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Question 1

A social stratum is:

a) a level in the social hierarchy, comprising people with shared life chances

b) a methodological tool used to identify a person's social class

c) the boundary between two levels of the social hierarchy

d) a symbol of status, used to differentiate between social classes

Question 2

Weber defined a 'class situation' as:

a) the exploitation of the working class by their capitalist employers

b) a social group's consciousness of their status and life chances

c) a person's position in the capital, product and labour markets, based on their economic resources

d) the lifestyle of a social class, as defined by patterns of consumption

Question 3

In modern societies, social status is typically measured by a person's:

a) age

b) income

c) verbal fluency

d) occupation

Question 4

The 'class polarization' that Marx predicted referred to:

a) the division of each social class into the more or less privileged

b) a growing gap between rich and poor, resulting in class consciousness

c) the growth of intermediate strata in the middle classes

d) the tendency for the working class to live in very cold places

Question 5

Traditional working class identity was based around:

a) shared working conditions in the manufacturing industry

b) the class consciousness of members of the proletariat

c) local communities, extended kinship networks and shared leisure pursuits

d) collective aspirations to move into the middle class

Question 6

Goldthorpe identified the 'service class' as:

a) those in non-manual occupations, exercising authority on behalf of the state

b) people working in consultancy firms who were recruited by big businesses

c) the young men and women employed in domestic service in the nineteenth century

d) those who had worked in the armed services

Question 7

The middle classes that developed over the nineteenth century were:

a) an urban set, involved in civic bodies and voluntary associations

b) too diverse to have a strong sense of class consciousness

c) often involved in 'white collar' work

d) all of the above

Question 8

In the traditional hierarchy of status and precedence, which of these members of the upper class are in the right order (from highest to lowest status)?

a) Prime Minister, Archbishop of York, Viscounts of England

b) Marquesses of England, Earls of Great Britain, King's Brothers

c) Esquires, Serjeants of Law, Dukes' Eldest Sons

d) King's Grandsons, Lord High Treasurer, Companions of the Bath

Question 9

The capitalist class of the mid-twentieth century were said to join the upper class because they:

a) participated in the same leisure pursuits and events of the 'social calendar'

b) emulated the lifestyle and cultural values of the traditional aristocracy

c) owned companies and financial assets that generated wealth through corporations

d) had direct, personal ownerships of land and businesses as physical assets

Question 10

The embourgeoisement thesis suggests that:

a) capitalists are being replaced by salaried managers with bureaucratic authority

b) the affluent working class is adopting middle class values and ways of life

c) white collar occupations are being 'deskilled' by the introduction of new technologies into the workplace

d) the class structure has fragmented and there are no longer any distinct social classes

Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 19.

Chapter 19

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