Social Stratification

Which of the following best describes social stratification?

• The belief that one's own hard work will dictate one's mobility

• The system in which society categorizes people and ranks them in a hierarchy

• The ability to move up or down in a society

• The inability to move up or down in a society, fixed position based on ascribed status

Which is not a kind of social mobility?

• Diagonal

• Horizontal

• Vertical

• None of these

Which is an example of structural mobility?

• The son of a plumber going to medical school

• A waitress leaving her job for another restaurant

• A college student who is the first person in their family to go to college

• Women's status in society improving as a result of changing attitudes about women's rights

Answer explanation

Structural mobility is when many people move around the hierarchy because of larger social changes.

Which general American belief reflects the fact that society's cultural beliefs tell us how to categorize people and also define inequalities as being normal or even fair?

• Doctor's deserve higher status and wealth because of their education

• Most poor people are in poverty because they do not want to work

• American society provides plenty of opportunity for everyone to become successful if people work hard enough

• All of the above

Which is NOT an example of a closed system, in which there is little to no opportunity for social mobility?

• The estate system in Feudal Europe

• America's Meritocracy

• The caste system in India

• Apartheid in South Africa

Answer explanation

In theory, the Meritocracy is supposed to be open and place hierarchy solely on a person's merits.

Meritocracy is a system based on a person's ascribed statuses.

• True

• False

What is Meritocracy?

• A system where social mobility is based on a personal merit

• A system where social mobility is based on a person's ascribed statuses.

• A closed system in which people cannot move horizontally or vertically

• A system in which social mobility is based completely on a person's occupation

Which is an example of status inconsistency?

• Doctors: high education, high pay

• Fast food workers: Low education, low pay

• Adjunct professor: High education, low pay

• None of these

Answer explanation

Status inconsistency is a situation in where a person's social position has both positive and negative influences on their social status

Socioeconomic status is based on which of the following three things? (Select ALL that apply)

• Income

• Political beliefs

• Occupational prestige

• Education

Which is the definition of status?

• A position in society or a group

• an expected set of behaviors, based on a particular role that one plays

• when a person has trouble meeting the many roles connected to a single status

• When a person experiences the clashes of expectations related to multiple statuses