The best predictor of your eventual social class is your:
a. intelligence.
b. determination.
c. achievement motivation.
d. parents' income.
Question 2Although the class system of the U.S. permits social mobility, most people attain the same or similar social class as their parents. This is best described as:
a. a self-fulfilling prophecy.
b. the indirect inheritance model.
c. survival of the fittest.
d. operant conditioning.
Question 3In a class system, the allocation of statuses and resources in each new generation depends on:
a. personal characteristics such as education and job skills.
b. individual characteristics and labor market characteristics.
c. achievement motivation and intelligence alone.
d. none of the above
Question 4The theoretical perspective that explains how social interaction reinforces inequality by reminding each of us of our place in the social order is:
a. structural-functionalism.
b. conflict theory.
c. symbolic interactionism.
d. strain theory.
Question 5If a teacher believes that a student is less intelligent than other students, that student is likely to receive less attention and assistance. Therefore, ultimately the student seen as less intelligent will perform poorly on assignments. This is an example of:
a. relative inequality.
b. a self-fulfilling prophecy.
c. structural-strain.
d. blaming the victim.
Question 6When something is defined as real and therefore becomes real in its consequences, this is termed:
a. a self-fulfilling prophecy.
b. structural-strain.
c. reality functioning.
d. critical reality.
Question 7The theoretical perspective that asks how inequalities are perpetuated within everyday life is:
a. structural-functionalism.
b. conflict theory.
c. symbolic interactionism.
d. strain theory.