Question 1

The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 ended the concept of entitlements by requiring recipients of welfare to find work within two years of receiving assistance. How has this changed the lives of the poor?

Accepted Answer

A)   Moving from welfare to work helped single people much more than it did families or single mothers.
B)   Moving from welfare to work caused many former welfare recipients to plunge into homelessness.
C)   Moving from welfare to work did not substantially increase income levels; it simply shifted the poor from welfare to low-paying jobs.
D)   Moving from welfare to work increases both the self-esteem of the poor and their income.
E)   Moving from welfare to work caused a significant decline in the rates of poverty in the United States.

Question 2

Although the United States lost many jobs in the recession of the late 2000s, many people are optimistic that the lost jobs will be replaced with others. However, even if the optimists are right, the shift in the economy may permanently alter the class status of many, as the jobs being lost are largely in manufacturing and new jobs are often in information technology, suggesting that the newly unemployed will have trouble competing for newly created jobs. If this is the case, what is it called?

Accepted Answer

A)   structural mobility
B)   intergenerational mobility
C)   intragenerational mobility
D)   absolute deprivation
E)   a caste system

Question 3

What sort of jobs can support a middle-class lifestyle in America today?

Accepted Answer

A)   jobs in manufacturing
B)   skilled labor
C)   blue collar work
D)   jobs associated with skilled trades like carpentry
E)   jobs in the service, information, and technology sectors

Question 4

Homogamy, a term sociologists use to mean the tendency to choose romantic partners based on similarities in background and group membership, is very common. Why?

Accepted Answer

A)   We tend to have more access to people like ourselves.
B)   We only desire and find attractive people who are very similar to ourselves.
C)   We are always actively looking for partners similar to ourselves.
D)   Everyone experiences a great deal of pressure from our families to marry within our social class.
E)   We experience social pressure to partner with people similar to ourselves.

Question 5

Social structures help to shape everyday interactions, but interactions can never reshape larger social structures like social class.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

What does Paul Fussell's living room scale attempt to measure?

Accepted Answer

A)   judgment
B)   the pace of interaction
C)   social class
D)   the extent to which people are aware of others' class statuses
E)   all of the above

Question 7

The culture of poverty has been almost universally accepted within sociology.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Which of the following is a form of stratification in which all positions are awarded on the basis of merit?

Accepted Answer

A)   democracy
B)   meritocracy
C)   capitalism
D)   oligarchy
E)   technocracy

Question 9

What school of social thought insists that all social structures, including systems of stratification, are built out of everyday interactions?

Accepted Answer

A)   functionalism
B)   Marxism
C)   symbolic interactionism
D)   Weberianism
E)   conflict theory

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

A)   heredity and employment status
B)   occupational attainment and gender
C)   wealth, property, power, and prestige
D)   income
E)   race C

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

A)   colonial
B)   caste
C)   class
D)   slavery
E)   racial

Question 12

The American Dream is the pursuit of material and personal success and the idea that anyone can achieve such success. How does widespread belief in the American Dream and individualism actually serve to reinforce socioeconomic barriers?

Accepted Answer

An important factor in understanding the...

Question 13

Residential segregation is the geographical isolation of the poor from the rest of a city's population. Explain how residential segregation is able to flourish in the United States and what characterizes a neighborhood that is segregated in this manner.

Accepted Answer

Any answer should discuss the role of public housing projects in the promotion of residential segregation and in the characterization of segregated, low-income neighborhoods. While these HUD-funded complexes provide affordable housing to the poor, they are often densely packed apartment complexes that are typically located in economically depressed areas with high crime rates. A good answer should also mention the practice of "redlining," whereby banks and mortgage companies discriminate against people from lower-class neighborhoods. A good answer might also mention that the phrase "the wrong side of the tracks" originated because railroad tracks often served as boundaries between black and white neighborhoods in American cities.

Question 14

The difference between a person's ascribed status and his achieved status is measured in terms of his:

Accepted Answer

A)   good fortune.
B)   skill and personal character.
C)   intergenerational mobility.
D)   intragenerational mobility.
E)   structural mobility.

Question 15

What makes the just-world hypothesis psychologically appealing to the average person?

Accepted Answer

A)   It is supported by a wealth of empirical data.
B)   Most people's everyday experiences teach them that society tends to distribute rewards and punishments fairly.
C)   Everybody in capitalist societies tends to fear and loathe the poor, which makes it easy to believe that the poor deserve whatever misfortune they are handed.
D)   Most people have a strong need to believe that the world is orderly, predictable, and fair.
E)   Many people develop skewed perceptions based on their worst experiences with the poor, which makes it hard for them to see things objectively.

Question 16

When the poor organize politically, their successes are often not well publicized.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

A homeless shelter in Illinois held a "sleep out," a protest to alert members of the general public to the dangers of letting funding for homeless shelters drop, forcing shelters to turn away people in need. The organizers of the rally saw their work as particularly important because they suspected that most residents didn't realize just how many poor people existed in their community, a result of what sociologists would call:

Accepted Answer

A)   problematic categories.
B)   the invisibility of poverty.
C)   the latent function of welfare.
D)   socioeconomic status and life chances.
E)   the just-world hypothesis. B

Question 18

A majority of Americans believe that poverty is a big problem, but addressing it is not a priority for most. Why not?

Accepted Answer

A)   Many people believe that poor people simply don't try hard enough.
B)   Many people think poverty is good for the nation.
C)   Many people recognize that by keeping others poor they can benefit in a variety of ways.
D)   Many people hope that the government will fix the problem.
E)   Many people believe we are on track to decrease poverty.

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

A)   Race and ethnicity are more important than any other factor in determining social class.
B)   These variables are irrelevant to social class.
C)   Strictly speaking, social class is determined by socioeconomic status, but there is often overlap between class and these other variables.
D)   These other variables matter for members of the upper class but not for members of the middle or lower classes.
E)   These variables matter for members of the lower class but not for members of the upper or middle class.

Question 20

Approximately what percentage of the United States population falls below the federal poverty line?

Accepted Answer

A)   3 percent
B)   15 percent
C)   1 percent
D)   27 percent
E)   40 percent

Exam 7: Social Class: the Structure of Inequality

The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 ended the concept of entitlements by requiring recipients of welfare to find work within two years of receiving assistance. How has this changed the lives of the poor?

Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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What sort of jobs can support a middle-class lifestyle in America today?

Correct Answer
verified

Homogamy, a term sociologists use to mean the tendency to choose romantic partners based on similarities in background and group membership, is very common. Why?

Correct Answer
verified

Social structures help to shape everyday interactions, but interactions can never reshape larger social structures like social class.

Correct Answer
verified

What does Paul Fussell's living room scale attempt to measure?

Correct Answer
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The culture of poverty has been almost universally accepted within sociology.

Correct Answer
verified

Which of the following is a form of stratification in which all positions are awarded on the basis of merit?

Correct Answer
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What school of social thought insists that all social structures, including systems of stratification, are built out of everyday interactions?

Correct Answer
verified

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

Correct Answer
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C

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

Correct Answer
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The American Dream is the pursuit of material and personal success and the idea that anyone can achieve such success. How does widespread belief in the American Dream and individualism actually serve to reinforce socioeconomic barriers?

Correct Answer
verified
An important factor in understanding the...
View Answer

Residential segregation is the geographical isolation of the poor from the rest of a city's population. Explain how residential segregation is able to flourish in the United States and what characterizes a neighborhood that is segregated in this manner.

The difference between a person's ascribed status and his achieved status is measured in terms of his:

Correct Answer
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What makes the just-world hypothesis psychologically appealing to the average person?

Correct Answer
verified

When the poor organize politically, their successes are often not well publicized.

Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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B

A majority of Americans believe that poverty is a big problem, but addressing it is not a priority for most. Why not?

Correct Answer
verified

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

Correct Answer
verified

Approximately what percentage of the United States population falls below the federal poverty line?

Correct Answer
verified

Exam 7: Social Class: the Structure of Inequality

The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 ended the concept of entitlements by requiring recipients of welfare to find work within two years of receiving assistance. How has this changed the lives of the poor?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What sort of jobs can support a middle-class lifestyle in America today?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Homogamy, a term sociologists use to mean the tendency to choose romantic partners based on similarities in background and group membership, is very common. Why?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Social structures help to shape everyday interactions, but interactions can never reshape larger social structures like social class.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What does Paul Fussell's living room scale attempt to measure?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The culture of poverty has been almost universally accepted within sociology.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is a form of stratification in which all positions are awarded on the basis of merit?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What school of social thought insists that all social structures, including systems of stratification, are built out of everyday interactions?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedC

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The American Dream is the pursuit of material and personal success and the idea that anyone can achieve such success. How does widespread belief in the American Dream and individualism actually serve to reinforce socioeconomic barriers?

Correct AnswerverifiedAn important factor in understanding the...View AnswerShow Answer

Residential segregation is the geographical isolation of the poor from the rest of a city's population. Explain how residential segregation is able to flourish in the United States and what characterizes a neighborhood that is segregated in this manner.

The difference between a person's ascribed status and his achieved status is measured in terms of his:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What makes the just-world hypothesis psychologically appealing to the average person?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

When the poor organize politically, their successes are often not well publicized.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedB

A majority of Americans believe that poverty is a big problem, but addressing it is not a priority for most. Why not?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Approximately what percentage of the United States population falls below the federal poverty line?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct Answer
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C

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An important factor in understanding the...
View Answer

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B

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