Quiz 4: Chapters 7, 9, & 11

Which factor is considered when evaluating someone’s standard of living?

1. social class

2. employment

3. income

4. all of the choices

4. all of the choices

Charlotte was born to a lower class family in rural Pennsylvania.  After taking a job in the mail room of a large corporate office, Charlotte is slowly promoted through the ranks and becomes CEO of the company by the age of 50.  Compared to her parents, Charlotte’s story demonstrates what type of social stratification?

1. downward mobility

2. structural mobility

3. intergenerational mobility

4. intragenerational mobility

3. Intergenerational mobility

What is particularly unique about the United States middle class?

1. It is the smallest class in the United States.

2. It is broken into two subcategories: upper and lower middle class.

3. The people who are middle class often have little to no education. 

4. The upper class are as likely to become members of the lower class as members of the lower class are likely to become members of the upper class.

2. It is broken into two subcategories, upper and middle class.

Which historical event was greatly responsible for global stratification as we see it today?

1. The Fall of the British Empire

2. The Industrial Revolution

3. World War I

4. The French Revolution

2. The Industrial Revolution

_________________ is/are a violation of contextual, cultural, or social norms (and less to do with right or wrong). 

1. Sanctions

2. Legal codes

3. Deviance

4. Social control

3. Deviance

In 2008, the United States, as well as the rest of the world, felt the effects of the recession.  After the collapse of the housing market, people lost their jobs and they quit spending money.  Many people could not afford their mortgages anymore and their homes went into foreclosure.  For many people, it was a time of _________________.

1. horizontal mobility

2. downward mobility

3. social inconsistency

4. social stratification

2. downward mobility

Think Critically

Since social classes in the United States do not have any clear boundaries, how is a sociologist supposed to determine whether their subjects are in the upper class or the upper-middle class?

1. Upper class is often defined as having control over one’s life and the lives of people around you, while the upper-middle class is often defined as having control only over one’s own life.

2. The upper class is split into “old money” and “new money” people, while the upper-middle class simply struggles to maintain its wealth.

3. All upper class people enjoy opera and have been bred for their stations while the upper-middle class consists mostly of newly wealthy people who may not have had the same kind of upbringing.

4. In the upper class, everyone knows everyone, but in the upper middle class, the people do not comingle.

1. Upper class is often defined as having control over one’s life and the lives of people around you, while the upper-middle class is often defined as having control only over one’s own life.

1967’s Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, a case which legally allowed ________________________ marriage.

1. same-sex

2. underage

3. common-law

4. interracial

4. interracial

Think Critically

Max believes that most people’s racial beliefs are based on images conveyed in popular media since many people never meet members of certain races for themselves.  Max is thinking like a __________________________.

1. conflict theorist

2. symbolic interactionist

3. functionalist

4. feminist

2. symbolic interactionist

Strain theory is an example of functionalism because it states deviance arises from a lack of ways to reach socially accepted goals by accepted methods. True or False?

True