TEST #2 SOC 110

A change in social position occurring during a person’s lifetime

Intragenerational social mobility

Which of the following statements about social mobility in the United States is NOT true?

(a) The long-term trend in social mobility has been upward

(b) There has been very little social mobility over the last century

(c) Since the 1970s, social mobility has been uneven

(d) Within a single generation, social mobility is usually small

(b) There has been very little social mobility over the last century

What group of Americans have seen the largest increase in income since the 1980's?

The top 20% of Americans

Which of the following statements about marriage and mobility is true?

(a) Having children outside of marriage increases wealth

(b) Marriage increases wealth

(c) Marriage decreases wealth

(d) Divorce increases wealth

(b) Marriage increases wealth

Which of the following economic indicators are NOT true, according to the text?

(a) For many workers, earnings have stalled

(b) There are more low income jobs

(c) More lower class people than ever are finding middle class jobs

(d) Young people are staying at home longer

(c) More lower class people than ever are finding middle class jobs

Which of the following is NOT true regarding how changes in the global economy has affected the American class structure?

(a) Service jobs have replaced manufacturing jobs

(b) High paying manufacturing jobs have declined

(c) Most families now only have one person working outside the home

(d) Highly educated people in fields like finance and computer technology have benefited

(c) Most families now only have one person working outside the home

Which of the following statements are true regarding how class affects other things? 

(a) The old rich, or upper-uppers,  have more understated tastes than the newly rich

(b) Poorer people have more self-confidence in everyday interactions.

(c) Wealthier people are less tolerant of controversial behavior. 

(d) Poor people live longer than the rich.

(a) The old rich, or upper-uppers,  have more understated tastes than the newly rich

What age is at greatest risk for poverty in the United States?

Children

Where is the greatest concentration of poverty found?

Central cities

The approach that argues that the poor themselves are mostly responsible for their own poverty is called..?

The “culture of poverty”

Which of the following is an example of institutional prejudice and discrimination?

(a) Unequal school quality between predominantly African American neighborhoods and predominantly white ones

(b) A white supremacist rally

(c) Racist ideas propagated on websites

(d) A bigoted person being rude to people he dislikes

(a) Unequal school quality between predominantly African American neighborhoods and predominantly white ones

Which of the following theories of prejudice claims that everyone has some level of prejudice?

(a) Scapegoat theory

(b) Authoritarian personality theory

(c) Culture theory

(d) Conflict theory

(c) Culture theory

Which of the following theories of prejudice argues that prejudice is a tool for powerful people to oppress others?

(a) Scapegoat theory

(b) Authoritarian personality theory

(c) Culture theory

(d) Conflict theory

(d) Conflict theory

The idea that prejudice comes from frustration among people who are themselves disadvantaged is which of the following theories?

(a) Scapegoat theory

(b) Authoritarian personality theory

(c) Culture theory

(d) Conflict theory

(a) Scapegoat theory

The theory of prejudice that claims that certain individuals have personality traits that make them more inclined to prejudice is called..?

(a) Scapegoat theory

(b) Authoritarian personality theory

(c) Culture theory

(d) Conflict theory

(b) Authoritarian personality theory

Which of the following statements about gender and work in the United States is accurate?

(a) More women are in the workforce than men

(b) Women are underrepresented among highly paid CEOs

(c) Women are a lower percentage of the work force than they were 50 years ago

(d) Women have higher unemployment rates than men

(b) Women are underrepresented among highly paid CEOs

Which of the following statements are true regarding gender and education?

(a) Women get a majority of postgraduate degrees

(b) Women get a majority of medical degrees

(c) Men get a majority of bachelor’s degrees

(d) Men do better than women in school

(a) Women get a majority of postgraduate degrees

Which of the following is NOT an explanation for higher income levels by males?

(a) Women have less natural leadership abilities

(b) Differences in the type of work between men and women

(c) Discrimination

(d) The view that women should have greater parenting responsibilities

(a) Women have less natural leadership skills

Which of the following statements about gender stratification is NOT true in the United States?

(a) Women do more housework than men

(b) Women are underrepresented in the military

(c) Women are overrepresented among murder victims

(d) Women are underrepresented in politics

(c) Women are overrepresented among murder victims

Which of the following types of feminism advocates a revolution creating a state-centered economy?

(a) Conservative feminism

(b) Liberal feminism

(c) Radical feminism

(d) Socialist feminism

(d) Socialist feminism

Which of the following types of feminism advocates eliminating gender?

(a) Conservative feminism

(b) Liberal feminism

(c) Radical feminism

(d) Socialist feminism

(c) Radical feminism

Which of the following kinds of feminism focuses on the rights of individual women rather than challenging the basic order of society?

(a) Conservative feminism

(b) Liberal feminism

(c) Radical feminism

(d) Socialist feminism

(b) Liberal feminism

The major sociological theory that sees gender as two complementary patterns of behavior is..?

Structural-functionalism

The sociological theory that sees gender as part of the reality that guides social interaction in everyday situation is..?

Symbolic-interactionism

The major sociological theory that sees gender in terms of one sex having power over the other..?

Social conflict theory

Social stratification

A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy

Caste system

social stratification based on ascription or birth

Class system

social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement

Meritocracy

social stratification based on personal merit

Status consistency

the degree of uniformity in a person’s social standing across various dimensions of social inequality

Structural social mobility

a shift in the social position of large numbers of people due more to changes in society itself rather than individual efforts

Ideology

cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality

Davis-Moore thesis

social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of society

Capitalists (or the bourgeoisie)

people who own and operate factories and other businesses in pursuit of profits

Proletarians

people who sell their labor for wages

Alienation

the experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness

Blue-collar occupations

lower-prestige jobs that involve mostly manual labor

White-collar occupations

higher-prestige jobs that involve mostly mental activity

Socioeconomic status (SES)

a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality

Conspicuous consumption

buying and using products because of the ‘statement’ they make about social position

Gerhard Lenski

identified five types of societies defined by productive technology (hunting/gathering all the way to postindustrial)

Income

earnings from work or investments

Wealth

the total value of money and other assets, minus outstanding debts

Social classes of the United States

Upper class, middle class, working class, and lower class

Intragenerational social mobility

a change in social position occurring during a person’s lifetime

Intergenerational social mobility

upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents

Relative poverty

the lack of resources of some people in relation to those who have more

Absolute poverty

a lack of resources that is life-threatening

Oscar Lewis “culture of poverty” thesis

states that poverty is caused by cultural patterns that limit the ambitions of the poor themselves

Global stratification

patterns of social inequality in the world as a whole

Neocolonialism

a new form of global power relationship that involves not direct political control, but economic exploitation by multinational corporations

Multinational corporation

a large business that operates in many countries

Walt Rostow’s Modernization theory

a model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of technological and cultural differences between nations

Immanuel Wallerstein’s Dependency theory

a model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of the historical exploitation of poor nations by rich ones

Gender

the personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being male or female

Gender stratification

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women

Patriarchy

a form of social organization in which males dominate females (justified by sexism)

Sexism

the belief that one sex is innately superior to the other

Matriarchy

a form of social organization in which females dominate males

Gender roles (or sex roles)

attitudes and activities that a society links to each sex

Minority

any category of people distinguished by physical or cultural difference that a society sets apart and subordinates

Talcott Parsons

described gender differences in terms of complementary roles that promote the social integration of families and society as a whole

Intersection theory

analysis of the interplay of race, class, and gender, which often results in multiple dimensions of disadvantage

Feminism

support of social equality for men and women, in opposition to the patriarchy and sexism

Liberal feminism

seeks equal opportunity for both sexes within the existing society

Social feminism

claims that gender equality will come about by replacing capitalism with socialism

Radical feminism

seeks to eliminate the concept of gender itself and to create an egalitarian and gender-free society

Race

a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important (like skin color, facial features, hair texture, and body shape)

Ethnicity

a shared cultural heritage (like common ancestry, language, or religion)

Prejudice

a rigid and unfair generalization about an entire category of people (attitudes)

Stereotype

a simplified description applied to every person in some category

Racism

the belief that one racial category is innately superior or inferior to another

Scapegoat

a person or category of people, typically with little power, whom people unfairly blame for their own troubles

Scapegoat theory

claims that prejudice results from frustration among people who are disadvantaged

Authoritarian personality theory

claims that prejudice is a personality trait of certain individuals, especially those with little education and those raised by cold and demanding parents

Culture theory

claims that prejudice is rooted in culture: we learn to feel greater social distance from some categories of people

Conflict theory

claims that prejudice is a tool used by powerful people to control and divide the population

Discrimination

unequal treatment of various categories of people (actions)

Institutional prejudice and discrimination

bias built into the operation of society’s institutions, including schools, hospitals, the police, and the workplace

Pluralism

a state in which people of all races and ethnicities are distinct but have equal social standing

Assimilation

the process by which minorities gradually adopt patterns of the dominant culture

Miscegenation

biological reproduction by partners of different racial categories

Segregation

the physical and social separation of categories of people

Genocide

the systematic killing of one category of people by another