Sociology A Brief Introduction

Canadian 6th Edition Schaefer Test

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TRUE/FALSE. Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.

1) The most extreme form of legalized social inequality for individuals or groups is a caste system.
Answer: True False

2) At least children are no longer used as slaves.

Answer: True False

3) According to Karl Marx, a worker with class consciousness may feel that he or she is being treated
fairly by the bourgeoisie, and a worker with false consciousness realizes that all workers are being
exploited by the bourgeoisie and have a common stake in revolution.
Answer: True False

4) Max Weber argued that the actions of individuals and groups can be understood by looking at class,
power, and prestige.
Answer: True False

5) The functionalist perspective argues that stratification contributes to social stability.

Answer: True False

6) When a country that already is stratified by social class, gender, and race is conquered by another
country, inequality, and oppression are worsened by the resulting addition of colonialism.
Answer: True False

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7) The discrepancy in average earnings of the richest Canadians compared to the poorest has decreased
substantially in the last two decades.
Answer: True False

8) Zane lives in a car with his mother, who goes to her part-time work every morning pumping gas and
gets paid partly with gas coupons. She drops Zane off at school on the way to work, and picks him
up at noon. They park in different places each night to evade being seen by social workers. Zane is a
child living in absolute poverty.
Answer: True False

9) Men are more likely than women to withdraw from the workforce when their skills far exceed the
jobs offered to them.
Answer: True False

10) Corporations receive more welfare payments from the Canadian government than mothers on social
assistance do.
Answer: True False

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MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

11) Which of the following would be the best example of absolute poverty?
A) a dual-career couple lives in a suburban community and struggles to pay their monthly bills
B) a homeless man in tattered clothes begs in the streets for money and food
C) a family owns only two luxury automobiles, although their friends and neighbours own three
such vehicles
D) none of these
Answer: B

12) Which of the following is an example of vertical mobility?

A) A National Football League star suffers a career-ending injury and gets a job as an auto
mechanic.
B) A person loses her job as a corporate vice president because of downsizing and remains
unemployed for 14 months.
C) An African president is overthrown in a bloodless coup and flees to a neighbouring country
where he works as a farmer.
D) All of these answers are correct.
Answer: D

13) A person who is unable to voluntarily withdraw his/her labour from an employer is:
A) a slave B) a serf C) tenured D) untouchable
Answer: A

14) Karl Marx used the concept of class consciousness to refer to:
A) an attitude held by members of a class that does not accurately reflect its objective position
B) a subjective awareness held by members of a class regarding their common vested interests and
the need for collective political action to bring about social change
C) the respect and admiration with which an occupation is regarded by society
D) the reputation that a particular individual has within an occupation
Answer: B

15) Wealth is:

A) a term used by Max Weber to refer to people who have a similar level of income and prestige
B) salaries and wages
C) a term used by Thorstein Veblen for people who have the same lifestyle, independent of their
class position
D) all of a person's material assets, including land, stocks, and other types of property
Answer: D

16) Andrew was born into a low-income family and has a disability. He has difficulty finding a good
job. This is an example of an ascribed status, that can influence a person's:
A) future life B) future ascribed status
C) achieved status D) social mobility
Answer: C

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17) Jenny and her husband inherited apartment buildings, stocks and shares, and a yacht from their
parents. They used inherited money to improve the apartments and build more. They:
A) may be among the richest fifth of the Canadian population
B) are richer than most Canadians who have a disability
C) have more wealth than a single parented family with no inheritance money would have in
Canada
D) all of these answers are correct
Answer: D

18) Linda and her twin brother, Martin, were raised in a wealthy Canadian family during the 1950s.
They attended a private school, excelled academically, made good friends and enjoyed tennis
lessons and horseback riding. Linda marries a young man who is studying to become a lawyer,
while in the same year, Martin follows in his father's footsteps to become a highly successful
business tycoon. Linda and Martin are good examples of the close link in stratification between:
A) ascribed status and achieved status B) achieved status and power
C) ascribed status and prestige D) achieved status and prestige
Answer: A

19) The objective method of assessing social class assigns individuals to classes on the basis of:
A) self-assessment
B) assessments by friends and colleagues
C) criteria such as occupation, education, income, and place of residence
D) the neighbourhoods in which they reside
Answer: C

20) The fact that an unemployed coal miner in Appalachia has a higher standard of living than a medical
doctor in Congo, illustrates the idea that:
A) the miner's poverty is absolute
B) being a doctor is not a high-prestige occupation in all countries
C) Americans are ethnocentric
D) the miner's poverty is relative
Answer: D

21) Which of the following terms is used to refer to hereditary systems of rank that are relatively fixed,
immobile, and generally religiously dictated?
A) feudalism B) castes C) tenure D) slavery
Answer: B

22) Women do more unpaid work in the home, such as childcare, leading one organization to attempt a
monetary value for the unpaid work of women. What could this calculation be used for?
A) adding to annual income and occupational prestige
B) changing Revenue Canada's valuation of women's income
C) assessing social prestige, status, and stratification level
D) calculating pension plans and benefits, and creating a symbolic value for the work
Answer: D

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23) Every evening at a neighbourhood bar, the clientele, which consists of construction workers, police
officers, plumbers, and factory workers, watches sports events on the big screen television set and
plays pool. The people who hang out in this bar are an example of a:
A) power group B) caste C) status group D) class
Answer: C

24) Which of the following refers to the movement of individuals or groups from one position of
society's stratification system to another?
A) closed system stratification B) life chances
C) open system mobility D) social mobility
Answer: D

25) Rule by outsiders that includes political, social, economic, and cultural domination is referred to as:
A) false consciousness B) colonialism
C) politicism D) consumption flow
Answer: B

26) A system of enforced servitude in which people are legally owned by others is known as:
A) communism B) feudalism C) slavery D) caste system
Answer: C

27) The richest CEOs in Canada earn in 4 days what it takes the average worker an entire year to earn.
The majority of CEOs are white males. Which of the following statements is true?
A) the Marxist perspective would explain it as the capitalist class maintaining power through a
dominant ideology that leads everyone to believe everyone has a chance to make that income
too
B) the functionalists' explanation of inequality cannot explain this type of disparity
C) Dahrendorf and other conflict theorists note that inequality includes conflicts related to race,
gender, and age. Radical and liberal feminists would agree that men continue to dominate
higher level positions
D) All of these answers are accurate
Answer: D

28) 14% of Canada's total income in 2006 was controlled by 1% of the population. This correlates with
the:
A) decline in unions and union memberships B) reductions to government social assistance
C) increase in employment rates D) occupy movement
Answer: A

29) A class system employs a social ranking based primarily on:

A) caste B) religious and ethnic background
C) economic position D) age
Answer: C

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30) One shortcoming of Karl Marx's work is that he failed to anticipate the:
A) emergence of labour unions
B) effects of communist regimes that failed and were overthrown
C) extent to which political liberties and relative prosperity could contribute to false consciousness
D) all of these answers are correct
Answer: D

31) A stratification system that implies that the position of each individual is influenced by the person's
achieved status is referred to as a(n):
A) fractured class system B) open stratification system
C) closed stratification system D) egalitarian class system
Answer: B

32) The poverty rate in Canada is the rate of poverty in the U.S.
A) equivalent to B) lower than
C) three times as high as D) twice as high as
Answer: B

33) A woman is born into a homeless, single-parent family. She is very talented and as an adult,
becomes a wealthy, world-acclaimed pianist. This scenario most closely represents which type of
stratification system?
A) class B) caste C) estate D) slavery
Answer: A

34) A well-known Hollywood actress owns a home in Beverly Hills and another one on the French
Riviera. She owns her own movie production company along with a large portfolio of stocks. The
total of the different things she owns is considered her:
A) caste B) wealth C) esteem D) income
Answer: B

35) Which term is used to refer to the reputation that a specific person has within an occupation?
A) prestige B) status C) power D) esteem
Answer: D

36) Janice is a single parent working as a maid for a cleaning service. The manager offers her a
supervisory position at a higher hourly wage but Janice refuses the job offer because it would mean
she would be in charge of disciplining workers and making sure that their work hours are kept at a
minimum to save the company money. According to Marx, Janice's decision to decline the
promotion is evidence of what kind of consciousness?
A) capitalist B) bourgeoisie C) class D) false
Answer: C

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37) In Karl Marx's view, a worker who identifies with the wealthy and believes that he/she can achieve
great wealth through hard work is likely to have developed a:
A) bourgeoisie consciousness B) caste consciousness
C) false consciousness D) class consciousness
Answer: C

38) Researchers have found dramatic disparities in wealth among Canadians. Which of the following
statements is accurate?
A) families in urban Canada have far less wealth than rural Canadian families
B) single people have the most wealth
C) Canada has a much higher rate of income and wealth disparities than the United States
D) female headed lone-parent families have far less wealth than two-parent families
Answer: D

39) Dahrendorf defines social classes as groups who share common interests resulting from their
authority relationships. This means that:
A) gender stratification is bound to be systemic
B) managers and owners of companies have a common interest in securing their privileges and
controlling opposition
C) stratification is maintained through interpersonal communication and non-verbal
communication such as conspicuous consumption
D) workers cannot share a common interest in employment and income since they compete for
jobs
Answer: B

40) Recent studies suggest that computers:

A) are readily available in the Canada and have proved to be an effective device for integrating all
ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups
B) have led to the emergence of an Internet gap that divides society into haves and have-nots
based on financial ability to access the Internet
C) have led to the creation of the "digital divide," a new form of social inequality in Canada
D) have led to the emergence of an Internet gap that divides society by gender
Answer: C

41) An 83-year-old woman is placed at a small table in a dark corner of a trendy nightclub and is
ignored by the staff. Her shoddy treatment is probably due to her age, which is a(n) status.
A) ascribed B) horizontal C) structural D) achieved
Answer: A

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42) An inner-city youth spends many hours in the neighbourhood playground shooting baskets on the
basketball court and engaging in every game that he can play. His skills become outstanding, and he
receives a college scholarship and then signs a lucrative contract to play in the National Basketball
Association. This is an example of:
A) horizontal mobility. B) ascribed status.
C) vertical mobility. D) structural mobility.
Answer: C

43) Sara and her partner Judith live in a small town of 25,000 inhabitants. Between them they bring in
an annual income of $20,000, rent a bed-sitting room apartment, and are able to purchase food, and
a bus pass. They buy clothing at a second hand store. Is this poverty, and if so, what kind?
A) the partners are living in absolute poverty, because they earn less than the Canadian national
average income and cannot afford to travel at all
B) if the partners were living in the United States they would not be as poor because their income
would buy new clothes and at least a one-bedroom apartment. Sociologists would call this
relative poverty
C) the partners annual earnings are just above the low-income cut-off level for their size of
community. According to sociologists, that means they are living in absolute poverty
D) the partners annual earnings are below the low-income cut-off level for their size of
community. That means they fit the official definition of poverty, which sociologists would
describe as relative rather than absolute
Answer: D

44) Class position is connected to ascribed status as well as achieved status. How does this affect life
chances?
A) ill health in childhood diminishes chances of social mobility as an adult
B) a child born to a wealthy family is less likely than a poor or low-income child to have chronic
illnesses as an adult
C) a child born into a poor family is less likely to live through their first year than the child of a
wealthy family
D) all of these answers are correct
Answer: D

45) A panhandler makes $15 to $20 per day on the streets. This is his:
A) wealth B) status C) income D) prestige
Answer: C

46) Judith Rollins's study of interactions between domestic workers and their employers is an example
of the:
A) functionalist perspective B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective D) feminist perspective
Answer: C

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47) Which sociological perspective would be most likely to argue that most talented people would not
go to school for many years to become biochemists if they could make as much money and gain as
much respect working as elevator operators?
A) functionalist perspective B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective D) feminist perspective
Answer: A

48) Which sociological perspective argues that competition for scarce resources results in significant
political, economic, and social inequality?
A) functionalist perspective B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective D) feminist perspective
Answer: B

49) Gerhard Lenski argues that social inequality may have once served the overall purposes of society,
but the degree of social and economic inequality that now exists far exceeds the need to provide for
goods and services. This facet of Lenski's analysis is consistent with which perspective?
A) functionalist perspective B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective D) global perspective
Answer: B

50) Which sociological perspective would be most likely to suggest that studies of social class have
tended to neglect the occupations and incomes of women as determinants of social rank, thereby
elevating the status of males?
A) functionalist perspective B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective D) feminist perspective
Answer: D

51) Which sociological perspective suggests that the higher rates of poverty among single mothers are
due to the difficulty women have finding affordable childcare, sexual harassment, and sex
discrimination in the labour market?
A) conflict perspective B) interactionist perspective
C) global perspective D) feminist perspective
Answer: D

52) Which sociological perspective would be most likely to emphasize that a person's health and
educational opportunities are affected by his or her class position in important ways?
A) functionalist perspective B) interactionist perspective
C) conflict perspective D) global perspective
Answer: C

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53) Functionalists argue that some type of reward is necessary to motivate people to take on dangerous
or unpleasant jobs. Stratification, they argue:
A) is universal and necessary
B) provides rewards for workers
C) should be carefully controlled to provide the right rewards
D) is the basis of social class
Answer: A

54) "Racialization, class, and gender are intertwined in such a way as to produce diverse chances" for
social mobility. Which of the following individuals is least likely to graduate from university or set
up a successful business enterprise?
A) Alex's father is a middle class journeyman electrician, and his mother has a social work degree
and works with people who have disabilities. The family emigrated from Vietnam some 30
years before Alex finished high school, and finished their education in Canada
B) Susan's parents are both white, and are lawyers. Her father has a doctorate in criminal law and
teaches in a university law school
C) Bill's father, who is Mexican, has a master's degree in agriculture and now owns and operates a
horticultural and poultry farm. Bill's mother, who is white, has a degree in child development,
and works at a daycare centre
D) Joan's parents both have a high school education. Her father, who is a black Jamaican, migrated
to Canada where he met her mother when he fixed her car at the garage where he works. Her
Aboriginal mother works as a teacher's aide
Answer: D

55) Emily hired two people from the local homeless support organization to help her move to a new
apartment. When all the furniture was in place she invited them to stay for a pizza. She learned that
Mica had a degree in forestry and had moved to a Western province for work, but was unable to find
a job. He presently is sleeping in an apartment building furnace room, but worried that he will get
evicted when his savings run out. Jon lives on the street, or stays in shelters when it gets cold. He
left school in Grade 11 and has only ever held short term jobs. Which of the following best
describes their situations?
A) both are experiencing relative poverty
B) Mica is experiencing relative poverty and Jon is experiencing absolute poverty
C) Jon lives in relative poverty but Mica lives in absolute poverty
D) both are experiencing absolute poverty
Answer: D

56) Sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf suggests that among the most powerful groups in society are:
A) heads of the government bureaucracy B) legislators
C) managers of industry D) all of these
Answer: D

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57) In Karl Marx's view, social relations during any period of history depend on who controls the:
A) legislature B) primary mode of economic production
C) most powerful religious organizations D) mass media
Answer: B

58) Max Weber referred to people's opportunities to provide themselves with material goods, positive
living conditions, and favourable experiences as:
A) life chances B) wealth C) power D) status
Answer: A

59) Which of the following groups experiences the highest levels of chronic poverty in Canada?
A) recent immigrants
B) Aboriginal peoples
C) lone parents
D) all of these groups are at risk of chronic poverty
Answer: D

60) LICO stands for and refers to .

A) low-income cut-off; $35,600 p.a.
B) (Canadian) living costs and income, compared to overseas; income not wealth of the average
Canadian household
C) low-income cut-off; a family that spends over 63% of its income on essentials of food, shelter
and clothes
D) the living in community organization; cooperative living to combat poverty
Answer: C

61) Which group(s) of Canadians is/are least likely to experience social mobility?
A) Middle range status groups B) Upper class status groups
C) Racialized minorities D) Low-income, low status groups
Answer: A

62) Who is most likely to be able to access university education?

A) Anne, whose parents have post graduate degrees. One is a professor, and one is in
administration at a university
B) Josh, whose parents have diplomas, and work in social service jobs
C) Tish, whose parents do not have a degree, and work in low paying jobs
D) Marianne, whose parents are both police officers
Answer: A

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63) Which of the following describes the impact of gender on employment opportunities?
A) Bonnie holds a Master's degree in librarianship and works in the children's department of a
public library, while her husband, who has a diploma in robotics, is the regional manager of an
electronics company
B) Mark holds a degree in accounting, and manages the personnel sector of a large organization
C) Jennifer is a stay at home mother who holds a master's degree in management but was unable
to find work requiring her qualifications, and gave up when her husband was promoted to
management
D) all of these answers reflect the impact of gender on employment
Answer: D

64) Being a member of an underclass means that an individual may not lack qualifications or experience
but does:
A) not have a full time, full year job with sufficient income to be able to provide for themselves or
their family adequately
B) get blamed for their low-income, and is considered unwilling to work
C) have disabilities and/or Aboriginal heritage, and lives in an area with high unemployment
D) all of these answers are correct
Answer: D

65) Research concerning the degree of social mobility within the occupational structure of Canada
indicates that:
A) occupational mobility among Aboriginal peoples is no longer sharply limited by racial
discrimination
B) much of the social mobility in Canada occurs among the poorest Canadians
C) rich Canadians have the highest level of downward mobility
D) the majority of Canadians experience no occupational mobility in their working lives
Answer: D

66) In Max Weber's view social class is only one part of stratification. The remaining components
include which of the following?
A) our rank in society is determined by four separate variables
B) shared ranking by prestige or lifestyle, and the political dimension of power
C) shared ranking by prestige or lifestyle
D) the political dimension of power
Answer: B

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67) Emily enters medical school and discovers that it takes extraordinary commitment to become a
doctor. She spends so much time studying that she rarely has time for her family and friends, who
are upset over this. They expect her to be caring and supportive of them. In her classes, it's expected
that students compete with each other to earn the respect of the professors, but she notices that the
male students get more respect and attention than the female ones. According to the radical feminist
perspective, Emily is:
A) attempting to complete a program that is not suited to her personality
B) paying the price necessary to enter a profession that is associated with high prestige and good
pay
C) working hard to enter a profession where she might later work to make it more "female
friendly"
D) trying to survive in a culture in which male norms and values prevail
Answer: D

68) Which term is used by Karl Marx to refer to the capitalist class that owns the means of production?
A) oligarchy B) bourgeoisie C) proletariat D) peasantry
Answer: B

69) Which of the following does Herbert Gans not mention as a function that the poor perform for
society?
A) poverty creates jobs for the occupations and professions that service them
B) the existence of poor people guarantees the higher status of the more affluent
C) poverty ensures that at least some people aren't materialistic
D) poor people are available to perform society's menial jobs at a low cost
Answer: C

70) Anti-colonial views on inequality argue that class alone cannot explain inequality and that
colonialism, or rule by outsiders, involves . Which is the most right answer?
A) class control by a dominant elite of insiders
B) subjugation and deference, outcomes of political, social, economic, and cultural domination
C) social and economic domination
D) power over and powerlessness
Answer: B

71) An individual's salary and wages are referred to as:

A) finances B) wealth C) income D) prosperity
Answer: C

72) Statistics reflecting personal wealth or netwealth demonstrate an enormous gap between the richest
20 percent and the poorest 20 percent of Canadian families. Both wealth and poverty reflect:
A) ascribed status B) race, gender, and class
C) achieved status D) all of these answers are correct
Answer: D

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73) Matthew Coon Come, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said that "…Without
adequate access to lands, resources, and without the jurisdiction required to benefit meaningfully
and sustainably from them…no number of apologies, policies, token programs, or symbolic healing
funds are going to remedy this fundamental socio-economic fact…" (of Aboriginal powerlessness
and poverty). This statement clearly captures which perspective and theory?
A) radical feminist, Pervasive gender inequality in patriarchal system, Kate Millet
B) interactionist, Anti-Colonial views, Albert Memmi
C) functionalist, Universality of stratification, Davis and Moore
D) conflict, Primacy of who owns means of production, Marx
Answer: B

74) Which of the following refers to a floating standard of deprivation by which people at the bottom of
a society are judged to be disadvantaged in comparison to the nation as a whole?
A) absolute poverty B) dramatic poverty
C) elementary poverty D) relative poverty
Answer: D

75) A family lives in a remote area of Appalachia, where coal mines that once employed many workers
have been idle for years. There are no jobs in the area, the distant schools are poorly funded, and
because of the remote location, there are no churches, or medical facilities nearby. These poor,
chronically unemployed people who barely survive from winter to winter are an example of:
A) relative poverty B) false consciousness
C) the underclass D) structural mobility
Answer: C

76) Prestige refers to the:

A) reputation that a particular individual has within an occupation
B) people who have similar levels of wealth, income, and status
C) respect and admiration with which an occupation is regarded by society
D) ability to exercise one's will over other
Answer: C

77) In what system of stratification would employment by a family to drive members in a luxury car be
distinguished from a similar job driving an economy car?
A) caste system B) slavery C) social class D) social inequality
Answer: A

78) Which of the following statements about slavery is true?

A) the only recorded examples of slavery occurred in the U.S. and in ancient Greece
B) it is considered the most extreme form of social inequality
C) slavery was considered a permanent status in ancient Greece
D) slavery in the U.S. was considered an achieved status
Answer: B

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79) When a system of inequality is based on a hierarchy of groups, sociologists refer to it as:
A) social castes B) social layering C) social inequality D) stratification
Answer: D

80) A condition in which members of a society have different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power is
called:
A) social inequality B) social structure C) status D) socialization
Answer: A

81) In nineteenth century Canada, employers in Ontario needed experts for the machinery in their new
knitting factories. They recruited women from the textile industries in Britain. Many women who
came had little education, but years of experience. Some were married, but left home leaving no
traces of their whereabouts, and started a new life as managers and supervisors in the factories.
Their gender did not prevent them from advancement in this situation. This event illustrates which
of the following sociological terms?
A) social worth, net worth, gender inequality, and class status
B) ascribed status, achieved status, social class, social mobility
C) social class, social status, wealth, and income
D) caste, class, social mobility, and guest worker status
Answer: B

82) Max Weber uses the term "class" to refer to people who share a similar level of:
A) wealth and income B) culture and political position
C) status and power D) status and self-esteem
Answer: A

83) Measuring the impact of women's contribution to the economy is difficult due to which of the
following factors?
A) their occupational statuses tend to upgrade those of men
B) the class position of a family might be determined by combining the occupations of husband
and wife but many women now work in occupations near, equal or of greater rank to their
husbands making it difficult to decide how to measure that combined status such as averaging
the statuses or going with the greater status
C) they are predominantly in low-paid positions
D) all these answers are correct
Answer: D

84) The majority of lone-parent families are headed by women. In 2009, 21.5 percent of single mothers
in Canada lived in poverty. Many employed women work in female-dominated job ghettos, earning
less than men. These trends are referred to as:
A) dramatic poverty B) elementary poverty
C) the feminization of poverty D) discriminating poverty
Answer: C

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85) Capitalism is an economic system in which:
A) the means of production are largely in private hands, and the main incentive for economic
activity is the accumulation of profit.
B) the means of production and distribution are collectively owned.
C) all property is communally owned and no social distinctions are made on the basis of people's
ability to produce.
D) none of these
Answer: A

86) Objectively measuring social class has been made easier by advances in statistical methods and
computer technology. Which of the following statements is most accurate about the changes?
A) the study of stratification is complicated and needs computers that can work faster than the
human brain
B) multiple measures such as home value and sources of income, even neighbourhoods are now
possible, making measurements more complex and multi-dimensional
C) computer technology prevents subjectivity and bias, allowing for greater multi-dimensionality
D) education has emerged as an important indicator of inequality, a factor that was not clear prior
to greater computer use
Answer: B

87) Jane and David are arguing about their employer and a possible strike vote. Jane agrees her boss is
constantly calling her in for extra hours but never pays overtime. However, she believes he is
discriminating against her because she is young and female. David argues that the company has been
consistently demanding more hours for less pay and is now bringing in temporary foreign workers
who are paid minimum wage. "They exploit all of us," he says. According to Marx, Jane has
, and David is .
A) the view of the bourgeoisie; the view of the proletariat
B) a feminist view; socially conscious
C) a capitalist's perspective; a union member
D) false consciousness; class consciousness
Answer: D

88) Karl Marx used the term "proletariat" to refer to:

A) the owners of the means of production B) the working class
C) the capitalist class D) the middle class
Answer: B

89) Herbert Gans applied a functionalist analysis to the existence of poverty, arguing that people living
in poverty benefits society politically, economically, and socially. Gans pointed out that:
A) there are a number of social, economic, and political functions that the poor perform for
society, e.g., they do dirty and unpopular work at low costs
B) the existence of poor people guarantees the higher status of the more affluent
C) poverty creates jobs for those in occupations serving the poor
D) all these answers are correct
Answer: D

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90) In Canada:
A) there is greater inequality in income than in wealth
B) there is greater inequality in wealth than in income
C) the distribution of wealth is not studied
D) the distribution of wealth and income is similar
Answer: B

91) Steve, Robin, and Tish chatted with Alex about life after graduation from high school. Which
student is most likely to go to university after high school?
A) Tish's parents are upper class and have post graduate degrees. One is a company executive, and
one is a lawyer. They own their home
B) Robin's parents are lower middle class, have high school diplomas, and work in the service
industry. They rent their home
C) Steve's parents are middle class, both school teachers, one with a Master's degree. They own a
small house
D) Alex's parents are working class, employed at a local factory, and one was just laid off for the
season at a local resort. They rent their home
Answer: A

92) 8.8% of all Canadian individuals have low-incomes. Which group of Canadian individuals is most
likely to earn a low-income?
A) off-reserve Aboriginal people and recent immigrants
B) unattached individuals aged 45-64
C) married university students
D) people with disabilities and lone parents
Answer: B

93) Families buying million dollar homes in a large city are considered . Those who buy their
own home at a much lower cost would need but have probably not inherited stocks or
shares.
A) to have wealth; a good income income B) prestigious; status
C) to have a good income; wealth D) upper class; a good bank loan
Answer: A

94) A woman who was born and raised in a poor family becomes a regional supervisor for the U.S.
Postal Service, where her first position was a letter carrier. She has experienced:
A) vertical horizontal mobility
B) intergenerational institutional mobility
C) upward intergenerational and intragenerational mobility
D) structural horizontal mobility
Answer: C

16
 95) Slavery takes many forms. These include which of the following?
A) a temporary labourer has their passport taken away, is housed in squalid conditions. They
cannot protest for fear of deportation and are forced to do degrading work
B) children working in cocoa bean production and harvesting, beaten, and forced to do hard labour
for up to a 100 hours a week
C) young women are deceived or kidnapped, and forced to work in the sex industries
D) all of these answers are correct
Answer: D

ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.

96) To what extent is Canada a class system or a caste system?

Answer: Canada has a system of social classes based on income, wealth, status, prestige, and power. At
the top are families who are wealthy, have a high income, and work in occupations that are
high status and give them power such as to influence government. At the bottom are families
who work in the most available jobs, and often inconsistent employment, although many
families living in poverty also work full time. Canada's class system, however, shows little
social mobility. Most likely to move up or down are the middle classes. For the rich or the
poor there is little mobility. Those who are rich or middle class parents who can afford to
assist their children will see their children through university, and entrance into the same level
of occupation that their parents hold. Those who have a low-income will not be able to assist
their children in like manner, and are therefore much less likely to see intergenerational social
mobility. In the middle classes, more young people whose parents did not attend university
can access university and a degree, allowing some social mobility. Young people with
outstanding skills may also advance in their chosen occupation, experiencing intragenerational
mobility. But in the top and lowest classes, this is less likely to occur. The top classes can only
go down, but seldom do so. In the lowest classes, it is very difficult to move up. In this sense,
Canada is a caste system.

97) Discuss Karl Marx's view on class differentiation. In your answer define the terms "bourgeoisie" and
"proletariat," and explain, with examples, how Marx could argue that some workers develop a 'false
consciousness.' Could false consciousness lead to scapegoating? Suggest one possible connection.
Answer: Marx based his theory of inequality under capitalism as based on who controlled the means of
production. When that production was held by private individuals, the emphasis would be on
profit accumulation. In order to compete against other companies, the capitalist class, or
bourgeoisie the owners of the means of production would need to make increasing profits,
leading to the exploitation of their workers the proletariat. At some point in that exploitation,
workers would develop class consciousness a sense of having vested interests in common.
Workers who were unable to perceive themselves as exploited, perhaps who enjoyed their
work or admired their bosses, believing them to be fair, had what Marx called a 'false
consciousness.' They were blind to their exploitation. Such an individual, working in
conditions they saw as necessary, or even as fair, might regard the unemployed worker as
simply lazy, or the worker demanding better wages, as greedy. If those workers were similar in
some way, such as gender or immigrant, the satisfied worker might scapegoat them as trouble
makers, a threat to the stability of the company.

17
98) How might a widely shared ideology, such as that working hard will get the rewards, be reproduced
and contribute to the stability of a society, or contribute to instability and social change? Use three
different theoretical perspectives on stratification in your answer.
Answer: Marx argued that the powerful classes in society, in his time, the bourgeoisie, could influence
social institutions such as government, media, religion, and education, and get their ideology
accepted as a taken for granted truth. In other words, this dominant ideology operated in the
interests of the ruling class. Not only do the ruling classes control wealth and property they
also control the means of producing beliefs about reality that support their status and power.
Functionalists would argue that social inequality is necessary to social stability, because it
encourages and rewards those who spend time gaining qualifications and skills before earning
money, while leaving those who prioritize income to do less skilled work. However, this view
ignores intervening factors such as gender, and cannot explain the very large differences
between incomes groups. Radical feminists would argue that Canada remains a patriarchal
country where women continue to earn less, and to dominate in less prestigious occupations,
while carrying more of the responsibility for domestic work. The result is that they mostly find
their work less valued, their workplaces more likely to be unfriendly, and have far fewer
opportunities for promotion. Radical feminists suggest that women are excluded from this
gender stratified culture, and stand to be oppressed and controlled by it.

18
99) Describe the various issues surrounding the definition of poverty. Define the difference between
absolute and relative poverty.
Answer: Poverty is difficult to define. Absolute poverty is a minimal level of subsistence below which
no one is expected to have to live. However, there are thousands of people who have no home
or who live in a single room, and have no money for clothes or adequate food. Government
policies in regard to poverty tend to assume a standard, although they have no official
measurement. Unofficially federal government officials work with the Low Income Cut-Off.
This varies by region across Canada, including differences between rural and urban
communities because it is a measurement that compares low-income to the average earned in
an area, and the percentage of those earnings that are spent on necessities food, clothing and
housing. Depending on family size, the measure regards a family spending more than 63% of
its income on necessities is living in poverty, or if it spends 20% more on necessities than the
average family in its area. When talking about relative poverty, however, sociologists refer to
a comparison between the lifestyles of people at the top of income levels with people at the
bottom level, so this is a measure of relative deprivation compared to absolute poverty. The
issues of poverty include the little known fact that most poor people are in the workforce.
They are the working poor people whose earnings are insufficient to sustain them. A single
employed person in a family of four working for minimum wages would exemplify this. In
fact it is hard, if not impossible, for low-income families with children to meet expenses
without having two adults in the workforce. Almost a quarter of female lone-parent families
lived in poverty in 2011. In the 45-64 year old age group, almost 35% had low-incomes, and
23.5% of people with disabilities. Many Canadians will experience some poverty in their
lifetimes but those who are born into poverty and stay there constitute what is known as an
underclass. The underclass is also likely to be associated with race or ethnicity, age and
disability. Aboriginal peoples have one the most persistent rates of poverty. Conflict theorists
point out that the continuing failure of governments to change the rate of poverty in Canada, in
spite of many promises to do so, points to a possibility that there is a "blame the victim"
attitude, holding poor people responsible for their own poverty. But a functionalist look at
poverty suggests it is very helpful for society to have an underclass to do the jobs no one else
wants and that are not highly valued for the purpose of wages. That suggests one possible
reason for the evident lack of political will to make improvements for low-income Canadians,
who have very little political power to change their own situation.

19
100) "The highest paid 100 CEOs in Canada's TSX Index had reason to cheer the (2016) New Year: By
noon on January 4th they had already pocketed $48,636 it takes the average Canadian an entire
year to make this amount." Discuss.
Answer: This quotation highlights the increasing distance between Canada's top income earners and
those at the bottom. By this time Canada's elite were making 184 times the income of the
average wage earner. In 1998, that figure was 105 times the average wage still outrageous
but not as bad as 2016. Most of these earners were males. While some inequality is present in
every society, the degree and extent varies enormously. Stratification in modern societies is
linked to income (what is earned) and wealth (all of a person's material assets). Social class
may be both ascribed and achieved. Many rich people inherit wealth. This is an ascribed
status. When a person earns a high salary, this gives them an achieved status. A tendency to
"blame the victim" assumes poverty is achieved, not ascribed. But in fact it is hard for a poor
person to escape poverty. It is an ascribed status, since a child born into a poor family is far
less likely to get to university meaning they are less likely to achieve an occupation with
higher wages than those of their parents. Functionalists see this inequality as necessary for
society to function efficiently, but conflict theorists see it as resulting in significant political,
economic, and social inequality. Some feminists point to the effects of race, age, disability,
and class in the production of inequality. These are ascribed characteristics that are barriers to
social mobility. An important Weberian insight is that differences in status also carry
differential power. Once at the top, the upper classes have the power to control, or influence
important aspects of society, such as values or occupational status, and to promote these as
'normal.' Powerful groups may influence governments to bring in limited social reforms that
pacify workers who might otherwise rebel. Those powerful groups tend to be largely
middle-aged male and white, often having had a high quality education. They are most likely
people who were born into a higher class, and began with advantages not available to those in
the lower echelons. This is extreme stratification that takes on the look of a caste society at
times.

20
Answer Key
Testname: UNTITLED6

1) FALSE
2) FALSE
3) FALSE
4) TRUE
5) TRUE
6) TRUE
7) FALSE
8) TRUE
9) FALSE
10) TRUE
11) B
12) D
13) A
14) B
15) D
16) C
17) D
18) A
19) C
20) D
21) B
22) D
23) C
24) D
25) B
26) C
27) D
28) A
29) C
30) D
31) B
32) B
33) A
34) B
35) D
36) C
37) C
38) D
39) B
40) C
41) A
42) C
43) D
44) D
45) C
46) C
47) A
48) B
49) B
50) D
21
Answer Key
Testname: UNTITLED6

51) D
52) C
53) A
54) D
55) D
56) D
57) B
58) A
59) D
60) C
61) A
62) A
63) D
64) D
65) D
66) B
67) D
68) B
69) C
70) B
71) C
72) D
73) B
74) D
75) C
76) C
77) A
78) B
79) D
80) A
81) B
82) A
83) D
84) C
85) A
86) B
87) D
88) B
89) D
90) B
91) A
92) B
93) A
94) C
95) D

22
Answer Key
Testname: UNTITLED6

96) Canada has a system of social classes based on income, wealth, status, prestige, and power. At the top are
families who are wealthy, have a high income, and work in occupations that are high status and give them
power such as to influence government. At the bottom are families who work in the most available jobs,
and often inconsistent employment, although many families living in poverty also work full time. Canada's
class system, however, shows little social mobility. Most likely to move up or down are the middle
classes. For the rich or the poor there is little mobility. Those who are rich or middle class parents who can
afford to assist their children will see their children through university, and entrance into the same level of
occupation that their parents hold. Those who have a low-income will not be able to assist their children in
like manner, and are therefore much less likely to see intergenerational social mobility. In the middle
classes, more young people whose parents did not attend university can access university and a degree,
allowing some social mobility. Young people with outstanding skills may also advance in their chosen
occupation, experiencing intragenerational mobility. But in the top and lowest classes, this is less likely to
occur. The top classes can only go down, but seldom do so. In the lowest classes, it is very difficult to move
up. In this sense, Canada is a caste system.
97) Marx based his theory of inequality under capitalism as based on who controlled the means of production.
When that production was held by private individuals, the emphasis would be on profit accumulation. In
order to compete against other companies, the capitalist class, or bourgeoisie the owners of the means of
production would need to make increasing profits, leading to the exploitation of their workers the
proletariat. At some point in that exploitation, workers would develop class consciousness a sense of
having vested interests in common. Workers who were unable to perceive themselves as exploited,
perhaps who enjoyed their work or admired their bosses, believing them to be fair, had what Marx called a
'false consciousness.' They were blind to their exploitation. Such an individual, working in conditions they
saw as necessary, or even as fair, might regard the unemployed worker as simply lazy, or the worker
demanding better wages, as greedy. If those workers were similar in some way, such as gender or
immigrant, the satisfied worker might scapegoat them as trouble makers, a threat to the stability of the
company.
98) Marx argued that the powerful classes in society, in his time, the bourgeoisie, could influence social
institutions such as government, media, religion, and education, and get their ideology accepted as a taken
for granted truth. In other words, this dominant ideology operated in the interests of the ruling class. Not
only do the ruling classes control wealth and property they also control the means of producing beliefs
about reality that support their status and power. Functionalists would argue that social inequality is
necessary to social stability, because it encourages and rewards those who spend time gaining
qualifications and skills before earning money, while leaving those who prioritize income to do less
skilled work. However, this view ignores intervening factors such as gender, and cannot explain the very
large differences between incomes groups. Radical feminists would argue that Canada remains a
patriarchal country where women continue to earn less, and to dominate in less prestigious occupations,
while carrying more of the responsibility for domestic work. The result is that they mostly find their work
less valued, their workplaces more likely to be unfriendly, and have far fewer opportunities for promotion.
Radical feminists suggest that women are excluded from this gender stratified culture, and stand to be
oppressed and controlled by it.

23
Answer Key
Testname: UNTITLED6

99) Poverty isdifficult to define. Absolute poverty is a minimal level of subsistence below which no one is
expected to have to live. However, there are thousands of people who have no home or who live in a
single room, and have no money for clothes or adequate food. Government policies in regard to poverty
tend to assume a standard, although they have no official measurement. Unofficially federal government
officials work with the Low Income Cut-Off. This varies by region across Canada, including differences
between rural and urban communities because it is a measurement that compares low-income to the
average earned in an area, and the percentage of those earnings that are spent on necessities food,
clothing and housing. Depending on family size, the measure regards a family spending more than 63% of
its income on necessities is living in poverty, or if it spends 20% more on necessities than the average
family in its area. When talking about relative poverty, however, sociologists refer to a comparison
between the lifestyles of people at the top of income levels with people at the bottom level, so this is a
measure of relative deprivation compared to absolute poverty. The issues of poverty include the little
known fact that most poor people are in the workforce. They are the working poor people whose earnings
are insufficient to sustain them. A single employed person in a family of four working for minimum wages
would exemplify this. In fact it is hard, if not impossible, for low-income families with children to meet
expenses without having two adults in the workforce. Almost a quarter of female lone-parent families
lived in poverty in 2011. In the 45-64 year old age group, almost 35% had low-incomes, and 23.5% of
people with disabilities. Many Canadians will experience some poverty in their lifetimes but those who are
born into poverty and stay there constitute what is known as an underclass. The underclass is also likely to
be associated with race or ethnicity, age and disability. Aboriginal peoples have one the most persistent
rates of poverty. Conflict theorists point out that the continuing failure of governments to change the rate
of poverty in Canada, in spite of many promises to do so, points to a possibility that there is a "blame the
victim" attitude, holding poor people responsible for their own poverty. But a functionalist look at poverty
suggests it is very helpful for society to have an underclass to do the jobs no one else wants and that are
not highly valued for the purpose of wages. That suggests one possible reason for the evident lack of
political will to make improvements for low-income Canadians, who have very little political power to
change their own situation.

24
Answer Key
Testname: UNTITLED6

100) This quotation highlights the increasing distance between Canada's top income earners and those at the
bottom. By this time Canada's elite were making 184 times the income of the average wage earner. In
1998, that figure was 105 times the average wage still outrageous but not as bad as 2016. Most of these
earners were males. While some inequality is present in every society, the degree and extent varies
enormously. Stratification in modern societies is linked to income (what is earned) and wealth (all of a
person's material assets). Social class may be both ascribed and achieved. Many rich people inherit wealth.
This is an ascribed status. When a person earns a high salary, this gives them an achieved status. A
tendency to "blame the victim" assumes poverty is achieved, not ascribed. But in fact it is hard for a poor
person to escape poverty. It is an ascribed status, since a child born into a poor family is far less likely to
get to university meaning they are less likely to achieve an occupation with higher wages than those of
their parents. Functionalists see this inequality as necessary for society to function efficiently, but conflict
theorists see it as resulting in significant political, economic, and social inequality. Some feminists point
to the effects of race, age, disability, and class in the production of inequality. These are ascribed
characteristics that are barriers to social mobility. An important Weberian insight is that differences in
status also carry differential power. Once at the top, the upper classes have the power to control, or
influence important aspects of society, such as values or occupational status, and to promote these as
'normal.' Powerful groups may influence governments to bring in limited social reforms that pacify
workers who might otherwise rebel. Those powerful groups tend to be largely middle-aged male and
white, often having had a high quality education. They are most likely people who were born into a higher
class, and began with advantages not available to those in the lower echelons. This is extreme stratification
that takes on the look of a caste society at times.

25