Ch. 9: Social Stratification in the United States

Which of these systems allows for the most social mobility?

• Caste

• Monarchy

• Meritocracy

• Class

Which person best illustrates opportunities for upward social mobility in the United States?

• First-shift factory worker

• First-generation college student

• Firstborn son who inherits the family business

• First-time interviewee who is hired for a job

Which statement illustrates low status consistency?

• A suburban family lives in a modest ranch home and enjoys a nice vacation each summer

• A single mother receives food stamps and struggles to find adequate employment.

• A college dropout launches an online company that earns millions in its first year

• A celebrity actor owns homes in three countries.

Based on meritocracy, a physician’s assistant would:

• receive the same pay as all the other physician’s assistants

• be considered a member of the upper class

• most likely marry a professional at the same level

• earn a pay raise for doing excellent work

In the United States, most people define themselves as:

• middle class

• upper class

• lower class

• no specific class

The behaviors, customs, and norms associated with a class are known as:

• class traits

• power

• prestige

• underclass

Which of the following scenarios is an example of intragenerational mobility?

• A janitor belongs to the same social class as his grandmother did.

• An executive belongs to a different class than her parents.

• An editor shares the same social class as his cousin.

• A lawyer belongs to a different class than her sister.

Occupational prestige means that jobs are:

• all equal in status

• not equally valued

• assigned to a person for life

• not part of a person’s self-identity

How do traditional models of global stratification breakdown different categories of countries?

• They analyze the degree of industrialization.

• They evaluate cultural norms and social goals.

• They measure social mobility between classes.

• They use measures to assess the economic power each nation

Which event created a significant divide between Western Europe/America and the rest of the world?

• The Industrial Revolution

• The American Revolution

• The Reformation

• World War I