Free Social Stratification MCQs with Answers

• A. class systems are relatively fluid
• B. class position is entirely subjective
• C. class is economically based
• D. class positions are in part achievedGet Study Guides

Explanation: Class position is not entirely subjective because it is linked to objective economic factors such as occupation, income and ownership. Class systems are relatively fluid, economically based and partly achieved.

• A. Conflict theory is better at explaining inequality
• B. Only functionalist theory has merit when discussing social structure
• C. Some sociologists have tried to synthesize the conflict and functionalist perspectives to argue that stratification systems are institutions that have evolved in order to reduce conflict
• D. none of the above

Explanation: Functionalist and conflict approaches emphasise different causes of stratification, but some sociologists combine them by viewing stratification as an institutional arrangement that can help manage social conflict. The other options either exaggerate one theory or make an unsupported absolute claim.

• A. its benefits individuals and groups who have the power to dominate and exploit others
• B. privilege prestige and power are equally distributed in society
• C. the capitalist drive to distribute wealth equitably is the foundation of modern society
• D. capitalists and workers are class consciousTrace Family History

Explanation: Conflict theory sees stratification as serving the interests of powerful groups, who use unequal resources and institutions to dominate or exploit others. It rejects the idea that privilege and power are equally distributed.

• A. intergenerational mobility
• B. socioeconomic life cycle
• C. vertical mobility
• D. none of the above

Explanation: The socioeconomic life cycle refers to status changes across a person's life, including birth into a family position and later formation of a new family unit. Intergenerational mobility instead compares the social position of children with that of their parents.

• A. Social mobility occurs only when shifts occur in the availability of different types of talent in the work force
• B. Social mobility can occur when societies change altering the division of labor
• C. Social mobility is controlled by those in the higher strata through control of opportunities for training and education
• D. none of above

Explanation: Social change can reorganise the division of labour by creating or reducing occupations, thereby changing opportunities for movement between social positions. The statement about mobility being completely controlled by higher strata is too absolute.

• A. the poor who are concentrated in isolated rural areas
• B. individuals who experience occasional poverty but who move back into the "mainstream" of economic life within 12 months
• C. the persistently poor who exist mainly because of a sharp climb in joblessness due to a redistribution of jobs in the inner city
• D. both b and c

Explanation: The underclass refers to people trapped in persistent poverty, often because deindustrialisation and job redistribution have produced long-term unemployment in inner-city areas. Occasional poverty followed by a return to the economic mainstream describes temporary poverty, not the underclass.

• A. large densely populated areas
• B. small groups
• C. highly transient communities
• D. none of the above

Explanation: The reputational method identifies class position by asking people who is considered higher or lower in status within a community. It works best in small, stable groups where members know one another, not in large or highly transient populations.

• A. inequality occurs in a random fashion
• B. inequalities are passed from generation to generation
• C. inequality is regulated by the government
• D. none of the above is true

Explanation: A structured inequality is patterned rather than random, and its advantages and disadvantages are often reproduced across generations through wealth, education and social connections. Government regulation may affect inequality, but it is not what the phrase specifically means.

• A. Cultural groups
• B. Social and economic classes
• C. Ethnic groups
• D. None of theseAccess Government Careers

Explanation: Peter Saunders explains modern stratification primarily through social and economic classes, especially differences in resources and market position. Cultural and ethnic groups can influence status, but they are not the central basis in this formulation.

• A. Max Weber
• B. John Goldthorpe
• C. Karl Marx
• D. Pierre Bourdieu

Explanation: Pierre Bourdieu argued that class advantage is shaped not only by economic capital but also by cultural capital, such as education, tastes and credentials. Marx focused mainly on ownership of the means of production, making Bourdieu the specific match.