SOCIOLOGY TEST 2 PREP EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS & UPDATED STUDY
MATERIALS
Socioeconomic Status (SES) - ANSW✔️-a measure of an individuals place within
a social class system; often used interchangeable with "class"
Social Class - ANSW✔️-a system of stratification practiced primarily in capitalist
societies, ranks groups of people according to their wealth, property, power and
pretige (also known as socioeconomic status).
Class in the USA - ANSW✔️-In the USA, people have the ability to move up or
down levels in the strata.
Strictly speaking, class is NOT based on race, ethnicicty, gender or age. USA
considerds itself an OPENSYSTEM (unlike the caste system) which is a
combination of the work you do, the resources you have access to (you have the
Page | 1
,chance to work your way up, but of course the success you have moving up
depends on how hard the obstacles you face are)--> GWBUSH EXAMPLE
"George Bush started life at 3rd base and he belueved that he finished with a
HOMERUN!" - ANSW✔️This quote explains that success depends on class and
how hard the obstacles you face will be. If you are from the middle class and trying
to move to the upper class, there is more of a possibility that you will be successful
because you will be able to take out loans and such. Starting from a lower positon
would be much more diffcult.
Income VS. Wealth - ANSW✔️-Income is the amount of money you take in. For
example, Doctors may take in a lot of money but still have loans to pay off. Wealth
is everything you have minus anything you owe and is a better indicator of how
you are doing financially.
OLD money vs. NEW money - ANSW✔️-OLD money is a term that describes
families who have been wealthy for generations (ex: hearst's, carnegies,
vanderbuilts). NEW money is aterm that decribes someone who has made a fortune
in their lifetime (ex: plummer winning the lottery, creating a new invention).
Class in the USA: Upper Classes - ANSW✔️-The richest 20% of American
families control 85% of the weath. The Upper-Upper class consists of 1% of the
population and the Uppe class consists of 5% of the population. People in this class
Page | 2
,usually make over $100,000 and have prestigious jobs and hold power in the
organizations in which they work.
Class in the USA: Middle Class - ANSW✔️-This class is 40-45% of the
population and h as a tremendous influence on our culture. This class usually
makes $45,000-$100,000 a year in less prestigious white collor jobs or high skilled
blue collar jobs.
Class in the USA: Working (Lower-Middle) Class - ANSW✔️-This class is
comprised of 33% of the population and usually hold blue collar jobs making
between $25,000-$45,000 a year. The jobs that the majority of this class holds do
not provide benefits such as health care or retirement pensions. This is why unions
were created (many of the working class poor wanted to secure their rights to
benefits).
Class in the USA: Working Poor & Underclass - ANSW✔️-The working poor
comprises 20% of the population. This class tends poorly educated and to be non-
white, and of non-european ancestry. They have little stability and many are
college drop outs who perform manual or seasonal labor. They are full time
workers but remain below the poverty line.The under-class makes less then 7,500 a
year and usually depends on public benefits or charity to survive.
Page | 3
, Status Inconsistency - ANSW✔️-Common in the united states "open system." This
is a situation in which there are serious differences between the different elements
of an individuals socioeconomic status. For example, poor farm boy Walton who is
now a billionaire from founding Wall-Mart (the product of a non-elite educational
situation...achieved great occupational success).
Karl Marx Theories of Social Class - ANSW✔️-Karl Marx believed that there
were two main social classes in capitalist societies: the capitalist BOURGEOISIE
who owned ther means of production and the PROLETARIAT workers who sold
their labor for wages. He believed that the classes would remain divided and social
inequality would grow.
Feudal System - ANSW✔️-the system of social stratification based on hereditary
nobility who were responsible and served for by a lowe stratus that Karl Marx
believed were forced laborers called serfs.
Social Stratification - ANSW✔️-The division of society into groups arranged in a
social hierarchy. Every society has some form of social stratification, but societies
group people on different criteria depending on what critieria are important to that
society (age, gender, class, race etc). Higher ranked groups usually enjoy more
access to the rewards and resources in society, leaving the lower ranked groups
with less. This stratification persists over generations, and it is maintained through
beliefs that are widely shared by members of society.
Page | 4
QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS & UPDATED STUDY
MATERIALS
Socioeconomic Status (SES) - ANSW✔️-a measure of an individuals place within
a social class system; often used interchangeable with "class"
Social Class - ANSW✔️-a system of stratification practiced primarily in capitalist
societies, ranks groups of people according to their wealth, property, power and
pretige (also known as socioeconomic status).
Class in the USA - ANSW✔️-In the USA, people have the ability to move up or
down levels in the strata.
Strictly speaking, class is NOT based on race, ethnicicty, gender or age. USA
considerds itself an OPENSYSTEM (unlike the caste system) which is a
combination of the work you do, the resources you have access to (you have the
Page | 1
,chance to work your way up, but of course the success you have moving up
depends on how hard the obstacles you face are)--> GWBUSH EXAMPLE
"George Bush started life at 3rd base and he belueved that he finished with a
HOMERUN!" - ANSW✔️This quote explains that success depends on class and
how hard the obstacles you face will be. If you are from the middle class and trying
to move to the upper class, there is more of a possibility that you will be successful
because you will be able to take out loans and such. Starting from a lower positon
would be much more diffcult.
Income VS. Wealth - ANSW✔️-Income is the amount of money you take in. For
example, Doctors may take in a lot of money but still have loans to pay off. Wealth
is everything you have minus anything you owe and is a better indicator of how
you are doing financially.
OLD money vs. NEW money - ANSW✔️-OLD money is a term that describes
families who have been wealthy for generations (ex: hearst's, carnegies,
vanderbuilts). NEW money is aterm that decribes someone who has made a fortune
in their lifetime (ex: plummer winning the lottery, creating a new invention).
Class in the USA: Upper Classes - ANSW✔️-The richest 20% of American
families control 85% of the weath. The Upper-Upper class consists of 1% of the
population and the Uppe class consists of 5% of the population. People in this class
Page | 2
,usually make over $100,000 and have prestigious jobs and hold power in the
organizations in which they work.
Class in the USA: Middle Class - ANSW✔️-This class is 40-45% of the
population and h as a tremendous influence on our culture. This class usually
makes $45,000-$100,000 a year in less prestigious white collor jobs or high skilled
blue collar jobs.
Class in the USA: Working (Lower-Middle) Class - ANSW✔️-This class is
comprised of 33% of the population and usually hold blue collar jobs making
between $25,000-$45,000 a year. The jobs that the majority of this class holds do
not provide benefits such as health care or retirement pensions. This is why unions
were created (many of the working class poor wanted to secure their rights to
benefits).
Class in the USA: Working Poor & Underclass - ANSW✔️-The working poor
comprises 20% of the population. This class tends poorly educated and to be non-
white, and of non-european ancestry. They have little stability and many are
college drop outs who perform manual or seasonal labor. They are full time
workers but remain below the poverty line.The under-class makes less then 7,500 a
year and usually depends on public benefits or charity to survive.
Page | 3
, Status Inconsistency - ANSW✔️-Common in the united states "open system." This
is a situation in which there are serious differences between the different elements
of an individuals socioeconomic status. For example, poor farm boy Walton who is
now a billionaire from founding Wall-Mart (the product of a non-elite educational
situation...achieved great occupational success).
Karl Marx Theories of Social Class - ANSW✔️-Karl Marx believed that there
were two main social classes in capitalist societies: the capitalist BOURGEOISIE
who owned ther means of production and the PROLETARIAT workers who sold
their labor for wages. He believed that the classes would remain divided and social
inequality would grow.
Feudal System - ANSW✔️-the system of social stratification based on hereditary
nobility who were responsible and served for by a lowe stratus that Karl Marx
believed were forced laborers called serfs.
Social Stratification - ANSW✔️-The division of society into groups arranged in a
social hierarchy. Every society has some form of social stratification, but societies
group people on different criteria depending on what critieria are important to that
society (age, gender, class, race etc). Higher ranked groups usually enjoy more
access to the rewards and resources in society, leaving the lower ranked groups
with less. This stratification persists over generations, and it is maintained through
beliefs that are widely shared by members of society.
Page | 4
