Essentials of Sociology 6th Edition Giddens Test Bank

Essentials of Sociology 6th Edition
Giddens Test Bank

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CHAPTER 7: Stratification, Class, and Inequality
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. In systems of stratification, people are typically ranked by:

a. personality. c. intelligence.
b. social categories. d. social capital.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification?
MSC: Remembering
2. According to the textbook, what is one of the reasons that slavery does not exist in most societies
around the world today?
a. It is an inefficient economic system.
b. Slaves are too expensive to buy.
c. The Civil War outlawed it.
d. Around the world, slavery has always been considered immoral.
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification?
MSC: Remembering
3. Today people are taken against their will and forced to work as bricklayers in Pakistan or as sex
workers in Thailand. According to the textbook, these examples are best described as:
a. modern-day slavery.
b. a caste system based on occupation.
c. cheap labor in a capitalist system.
d. the worst occupations in a class system.
MSC: Applying
4. A stratification system in which certain people are owned as property is known as:
a. capitalism. c. estate.
b. caste. d. slavery.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification?
MSC: Remembering
5. Which of the following is an example of a caste system?

a. forcing rural women in Thailand into sex work
b. the racial wealth gap in the United States
c. forcing children to accept their parents’ status as their own in India
d. high rates of child poverty in Slovenia
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification?
MSC: Applying
6. Caste systems like the one in India require that individuals marry within their social group. This is
referred to as:
a. caste marriage. c. social marriage.
b. endogamy. d. endomarriage.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification?
MSC: Remembering
7. Scholars believe that ________ has encouraged a shift to class-based systems in countries such as
India that have been traditionally caste-based systems.
a. morality c. the Internet
b. globalization d. a high divorce rate
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification?
MSC: Remembering
8. We can conclude that one of the main differences between a society based on caste versus one
based on class is that:
a. boundaries between groups are not prevalent in systems based on class.
b. caste societies are spreading to countries around the world.
c. social mobility is more prevalent in class-based societies.
d. globalization will eventually do away with class positions.
MSC: Analyzing
9. Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty and raised by a single mother, yet today she is one of the
richest women in America. According to the textbook, the social position we are born into affects
our life chances, but our class position is also:
a. based on caste. c. in some part achieved.
b. based on looks. d. determined by affirmative action.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification?
MSC: Applying
10. Davis and Moore’s explanation of class stratification differs from that of Marx and Weber because:
a. they tend to focus more on the role of inheritance in attaining social status.
b. they argue that blue-collar occupations deserve more prestige in our society.
c. they argue that one’s social position is based on skills, talents, and hard work.
d. they pay more attention to the need for the redistribution of resources to make society
more equal and stable.
MSC: Analyzing
11. According to Karl Marx, the working class in industrialized countries would remain poor and live
near subsistence level. Marx was right about the persistence of poverty in industrialized countries,
but he was wrong in thinking that:
a. there would be very few poor people in most industrialized countries.
b. most people would own the means of production collectively in capitalist countries.
c. the income of most of the population would remain extremely low.
d. industrial capitalism would decrease the wealth and income gap.
MSC: Remembering
12. Karl Marx called those who own the means of production ________ and those who make their
living by selling their own labor power for a wage ________.
a. capitalists; the working class c. merchants; consumers
b. producers; consumers d. the working class; capitalists
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification?
MSC: Remembering
13. Workers picking strawberries can pick 100 baskets an hour, but the value of 20 baskets is all it
costs the employer to pay them their hourly wages. According to Karl Marx, the income the
employer collects from the extra baskets is:
a. extra wages. c. wage theft.
b. surplus value. d. extra income.
MSC: Applying
14. One of the main differences between Marx’s and Weber’s understanding of social class is that:
a. Marx emphasized one’s life chances in his understanding of social class.
b. Weber recognized that social classes also differ with respect to their power.
c. Marx put more emphasis on how race and gender intersected with class.
d. Weber argued that social discrimination can lead to class inequality.
MSC: Analyzing
15. Andrew is a twenty-something, currently unemployed Jewish male from a wealthy background.
Louis is a thirty-year-old Puerto Rican man who currently works in retail. Which difference might
Max Weber point to in attempting to understand their respective social statuses?
a. status distinctions c. ethnic distinctions
b. class distinctions d. age distinctions
MSC: Applying
16. The social honor or prestige that other members of society accord to individuals is referred to as:
a. status. c. social class.
b. reputation. d. fame.
MSC: Remembering
17. Studies in which people are asked to rate jobs in terms of “prestige” show some differences in
ratings by age. Which person would a millennial be most likely to categorize as having the highest
occupational prestige?
a. Mary Dolan, a doctor c. Colin Kaepernick, a professional athlete
b. June Brewer, a sociologist d. Jerry Valdez, a police officer
MSC: Applying
18. Dr. Smith is an open-heart surgeon who was trained at a top-tier medical school. Which of the
following theorists would be most likely to argue that Dr. Smith achieved the position solely based
on her own talent and efforts?
a. Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore c. Karl Marx
b. Max Weber d. Charles Murray
MSC: Applying
19. Wealth and income are both important determinants of social class. Which of the following best
characterizes the relationship between wealth and income in the United States?
a. Income disparities between rich and poor have increased in the past three decades,
whereas wealth disparities have decreased during the same time.
b. Wealthy people almost always inherited their money; thus there is no relationship between
wealth and income.
c. The same factors that limit people’s incomes also limit their ability to accumulate wealth.
d. Whereas race, education, and age influence income, wealth is independent of these
variables.
ANS: C DIF: Moderate
REF: 7.2 How Is Social Class Defined in the United States? MSC: Understanding
20. Income inequality has increased dramatically since the 1970s, as the richest 20 percent saw its
incomes rise ________, while the poorest 20 percent saw its incomes rise by ________.
a. 54 percent; 1 percent c. 100 percent; 0 percent
b. 15 percent; 60 percent d. 75 percent; 95 percent
ANS: A DIF: Difficult
21. The money a person gets from a wage, salary, or investments is ________; the assets an individual
owns are ________.
a. wealth; property c. wealth; income
b. income; wealth d. income; inherited
ANS: B DIF: Easy
REF: 7.2 How Is Social Class Defined in the United States? MSC: Remembering
22. Suheir Shedd is a university professor. Which of the following would constitute her wealth?
a. the value of her home c. the money she makes in a year
b. all the assets she owns d. the estimated earnings over her life
ANS: B DIF: Moderate
REF: 7.2 How Is Social Class Defined in the United States? MSC: Applying
23. According to the textbook, what is one conclusion we can draw about how social class is defined
in the United States?
a. Racial disparities in wealth can be explained solely by family advantages.
b. Most American sociologists can agree on the boundaries between social classes.
c. Famous people have higher the highest occupational prestige.
d. One’s educational attainment is the strongest predictor of one’s occupation, income, and
wealth later in life.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate
REF: 7.2 How Is Social Class Defined in the United States? MSC: Evaluating
24. According to the textbook, what has been the relationship between higher education and social
stratification in recent years?
a. College education has become much more difficult, causing students to drop out.
b. College education has become more accessible, causing more students to enroll.
c. The importance and value of a college education in the job market have increased.
d. Colleges have become less selective.
25. Dr. Ramirez is a sociology professor, and while he makes much less money than doctors and
lawyers, he is viewed as having relatively high prestige because of:
a. his professional clothing. c. his education.
b. his work hours. d. his publications.
ANS: C DIF: Easy
26. According to the textbook, one conclusion we can draw about the upper class in the United States
is that:
a. it is made up of the wealthiest 20 percent of the population.
b. it has a distinctive lifestyle and is politically influential.
c. it does not include people who get their wealth from investments.
d. it is accessible to all Americans with a college education.
ANS: B DIF: Difficult
REF: 7.2 How Is Social Class Defined in the United States? MSC: Evaluating
27. The super-rich in the United States were able to accumulate vast amounts of wealth partly because
globalization enabled them to:
a. use low-wage labor in other countries.
b. sell products to consumers in the United States.
c. make investments locally.
d. produce their products in one place.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate
28. Though there used to be a widespread belief that “we are all middle class,” that adage has eroded.
In recent years, many Americans have experienced downward mobility. What is the best
explanation for this shift?
a. changing definitions of social class
b. shifts in the country’s racial composition
c. a declining work ethic
d. the 2008 economic recession
29. According to the textbook, members of the lower middle class today:
a. work at primarily blue-collar jobs.
b. make up about 90 percent of American households.
c. are racially and ethnically diverse.
d. make over $200,000 annually.
ANS: C DIF: Easy
30. Which of the following individuals is most likely to identify as a member of the lower middle
class?
a. professor c. school teacher
b. doctor d. upper-level manager
31. Eddie is a factory worker who makes about $32,000 a year. Eddie’s husband, Dustin, works part
time as a dental assistant and makes about $15,000. Their combined income is just enough to pay
their mortgage and make ends meet. Eddie and Dustin are considered:
a. lower middle class. c. old middle class.
b. upper middle class. d. working class.
32. People in blue-collar occupations, such as plumbers and hotel workers, make up the:
a. professional class. c. old middle class.
b. working class. d. new middle class.
33. Working-class children are most likely to do which of the following after graduating from high
school?
a. travel around Europe c. attend a two-year college
b. attend a four-year college d. immediately start working
ANS: D DIF: Easy
34. In the U.S. class system, the poorest of the poor, who are structurally disadvantaged and are least
likely to move out of their class position, are called the:
a. poor class. c. left-behind class.
b. lower class. d. Underclass.
ANS: D DIF: Easy
REF: 7.2 How Is Social Class Defined in the United States? MSC: Remembering
35. Today, the gap between rich and poor in the United States is the largest it has been since:
a. 1929, after the stock market crash.
b. 1970, when the United States started to outsource jobs.
c. 1947, when the United States started to measure the gap.
d. None of the above; the gap has been getting smaller.
REF: 7.3 What Are the Causes and Consequences of Social Inequality in the United States?
MSC: Remembering
36. Which of the following best explains why Latino household income has stagnated and fallen far
behind that of white households?
a. A culture of poverty among Latinos discourages achievement and saving money.
b. A large number of immigrants from Mexico and Latin America are in low-wage jobs.
c. The unemployment rate among Latinos is high.
d. The divorce rate among Latinos is high.
MSC: Understanding
37. According to the textbook, what factor accounts for racial disparities in wealth and income?
a. ambition c. genetics
b. education d. luck
ANS: B DIF: Easy
MSC: Remembering
38. Which of the following is an example of social mobility?

a. Jasper, who grew up in a middle-class neighborhood and became a wealthy doctor
b. Antonio, who moved from New York City to a suburb
c. Smita, who does not identify with her Brahmin caste background
d. Tia, who was raised as a man but identifies as a woman
ANS: A DIF: Easy
MSC: Applying
39. Intergenerational mobility is best described as when:

a. a person achieves a different class position than the one he or she thought they would
have.
b. a person maintains the same class position as his or her parents or grandparents.
c. a person has a different class position from that of his or her parents or grandparents.
d. a person achieves a different class position from his or her siblings.
ANS: C DIF: Easy
MSC: Understanding
40. Who among the following is most likely to experience intergenerational mobility?
a. the child of a high school teacher
b. the child of unemployed, struggling parents
c. the child of the CEO of a large corporation
d. the child of a school janitor
ANS: A DIF: Difficult
MSC: Applying
41. When sociologists examine how far an individual moves up or down the socioeconomic scale in
his or her lifetime, they are studying:
a. absolute poverty. c. life change.
b. social reproduction. d. intragenerational mobility.
ANS: D DIF: Easy
MSC: Understanding
42. Which of the following is an example of what Pierre Bourdieu refers to as cultural capital?
a. the ability to pay for cultural events and resources such as art museums, opera companies,
and symphony orchestras
b. parents paying for school tutoring
c. parents reading to their children and encouraging them to do well in school
d. having an uncle who works for Goldman Sachs
MSC: Applying
43. According to Pierre Bourdieu, working-class parents are just as interested in their children’s
education as middle- and upper-class parents, but they lack the ________ to help their children
experience social mobility.
a. dependency culture c. tuition capital

b. cultural capital d. educational capital
ANS: B DIF: Easy
MSC: Understanding
44. Which of the following is an example of downward mobility?

a. Danisha, who was just fired from his job at Wells Fargo bank.
b. George, who stopped receiving welfare payments after getting hired at a shoe store.
c. Harel, who took a leave of absence to care for his ill parents.
d. Jane, who was raised in a middle-class household and now works at a grocery store full
time.
MSC: Applying
45. When a person moves from one position in a class structure to a nearly identical position, the
person is said to experience:
a. short-range downward mobility. c. declining mobility.
b. long-range downward mobility. d. across-position mobility.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate
MSC: Remembering
46. How does the government determine the poverty line?

a. It calculates a strict, no-frills budget based on cost estimates for different family sizes.
b. It multiplies the cost of an average household’s rent by three.
c. It calculates the average cost of living in each of four regions of the United States and
divides that number by the average cost of rent in those places.
d. Because the cost of living varies across the country, it calculates the cost of living in each
region and determines a poverty line for each U.S. region.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?
MSC: Understanding
47. At the beginning of her sophomore year of high school, Janis’s family cannot afford to buy her
new clothes and shoes or enough supplies for school. Janis feels poor compared to her classmates
who can afford these things. Janis is experiencing:
a. absolute poverty. c. downward mobility.
b. relative poverty. d. exchange mobility.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?
MSC: Applying
48. When a person does not have adequate resources to maintain his or her health, such as enough food
to eat, the person is said to be in:
a. absolute poverty. c. downward mobility.
b. relative poverty. d. exchange mobility.
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?
MSC: Understanding
49. What is meant by the phrase feminization of poverty?

a. the fact that women are more likely not to marry until they find a rich man
b. the fact that a majority of the poor are women
c. the notion that women are not as likely to pursue education or other skill development and
end up in lower-paying jobs
d. the idea that women do not work as hard as men and are therefore more likely to be poor
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?
MSC: Understanding
50. According to the textbook, which phenomenon erased many of the gains in child well-being made
in the past twenty years?
a. the 2008 economic recession c. student debt
b. the war in Afghanistan d. increases in welfare benefits
MSC: Remembering
51. Although official estimates show that relatively few elderly people live in poverty, these statistics
may be misleading because:
a. they do not consider the large number of elderly people who go hungry.
b. they do not consider the large number of elderly people who live alone.
c. they do not consider the vast gender, race, and marital status differences of older adults.
d. they do not consider the high cost of rent.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?
MSC: Understanding
52. Riley Vidal is a seventy-five-year-old who lives in a nursing home. Like many elderly people in
the United States, Vidal likely relies on ________ for his income.
a. a part-time job c. savings
b. money from children d. Social Security
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?
MSC: Applying
53. Those who believe that poverty results from structural factors beyond the control of individuals
would see which of the following as a source of poverty?
a. unequal distribution of educational resources
b. universal health care
c. decreasing income inequality
d. immorality of the poor
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?
MSC: Analyzing
54. Sarah believes her neighbors are poor because they have been socialized into a set of values,
beliefs, and norms that result in behavior that leads to poverty. Sarah supports which of the
following theories of poverty?
a. culture of poverty c. value poverty
b. structural poverty d. dependency poverty
MSC: Applying
55. Those who believe that the culture of poverty theory explains why most people are in poverty
would most likely favor which of the following antipoverty programs?
a. subsidized housing c. welfare-to-work programs
b. universal health care d. food stamps
ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?
MSC: Analyzing
56. Individuals living in rural communities cut off from resources and opportunities, like individuals
living in inner cities with high crime rates, are likely to experience what sociologists call:
a. social exclusion. c. unequal education.
b. social deprivation. d. absolute poverty.
MSC: Applying
57. One of the most distressing signs of the growing stratification in the United States is the growth in
the number of:
a. substance abusers. c. women with college degrees.
b. mentally ill individuals. d. homeless people.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?
MSC: Understanding
SHORT ANSWER
1. In two or three sentences, compare and contrast caste and class as systems of stratification.
ANS:
To answer this question, students should know how to describe each type of system of
stratification. A caste system is a social system in which one’s social status—based on race,
parental religion, or caste—is given for life, and all individuals must remain at the social level of
their birth throughout life. In caste systems, there is no social mobility because intermarriage
among castes is generally forbidden and castes are segregated from each other in social, economic,
and political spheres. Class systems are fluid, and unlike the other types of strata, classes are not
established by legal or religious provisions. Class positions are in part achieved, although race and
gender matter, and are often economically based. There is a much greater chance for social
mobility in class societies, but factors that individuals do not have control over, such as race and
gender, can often impede their social mobility. The class system best describes the United States
because there is social mobility within the United States. However, factors out of the control of
individuals, such as race and class, often determine their access to economic resources, which are
the foundation of social mobility in a class system.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification? MSC: Analyzing
2. According to the textbook, what three main characteristics do social systems of stratification
share? Provide an example of each.
ANS:
To answer this question, students should know the characteristics common to all systems of social
stratification. One is that the rankings apply to social categories of people who share a common
characteristic, such as gender or ethnicity. An example is that women may be ranked differently
from men, white people differently from black, and wealthy people differently from poor. The
categories are the meaningful aspects of the ranking. Another characteristic is that people’s life
experiences and opportunities depend heavily on how their social category is ranked. For example,
being male or female, black or white, and upper class or working class makes a big difference in
terms of one’s life chances—often as big a difference as personal effort or good fortune. The third
characteristic is that the ranks of different social categories tend to change very slowly over time.
In U.S. society, for example, only in the past forty years have women begun to achieve economic
equality with men. Similarly, only since the 1970s have significant numbers of African Americans
begun to obtain economic and political equality with whites—even though slavery was abolished
nearly a century and a half ago and discrimination was declared illegal in the 1950s and 1960s.
Specific examples for each characteristic can vary.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification? MSC: Analyzing
3. Whose explanation of social stratification do you think best describes the United States today: Karl
Marx’s, Max Weber’s, or Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore’s? Justify your answer in a short
paragraph.
ANS:
For students to provide a convincing argument regarding why the United States fits into one of
these models, they should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the theorist they chose. For
Marx, the term class refers to people who stand in a common relationship to the means of
production—the means by which they gain a livelihood. Marx believed there were two main
classes: capitalists, or those who own the means of production, and those who earn their living by
selling their labor to capitalists—the working class. The relationship between classes, according to
Marx, is an exploitative one. Marx saw the economic system as the basis for stratification in
society. Weber agreed that the economic system was important, but he felt that it was not only how
people were related to the means of production that mattered but also the skills they had to market
themselves. Weber also believed that noneconomic factors—such as status and prestige—mattered
and could be positive or negative for a person. In other words, someone such as a movie actor
could have a high economic class position but low social status. Both Marx and Weber recognized
that the system of stratification, whether it was derived from economic or social status, was based
on power relationships. Davis and Moore differed from Marx and Weber in that they argued that
stratification has benefits for society. They claimed that certain positions or roles in society, such
as brain surgeons, are functionally more important than others, and these positions require special
skills for their performance. However, only a limited number of individuals in any society have the
talents or experience appropriate to these positions. To attract the most qualified people, rewards
such as money, power, and prestige need to be offered. Davis and Moore determined that because
the benefits of different positions in any society must be unequal, all societies must be stratified.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification? MSC: Evaluating
4. Answer the following questions in a few sentences. What is the difference between income and
wealth? How are income and wealth related?
ANS:
To answer these questions, students must begin by defining the terms income and wealth. Income
refers to wages and salaries earned from paid occupations, plus unearned money (or interest) from
investments. Wealth refers to all assets individuals own: cash; savings and checking accounts;
investments in stocks, bonds, and real estate properties; and so on. While most people earn their
income from their work, the wealthy often derive the bulk of theirs from interest on their
investments, some of them inherited. Some scholars argue that wealth—not income—is the real
indicator of social class. Income can be based on one’s earnings from work but also from wealth.
Sociologists argue that wealth is more important than income in determining one’s social position
because wealth accumulates over generations and can become the starting point for the next
generation. In fact, economists estimate that more than half of the wealth that a person accumulates
in a lifetime can be traced to that person’s progenitors.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.2 How Is Social Class Defined in the United States?
MSC: Analyzing
5. Answer the following question in three to five sentences. How has the distribution of income in the
United States changed over the past thirty years? Apply one of the stratification theories discussed
in the chapter to explain the reason for this change.
ANS:
Students should begin by explaining that income inequality reveals a clear case of the haves and
have-nots. In 2012, the top 5 percent of households in the United States received 22.3 percent of
total income; the top 20 percent obtained 50.1 percent; and the bottom 20 percent received only 3.2
percent. Between 1977 and 2012, income inequality increased dramatically. The average
household earnings, meaning the combined incomes of all people living in a single household, of
the bottom 20 percent of people in the United States remained nearly unchanged, and during the
same period, the richest 20 percent saw incomes grow by 48 percent. For the richest 5 percent of
the population, income rose by more than 70 percent. This unequal growth in income happened
despite the growth of the economy and millions of new jobs, as these trends continued throughout
the 1990s and into the new century. Some observers see the United States as a two-tiered society.
Students can apply any of the theories in the chapter to explain the inequality in income: Karl
Marx, Max Weber, Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore, culture of poverty, or structural
explanations.
DIF: Difficult
MSC: Applying
6.
In a short paragraph, answer the following questions: What are the differences in average income
and wealth between whites, African Americans, and Latinos? What are the sociological
explanations for why these gaps exist?
ANS:
To answer this question, students should begin by explaining the differences and then a few of the
reasons that these differences exist. According to the textbook, there are substantial differences in
income based on race and ethnicity. Black and Latino household income, for example, averages
between two-thirds and three-quarters that of whites. The situation has, however, worsened over
the past decade. While the average income of whites has been rising consistently, that of blacks
and Latinos has been declining. One of the main reasons for the inequality is that minorities in the
United States are more likely to hold the lowest-paying jobs. For Latinos, however, the inequality
has worsened, because recent immigrants from rural areas in Mexico and Central America find
themselves working at low-wage jobs. For blacks, there is a slight improvement over previous
years because a growing number of blacks have gone to college and moved into middle-class
occupations. However, the wealth gap between blacks and whites is even greater than the income
gap. While blacks on average earned two-thirds as much as whites, their net worth was only
one-tenth as much, and when blacks attained educational or occupational levels comparable to that
of whites, the wealth gap still did not disappear. One explanation for this is that blacks in the
United States have encountered many barriers to acquiring wealth throughout history. After the
Civil War ended slavery in 1865, legal discrimination (such as mandatory segregation in the South
and separate schools) tied the majority of blacks to the lowest rungs of the economic ladder. The
Civil Rights Act of 1964 made racial discrimination illegal; nonetheless, discrimination has
remained, and although some blacks have moved into middle-class occupations, many have
remained poor or in low-wage jobs where the opportunities for accumulating wealth are
nonexistent. Students’ answers will vary but should include a discussion of occupational
segregation and discrimination.
DIF: Difficult
MSC: Analyzing
7. Do you think you will experience intragenerational mobility in your lifetime? In two to four
sentences, consider why or why not. Be sure to mention at least one sociological explanation of
mobility in your answer.
ANS:
Students might mention the two studies on the relationship between parents’ background and an
individual’s social mobility. The first one, by Peter Blau and Otis Dudley Duncan, argues that a
child’s educational attainment is influenced by family social status, and this, in turn, affects the
child’s social position later in life. Second, Pierre Bourdieu’s study emphasizes the importance of
family background to social status, but his emphasis is on the cultural advantages that parents can
provide to their children. Bourdieu argued that among the factors responsible for social status, the
most important is the transmission of cultural capital, or the cultural advantages that coming from a
good home confer. Wealthier families are able to afford to send their children to better schools, an
economic advantage that benefits the children’s social status as adults. Parents from the upper and
middle classes are mostly highly educated themselves and tend to be more involved in their
children’s education—reading to them, helping with homework, purchasing books and learning
materials, and encouraging their progress. Bourdieu noted that working-class parents are
concerned about their children’s education, but they lack the economic and cultural capital to make
a difference. After explaining these studies, students should explain how they think their own
parents’ educational backgrounds will affect their social mobility.
DIF: Difficult
MSC: Evaluating
8. In two to three sentences, describe the working poor. What is one explanation for why those who
are working are still in poverty?
ANS:
To answer this question, students must start by explaining who the working poor are. The working
poor are people who work at least twenty-seven weeks a year but whose earnings are not high
enough to lift them above poverty. Most poor people, contrary to popular belief, do not receive
welfare payments, because they earn too much to qualify. Only 5 percent of all low-income
families with a full-time, full-year worker receive welfare benefits, and over half rely on public
health insurance rather than employer-sponsored insurance. The working poor are
disproportionately nonwhite and immigrant. One of the explanations for why those who are
working may still remain in poverty is the federal minimum wage. As of January 2016, the
minimum wage was $10.50 per hour, although individual states can set higher minimum wages
than the federal standard. Although the federal minimum wage has increased over the years since it
was created in 1965, it has failed to keep up with inflation. This means that people who work may
not earn enough to take care of their basic needs.
DIF: Difficult REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?

MSC: Analyzing
9. In one to two sentences, explain how the official definition of poverty is calculated. Based on what
you read in the text, how do sociologists distinguish some of the problems with this way of
calculating poverty today?
ANS:
The U.S. government calculates the poverty level based on cost estimates for a strict, no-frills
budget for families of different sizes. Some critics believe it overestimates the amount of poverty.
They point out that the current standard fails to take into account noncash forms of income
available to the poor, such as food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, and public housing subsidies, as
well as under-the-table pay that is obtained from work at odd jobs and is concealed from the
government. Other critics counter that the government’s formula greatly underestimates the
amount of poverty, because it overemphasizes the proportion of a family budget spent on food and
severely underestimates the share spent on housing. According to some estimates, poor families
today may spend as much as three-quarters of their income on housing alone. Still others observe
that this formula dramatically underestimates the proportion of older adults (age sixty-five and
older) who live in poverty, because they spend a relatively small proportion of their income on
food but face high health-care costs.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?

MSC: Analyzing
10. In three to four sentences, consider why sociologists say we are seeing the feminization of
poverty?
ANS:
Students may start by defining the feminization of poverty, which describes an increase in the
proportion of the poor who are female. Growing rates of divorce, separation, and single-parent
families have placed women at a particular disadvantage because it is extremely difficult for
unskilled or semiskilled, low-income, poorly educated women to raise children by themselves
while they hold jobs that could raise them out of poverty. As a result, in 2014, 31 percent of all
single-parent female-headed families were poor, compared to only 6 percent of married couples
with children. An estimated 40 percent of female-headed Hispanic and African American families
live in poverty, considerably higher than either white (24 percent) or Asian (18 percent)
female-headed households. One of the reasons that there is a high rate of poverty among single
mothers is that a single woman attempting to raise children alone is caught in a vicious cycle. If
she has a job, she must find someone to take care of her children because she cannot afford to hire
a babysitter or pay for day care. From her standpoint, she will take in more money if she accepts
welfare payments from the government and tries to find illegal part-time jobs that pay cash not
reported to the government rather than find a regular full-time job paying minimum wage. Even
though welfare will not get her out of poverty, a regular job means she will lose her welfare, and
she and her family may be even worse off economically.
DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?

MSC: Analyzing

Essentials of Sociology 6th Edition Giddens Test Bank

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Essentials of Sociology 6th Edition Giddens Test Bank

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Essentials of Sociology 6th Edition

Giddens Test Bank

1. In systems of stratification, people are typically ranked by:

5. Which of the following is an example of a caste system?

38. Which of the following is an example of social mobility?

39. Intergenerational mobility is best described as when:

a. dependency culture c. tuition capital

44. Which of the following is an example of downward mobility?

46. How does the government determine the poverty line?

49. What is meant by the phrase feminization of poverty?

DIF: Moderate REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification? MSC: Analyzing

DIF: Moderate REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification? MSC: Analyzing

DIF: Moderate REF: 7.1 What Is Social Stratification? MSC: Evaluating

DIF: Difficult REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?

DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?

DIF: Moderate REF: 7.4 How Does Poverty Affect Individuals?

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