John worked in a manufacturing job building car engines. Over time, this work was increasingly performed by machines, and manufacturing jobs became scarcer and paid less. John and his family were once comfortably middle class, but technology changed his job and his factory was shut down. What kind of mobility did John experience?
A) structural mobility
B) relative mobility
C) class mobility
D) individual mobility

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

John experienced structural mobility, which refers to changes in the economic or social structure of society that affect the position of groups or individuals. In this case, the increasing use of machines in manufacturing and the subsequent loss of jobs for humans led to a decline in John's social and economic position. Relative mobility refers to changes in an individual's position relative to others in society, class mobility specifically refers to movement between social classes, and individual mobility is not a commonly used term in sociology.

John Worked in a Manufacturing Job Building Car Engines