Essentials Of Sociology 5th Edition By Giddens – Richard P. Appelbaum -Test Bank A+

Description

1. The term used to describe modes of action that do not conform to the norms or values held by most members of a group or society is:

a.	anomie
b.	alienation
c.	conformity
d.	social construction
e.	deviance

ANS: E DIF: Easy REF: Page 165 TOP: Defining Deviance (I.A)

MSC: Factual

1. According to your textbook authors, which statement concerning deviance is NOT true?

a.	All law breakers are deviants in all social contexts.
b.	Some people choose to be deviant.
c.	Some people are deviant because they are incapable of following the rules.
d.	Most of us, on some occasions, violate generally accepted rules of behavior.
e.	We are all rule creators.

ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 164–66

TOP: Defining Deviance (I.A) MSC: Conceptual

1. Which of the following statements concerning hackers is true?

a.	Hackers now have a largely positive public reputation.
b.	Hackers see themselves as criminals.
c.	Most activities that hackers engage in are criminal.
d.	The hacker community largely agrees with how it is perceived by the public.
e.	Kevin Mitnick has been described as the “world’s most celebrated computer hacker.”

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 166 TOP: Defining Deviance (I.A)

MSC: Factual

1. A subculture whose members hold values that differ substantially from those of the majority is called:

a.	a social control group
b.	a deviant subculture
c.	a median subculture
d.	a normative subculture
e.	an aggregate

ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 166 TOP: Deviant Subcultures (I.B)

MSC: Factual

1. What did the Heaven’s Gate cult and the computer hacker community have in common?

a.	Both are religious groups.
b.	Both groups believed that the end of the world is near.
c.	Both groups struggled financially.
d.	Both groups restricted their membership to men.
e.	Both groups are considered deviant subcultures.

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 166 TOP: Deviant Subcultures (I.B)

MSC: Factual

1. The term that describes rules of conduct that specify appropriate behavior in a given range of situations is:

a.	value
b.	belief
c.	sanction
d.	norm
e.	institutionalization

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 164 TOP: Norms and Sanctions (I.C)

MSC: Factual

1. A mode of reward or punishment that reinforces socially expected forms of behavior is called a:

a.	conditioned response
b.	symbolic response
c.	sanction
d.	norm
e.	deviation

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 167 TOP: Norms and Sanctions (I.C)

MSC: Factual

1. A veteran police officer’s criticism of a rookie police officer for not acting aggressively enough during an altercation with a suspect is an example of a:

a.	positive formal sanction
b.	negative formal sanction
c.	positive informal sanction
d.	negative informal sanction
e.	legal sanction

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 167 TOP: Norms and Sanctions (I.C)

MSC: Applied

1. __________ are norms defined by governments as principles that their citizens must follow; a __________ is any type of behavior that violates these norms.

a.	Laws; crime
b.	Informal codes; breach
c.	Taboos; sin
d.	Guidelines; deviation
e.	Negative reinforcements; positive reinforcement

ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 167 TOP: Norms and Sanctions (I.C)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following statements related to the biological view of deviance is true?

a.	Some of the first attempts to explain crime emphasized biological factors.
b.	Cesare Lombroso’s claims have been supported by a large body of subsequent research.
c.	Nearly all studies claiming a relationship between body type and delinquency have used samples that are representative of the general population.
d.	A correlation between body type and delinquency shows that one’s body type “causes” criminal behavior.
e.	Fragile-looking skinny children almost never engage in delinquent behavior.

ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Page 168 TOP: Biological View (II.A)

MSC: Conceptual

1. Referring to the recent study mentioned in your textbook of New Zealand children that investigated whether a child’s propensity for aggression was linked to biological factors present at birth, with which statement would those researchers most likely agree?

a.	There is no such thing as genes; it is a social construction.
b.	There is no such thing as a genetic predisposition.
c.	There are genetic predispositions, but they have no impact on human behavior.
d.	A baby with a genetic predisposition for alcoholism would not likely become a problem drinker if his or her social environment provided few opportunities to drink.
e.	There is a genetic predisposition for alcoholism that will cause those with that predisposition to become alcoholics, regardless of environment.

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 168 TOP: Biological View (II.A)

MSC: Applied

1. Which of the following statements is NOT true about psychopaths?

a.	Psychopaths are withdrawn, emotionless characters who delight in violence for its own sake.
b.	Psychopaths lack the moral sense and concern for others held by most normal people.
c.	Psychopaths are inevitably criminal.
d.	People with psychopathic characteristics might be explorers, spies, or gamblers.
e.	Nearly all studies of people said to possess psychopathic characteristics have been of convicted prisoners.

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 168–69

TOP: Psychological View (II.B) MSC: Conceptual

1. Theorizing that terrorists have a certain personality profile is an example of which view of deviance?

a.	biological view
b.	psychological view
c.	sociological view
d.	evolutionary view
e.	rational choice view

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 169 TOP: Psychological View (II.B)

MSC: Applied

1. Which of the following disciplines does NOT place the source of deviant behavior within an individual?

a.	neuroscience
b.	genetics
c.	biology
d.	psychology
e.	sociology

ANS: E DIF: Easy REF: Page 169

TOP: Sociological Perspectives on Deviance (III) MSC: Applied

1. Which of the following statements does NOT represent the sociological perspective on deviance?

a.	Behavior varies according to social context.
b.	Definitions of deviance vary based on social context.
c.	Crime depends on the social institutions of a society.
d.	Crime results from lack of moral regulation within society.
e.	Crime is a personal choice that is not shaped by social context.

ANS: E DIF: Difficult REF: Page 169

TOP: Sociological Perspectives on Deviance (III) MSC: Conceptual

1. A concept brought into wide usage in sociology by Émile Durkheim, __________ refers to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior.

a.	egoism
b.	altruism
c.	fatalism
d.	anomie
e.	postmodernism

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 169 TOP: Émile Durkheim (III.A.i)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following statements would Émile Durkheim DISAGREE with?

a.	People in the modern age are highly controlled by social expectations.
b.	Deviance is necessary for society.
c.	Deviance can contribute to the stability of society.
d.	Deviance in an innovative force.
e.	Deviance promotes boundary maintenance.

ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Page 170 TOP: Émile Durkheim (III.A.i)

MSC: Conceptual

1. According to Robert Merton, at a time when society as a whole is becoming more affluent, why do crime rates continue to rise?

a.	a sense of relative deprivation among those at the bottom
b.	inadequate socialization of the poor
c.	the rise of deviant subcultures
d.	the ability of communities to afford more police officers
e.	the presence of more material goods to steal

ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 171 TOP: Robert Merton (III.A.ii)

MSC: Factual

1. In Robert Merton’s typology, drug dealers would be:

a.	conformists
b.	innovators
c.	ritualists
d.	retreatists
e.	rebels

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 170 TOP: Robert Merton (III.A.ii)

MSC: Applied

1. In Robert Merton’s typology, the majority of people in society are:

a.	conformists
b.	innovators
c.	ritualists
d.	retreatists
e.	rebels

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 170 TOP: Robert Merton (III.A.ii)

MSC: Applied

1. Which researcher found that boys in the lower working class who are frustrated with their positions in life often joined together in delinquent subcultures that rejected middle-class values and replaced them with norms that celebrate defiance?

a.	Albert Cohen
b.	Robert Merton
c.	Émile Durkheim
d.	Kingsley Davis
e.	Talcott Parsons

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 172

TOP: Subcultural Explanations (III.A.iii) MSC: Factual

1. A survey of homeless youth in Canada shows a strong correlation between hunger, lack of shelter, and unemployment, on the one hand, and theft, prostitution, and even violent crime on the other. Whose theory of delinquency would best explain this relationship?

a.	Émile Durkheim
b.	Richard A. Cloward and Lloyd E. Ohlin
c.	Edwin H. Sutherland
d.	Travis Hirschi
e.	Howard Becker

ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Page 172

TOP: Subcultural Explanations (III.A.iii) MSC: Conceptual

1. Which theory proposes that we become deviant when exposed to a higher level of deviant persons and influences, compared to conventional influences?

a.	anomie theory
b.	strain theory
c.	differential association theory
d.	control theory
e.	labeling theory

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 173

TOP: Differential Association (III.B.i) MSC: Factual

1. According to differential association theory, who is more likely to be a delinquent?

a.	a poor person whose friends do not commit crime
b.	a middle-class person whose friends frequently commit crime
c.	a person with high aspirations but few opportunities
d.	a person with low aspirations but many opportunities
e.	a person who has been labeled a delinquent

ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Page 173

TOP: Differential Association (III.B.i) MSC: Applied

1. Which theory views crime as the outcome of an imbalance between impulses toward criminal activity and controls that deter it?

a.	anomie theory
b.	strain theory
c.	differential association theory
d.	control theory
e.	labeling theory

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 173 TOP: Control Theory (III.B.ii)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following statements is NOT reflective of control theory?

a.	You have a strong attachment to friends who value good grades and hard work, therefore you value good grades and hard work.
b.	You are a high school dropout, so you have little to lose by being arrested.
c.	School and work keep you constantly busy, so you have little time to spend engaged in deviant activities.
d.	You believe in honesty and hard work.
e.	You engage in deviance as a political act.

ANS: E DIF: Difficult REF: Page 173 TOP: Control Theory (III.B.ii)

MSC: Applied

1. Which theory would Karl Marx agree with the most?

a.	strain theory
b.	differential association theory
c.	control theory
d.	conflict theory
e.	labeling theory

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 173 TOP: Conflict Theory (III.C)

MSC: Conceptual

1. From the perspective of the new criminology, laws:

a.	are neutral
b.	are applied evenly across the population
c.	are used by the powerful to maintain their own privileged positions
d.	protect the working class from being exploited by the capitalist elite
e.	are social constructions that emerge through democratic processes

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 174 TOP: Conflict Theory (III.C)

MSC: Factual

1. From the perspective of labeling theory, deviance is seen as:

a.	a process of interaction between deviants and nondeviants
b.	a set of characteristics of individuals or groups
c.	freely chosen
d.	a component of personality
e.	an act that is universally wrong

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 174 TOP: Labeling Theory (III.D)

MSC: Factual

1. Two groups of boys, one working class and the other middle class, engage in equal amounts of delinquent activities. One group is considered “just boys being boys,” and the other is considered “troublemakers.” Which of the following theories best explains this difference?

a.	strain theory
b.	differential association theory
c.	control theory
d.	conflict theory
e.	labeling theory

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 174 TOP: Labeling Theory (III.D)

MSC: Applied

1. Fifteen-year-old Diego is arrested and spends thirty days in juvenile detention. He begins to see himself as a delinquent while there. When he is released, he commits more crimes. The crimes that he commits after being released would be considered by Edwin Lemert as:

a.	primary deviance
b.	secondary deviance
c.	tertiary deviance
d.	anomic deviance
e.	structural strain deviance

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 175 TOP: Labeling Theory (III.D)

MSC: Applied

1. Which of the following statements concerning the Uniform Crime Reports is NOT true?

a.	The reports contain official data reported to law enforcement agencies.
b.	The reports focus on “index crimes.”
c.	The reports accurately reflect crime rates.
d.	The reports include only those crimes reported to law enforcement agencies.
e.	The reports exclude fraud and embezzlement.

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 176

TOP: Sources of Crime Data (IV.A) MSC: Factual

1. The National Crime Victimization Survey has found that crime rates are:

a.	functional, serving many positive functions
b.	social constructions
c.	actually higher than those reported by official agencies
d.	actually lower than those reported by official agencies
e.	about the same as those reported by official agencies, confirming the accuracy of those reports

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Pages 177–78

TOP: Sources of Crime Data (IV.A) MSC: Factual

1. Violent crime is more common:

a.	in suburbs than in cities or small towns
b.	in small towns than in cities or suburbs
c.	today than in the early 1990s
d.	in the United States than in Switzerland
e.	in countries where handguns and other firearms are banned

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 178 TOP: Crime Trends (IV.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Which factor was NOT mentioned in your textbook as contributing to the decline of crime rates in the 1990s?

a.	aggressive law enforcement
b.	a declining market for crack cocaine
c.	the stigmatization of crack among young urban dwellers
d.	the booming economy of the 1990s
e.	changes in welfare laws

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 178 TOP: Crime Trends (IV.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following statements concerning victims and perpetrators of crime is true?

a.	Men are more likely to be victims and perpetrators of crime compared to women.
b.	Older persons are more likely to be victims and perpetrators of crime compared to young persons.
c.	Whites are more likely to be victims and perpetrators of crime compared to African Americans.
d.	Residents of the suburbs are more likely to be victims and perpetrators of crime compared to inner-city residents.
e.	There are no gender, age, race, or residential area differences in rates of victimization or perpetration.

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 180 TOP: Gender and Crime (V.A)

MSC: Factual

1. In 2009, what percent of people in jail were men?

a.	12.2 percent
b.	30.3 percent
c.	45.4 percent
d.	67.5 percent
e.	87.8 percent

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 181 TOP: Gender and Crime (V.A)

MSC: Factual

1. At what age is a person most likely to be arrested for a crime?

a.	10 or 11
b.	13 or 14
c.	18 or 19
d.	25 or 26
e.	35 or 36

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 182 TOP: Youth and Crime (V.B)

MSC: Conceptual

1. Which of the following statements concerning youth and crime is NOT true?

a.	As young people gradually transition into adulthood, they acquire social attachments and commitments that make “conventional” behavior rewarding.
b.	Most youthful deviants go on to become career criminals.
c.	Trends in drug use have shifted away from hard drugs such as heroin and toward combinations of substances such as amphetamines, prescription drugs like OxyContin, alcohol, and the drug ecstasy.
d.	Taking illegal drugs is often defined in racial, class, and cultural terms.
e.	When crack cocaine appeared in the 1980s, it was quickly defined by the media as the drug of choice for black, inner-city kids who listened to hip-hop.

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 182 TOP: Youth and Crime (V.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Crime typically carried out by people in the more affluent sectors of society is called:

a.	organized crime
b.	white-collar crime
c.	serial crime
d.	index crime
e.	negligent crime

ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 184 TOP: White-Collar Crime (VI.A)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following statements concerning white-collar crime is NOT true?

a.	The amount of money involved in crimes against property (robberies, burglaries, larceny, forgeries, and car thefts) is forty times greater than the amount involved in white-collar crimes.
b.	Authorities regard white-collar crime in a more tolerant light than crimes of the less privileged.
c.	Rarely do people caught committing white-collar crime go to jail.
d.	The manufacture or sale of dangerous products is a type of white-collar crime.
e.	Illegal environmental pollution is a type of white-collar crime.

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 184–85

TOP: White-Collar Crime (VI.A) MSC: Factual

1. Offenses committed by large corporations in society are called:

a.	elite crime
b.	bureaucratic crime
c.	corporate crime
d.	crime syndicate
e.	index crime

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 186 TOP: Corporate Crime (VI.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following is NOT an example of corporate crime?

a.	A pesticide company dumps pollutants into the local river.
b.	A food manufacturer puts false nutrition information on its product labels.
c.	An automobile company manufactures and knowingly sells an SUV that rolls over easily.
d.	Corporate executives lie about their company’s profits.
e.	An organized crime group engages in sex trafficking.

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 186 TOP: Corporate Crime (VI.B)

MSC: Applied

1. Forms of activity that have some of the characteristics of orthodox business but are illegal are called:

a.	white-collar crime
b.	corporate crime
c.	index crime
d.	organized crime
e.	bureaucratic crime

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 186 TOP: Organized Crime (VI.C)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following is an example of organized crime described by Manuel Castells?

a.	Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme
b.	heroin networks that stretch across Asia
c.	prison gangs
d.	inner-city youth gangs
e.	trainers who provide athletes with steroids

ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Page 187 TOP: Organized Crime (VI.C)

MSC: Applied

1. Which of the following countries has the highest incarceration rate?

a.	China
b.	Japan
c.	France
d.	Mexico
e.	United States

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 189 TOP: Prisons (VII.A)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following factors would sociologists consider to be LEAST related to crime?

a.	widespread poverty
b.	the conditions of the inner cities
c.	the structure of society
d.	the deteriorating life circumstances of many young men
e.	the rising prison population

ANS: E DIF: Difficult REF: Page 187 | Page 190

TOP: Prisons (VII.A) MSC: Conceptual

1. Which of the following best describes Americans’ beliefs about capital punishment?

a.	The majority of Americans have always supported capital punishment.
b.	The majority of Americans have always opposed capital punishment.
c.	Most adults supported capital punishment in 2010.
d.	Most adults supported capital punishment in 1965.
e.	Fewer Americans support capital punishment today than a generation ago.

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 188 TOP: Prisons (VII.A)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following statements about prisons is true?

a.	The cost to keep a prisoner in the federal prison system for one is year is very low, about $6,000 per year.
b.	Spending time in prison makes it unlikely that the ex-felon will ever commit another crime.
c.	Spending time in prison often makes the ex-felon a more hardened criminal.
d.	The average convict serves most of his sentence.
e.	Most African American men are either in prison or otherwise under the control of the penal system.

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 187–88

TOP: The Impact of Spending Time in Prison (VII.B) MSC: Factual

1. An experiment by sociologist Devah Pager showed that __________ is least likely to be hired.

a.	a white man with no criminal record
b.	a white man with a criminal record
c.	a black man with no criminal record
d.	a black man with a criminal record
e.	none of the above; there was no difference among the four groups

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 190–91

TOP: The Impact of Spending Time in Prison (VII.B) MSC: Factual

1. Traditionally, police work involved controlling crime. Increasingly, however, police officers are:

a.	deviants who are committing rather than preventing crime
b.	corrections officers who are herding criminals to prison
c.	knowledge workers who are mapping and predicting risk within the population
d.	safety patrollers who are guarding the health and welfare of citizens
e.	security guards who are a visible presence but ineffective

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 191 TOP: Policing (VII.C)

MSC: Factual

1. In the example given in the textbook about a car accident in Ontario, Canada, to which group did the police officer have to send information concerning the accident?

a.	the provincial motor registry
b.	the automobile industry
c.	the insurance companies
d.	the public health system
e.	all of the above

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 191 TOP: Policing (VII.C)

MSC: Factual

1. Which theory served as the basis for new policing strategies in the late 1980s and 1990s that aggressively focused on minor crimes such as traffic violations and drinking and using drugs in public?

a.	control theory
b.	broken windows theory
c.	conflict theory
d.	differential association theory
e.	labeling theory

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 192

TOP: Broken Windows Theory (VII.D.i) MSC: Factual

1. Which theory best explains why a neighborhood that had only minor problems such as abandoned cars and graffiti began to see an increase in other more serious types of property crime?

a.	control theory
b.	broken windows theory
c.	conflict theory
d.	differential association theory
e.	labeling theory

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 192

TOP: Broken Windows Theory (VII.D.i) MSC: Applied

1. A renewed emphasis on crime prevention rather than law enforcement to reintegrate policing within the community is called:

a.	organized policing
b.	corporate policing
c.	community policing
d.	target hardening
e.	shaming

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 193

TOP: Community Policing (VII.D.ii) MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following best illustrates community policing?

a.	taking seriously even minor crimes such as public drunkenness
b.	community organizations, government agencies, and businesses working together to help repair urban decay
c.	the installation of burglar alarms
d.	public shaming of offenders
e.	enacting get-tough-on-crime laws

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 193

TOP: Community Policing (VII.D.ii) MSC: Applied

1. The term that describes practical measures used to limit a criminal’s ability to commit crime is:

a.	deviance control
b.	differential associating
c.	broken windows fixing
d.	target hardening
e.	shaming

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 193 TOP: Target Hardening (VII.D.iii)

MSC: Factual

1. Putting locks on mailboxes is an example of:

a.	deviance control
b.	differential control
c.	New Left realism
d.	target hardening
e.	shaming

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 193 TOP: Target Hardening (VII.D.iii)

MSC: Applied

1. Which of the following is NOT a latent consequence of target hardening?

a.	Because the wealthy are protected from crime, there is a declining interest in understanding the causes of crime.
b.	Criminals target less affluent areas that cannot afford the protective measures to combat crime.
c.	A “fortress mentality” develops among the wealthy to shield them from criminals.
d.	The crime rates against the poor and the wealthy widen, with the burden of crime falling disproportionately on the poor.
e.	Target hardening fixes the underlying causes of crime.

ANS: E DIF: Difficult REF: Page 193 TOP: Target Hardening (VII.D.iii)

MSC: Conceptual

1. A way of punishing criminal and deviant behavior based on rituals of public disapproval rather than incarceration is called:

a.	deviance control
b.	differential control
c.	target hardening
d.	outing
e.	shaming

ANS: E DIF: Easy REF: Page 193

TOP: Shaming as Punishment (VII.D.iv) MSC: Factual

1. How might shaming work to rehabilitate an offender?

a.	It locks the offender in a permanent state of shame.
b.	It lets the offender deny any wrongdoing.
c.	It processes the shame in the offender in such a way that social bonds between the offender and the community can be rebuilt.
d.	It processes the shame in the offender such that he or she will be much more fearful of committing another crime.
e.	Shaming only works in collectivist societies such as Japan.

ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: Page 194

TOP: Shaming as Punishment (VII.D.iv) MSC: Conceptual

1. Between 1987 and 2007, the adjusted for inflation spending on corrections increased by:

a.	10 percent
b.	35 percent
c.	65 percent
d.	95 percent
e.	127 percent

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 195 TOP: The Costs of Crime (VIII.A)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following statements concerning the criminal justice system would your textbook authors most DISAGREE with?

a.	The cost of the criminal justice system is increasing.
b.	The number of people behind bars has increased in the past decade.
c.	Few of us are affected by the high cost of crime.
d.	To pay for the high cost of the criminal justice system, taxes may have to be raised.
e.	To pay for the high cost of the criminal justice system, other important social services may have to be cut.

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 195 TOP: The Costs of Crime (VIII.A)

MSC: Conceptual

1. Those who study the functions of deviance would probably NOT refer to which example as a function that deviance performs?

a.	Deviants help us to understand what is considered “right” and “wrong.”
b.	We try very hard to avoid the sanctions that result from doing “wrong.”
c.	We try to avoid deviance so that we will not be treated as social outcasts.
d.	Public punishments prevent us from behaving in a similar way.
e.	Noncriminals learn from experienced criminals how to commit crime.

ANS: E DIF: Difficult REF: Page 195

TOP: The Functions of Deviance (VIII.B) MSC: Conceptual

1. Which of the following is affected by our desire not to be socially ostracized?

a.	the clothes we wear
b.	the hobbies we engage in
c.	the romantic partners we choose
d.	our future careers
e.	all of the above

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 195

TOP: The Functions of Deviance (VIII.B) MSC: Applied

ESSAY

1. How is it possible that a person can be both a conformist and a deviant? Explain using examples.

ANS:

To answer this question, the student must understand the meaning of deviance and how it is socially constructed. Deviance refers to the modes of action that do not conform to the norms or values held by most members of a group or society. However, what is regarded as deviant is as variable as the norms and values that distinguish different cultures and subcultures from one another. Therefore, actions that one group defines as deviant are seen as conforming by another group.

DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 164–66 TOP: Defining Deviance (I.A)

MSC: Conceptual

1. What is the biological view of deviance? What are some of the weaknesses of this approach?

ANS:

To answer this question, the student must explain the biological view of deviance as well as mention its weaknesses. The biological view of deviance emphasizes biological factors in explaining crime, for example, skull or body shape. There are several weaknesses to this approach. The first is methodological. Even if there were a correlation between body type and delinquency, this would not necessarily reveal that someone’s body type “causes” criminal behavior. Second, nearly all studies in this field have been restricted to delinquents in reform schools, and it may be that the tougher, athletic-looking delinquents are more liable to be sent to such schools than fragile-looking, skinny ones. Third, social environment may strengthen or weaken the link between genetics and deviant behavior. For instance, even if a baby were born with a genetic predisposition for alcoholism, that baby would not likely become a problem drinker if his or her social environment provided few opportunities to drink.

DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 167–68 TOP: Biological View (II.A)

MSC: Conceptual

1. Compare and contrast differential association theory with control theory. Which theory do you think better explains crime? Explain.

ANS:

To answer this question, the student must first explain differential association theory and control theory. Differential association theory argues that we learn deviant behavior in precisely the same way we learn about conventional behavior: from our contacts with primary groups, such as peers, family members, and coworkers. The term differential refers to the ratio of deviant to conventional social contacts. We become deviant when exposed to a higher level of deviant persons and influences, compared to conventional influences. In a society that contains a variety of subcultures, some individuals have greater exposure to social environments that encourage illegal activities. Control theory argues that there are four types of bonds that link people to society and law-abiding behavior: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. When sufficiently strong, these four elements help to maintain social control and conformity by rendering people unfree to break rules. If these bonds with society are weak, however, delinquency and deviance may result. The student should then point out that Edwin H. Sutherland’s focus on differential association is similar to Travis Hirschi’s focus on attachment to conventional others. For Sutherland, individuals are more likely to commit crime as they associate with criminals. For Hirschi, individuals are less likely to commit crime as they form attachments with conventional others. The student should also mention that Sutherland’s focus on learning is related to Hirschi’s focus on belief. For Sutherland, individuals are more likely to commit crime as they learn beliefs that tend them toward criminal behaviors. For Hirschi, individuals are less likely to commit crime as they learn beliefs that tend them toward conventional behaviors. The student can then argue which perspective better explains crime. The best answers will argue that which theory is best depends on the type of crime you are trying to understand. Answers will vary; however, research suggests that learning how to be a criminal is the critical intervening variable in predicting criminal behavior, which differential association theory emphasizes more.

DIF: Difficult REF: Page 173 TOP: Sociological Perspectives on Deviance (III)

MSC: Conceptual

1. Compare and contrast labeling theory with the new criminology perspective. Which theory do you think better explains crime? Explain.

ANS:

To answer this question, the student should first explain labeling theory and the new criminology approach. Labeling theory begins from the assumption that no act is intrinsically deviant. Rather, to be “deviant,” one must be labeled as such. In the case of criminal activity, definitions of criminality are established by the powerful through the formulation of laws and their interpretation by police, courts, and correctional institutions. Theorists of the new criminology frame their analysis of crime and deviance in terms of the structure of society and the preservation of power among the ruling class. They reject the idea that laws are neutral and are applied evenly across the population. Instead, they claim that as inequalities increase between the ruling class and the working class, law becomes an ever more important instrument for the powerful to maintain order. The powerful also break laws but are rarely caught. The student should mention that both theories focus on the role of the powerful. The student can then argue which perspective better explains crime. The best answers will argue that which theory is best depends on the type of crime you are trying to understand.

DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 173–75

TOP: Sociological Perspectives on Deviance (III) MSC: Conceptual

1. How does Robert Merton explain crime? How would Merton explain the crimes committed in the inner city?

ANS:

To answer this question, the student must explain Merton’s strain theory and apply it to the inner city. According to Merton, in American society, generally held values emphasize material success, and the means of achieving success are supposed to be self-discipline and hard work. Accordingly, it is believed that people who work hard can succeed no matter what their starting point in life. This idea is not in fact valid, because most people in the inner city have very few conventional opportunities for advancement, such as high-quality education. Yet those who do not “succeed” find themselves condemned for their apparent inability to make material progress. Therefore, in the inner city, there is great pressure to try to get ahead by any means, legitimate or illegitimate.

DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 170–71 TOP: Robert Merton (III.A.ii)

MSC: Applied

1. Compare the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) with victimization surveys such as the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Which method gives a better indication of the level of crime in the United States?

ANS:

To answer this question, the student must explain how the UCR collect data and how the NCVS collects data. The UCR contain official data on crime that is reported to law enforcement agencies across the country, who then provide the data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The NCVS interviews households across the country to find out how many members were the victims of particular crimes during the previous six months. This procedure has confirmed that the overall rate of crime is higher than reported in the UCR. Thus, the NCVS gives a better indication of the level of crime in the United States.

DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 176–78

TOP: Sources of Crime Data (IV.A) MSC: Factual

1. Apply control theory to explain why people in their late teens are more likely to commit crime than older people.

ANS:

Control theory has been used to explain this pattern, called the age-crime curve. As young people gradually transition into adulthood, they acquire those social attachments and commitments that make “conventional” behavior rewarding. As they marry, have children, find jobs, and set up their own homes, the “cost” of deviance is high; rational actors would not want to risk losing their families and homes and thus avoid deviant acts.

DIF: Moderate REF: Page 182 TOP: Youth and Crime (V.B)

MSC: Conceptual

1. Why have efforts to significantly decrease the supply of illegal drugs in the United States failed?

ANS:

One reason is that the profit is simply too great. Farmers in Bolivia or Peru, members of the Colombian drug cartels, and low-level street dealers in the United States all receive substantial monetary rewards for their illegal activities. These rewards create a strong incentive to devise ways around antidrug efforts and to run the risk of getting caught. Another reason is that drug traffickers have been able to take advantage of globalization. First, in their attempts to evade the authorities, traffickers make use of all the communications technologies that are available in a global age. Second, the globalization of the financial sector has helped create an infrastructure in which large sums of money can be moved around the world electronically in a matter of seconds, which makes it relatively easy to “launder” drug money (i.e., to make it appear to have come from a legitimate business venture). Third, recent changes in government policy designed to allow the freer flow of persons and legitimate goods across international borders have increased the opportunities for smuggling.

DIF: Moderate REF: Page 185 TOP: Organized Crime (VI.C)

MSC: Conceptual

1. How does crime affect the lives of people who have little contact with the criminal justice system as victim or offender? Explain using examples.

ANS:

Answers will vary. Corporate crime can affect everything, including the quality of the food we eat, the safety of the cars we drive, and the cleanliness of the air we breathe. Our lives also are affected by the high fiscal costs of street crime. Maintaining local, state, and national criminal justice systems is costly. Lawmakers have few options for footing this large bill. In the absence of tax hikes, lawmakers may find themselves forced to cut back on other important social programs that benefit most Americans, including transportation, education, and healthcare.

DIF: Moderate REF: Page 194 TOP: The Costs of Crime (VIII.A)

MSC: Factual

1. Discuss the ways in which deviance is functional. Give examples.

ANS:

To answer this question, the student must explain the various ways in which deviance is functional. First, deviance has an adaptive function. By introducing new ideas and challenges into society, deviance is an innovative force. It brings about change. Second, deviance clarifies social norms and helps us to understand what is considered “right” and “wrong” among our peers, friends, and community members. Third, deviance can contribute to the stability of society. The text gives the example of prostitution contributing to the stability of marriage by providing a sexual outlet that carries less risk of emotional entanglement. Fourth, deviance clarifies what the penalties are, and we conform to avoid the penalties. Most of us know what the punishments are for even minor violations, such as speeding or running a red light. By learning about the fees and punishments levied on those who break the rules, most of us will behave in accordance with the law—to avoid a fate like suspension of a driver’s license or spending a night in jail. Fifth, deviants are often ostracized, and we conform to avoid the same fate. For example, most of us do not want to be socially ostracized, so we may choose clothes, hobbies, romantic partners, and even our future career paths so that we fit in with peers. To be considered “deviant” often means being treated as a social outcast. Sixth, when deviants are publicly punished, it makes us rethink whether it is really worthwhile to try to get away with a crime. Examples students might give for public punishment might include locking horse thieves into “stocks” in town squares and making an adulteress wear a scarlet letter “A” around her neck in the colonial United States or publicizing the names and addresses of registered sex offenders and televising “perp walks” in the contemporary United States. Seventh, a criminal act can ultimately enhance group solidarity and contribute to the stability of society. The student might use Davis’s example of prostitution here. In his classic essay on prostitution, functionalist theorist Kingsley Davis (1937) wrote that prostitution may be illegal, yet it is functional for society because it allows married men to fulfill their sexual urges with a new partner without threatening their marriages. By contrast, a married man who forms an emotional attachment with a woman with whom he is having a “legal” though clandestine extramarital relationship can threaten both his and her marriage. Prostitution, Davis argued, indirectly contributes to the stability of the family.

DIF: Difficult REF: Page 170 | Page 195

TOP: The Functions of Deviance (VIII.B) MSC: Conceptual

CHAPTER 7: Stratification, Class, and Inequality

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Sociologists study ________ when they are looking at the structured inequalities in a society.

a.	social stratification
b.	social disapproval
c.	social inequity
d.	strategic sociality
e.	socialism

ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 200 TOP: Systems of Stratification (I)

MSC: Factual

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

a.	personality
b.	social categories
c.	intelligence
d.	social capital
e.	social identity

ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 200 TOP: Systems of Stratification (I)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following is NOT true of all systems of social stratification?

a.	People are ranked according to social categories such as race and gender.
b.	A person’s life chances are significantly influenced by his or her social category.
c.	Ranks of social categories tend to change slowly over time.
d.	If a person no longer identifies with the other members of his or her category, he or she is no longer classified at that level.
e.	Social rankings reflect social inequality.

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 200 TOP: Systems of Stratification (I)

MSC: Factual

1. According to the textbook, what is the main reason that slavery does not exist in most societies around the world today?

a.	because it is an inefficient economic system
b.	because slaves are too expensive to buy
c.	because human rights became an important concept in industrial societies
d.	because a postindustrial society required a different economic system
e.	because machines displaced slaves

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 201 TOP: Slavery (I.A)

MSC: Factual

1. Today people are taken against their will and forced to work as bricklayers in Pakistan or sex workers in Thailand. These are examples of:

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
e.	a caste system based on gender

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 201 TOP: Slavery (I.A)

MSC: Factual

1. A stratification system in which certain people are owned as property is known as:

a.	capitalism
b.	caste
c.	estates
d.	socialism
e.	slavery

ANS: E DIF: Easy REF: Page 201 TOP: Slavery (I.A)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following is NOT an example of a caste system?

a.	forcing rural women in Thailand into sex work
b.	giving political and economic rights in South Africa only to people who were genetically completely white
c.	forcing children to accept their parents’ status as their own in India
d.	denying all civil rights to blacks in the United States
e.	none of the above; all are examples of caste systems

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 202 TOP: Caste Systems (I.B)

MSC: Applied

1. The caste system of stratification can be best classified as:

a.	an open system in which a person’s intelligence and hard work determine social position
b.	an open system in which individuals can move out of the social position in which they are born
c.	a closed system in which all individuals stay within the social position they are born into
d.	a closed system in which people are able to own other individuals as property
e.	nonexistent in the modern world

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 201 TOP: Caste Systems (I.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Which country has a caste system based on occupation groupings?

a.	India
b.	the United States
c.	South Africa
d.	a and b only
e.	b and c only

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 201 TOP: Caste Systems (I.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Caste systems require that individuals marry within their social group. This is referred to as:

a.	caste marriage
b.	endogamy
c.	social marriage
d.	endomarriage
e.	equal marriage

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 202 TOP: Caste Systems (I.B)

MSC: Factual

1. 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
b.	globalization
c.	the Internet
d.	high divorce rate
e.	spread

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 202 TOP: Caste Systems (I.B)

MSC: Factual

1. In an industrialized society, which term is most often used to analyze stratification?

a.	occupation
b.	slavery
c.	class
d.	caste
e.	status

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 202 TOP: Class (I.C)

MSC: Factual

1. What do sociologists call a large group of people who occupy a similar economic position in society?

a.	workers
b.	laborers
c.	caste
d.	class
e.	owners

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 202 TOP: Class (I.C)

MSC: Factual

1. In class systems, the boundaries between classes are:

a.	stable and very clear-cut
b.	fluid and not very clear-cut
c.	determined and set at birth
d.	based on religion and tradition
e.	mandated by the government

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 202 TOP: Class (I.C)

MSC: Factual

1. Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty and raised by a single mother, yet today she is one of the richest women in America. Her life story demonstrates that in a class system, the social position we are born into affects our life chances, but our class position is also:

a.	based on luck
b.	based on looks
c.	in some part achieved
d.	determined in part by affirmative action for women and racial minorities
e.	unpredictable

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 202 TOP: Life Chances (I.C.i)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following concepts introduced by Max Weber says the idea that your probability of economic success is largely dependent on the social position you are born into?

a.	caste
b.	life course
c.	life chances
d.	status
e.	relations of production

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 202 TOP: Life Chances (I.C.i)

MSC: Factual

1. According to Karl Marx, the working class in industrialized countries would remain poor and live near subsistence level. Marx was right that there would be economic inequality, but he was wrong because today:

a.	in most industrialized countries there are very few poor
b.	most people own the means of production collectively in Western countries
c.	most people in Western countries are better off than they were in Marx’s time
d.	most industrialized countries distribute wealth through social programs
e.	none of the above

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 204 TOP: Karl Marx (II.A)

MSC: Factual

1. According to Karl Marx, a class is made up of people who have the same relationship to the:

a.	means of production
b.	means of employment
c.	means of consumption
d.	government
e.	status system

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 204 TOP: Means of Production (II.A.i)

MSC: Factual

1. 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
b.	producers; consumers
c.	merchants; consumers
d.	the working class; capitalists
e.	employers; employees

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 205 TOP: Capitalists (II.A.ii)

MSC: Factual

1. Workers picking strawberries can pick 100 baskets an hour, but it only costs the employer a value of 20 baskets to pay them their hourly wages. The income the employer collects from the extra baskets is __________, according to Karl Marx.

a.	extra wages
b.	surplus value
c.	wage theft
d.	surplus income
e.	the means of production

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 205 TOP: Surplus Value (II.A.iii)

MSC: Applied

1. According to Karl Marx, because workers produce more than is actually needed to pay them, the relationship between workers and capitalists in an industrial society is:

a.	motivational
b.	easy to negotiate
c.	equal
d.	exploitative
e.	hard to analyze

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 205 TOP: Surplus Value (II.A.iii)

MSC: Factual

1. Max Weber argued that class divisions derive from resources such as people’s:

a.	surplus value
b.	gender
c.	qualifications
d.	last name
e.	income

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 205 TOP: Max Weber (II.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Max Weber believed that __________ are equally as important as class distinctions in understanding social stratification.

a.	status distinctions
b.	power distinctions
c.	ethnic distinctions
d.	gender distinctions
e.	none of the above; according to Weber, class distinctions are the only important factor

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 205 TOP: Status (II.B.i)

MSC: Factual

1. The social honor or prestige that is accorded to individuals by other members of society is referred to as:

a.	status
b.	reputation
c.	social class
d.	fame
e.	pariah

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 205 TOP: Status (II.B.i)

MSC: Factual

1. Paris Hilton is a rich and famous celebrity, but she has little higher education or professional qualification. Max Weber most likely see Paris Hilton as a member of a(n):

a.	capitalist group
b.	uneducated class
c.	contradictory class
d.	deviant group
e.	pariah group

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 205 TOP: Pariah Groups (II.B.ii)

MSC: Applied

1. Which of the following theorists would be most likely to argue that a medical doctor achieved the position solely based on his or her own talent and efforts?

a.	Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore
b.	Max Weber
c.	Karl Marx
d.	Liz Murray
e.	Max Weber and Karl Marx

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 206

TOP: Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore (II.C) MSC: Applied

1. __________ argued that social stratification is functional and ensures that the most talented people fill the roles they are best suited for by rewarding them accordingly.

a.	Karl Marx
b.	Max Weber
c.	Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore
d.	Émile Durkheim
e.	Erik Olin Wright

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 206

TOP: Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore (II.C) MSC: Factual

1. 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.	While income is influenced by race, education, and age, wealth is independent of these variables.
e.	Neither wealth nor income is influenced by race, education, and age.

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 206 TOP: Income (III.A)

MSC: Conceptual

1. Income inequality grew dramatically in the 1970s as the income of the richest 20 percent saw its incomes rise __________, while the poorest 20 percent saw its incomes rise by __________.

a.	60 percent; 15 percent
b.	15 percent; 60 percent
c.	100 percent; 5 percent
d.	75 percent; 25 percent
e.	none of the above; both groups saw their incomes decline

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 206 TOP: Income (III.A)

MSC: Factual

1. The money a person gets from a wage or salary or from investments is __________; the assets an individual owns are __________.

a.	wealth; property
b.	income; wealth
c.	wealth; income
d.	income; income
e.	property; property

ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 206

TOP: Income (III.A) | Wealth (III.B) MSC: Factual

1. Some scholars argue that __________, not __________, is the main determinant of class position.

a.	income; wealth
b.	education; wealth
c.	wealth; income
d.	home ownership; income
e.	education; not income

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 208 TOP: Wealth (III.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Wealth refers to:

a.	the value of one’s home
b.	all the assets an individual owns
c.	how much money one makes in a year
d.	the estimated earnings over one’s life
e.	annual income minus annual debt

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 208 TOP: Wealth (III.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following is a strong predictor of one’s occupation, income, and wealth in later life?

a.	one’s willingness to work hard
b.	the religious background of one’s parents
c.	the performance of the stock market
d.	one’s access to technology, such as the Internet
e.	one’s educational attainment

ANS: E DIF: Easy REF: Page 208 TOP: Education (III.C)

MSC: Factual

1. An economy based on computer and information technology has had what effect on social stratification in recent years?

a.	It has made a college education more expensive.
b.	It has made a college education more accessible.
c.	It has increased the importance and value of a college education in the job market.
d.	It has made it more difficult to attend college.
e.	It has made a college education less expensive.

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 208 TOP: Education (III.C)

MSC: Factual

1. In 2009, which group had the lowest percentage for achievement of a high school diploma at 62 percent?

a.	Latinos
b.	African Americans
c.	whites
d.	Asian Americans
e.	women

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 208 TOP: Education (III.C)

MSC: Factual

1. In studies where individuals were asked to rank the “prestige” of an occupation, they rank jobs that required __________ as having the highest prestige.

a.	the most professional clothing
b.	the most work hours
c.	the most education
d.	the most titles
e.	the most employees

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 210

TOP: Education (III.C) | Occupation (III.D) MSC: Applied

1. Although sociologists agree that there are no clear divisions between classes in the United States, they generally identify __________ classes.

a.	six
b.	four
c.	two
d.	five
e.	three

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 210 TOP: U.S. Class Structure (IV)

MSC: Factual

1. According to the text, the upper class in the United States:

a.	is made up of the wealthiest 20 percent of the population
b.	has a distinctive lifestyle and is politically influential
c.	does not include people who get their wealth from investments
d.	is accessible to all Americans with a college education
e.	is racially and ethnically diverse

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 210 TOP: Upper Class (IV.A)

MSC: Factual

1. 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 other countries
c.	make investments globally
d.	all of the above
e.	none of the above

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 210 TOP: Upper Class (IV.A)

MSC: Factual

1. When people are asked to identify which class they belong to, most respond that they are:

a.	underclass
b.	poor
c.	upper class
d.	middle class
e.	working class

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 213 TOP: Middle Class (IV.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Members of the lower middle class today:

a.	work at primarily white-collar jobs
b.	make up about 50 percent of American households
c.	are racially and ethnically diverse
d.	all of the above
e.	none of the above

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 213 TOP: Middle Class (IV.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following occupations is LEAST likely to be held by a lower-middle-class individual?

a.	police officer
b.	nurse
c.	school teacher
d.	upper-level manager
e.	sales person

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 213 TOP: Middle Class (IV.B)

MSC: Factual

1. A farmer with a high school diploma who makes $115,000 a year, lives in a large home, and drives an expensive car is most likely to be in which class category?

a.	upper middle class
b.	lower middle class
c.	upper class
d.	middle class
e.	working class

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 213 TOP: Middle Class (IV.B)

MSC: Applied

1. Eddie is a factory worker who makes about $32,000 a year. Eddie’s wife, Joan, 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 Joan are considered to be:

a.	lower middle class
b.	upper middle class
c.	old middle class
d.	new middle class
e.	working class

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 216 TOP: Working Class (IV.C)

MSC: Applied

1. People in blue-collar occupations, such as plumbers and hotel workers, make up the:

a.	lower middle class
b.	working class
c.	old middle class
d.	new middle class
e.	upper middle class

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 216 TOP: Working Class (IV.C)

MSC: Factual

1. Working-class children are most likely to do which of the following after graduating from high school?

a.	travel around Europe
b.	attend a four-year college
c.	attend a two-year college
d.	immediately start working
e.	take the summer off to relax

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 216 TOP: Working Class (IV.C)

MSC: Factual

1. The lower class has a higher percentage of __________ than any other class in the United States.

a.	bilingual speakers
b.	educators
c.	men
d.	nonwhites
e.	children

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 216 TOP: Lower Class (IV.D)

MSC: Factual

1. Workers in dead-end jobs that pay low wages are most likely found in the:

a.	lower class
b.	working class
c.	lower middle class
d.	upper middle class
e.	any class, since there are many jobs like this in the United States

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 216 TOP: Lower Class (IV.D)

MSC: Factual

1. 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
b.	lower class
c.	left-behind class
d.	inner-city class
e.	underclass

ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 217 TOP: Underclass (IV.E)

MSC: Factual

1. 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.	Never; the gap has been getting smaller
e.	1990 when technology become an important part of the economy

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 218

TOP: Growing Gap between Rich and Poor (V.A) MSC: Factual

1. Inequality and the gap between rich and poor have been steadily growing in the United States. The richest 20 percent has __________ of the total income, while the poorest 20 percent has __________ of the total income.

a.	50 percent; 3 percent
b.	3 percent; 50 percent
c.	25 percent; 25 percent
d.	30 percent; 30 percent
e.	20 percent; 20 percent

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 218

TOP: Growing Gap between Rich and Poor (V.A) MSC: Factual

1. 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 that discourages achievement and saving money
b.	the large number of immigrants from Mexico and Latin America that are in low-wage jobs
c.	high unemployment among Latinos
d.	high divorce rate among Latinos
e.	none of the above; there is no income gap

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 218

TOP: Ethnic Minorities versus White Americans (V.B) MSC: Factual

1. What factor accounts for racial disparities in wealth and income?

a.	lower social and cultural capital
b.	education
c.	discrimination
d.	all of the above
e.	none of the above

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 218

TOP: Ethnic Minorities versus White Americans (V.B) MSC: Applied

1. While the average income of __________ households has been increasing, that of __________ households has been declining in the last decade.

a.	black and Latino; white
b.	lower class; middle class
c.	white; black and Latino
d.	Latino; black
e.	black; Latino

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 218

TOP: Ethnic Minorities versus White Americans (V.B) MSC: Factual

1. Social mobility refers to:

a.	the movement of individuals and groups between class positions
b.	the migration of people from the countryside to town
c.	the movement of people between caste positions
d.	the change in racial/ethnic identification when individuals intermarry
e.	the transportation system of a society

ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 219 TOP: Social Mobility (VI)

MSC: Factual

1. According to sociological studies, the biggest determinant of a person’s social mobility is:

a.	personality
b.	intelligence
c.	wealth
d.	education
e.	income

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 219 TOP: Social Mobility (VI)

MSC: Factual

1. Intergenerational mobility is best described as when:

a.	a person achieves a different class position than the one he or she was born into
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 than his or her siblings
e.	none of the above

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 219

TOP: Intergenerational Mobility (VI.A) MSC: Factual

1. Who among the following is most likely to experience intergenerational mobility?

a.	the child of a high school teacher
b.	the child of two university professors
c.	the child of the CEO of a large corporation
d.	the child of a school janitor
e.	the child of a university groundskeeper

ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Page 219

TOP: Intergenerational Mobility (VI.A) MSC: Applied

1. When sociologists examine how far an individual moves up or down the socioeconomic scale in his or her lifetime, they are studying:

a.	optimal mobility
b.	intergenerational mobility
c.	life change
d.	intragenerational mobility
e.	pangenerational mobility

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 219

TOP: Intragenerational Mobility (VI.B) MSC: Factual

1. Researchers of social mobility, including Peter Blau and Otis Dudley Duncan in the 1960s and William Sewell and Robert Hauser in the 1980s, have shown that:

a.	educational attainment has a great deal to do with ultimate social status
b.	the family’s social status has little to do with social mobility
c.	social position is not inherited, but solely achieved
d.	all of the above
e.	none of the above

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 220

TOP: Opportunities for Mobility (VI.C) MSC: Factual

1. Which of the following is an example of what Pierre Bourdieu refers to as cultural capital?

a.	the ability to pay for cultural events such as art museums, opera companies, and symphony orchestras that charge for admission
b.	parents paying for school tutoring
c.	parents reading to their children and encouraging them to do well in school
d.	learning more than one language
e.	none of the above

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 220

TOP: Opportunities for Mobility (VI.C) MSC: Applied

1. 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.	social capital
b.	cultural capital
c.	tuition capital
d.	educational capital
e.	language capital

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 220

TOP: Opportunities for Mobility (VI.C) MSC: Applied

1. Downward mobility is when:

a.	retired people stop receiving Social Security
b.	the whole economy declines and all people see a decline in their income
c.	when a person chooses a lower occupation than they are qualified for
d.	when a person’s income, wealth, or status is lower than his or her parents
e.	all of the above

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 221 TOP: Downward Mobility (VI.D)

MSC: Factual

1. 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
b.	long-range downward mobility
c.	declining mobility
d.	across-position mobility
e.	bi-position mobility

ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 221

TOP: Short-Range Downward Mobility (VI.D.i) MSC: Factual

1. In which of the following countries is the poverty rate the highest?

a.	Germany
b.	Norway
c.	United States
d.	Sweden
e.	Japan

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 220 TOP: Measuring Poverty (VII.A)

MSC: Factual

1. In the United States, the largest concentrations of poverty are found in:

a.	rural areas
b.	inner cities
c.	the South and Southwest
d.	all of the above
e.	none of the above

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 220 TOP: Measuring Poverty (VII.A)

MSC: Factual

1. How does the government determine the poverty line?

a.	It multiplies the cost of an adequate, nutritious diet by three.
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.	Since 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.
e.	It is based on how much a person would make per year if the person made the federal minimum wage.

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 222 TOP: Measuring Poverty (VII.A)

MSC: Factual

1. 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 experiences:

a.	absolute poverty
b.	relative poverty
c.	downward mobility
d.	exchange mobility
e.	upward mobility

ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 222 TOP: Measuring Poverty (VII.A)

MSC: Applied

1. 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
b.	relative poverty
c.	downward mobility
d.	exchange mobility
e.	the poverty line

ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 222 TOP: Absolute Poverty (VII.A.i)

MSC: Factual

1. Of those who are currently in poverty in the United States, how many are working?

a.	50 percent
b.	25 percent
c.	90 percent
d.	none
e.	5 percent

ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 224 TOP: Working Poor (VII.B)

MSC: Factual

1. What is meant by the phrase “feminization of poverty”?

a.	the fact that women are more likely to not 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
e.	none of the above

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 225

TOP: Feminization of Poverty (VII.C) MSC: Applied

1. Child poverty rates in the United States are:

a.	relative to the poverty rates of men
b.	the highest in the world
c.	the lowest in the industrialized world
d.	the highest in the industrialized world
e.	almost nonexistent

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 226 TOP: Children in Poverty (VII.D)

MSC: Factual

1. About one-third of children in poverty live in:

a.	households headed by single fathers
b.	households headed by single mothers
c.	rural areas
d.	urban areas
e.	households with three or more children

ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 226 TOP: Children in Poverty (VII.D)

MSC: Factual

1. Although official estimates show that relatively few elderly people live in poverty, these statistics may not be accurate 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 high cost of medical care
d.	they do not consider the high cost of rent
e.	they do not consider the high number of social services used by the elderly

ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 227 TOP: Elderly in Poverty (VII.E)

MSC: Factual

1. The income of most elderly people is dependent on:

a.	their part-time jobs
b.	money from their children
c.	pensions
d.	Social Security
e.	none of the above

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 227 TOP: Social Security (VII.E.i)

MSC: Factual

1. In addition to Social Security, __________ has/have helped to lift many of the elderly out of poverty.

a.	food banks
b.	Meals on Wheels
c.	unemployment
d.	Medicare
e.	none of the above

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 227 TOP: Medicare (VII.E.ii)

MSC: Factual

1. 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.	lack of universal healthcare
c.	growing income inequality
d.	all of the above
e.	none of the above.

ANS: D DIF: Difficult REF: Page 227 TOP: Explaining Poverty (VIII)

MSC: Applied

1. If a person believes that people are poor because they have been socialized into a set of values, beliefs, and norms that result in behavior that leads to poverty, then that person is said to believe which of the following theories of poverty?

a.	culture of poverty
b.	structural poverty
c.	value poverty
d.	dependency poverty
e.	poverty of the mind

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 227 TOP: Culture of Poverty (VIII.A)

MSC: Applied

1. Those who believe that the culture of poverty theory explains why most people are in poverty would favor which of the following anti-poverty programs?

a.	subsidized housing
b.	universal healthcare
c.	welfare-to-work programs
d.	food stamps
e.	direct cash aid

ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: Page 227 TOP: Culture of Poverty (VIII.A)

MSC: Conceptual

1. According to the sociologist Charles Murray, there are groups among the poor that do not enter the labor market and rely on government interventions, which undermines self-help and personal ambition. He says that these poor are part of:

a.	the unambitious culture
b.	the dependency culture
c.	the least-motivated poor
d.	the poverty problem
e.	the structural poor

ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Page 228

TOP: Dependency Culture (VIII.A.i) MSC: Factual

1. Individuals living in rural communities cut off from resources and opportunities and individuals living in inner cities with high crime rates are both likely to experience what sociologists call:

a.	social exclusion
b.	social deprivation
c.	unequal education
d.	economic exclusion
e.	apathy

ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 228 TOP: Social Exclusion (VIII.B)

MSC: Applied

1. One of the most distressing signs of the growing stratification in the United States is the growth in the number of:

a.	substance abusers
b.	the mentally ill
c.	women with college degrees
d.	homeless people
e.	people on food stamps

ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 229 TOP: Homeless (VIII.C)

MSC: Factual

ESSAY

1. Compare and contrast slavery, caste, and class as systems of stratification. What is the basis of inequality in each? How much social mobility exists in each? What system of stratification best describes the United States?

ANS:

To answer this question, students should know how to describe each type of system of stratification. Slavery is an extreme form of inequality, in which certain people are owned as property by others. There is very limited social mobility in slave systems, but how slaves are treated varies and depends on the type of slave system. 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 since intermarriage among castes is generally forbidden and caste 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 since 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: Pages 200–203 TOP: Systems of Stratification (I)

MSC: Applied

1. 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 of this is that women may be ranked differently from men, white people differently from black, and wealthy people differently from the poor. The categories are what are meaningful in 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, upper class or working class makes a big difference in terms of your 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 last 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: Page 203 TOP: Systems of Stratification (I)

MSC: Factual

1. Compare and contrast Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore’s explanations for the basis of social stratification in society. Which explanation do you think best describes social stratification in the United States today?

ANS:

To answer this question, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the three explanations and the primary ways they differ. 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 them, or 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 actress could have a high economic class position but low social status. Both Marx and Weber recognized that the system of stratification is based on power relationships whether it was derived from economic or social status. Davis and Moore differ 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 need to be offered, such as money, power, and prestige. Davis and Moore determined that since the benefits of different positions in any society must be unequal, then all societies must be stratified. To conclude, the student must provide a convincing argument for why the United States fits into one of these models.

DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 204–6

TOP: Systems of Stratification (I) | Theories of Stratification in Modern Societies (II)

MSC: Applied

1. What is the difference between income and wealth? How are income and wealth related? Which is more important in determining one’s position in the system of stratification in the United States? Why?

ANS:

To answer this question, 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: Pages 206–8 TOP: Income (III.A) | Wealth (III.B)

MSC: Factual

1. 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 2009, the top 5 percent of households in the United States received 21.7 percent of total income; the top 20 percent obtained 50.3 percent; and the bottom 20 percent received only 3.4 percent. Between 1977 and 2009, income inequality increased dramatically. The average household earnings, meaning the combined incomes of all persons living in a single household, of the bottom 20 percent of people in the United States rose by almost 15 percent, but during the same period, the richest 20 percent saw incomes grow by 60 percent. And for the richest 5 percent of the population, income rose by more than 85 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.” However, recent estimates indicate that income inequality has been declining or at least not increasing. Income inequality decreased between 2007 and 2009, as measured by shares of aggregate household income by quintiles. In fact, the share of all quintiles declined—the lowest by 3.3 percent, the middle three by 4 percent, and the highest by 2 percent. The larger decline in the share of the middle three quintiles is indicative, albeit weakly, of a decline in inequality. 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 REF: Page 218 TOP: Growing Gap between Rich and Poor (V.A)

MSC: Applied

1. 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 last 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 because minorities in the United States are more likely to hold the lowest-paying jobs. For Latinos, however, the inequality has worsened, as 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 as 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. Student’s answers will vary but should include a discussion of occupational segregation and discrimination.

DIF: Difficult REF: Page 227 TOP: Ethnic Minorities versus White Americans (V.B)

MSC: Factual

1. What is social mobility, and what is the difference between intergenerational and intragenerational mobility? Do you think you will experience intragenerational mobility in your lifetime? Explain why or why not.

ANS:

To answer the questions, students must start with defining the concepts. Social mobility refers to the upward or downward movement of individuals and groups between different class positions as a result of changes in occupation, wealth, or income. Intergenerational mobility describes how far people move up or down the socioeconomic scale in the course of their working lives. Mobility across the generations is called intergenerational mobility, and it allows us to analyze where children are on the scale compared with their parents or grandparents. Students should then explain if they believe they will experience intragenerational social mobility. To do so, they should 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 REF: Page 219 TOP: Social Mobility (VI)

MSC: Conceptual

1. Explain how the official definition of poverty is calculated. According to critics, what are some of the problems with this way of calculating poverty today? What factors do you believe should be considered in the calculation of poverty and why?

ANS:

To answer this question, the student must start with how the U.S. government calculates the poverty line: an income equal to three times the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet for a family of four. This strict, no-frills budget assumed a nutritionally adequate diet could be purchased in 1999 for only $3.86 per day for each member, along with about $7.72 on all other items. For a family of four in 2011, that works out to an annual cash income of $22,350. 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 65 and older) who live in poverty, because they spend a relatively small proportion of their income on food yet are faced with high healthcare costs. To conclude, the student should discuss which of the factors they believe should be considered and explain why. These factors can be from those mentioned above or other factors the student believes are important.

DIF: Moderate REF: Page 222 TOP: Measuring Poverty (VII.A)

MSC: Applied

1. Who are the working poor? What are the explanations 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 but whose earnings are not high enough to lift them above poverty. About one-fourth of those officially living in poverty are actually working. In 2009, there were an estimated 10.4 million working poor. Of those working poor, 5.6 million usually worked full-time and another 5 million usually worked part-time. Most poor people, contrary to popular belief, do not receive welfare payments, because they earn too much to qualify for welfare. 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 July 24, 2011, the minimum wage was $7.25 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: Page 224 TOP: Working Poor (VII.B)

MSC: Factual

1. Why do sociologists say we are seeing “the feminization of poverty”? Which social groups are most likely to be represented among poor women? How has this affected the number and percentage of children living in poverty in the United States?

ANS:

To answer the question, students must 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 since it is extremely difficult for unskilled or semi-skilled, low-income, poorly educated women to raise children by themselves while they also hold down jobs that could raise them out of poverty. As a result, in 2009, 29.3 percent of all single-parent families headed by women were poor, compared to only 5.8 percent of married couples with children. The feminization of poverty is particularly acute among families headed by Latino women. Although the rate declined by almost 30 percent since its peak in the mid-1980s (64 percent in 1985), 35.2 percent of all female-headed Latino families lived in poverty in 2009. An almost identical percentage (36.2 percent) of female-headed African American families also lived in poverty in 2009. Both numbers were considerably higher than either white (26.3 percent) or Asian (15.5 percent) female-headed households. Given the high rates of poverty among families headed by single women, it follows that children are the principal victims of poverty in the United States. Child poverty rates in the United States are by far the highest in the industrial world. 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 circle. If she has a job, she must find someone to take care of her children since 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 altogether, and she and her family may be even worse off economically.

DIF: Moderate REF: Page 225 TOP: Feminization of Poverty (VII.C)

MSC: Factual

1. Compare the “blame the victim” explanation of poverty with the “blame the system” explanation. Which explanation do you think best explains poverty in the United States today?

ANS:

To answer this question, students must start with the comparison. The “blame the victim” explanation, also known as the culture of poverty theory, sees poor individuals as responsible for their status. The “blame the system” explanation views poverty as produced and reproduced by structural forces in society. “Blame the victim” theories hold the poor responsible for their own disadvantaged positions. The poor are seen as those who are unable—due to lack of skills, moral or physical weakness, absence of motivation, or below-average ability—to succeed in society. Social standing is taken as a reflection of a person’s talent and effort; those who deserve to succeed do so, and others less capable are doomed to fail. The existence of winners and losers is regarded as a fact of life. The “blame the system” explanations for poverty focus on the lifestyles or “culture” of poor people. Poverty is not a result of individual inadequacies but is a result of a larger social and cultural milieu into which poor children are socialized. The culture of poverty is transmitted across generations because young people from an early age see little point in aspiring to something more. Instead, they resign themselves fatalistically to a life of impoverishment. The “blame the system” theories emphasize larger social processes that produce conditions of poverty that are difficult for individuals to overcome. According to such a view, structural forces within society—factors like class, gender, ethnicity, occupational position, education attainment, and so forth—shape the way in which resources are distributed. Those who advocate structural explanations for poverty argue that reducing poverty is not a matter of changing individual outlooks. Instead it requires policy measures aimed at distributing income and resources more equally throughout society. The students must conclude with specific examples supporting why they believe the “blame the victim” explanation or the “blame the system” explanation best explains poverty in the United States today. Specific examples that can be used are racial and ethnic income/wealth inequalities, feminization of poverty, and the homeless.

DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 218–19 TOP: Culture of Poverty (VIII.A)

MSC: Conceptual