4

Student: ___________________________________________________________________________

1. When asked on surveys (such as the General Social Survey) to which class they belong, most
U.S. residents respond that they are either

A. lower class or working class

B. working class or middle class
C. middle class or upper class
D. lower class or middle class

2. In 1996, the demand for low- and semi-skilled workers was so reduced that the average male
worker with a high school degree was earning _____ than a comparable man in 1979.

A. more
B. twice as much
C. less
D. less than half

3. Life chances may be impacted by all of the following except:

A. resources and opportunities

B. higher education
C. prestige
D. discrimination or racial segregation

4. Upper class families in the United States are characterized by which of the following:

A. They work part-time and tend increasingly to work in the service sector.
B. The wives tend to work outside of the home in high paying jobs.
C. They tend to be highly recognized as part of the social and cultural elite of their communities.
D. They don't have employment stability.
5. Studies in the United States suggest that husbands and wives may belong to different classes in
____________ of all two-parent, two-earner families.

A. half
B. two-thirds
C. one-third
D. the majority

6. Since the 1970s, families whose income lies in the middle of the income distribution (of all U.S.
families) have kept up with the cost of living primarily by

A. having husbands take second jobs.

B. relying on parental "gifts" for purchases such as down payments on houses.
C. taking advantage of changes in the tax structure for married couples.
D. having wives take jobs outside the home.

7. Of the following, the best example of an assortative marriage would be

A. a Protestant high school graduate marrying a Catholic college graduate

B. a Protestant non high school graduate marrying a Protestant high school graduate
C. a Protestant college graduate marrying a Catholic college graduate
D. a Catholic high school graduate marrying a Protestant college graduate

8. Which of the following is most likely to be married when they give birth?

A. Women with a college degree.

B. Women who attended college but didn't graduate.
C. Women with a high school diploma.
D. Women who didn't graduate from high school.

9. Rossi and Rossi's Boston-area study of people's sense of obligation to kin found that most
people

A. felt little obligation to most kin.

B. felt no obligation to most kin.
C. felt moderate to high levels of obligation to most kin.
D. felt some level of obligation to really close kin.
10. Kinship networks of the poor

A. spread the burden of poverty

B. will share whatever they have even if they are poor
C. help others to get by day by day
D. all of the above

11. Based on sociological studies, those kinship ties that engender the strongest feelings of
obligation are

A. horizontal kinship ties among siblings.

B. conjugal family ties.
C. extended family ties.
D. vertical kinship ties including parents to children to grandchildren.

12. Which of the following is not a value emphasized by working class parents?

A. good manners.
B. obedience to authority.
C. creativity.
D. conformity.

13. All of the following are advantages that middle-class children gain from "the accomplishment of
natural growth" except which?

A. They are more assertive.

B. They are more verbal.
C. They are more physically fit.
D. They have a more independent sense of self.

14. The resources and opportunities that people have to provide themselves with material goods and
favorable living conditions are called

A. life chances
B. life changes
C. ideal types
D. privileges
15. Working and middle class parents differ in their choice of important childrearing values primarily
because of

A. different job experiences.

B. different educational backgrounds.
C. unequal access to resources.
D. the working class' lack of time to spend with the children

16. A group of people who share a common style of life and often identify with each other is called
a/an

A. class
B. cohort
C. status group
D. reference group

17. Chances of divorce have been _______ for college graduates and ________ for people who did
not graduate from high school

A. increasing; increasing
B. declining; increasing
C. declining; declining
D. increasing; declining

18. Income inequality among families has increased because of all but which of the following?

A. the growing importance of education

B. the decline in number of children born in each family
C. the growth of single-parent families headed by women
D. globalization

19. The concept of status group was refined by the famous sociologist

A. Max Weber
B. Karl Marx
C. Anthony Giddings
D. Andrew Cherlin
20. Matching Quiz

1. tendency of people to marry others

similar to themselves ideal type ____
2. delay marriage, but have a higher
lifetime probability of marrying status group ____
3. most likely to use reproductive strategy woman-centered
of bearing children outside marriage kinship ____
4. strongest predictor of a family's
success middle-class ____
5. growth of job opportunities at the top
and bottom of the market but dwindling
opportunities in the middle polarization ____
6. strongest bonds of support and
caregiving occur among a network of
women college graduates ____
7. men and women whose jobs are mostly
professional, in offices and businesses, assortative
and require a college degree marriage ____
8. access to special advantages privilege ____
9. a group of people who share a common
style of life and often identify with each women without a
other high school diploma ____
10. resources and opportunities for
provision of material goods and favorable amount of
living Conditions education ____
11. jobholders who are more vulnerable to
periods of unemployment working-class ____
12. hypothetical model that contains the
most significant characteristics of a social
phenomenon 15.1% ____
13. percentage of Americans living in
households below the poverty line in 2010 life chances ____

21. American men are as likely as women to "do the work" of kinship relations.

True False

22. Status groups mainly defined by degree of education may be more useful than those defined by
class.

True False

23. Dual-earner, married couples have seen their incomes shrink, just as have other families.

True False
24. The psychological contract between employers and workers is still very strong.

True False

25. The significant differences in U.S. family incomes today is determined by whether or not the
parent(s) has a college degree.

True False

26. The actual distribution of family income in the United States is relatively equal.

True False

27. Membership in a kinship network can perpetuate poverty.

True False

28. Vertical kinship ties are the strongest.

True False

29. Each class socializes its children to fill the same positions as their parents have filled.

True False

30. Earnings among U.S. workers have become more equal over time.

True False

31. Working class parents are more likely to "cultivate" their children's talents and skills.

True False

32. Income inequality among U.S. families has decreased in recent decades.

True False

33. A status group is defined by the resources and opportunities that people have to provide
themselves with material goods and favorable living conditions.

True False
34. Explain what Lareau meant by concerted cultivation vs. natural growth in terms of the class
differences in the way parents view the task of raising children.

35. Describe how education impacts the status group one would be included in.

36. In your own words, but using sociological concepts, describe the major social classes in the
United States. What differentiates members of the different classes? How are they similar?

37. How do husbands and wives decide what social class they are in?
38. What reasons can you think of to explain why there is little good research on the upper class in
the United States?

39. Discuss social class and parental values as described in your textbook. Was your own
experience different or similar?

40. Why is marriage usually less important in a female-centered kinship structure than in other
kinship structures?

41. In what ways do the poor actively construct extended kin networks? How can they be both a help
and a hindrance?
42. Can you envision a situation in which U.S. society in the 2000s returns to the breadwinner-
homemaker model of the family? Why or why not?

43. In what respects is the husband's role within the household minimized in a female-centered
kinship system?

44. How does everyday life reinforce gender differences?

 4 Key

1. When asked on surveys (such as the General Social Survey) to which class they belong, most
(p. 122) U.S. residents respond that they are either

A. lower class or working class

B. working class or middle class
C. middle class or upper class
D. lower class or middle class
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #1

2. In 1996, the demand for low- and semi-skilled workers was so reduced that the average male
(p. 110) worker with a high school degree was earning _____ than a comparable man in 1979.

A. more
B. twice as much
C. less
D. less than half
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #2

3. Life chances may be impacted by all of the following except:

(p. 120-
121)

A. resources and opportunities

B. higher education
C. prestige
D. discrimination or racial segregation
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #3

4. Upper class families in the United States are characterized by which of the following:
(p. 122)

A. They work part-time and tend increasingly to work in the service sector.
B. The wives tend to work outside of the home in high paying jobs.
C. They tend to be highly recognized as part of the social and cultural elite of their
communities.
D. They don't have employment stability.
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #4
5. Studies in the United States suggest that husbands and wives may belong to different classes
(p. 122) in ____________ of all two-parent, two-earner families.

A. half
B. two-thirds
C. one-third
D. the majority
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #5

6. Since the 1970s, families whose income lies in the middle of the income distribution (of all
(p. 134) U.S. families) have kept up with the cost of living primarily by

A. having husbands take second jobs.

B. relying on parental "gifts" for purchases such as down payments on houses.
C. taking advantage of changes in the tax structure for married couples.
D. having wives take jobs outside the home.
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #6

7. Of the following, the best example of an assortative marriage would be

(p. 116)

A. a Protestant high school graduate marrying a Catholic college graduate

B. a Protestant non high school graduate marrying a Protestant high school graduate
C. a Protestant college graduate marrying a Catholic college graduate
D. a Catholic high school graduate marrying a Protestant college graduate
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #7

8. Which of the following is most likely to be married when they give birth?
(p. 115)

A. Women with a college degree.

B. Women who attended college but didn't graduate.
C. Women with a high school diploma.
D. Women who didn't graduate from high school.
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #8
9. Rossi and Rossi's Boston-area study of people's sense of obligation to kin found that most
(p. 128- people
130)

A. felt little obligation to most kin.

B. felt no obligation to most kin.
C. felt moderate to high levels of obligation to most kin.
D. felt some level of obligation to really close kin.
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #9

10. Kinship networks of the poor

(p. 127-
128)

A. spread the burden of poverty

B. will share whatever they have even if they are poor
C. help others to get by day by day
D. all of the above
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #10

11. Based on sociological studies, those kinship ties that engender the strongest feelings of
(p. 130) obligation are

A. horizontal kinship ties among siblings.

B. conjugal family ties.
C. extended family ties.
D. vertical kinship ties including parents to children to grandchildren.
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #11

12. Which of the following is not a value emphasized by working class parents?
(p. 131)

A. good manners.
B. obedience to authority.
C. creativity.
D. conformity.
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #12
13. All of the following are advantages that middle-class children gain from "the accomplishment
(p. 133) of natural growth" except which?

A. They are more assertive.

B. They are more verbal.
C. They are more physically fit.
D. They have a more independent sense of self.
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #13

14. The resources and opportunities that people have to provide themselves with material goods
(p. 120) and favorable living conditions are called

A. life chances
B. life changes
C. ideal types
D. privileges
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #14

15. Working and middle class parents differ in their choice of important childrearing values
(p. 131) primarily because of

A. different job experiences.

B. different educational backgrounds.
C. unequal access to resources.
D. the working class' lack of time to spend with the children
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #15

16. A group of people who share a common style of life and often identify with each other is called
(p. 121) a/an

A. class
B. cohort
C. status group
D. reference group
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #16
17. Chances of divorce have been _______ for college graduates and ________ for people who
(p. 135) did not graduate from high school

A. increasing; increasing
B. declining; increasing
C. declining; declining
D. increasing; declining
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #17

18. Income inequality among families has increased because of all but which of the following?
(p. 111-
113)

A. the growing importance of education

B. the decline in number of children born in each family
C. the growth of single-parent families headed by women
D. globalization
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #18

19. The concept of status group was refined by the famous sociologist
(p. 120)

A. Max Weber
B. Karl Marx
C. Anthony Giddings
D. Andrew Cherlin
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #19
20. Matching Quiz
(p. 110-
127)

1. tendency of people to marry others

similar to themselves ideal type 12
2. delay marriage, but have a higher
lifetime probability of marrying status group 9
3. most likely to use reproductive strategy woman-centered
of bearing children outside marriage kinship 6
4. strongest predictor of a family's success middle-class 7
5. growth of job opportunities at the top
and bottom of the market but dwindling
opportunities in the middle polarization 5
6. strongest bonds of support and
caregiving occur among a network of
women college graduates 2
7. men and women whose jobs are mostly
professional, in offices and businesses, assortative
and require a college degree marriage 1
8. access to special advantages privilege 8
9. a group of people who share a common
style of life and often identify with each women without a
other high school diploma 3
10. resources and opportunities for
provision of material goods and favorable amount of
living Conditions education 4
11. jobholders who are more vulnerable to
periods of unemployment working-class 11
12. hypothetical model that contains the
most significant characteristics of a social
phenomenon 15.1% 13
13. percentage of Americans living in
households below the poverty line in 2010 life chances 10
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #20

21. American men are as likely as women to "do the work" of kinship relations.
(p. 127)

FALSE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #21

22. Status groups mainly defined by degree of education may be more useful than those defined
(p. 124) by class.

TRUE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #22
23. Dual-earner, married couples have seen their incomes shrink, just as have other families.
(p. 117)

FALSE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #23

24. The psychological contract between employers and workers is still very strong.
(p. 111)

FALSE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #24

25. The significant differences in U.S. family incomes today is determined by whether or not the
(p. 113) parent(s) has a college degree.

TRUE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #25

26. The actual distribution of family income in the United States is relatively equal.
(p. 112)

FALSE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #26

27. Membership in a kinship network can perpetuate poverty.

(p. 128)

TRUE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #27

28. Vertical kinship ties are the strongest.

(p. 130)

TRUE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #28

29. Each class socializes its children to fill the same positions as their parents have filled.
(p. 131-
132)
TRUE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #29

30. Earnings among U.S. workers have become more equal over time.
(p. 109)

FALSE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #30

31. Working class parents are more likely to "cultivate" their children's talents and skills.
(p. 128)

FALSE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #31
32. Income inequality among U.S. families has decreased in recent decades.
(p. 112)

FALSE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #32

33. A status group is defined by the resources and opportunities that people have to provide
(p. 121) themselves with material goods and favorable living conditions.

FALSE
Cherlin - Chapter 04 #33

34. Explain what Lareau meant by concerted cultivation vs. natural growth in terms of the class
(p. 132) differences in the way parents view the task of raising children.

Answer will vary

Cherlin - Chapter 04 #34

35. Describe how education impacts the status group one would be included in.
(p. 124)

Answer will vary

Cherlin - Chapter 04 #35

36. In your own words, but using sociological concepts, describe the major social classes in the
(p. 122- United States. What differentiates members of the different classes? How are they similar?
124)

Answer will vary

Cherlin - Chapter 04 #36

37. How do husbands and wives decide what social class they are in?
(p. 122)

Answer will vary

Cherlin - Chapter 04 #37

38. What reasons can you think of to explain why there is little good research on the upper class
(p. 122) in the United States?

Answer will vary

Cherlin - Chapter 04 #38

39. Discuss social class and parental values as described in your textbook. Was your own
(p. 130- experience different or similar?
133)

Answer will vary

Cherlin - Chapter 04 #39

40. Why is marriage usually less important in a female-centered kinship structure than in other
(p. 127- kinship structures?
128)

Answer will vary

Cherlin - Chapter 04 #40

41. In what ways do the poor actively construct extended kin networks? How can they be both a
(p. 127- help and a hindrance?
128)

Answer will vary

Cherlin - Chapter 04 #41

42. Can you envision a situation in which U.S. society in the 2000s returns to the breadwinner-
(p. 110- homemaker model of the family? Why or why not?
136)

Answer will vary

Cherlin - Chapter 04 #42

43. In what respects is the husband's role within the household minimized in a female-centered
(p. 127- kinship system?
128)

Answer will vary

Cherlin - Chapter 04 #43

44. How does everyday life reinforce gender differences?

(p. 121-
122)

Answer will vary

Cherlin - Chapter 04 #44

 4 Summary

Category # of Questions
Cherlin - Chapter 04 44