Chapter 12: Income and Social Class

No Ref 1 Question The average American's standard of living continues to improve. These income shifts are linked to two key factors: ________. A. a shift from blue-collar to white-collar employment and the increased use of personal computers B. increasing immigration to the United States and increasing technical skills C. a shift in women's roles and increases in educational attainment D. a shift in population from the Snow Belt to the Sun Belt and advances in human rights ________ income is the money available to a household over and above that required for a comfortable standard of living. A. Capital B. Discretionary C. Net D. Golden Consumers who are ________ love buying everything in sight. A. tightwads B. price-sensitive affluents C. spendthrifts D. brand aspirationals Fred Johnson has worked hard all of his life to make a decent living for himself and his family. However, in recent years he has become obsessed with a fear of being ruined, either because of losing his job or losing all of his savings. According to clinical psychologists, Fred Johnson's fear of being ruined is equated to which of the following phobias? A. atephobia B. harpaxophia C. peniaphobia D. aurophobia The field of ________ is concerned with the "human" side of economic decisions (including the biases in decision making). A. clinical psychology B. microeconomics C. macroeconomics D. behavioral economics Diff 2 Page Ref 484

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Which of the following questions would be LEAST likely to appear on a questionnaire designed to determine consumer confidence? A. "Would you say that you and your family are better off or worse off financially than a year ago?" B. "Will you be better off or worse off a year from now?" C. "Are you happy with your wife (husband)?" D. "Do you plan to buy a car in the next year?" With respect to social organization, some barnyard animals exhibit signs of a dominance-submission hierarchy. Which of the following terms best communicates such a hierarchy? A. dog-eat-dog B. pecking order C. follow-the-leader D. king-of-the-hill Which of the following theorists is best known for arguing that an individual's relationship to the means of production determined his position in society? A. Karl Marx B. Max Weber C. Horatio Alger D. Thorstein Veblen We tend to marry people in a similar social class to ours. Sociologists call this ________, or assortative mating. A. homo-sensitive B. homogamy C. monogamy D. cultural formatting It is most accurate to say that well over ________ of married high school dropouts marry someone who also dropped out or has only a high school diploma. A. 30 percent B. 50 percent C. 75 percent D. 90 percent The phenomenon called ________ refers to the creation of artificial divisions in a society. A. reference group affiliation B. bias C. the "silver spoon" syndrome D. social stratification A person who is born into a rich, powerful family ("She was born with

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a silver spoon in her mouth") is said to have ________ status. A. ascribed B. hierarchical C. achieved D. longitudinal 13 A person who receives rewards and status because of his hard work is said to have ________ status. A. ascribed B. hierarchical C. achieved D. longitudinal Most groups exhibit a structure called a ________ in which some members are somehow better off than others. A. status hierarchy B. social array C. symbolic status D. symbolic reference ________ refers to the passage of individuals from one social class to another. A. Social trending B. Social affinity C. Social mobility D. Social prestige Sandra Jackson decided to become a nurse after several years as an elementary teacher. She still wanted to help people; she just wanted to do it differently. Sandra's case is an example of which of the following? A. downward mobility B. upward mobility C. horizontal mobility D. diagonal mobility The most influential attempt to describe American class structure was proposed by ________ in 1941. A. Max Weber B. W. Lloyd Warner C. John Maynard Keynes D. Thomas Hobbes The millions of consumers around the world who can now afford higher quality products belong to the ________. A. prestige class B. mobile demanders 2 489

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C. ruling class D. mass class 19 All of the following are important components of social class EXCEPT ________. A. gender B. income C. educational attainment D. occupational prestige Social class is a strong predictor of purchases that have symbolic aspects, but low to moderate prices. Which of the following is the best example of a product with those characteristics? A. liquor B. cars C. homes D. refrigerators Which of the following is needed to predict purchases of expensive symbolic products? A. Only income data is needed. B. Both income and social class data are needed. C. Only social class data is needed. D. Only social class data is needed unless products are being purchased in the global market. ________ are wealthy individuals who are likely to suffer from status anxiety, trying to display symbols of their success to make up for an internal lack of assurance about the "correct" way to behave. A. Old money consumers B. The working wealthy C.Nouveau riches D.Typical millionaires When people are differentiated in terms of their aesthetic and intellectual preferences, a ________ concept is being applied. A. cultural code designation B. social cluster C. taste culture D. reference code Pierre Bourdieu concluded that "taste" is a(n) ________ that causes consumption preferences to cluster together. A. habitus B. code C. hierarchy D. capital 2 495

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A Rolls-Royce, a Cartier diamond, and an Andy Warhol painting are all items bought and displayed as markers of social class. These products are ________. A. social inhibitors B. social parameters C. status symbols D. psychological blocks Social analyst Thorstein Veblen believed that we buy things to create ________. This means we use our purchases to inspire envy in others through our display of wealth or power. A. affluenza B. invidious distinction C. status crystallization D. cultural capital Social class has been difficult to measure; therefore, many researchers simply ask respondents to identify the social classes of different individuals. This is referred to as the ________ method of measuring social class. A. second-person B. class-subjective C. third-order D. reputation If a social researcher wanted to investigate social status in a small city, her best choice for a questionnaire would be one that included questions or observations on education, area of residence, total family income per year, and ________. A. occupation prestige level of household head B. membership groups of the primary income earners C. ability to communicate via the Internet and other electronic communication channels D. ability to win friends and influence people A person in the middle class, but with an income at least 15 percent lower than the median for the middle class, would be known as a(n) ________ consumer. A. underprivileged B. lower-class C. desperate D. lower-middle class Which of the following is NOT a reason that marketers have failed to use social class information as effectively as they could? A. They have ignored status inconsistency.

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B. They have ignored intergenerational mobility. C. They have ignored consumers' aspirations to change their class standing. D. They have ignored the impact of technology on social class. 31 Sixteen-year-old Michael wanted a car. One evening while his father was paying bills, Michael looked over his father's shoulder and saw how much money had been placed in the checking account. He whistled. "I thought you said that you didn't have enough money to buy me a used car. In just one month you could buy me the car I want." Michael's father then gave him a lecture on the differences between income and what was left over after money was spent on utilities, mortgages, insurance premiums, and food. "Total income," his father said, "is not the same as ________ income, the source from which your unnecessary car would have to come." A. wealth B. managed C. perpetual D. discretionary Dr. Sam Jones has a decision to make. He must decide whether to expand his clinic by 50 percent or to keep it at its current size. The move would cost him $500,000 and potentially tie him to debt for 20 years. Dr. Jones believes the economy is going to get even better in the future and that his clients believe the same thing. He knows that they are going to need even more health care services as they age. Given these facts, Dr. Jones is making his decision based on which of the following variables? A. shifting social class structure B. consumer confidence C. supply and demand based on consulting reports D. statistical analysis of a market Psychologists use the term homogamy to describe, "assortative mating." Which of the following phrases is the best illustration of homogamy? A. "Give me a Peach Cooler, please," versus, "Gimme a brew, and make it snappy." B. Birds of a feather flock together. C. Leave no stone unturned. D. To the victor go the spoils. Amos always felt that it was unfair that society created artificial divisions that discouraged him from having friends from different social structures. Which of the following terms describes the process that Amos is having difficulty with? A. reference group affiliation B. bias 2 484

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C. the "silver spoon" syndrome D. social stratification 35 In school, it always seemed as if Kenneth got all the breaks. He had access to all the right resources, such as special privileges, fancy cars, a large allowance, and dates with all the beautiful girls. Even at work, he was put on the fast track and got promoted early to a highprestige job. It seemed as if Kenneth was artificially ranked higher than others. The process that best describes what happened to Kenneth is called ________. A. reference group affiliation B. bias C. ascribed status or the "silver spoon" syndrome D. achieved status Richard worked very hard on his grades and worked after school part time to be able to afford tutors to help him advance his education. When he was named number one in his class, he earned a certain status. The best term to describe the form of status that Richard earned is ________. A. reference group affiliation B. achieved status C. classification status D. ascribed status Fred has been a farmer all his life. He inherited the family farm when he was 35 but that was twenty years ago. It looks like he is going to lose the farm and have to take a manual labor job in the city to support his family. What form of mobility best describes Fred's position? A. horizontal mobility B. two-way stretch mobility C. downward mobility D. upward mobility According to the class structure outlined in the text, most medical doctors and university professors would be in the ________ class. A. upper-upper B. working C. upper-middle D. middle Max's family is part of what is called "the new rich." They are the newer social elite, drawn from current professionals. His father is a medical doctor and his mother is vice president at a large urban bank. Max's family (based on the description given in the text) belongs to which of the following social class categories? A. Lower-Upper 2 489

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B. Upper-Upper C. Upper-Middle D. Lower-Middle 40 Stephanie's parents are considered to be blue collar; however, her dad owns a construction company and performs mostly white-collar duties. Her mother runs an office cleaning company from their home. The couple earns about $90,000 a year and is able to send Stephanie and her two sisters to the state university close to their hometown. Based on this description, which of the following contemporary views of the American class structure best describe Stephanie's family? A. Upper-Upper B. Lower-Upper C. Lower-Lower D. Middle Class Mr. Patterson is 59-years-old. His annual household income is $500,000. He has been married to the same woman most of his adult life. He doesn't spend much on clothing. According to research, how is Mr. Patterson different from the typical American millionaire? A. He is older. B. He has a long-standing marriage. C. His household income is greater. D. He doesn't spend as much on clothing. The lower classes use more restrictive codes than do the upper classes. How does this knowledge change the way insurance might be sold to a working-class man compared to an upper-class man? A. The promotion to the working-class man should emphasize his immediate satisfaction in knowing that his family will be cared for, while the upper-class promotion should emphasize the long-term consequences of the choice. B. The promotion to the working-class man should emphasize the long-term benefits of insurance, while the upper-class promotion should emphasize the short-term consequences of the choice. C. The promotion to the working-class man should emphasize pictures while the upper-class promotion should emphasize words. D. Both men would receive the same ad because elaboration codes have been found to be irrelevant to this product category. Evan was an aggressive, rich, and determined businessman originally from a working class family. He had become wealthier than he had ever imagined by buying and selling other businesses. Evan seemingly could do anything until he tried a hostile takeover of an old established bank owned by several prestigious families. When his bid failed, Evan said, "I always knew there was an elite but up to now I thought I was a part of it." What type of capital was Evan lacking? A. economic 3 491 [Fig. 12.1]

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B. cultural C. psychological D. sociological Harry was the lead singer in a band that hit it big. For his birthday, Harry had two hundred friends flown in private jets to a private island in the South Pacific. They ate the most expensive food, and every morning the bungalows were burned to the ground and rebuilt for the next night. Harry's party is a good example of ________. A. parody display B. social mobility C. ascribed status D. conspicuous consumption If the super rich buy "shredded Levi's jeans" to wear to formal parties, they would be exhibiting a sophisticated form of conspicuous consumption known as ________. A. parody display B. invidious distinctions C. downsizing D. pyramid climbing Trisha grew up in a drug-ridden innercity neighborhood. Through sheer determination and intelligence, Trisha is now a medical doctor teaching on the staff of a large university hospital. Trisha is proud of what she has accomplished, but sometimes she feels like she isn't quite sure who she really is. The concept of ________ assesses the impact of such inconsistencies. A. status crystallization B. hierogamy C. a taste culture D. inconsistent markers Vance came from the lower-upper class, while Jeff came from the lower-middle class. They are both madly in love with Julia, who is beautiful enough to do part-time modeling. According to the principle of ________, Julia is most likely to be attracted to Vance. A. status hierarchies B. ascribed status C. hierogamy D. economic wellbeing Although teenagers do not have the income of older consumers, they are still an attractive market based on income. Why? A. Because they have less money, they are more careful of how they spend it. B. Parents lead the teenagers into what they buy; hence any understanding of adult buying patterns can be useful for teenagers as

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well. C. Teenagers have more consumer confidence and are, therefore, more likely to conform to promotional material. D. Teenagers don't have the income of adults, but it is almost all discretionary, meaning that they can spend it as they see fit. 49 Jason is a marketing researcher working for a client who believes that social class will be an important segmenting device. Jason decides to find social class categories by simply asking respondents to pick their own category. Which of the following best supports Jason's approach? A. Most Americans don't mind talking about social class but usually get their own wrong. B. American consumers generally have little difficulty accurately placing themselves in the lower-middle class or middle class. C. American consumers are generally better able to identify their neighbors' social class than their own social class. D. Respondents will list the social class they wish to belong to rather than the one they actually occupy. What modern American ceremony would come closest in intent to a Native American potlatch? A. a baptism B. a marriage C. a university graduation D. the celebration ordered by a large company that has gained a new lucrative contract 2 505

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