Free Social Stratification MCQs with Answers
138 Social Stratification MCQs from Sociology, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
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1. When sociologists study the structure of layers in society and people's movement between them, they call this_____________?
- A. social stratification
- B. social control
- C. social conflict
- D. social solidarity
Explanation: Social stratification refers to the layered arrangement of people or groups in a society, while movement between these layers is called social mobility. Social control and solidarity describe different social processes.
Correct answer: social stratification2. Why does Mike Davis (1990) describe Los Angeles as a city of quartz ?
- A. it has more millionaires than any other city
- B. it has been hardened against the poor
- C. it has been hardened against than any other US city
- D. it has a policy of promoting opportunity for all
Explanation: In City of Quartz, Mike Davis used the image of a hardened city to describe Los Angeles as increasingly fortified against poor and marginalised groups through walls, surveillance, policing, and exclusionary planning. Option c is incomplete and incorrectly claims this occurred more than in any other US city.
Correct answer: it has been hardened against the poor3. Which of these ethnic groups has the greatest proportion of households below 60 per cent of median income ?
- A. Whites
- B. Indians
- C. Black Caribbean's
- D. Bangladeshis
Explanation: Bangladeshi households have historically recorded the highest poverty rates among these ethnic groups in UK income data. The 60-per-cent-of-median measure identifies relative poverty, not simply low average earnings.
Correct answer: Bangladeshis4. Median earnings are a better benchmark for poverty than mean earnings because____________?
- A. the mean is distorted by a few people at the very top of the distribution
- B. they lead more people to be defined as in poverty
- C. the median is a more accurate measurement of earnings than the mean
- D. all of the above
Explanation: A few very high earners can pull the mean upward, making it a poor representation of the typical household. The median is less affected by extreme values, so it provides a fairer poverty benchmark.
Correct answer: the mean is distorted by a few people at the very top of the distribution5. Which of these countries has the smallest proportion of people living on less than $1 a day_______________?
- A. Bangladesh
- B. Mozambique
- C. China
- D. Pakistan
Explanation: China had a smaller share living below one dollar a day than Bangladesh, Mozambique, or Pakistan in the period reflected by these comparative figures. Mozambique had the highest proportion among the options.
Correct answer: China6. Which of these is not a critique of attempts to measure relative deprivation ?
- A. the personal experience of poverty is not the concern of sociologists
- B. there is an arbitrary nature to how items are selected for a deprivation index
- C. it may be choice not poverty that means some people do not qualify for some of the items on a deprivation index
- D. the subjective nature of such indices means it is difficult to make comparisons between different studies and time periods
Explanation: The personal experience of poverty is relevant to sociological analysis, so saying it is not a concern is not a valid criticism. The other options identify genuine problems involving item selection, personal choice, and comparability.
Correct answer: the personal experience of poverty is not the concern of sociologists7. Children living in poverty tend to be more likely______________?
- A. to be killed in road accident
- B. to have a diet consisting primarily of vegetables
- C. to live in male-headed households
- D. none of the above
Explanation: Poverty is associated with greater exposure to dangerous housing, roads, and transport conditions, increasing children's risk of fatal road accidents. The other options do not describe the established general pattern.
Correct answer: to be killed in road accident8. Critics of the concept of relative poverty argue that______________?
- A. it concentrates too much on kinship ties
- B. the government should be raising benefit levels
- C. in modern affluent societies no one is truly poor
- D. it is wrong to make comparisons between countries
Explanation: Critics argue that relative poverty defines deprivation in comparison with the rest of society, so even affluent societies will always appear to contain poor people. This objection is captured by the claim that no one is truly poor in modern affluent societies.
Correct answer: in modern affluent societies no one is truly poor9. Social exclusion refers to ways in which people are cut off from full involvement in society How has Veit-Wilson (1998) distinguished the main variants of this concept ?
- A. primary/secondary
- B. weak/strong
- C. general/specific
- D. old/new
Explanation: Veit-Wilson distinguished a weaker view, where exclusion may be temporary or partial, from a stronger view involving systematic and multidimensional exclusion. These are described as weak and strong variants.
Correct answer: weak/strong10. Extreme poverty is often defined as living on less than US$1 per day how has extreme poverty changed between 1981 and 2004 ?
- A. stayed the same around 1.5 billion people
- B. rose from 1.5 billion people to 3 billion
- C. fell form 1.5 billion people to 1 billion
- D. rose from 1.5 billion people to 2.5 billionHire Grant Writers
Explanation: The number of people living below the extreme-poverty line declined from roughly 1.5 billion in 1981 to about 1 billion in 2004. This fall reflected major reductions in poverty, especially in China and parts of Asia.
Correct answer: fell form 1.5 billion people to 1 billionSocial Stratification MCQs: common questions
Are these Social Stratification MCQs free?
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How many Social Stratification MCQs are on this page?
There are 138 Social Stratification MCQs in the Sociology bank, shown ten to a page with the correct answer and an explanation on each.
Does every Social Stratification MCQ have an explanation?
Yes. Each Social Stratification question shows the correct option and a written explanation of why it is correct, so a wrong answer teaches you something rather than just being marked wrong.
Can I take a timed Social Stratification test?
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