's social class. This is different from Marx's idea of social class, which was based solely on the ownership of the means of production.

Quiz 7: Social Class: the Structure of Inequality

Which of the following is one of the basic principles of social stratification?

Which is true of social mobility in a caste system?

What criteria does a social class system use to stratify its members?

Although they make very little money,priests,ministers,rabbis,imams,and clergy are often very prestigious members of their communities.Which social theorist first suggested that this is an important element of class status?

To what social class do "white collar" workers (workers employed in technical and lower-management positions) belong?

What system of stratification is commonly used in capitalist societies?

An accountant with a college degree and a license from the state accounting board works for the Department of Defense as a senior auditor.He makes about $100,000 a year and will soon retire with benefits and a pension.To what class would you expect him to belong?

Which of the following is true of the upper class in the United States today?

Sociologists often point out that systems of stratification in the United States systematically favor white men.Sometimes people contest this,pointing to wealthy and powerful black women like Oprah Winfrey or Toni Morrison.A valid counterpoint to this argument is that:

Which of the following demonstrates Karl Marx's conviction that social inequality would continue to grow?

According to Karl Marx,what social relations matter most in a capitalist system?

Mother Teresa was a person with tremendous power and prestige,yet she was very poor.Mother Teresa is an example of which of the following?

What do most Americans claim about their class status?

What sorts of jobs are usually available to members of the lower-middle class?

What is the relationship between social class and race,ethnicity,gender,and age in the United States today?

Which system of social stratification was in the final stages of breaking down when Karl Marx developed his ideas?

The upper class makes up just 1 percent of the total U.S.population,but its total net worth is greater than that of ________ of the rest of the population.

Apartheid is a specific example of what system of social stratification?

How is Max Weber's idea of social class different from Karl Marx's?