1. Social Stratification and Division Quiz. Week 12. How much can
you remember from the lectures and from the reading?
1. According to Erik Olin Wright (1978;1985;1997), there are three
dimensions of control over economic resources in modern capitalist
production:
a.
b.
c.
2. What is a common feature of most ways in operationalizing class:
a. They are based on occupational structure
b. They are based on wealth
c. They are based on education
3. Who argues that the rich should be excluded from class debates because
they are so very few in number/ who disagrees, and why:
a. Westergaard (1995)
b. Goldthorpe (2000)

2. 4. Scott (1991) argues that the upper class has changed shape but retains
its distinctive position due to three particular group that control and
profit from business:
a. S____________ E___________
b. F_____________C___________
c. I_____________E____________
5. Butler and Savage (1995) argue that the middle class:
a. Is internally cohesive because its members share a common
background and cultural outlook
b. Is not internally cohesive because its members do not share a
common background or cultural outlook
6. What is professionalism, illustrated by the medical profession (Parry &
Parry 1976)?
7. What is embourgeoisement theory?
a. The process by which people become less working class
b. The process by which people become less middle class
8. Does Goldthorpe et al’s (1969) The Affluent Worker support
embourgeoisement theory, and why?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Inconclusive
9. According to MacGregor (2003), why do social scientists prefer the term
social exclusion to underclass?
a. It emphasizes social mechanisms of exclusion
b. It blames the victims by focussing on acceptable and unacceptable
behaviour of the unemployed, economic migrants and other
socially excluded groups
10. Match these ethnic migrants to the country in which they have been
labelled the underclass:
a. Turks
b. Algerians
c. Albanians
1) France
2) Italy
3) Germany

3. 11. The concept of the underclass was introduced from the USA, although it
is debatable as to what extent this is applicable to Europe because:
a. There are greater degrees of separation in Europe when
compared to the USA
b. There are less degrees of separation in Europe when compared to
the USA
12. Bourdieu (1986) argues that there are four forms of capital that
characterize class: economic capital, cultural capital, social capital and
symbolic capital. Match these examples to the types of capital:
a. Having networks of friends and relationships that last over time
b. Having knowledge about art, a high standard of education or a
specific hobby
c. Having a high paying job
d. Having a good reputation or social status
13. There are no societies in which men do not have more wealth, status
and influence than women, according to Giddens (2010):
a. True
b. False
14. According to Skeggs (1997), working class women disidentified
themselves from the working class because:
a. Class is closely linked with gender
b. To be called working class is to be labelled dirty, valueless and
dangerous (for women)
c. To be called working class is positive because of the identification
with the trade union movement (for men)
d. All of the above
e. None of the above
15. Match social mobility, vertical mobility and lateral mobility to their
definitions:
a. The movement of individuals and groups of people between
different socio-economic positions
b. The movement of individuals and groups of people geographically
between neighbourhoods, towns or regions
c. The movement of groups of people or individuals up or down the
socio-economic scale

4. 16. Blau & Duncan (1967) collected information on 20,000 males. They
found that upwards mobility was more common than downwards
mobility. Which concepts did they detail:
a. Blue- collar jobs have grown more rapidly than white collar jobs.
b. White-collar jobs have grown more rapidly than blue-collar jobs.
c. Education and training is vital for an individual’s chance of
success.
d. ‘Long-range’ mobility is rare
e. ‘Long –range ‘ mobility is common
1. A, C, E
2. B, C, D
17.Robert Putnam (2000) in Bowling Alone argues, following Bourdieu, that
there are two types of social capital: bridging social capital (outward-
looking and inclusive) and bonding social capital (inward-looking and
exclusive). Categorize these phenomena according to Putnam’s theories:
a. A church-based women’s reading group
b. An interfaith religious organization
c. A country club
d. The civil rights movement
18. Expand upon the four systems of stratification:
a. Slavery
b. Caste
c. Class
d. Estate
19. Match these concepts to the Marx or Weber:
a. The two main classes consist of those who own the means of
production and those who earn their living by selling their labour
to them
b. Social stratification is shaped by class, status and party
c. The relationship between classes is an exploitative one
d. Pauperisation means that the working class will grow, meaning
that class-consciousness will grow as result of shared experience
e. Class divisions also result from economic differences that have
nothing to do with property, e.g. skills or qualifications.

5. f. Status is expressed through life style. People sharing the same
status form a community with a shared sense of identity.
g. Status varies independently of class divisions
h. Status is the result of class divisions
i. Parties are groups of people who work in an organised fashion
towards a specific goal. These groups may be for concerns that cut
across class, e.g. religious groups.
j. Class is the key social division
20. What is ‘meritocracy’ (Saunders 1990, 1996)? (Select more than one).
a. Where rewards are given to those due to the circumstance of
their birth
b. Where rewards go naturally to those who are best able to perform
and achieve
c. Where children who are bright and hardworking will succeed
regardless of the social advantages or disadvantages they may
experience
d. Where Britain is unequal, but fair
21.What is Breen & Goldthorpe’s (1999) criticism of Saunders?