Sociology Chapter 9 Study Guide
1.
2.
3.
4.
According to Symbolic Interactionists, who do most people choose to associate with?
Who is the leading conflict theorist regarding social stratification?
Why is it difficult to compare social inequality across cultures?
What do you call it when somebody purchases something mainly for the image it will
portray to others?
5. What does the Davis-Moore Thesis state?
6. When is downward mobility likely to happen in American society?
7. What are 5 factors that are often taken into account when determining a person’s relative
social status?
8. In the US, what is a defining difference between somebody from the upper class and
somebody from the upper-middle class?
9. What is the number 1 factor that you can control to try and achieve upward social
mobility?
10. What factors (statistical information) is used to determine the standard of living in a
country?
11. What fraction of our nation’s wealth is possessed by the top 1%?
12. What is intragenerational mobility? Please provide an example.
13. What information is used to compare nations’ economies to each other?
14. How is the industrial revolution related to the global stratification we see today?
15. How does the US middle class differ from most middle classes? (Hint-categories)
16. ____________ is used to describe somebody who rises up because of their abilities and
motivation.
17. What factors are used to determine someone’s standard of living?
18. What is a caste system? Why is upward mobility so difficult in one?
19. What is the difference between an Exogamous and an Endogamous relationship?
20. Give an example of each in question 19.
21. Track the social stratification of your family tree. Did the social standing of your
parents differ from the social standing of your grandparents and great-grandparents?
What social traits were handed down by your forebears? Are there any exogamous
marriages in your history? Does your family exhibit status consistencies or
inconsistencies?
22. Review the concept of stratification. Now choose a group of people you have observed
and been a part of—for example, cousins, high school friends, classmates, sport
teammates, or coworkers. How does the structure of the social group you chose adhere
to the concept of stratification?
23. What class traits define your peer group? For example, what speech patterns or clothing
trends do you and your friends share? What cultural elements, such as taste in music or
hobbies, define your peer group? How do you see this set of class traits as different from
other classes either above or below yours?
24. Analyze the Davis-Moore thesis. Do you agree with Davis and Moore? Does social
stratification play an important function in society? What examples can you think of that
support the thesis? What examples can you think of that refute the thesis?
25. Compare a family that lives in a grass hut in Ethiopia to an American family living in a
trailer home in the Unites States. Assuming both exist at or below the poverty levels
established by their country, how are the families’ lifestyles and economic situations
similar and how are they different?