4.2.1.5 Identity, production, consumption and globalisation Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 2

The 20 questions

1. Which theorist introduced the term 'conspicuous consumption' to describe the buying of goods to display social status?

   • Jean Baudrillard, who argued that consumption is organised around the production of signs and images
   • Pierre Bourdieu, who argued that tastes are shaped by education and the class habitus of individuals
   • Thorstein Veblen, who argued that the wealthy display their status through visible spending on goods
   • Karl Marx, who argued that goods have use value and exchange value, which are determined by labour

2. Which concept, associated with Marx, describes the way that social relations between people appear to be relations between commodities?

   • Hegemony, in which the ruling class secures consent to its values through culture and ideas
   • Commodity fetishism, in which social relations are disguised as relationships between objects
   • Conspicuous consumption, in which goods are bought to display status and wealth to others
   • Simulacra, in which copies of reality replace the original and become more real than it

3. Which concept, associated with Jean Baudrillard, describes copies that have no original and that come to replace reality in consumer culture?

   • Cultural capital, which describes the knowledge and tastes that give status in education and work
   • Structural functionalism, which describes the contribution of institutions to social stability
   • Commodity fetishism, which describes the hidden social relations behind the production of goods
   • Simulacra, which are images and signs that replace reality and are consumed as if they were real

4. Which concept describes the way that individuals use consumption choices to express and construct identity?

   • Ascribed status, in which identity is assigned at birth and cannot be altered by the individual
   • Lifestyle, in which consumption choices express personal identity and belonging to particular groups
   • Anomie, in which the breakdown of norms leaves individuals without clear guidance on how to behave
   • Secularisation, in which religious identity declines and is replaced by secular institutions

5. Which statement describes Bourdieu's view of tastes in consumption?

   • Tastes are entirely individual and random, so they have no relationship with social class or status
   • Tastes are determined by biology, and they are identical across all social groups in society
   • Tastes have no social meaning, because all goods are equally valued by everyone regardless of status
   • Tastes are shaped by class background and education, and they help to reproduce social distinctions

6. Which concept describes the spread of standardised, rationalised methods of production and service from the fast-food industry to other sectors of society?

   • Feminisation, in which women increasingly enter the labour market and take on senior roles in organisations
   • McDonaldisation, in which efficiency, calculability, predictability and control shape social institutions
   • Postmodernisation, in which grand narratives and fixed structures give way to plural and fluid identities
   • Glocalisation, in which global products are adapted to suit local cultures and tastes in each country

7. Which term describes the adaptation of global products and practices to suit local cultures?

   • Assimilation, in which minority groups adopt the culture of the dominant group and abandon their own
   • Glocalisation, in which global forces are combined with local adaptation in culture and consumption
   • Homogenisation, in which all cultures become identical through the spread of global products
   • Secularisation, in which religious institutions lose influence over social life in modern societies

8. Which argument is most often made by sociologists who argue that globalisation has changed identity?

   • Identities have become more fluid and reflexive, as people draw on global media and cultures in forming their sense of self
   • Identities have disappeared altogether, because individuals no longer have any connection with place or community
   • Identities have been fixed for centuries, because globalisation has had no effect on local cultures or belonging
   • Identities have become entirely uniform across the world, because all people now share one identical culture

9. Which concept describes the way that the economic system organises production in flexible and specialised ways, often using short-term contracts and new technologies?

   • Fordism, in which mass production on assembly lines and stable employment shaped working-class life
   • Feudalism, in which lords and serfs were bound together by obligations that were fixed by custom
   • Mercantilism, in which trade was organised around the accumulation of gold through colonial exploitation
   • Post-Fordism, in which production is flexible and identities are shaped by changing work patterns

10. Which argument best describes the way in which identity is linked to work in late modern societies?

    • Work is irrelevant to identity, because all people now receive income from the state rather than from employment
    • Work determines identity completely, and it has not changed in any way since the industrial revolution began
    • Work has no connection to identity, since individuals define themselves only through their family relationships
    • Work is an important source of identity, but insecurity and flexible employment may make identities less stable

11. Which evaluation of the view that consumer culture creates identity is most consistent with sociological debate?

    • It shows the importance of consumption to identity, but it can overstate the freedom of individuals to choose their identities
    • It is entirely accurate, because individuals have complete freedom to create any identity through their purchases
    • It is irrelevant, because consumer choices are made only by children, who have no real influence on identity
    • It is entirely inaccurate, because consumption has no relationship to identity or to social belonging at all

12. Which concept describes the way global cultural products, such as films and music, are consumed across many societies?

    • Global consumer culture, in which products are marketed and consumed across national boundaries
    • Subculture, in which a group within one society develops distinctive values in opposition to the mainstream
    • Ascribed status, in which identity is determined by birth and cannot be changed by consumption
    • Folk culture, in which traditional customs are passed down within small and isolated rural communities

13. Which concept describes identities that are constructed through participation in networks, such as online communities and social media?

    • Class consciousness, in which identity is determined by awareness of shared economic position
    • Networked identity, in which identities are shaped by participation in online and social networks
    • Ascribed identity, in which identity is determined by birth, ancestry and family background
    • Religious identity, in which identity is determined by belief in a faith and participation in its rituals

14. Which statement about the relationship between production and identity is most accurate?

    • Production and identity are unrelated, because identity is determined only by the state and by the education system
    • Production has no effect on identity, because people form their identities entirely through leisure activities
    • Production shapes identity through occupation and class, which influence lifestyle, status and consumption
    • Production determines identity only for those in the upper class, since workers have no real sense of self

15. Which argument would a Marxist most likely make about identity in consumer societies?

    • Consumer identities have no connection with capitalism, because consumption is purely a matter of personal taste
    • Consumer identities can mask class divisions and encourage people to define themselves through what they buy
    • Consumer identities reveal the natural freedom of individuals, who are free from the influence of the economy
    • Consumer identities are determined by religious beliefs, which are unaffected by economic relations or class

16. A teenager's identity is shaped by global music, fashion and online friendships, as well as by their local community. Which concept best describes this?

    • Secularisation, in which religious identity is replaced by the influence of the secular media
    • Glocalisation, in which global cultural forms are combined with local identities and practices
    • Anomie, in which the lack of clear norms leaves the teenager without any sense of belonging
    • Ascription, in which the teenager's identity is determined at birth and cannot be changed by experience

17. Which statement best describes Castells' view of identity in the network society?

    • Identities have disappeared, because individuals now relate to each other only through economic exchange
    • Identities are increasingly formed around communal and project-based forms of belonging, in response to global change
    • Identities are formed only within the family, which is unaffected by the networks of the global economy
    • Identities are fixed by the nation state, which controls all cultural influences on its citizens

18. Which concept describes the way a product is given a meaning by advertising and marketing, beyond its practical use?

    • Exchange value, in which a product is valued only for the price it can be sold for in the market
    • Labour value, in which a product is valued only for the hours of work that were needed to produce it
    • Use value, in which a product is valued only for the practical function it performs in everyday life
    • Symbolic meaning, in which goods come to signify status, identity and lifestyle beyond their practical function

19. Which statement best describes the relationship between globalisation and consumer identities?

    • Global brands and media can offer shared reference points, but local communities often reinterpret them in their own ways
    • Global brands have no effect on identity, because local communities are entirely unaffected by international products
    • Global brands produce identical identities everywhere, because all people in the world respond in the same way
    • Global brands only affect older people, since younger people have no interest in products from other countries

20. Which argument is most often made by sociologists who study identity and consumption?

    • Consumption choices have no relationship with identity, because identity is fixed by family upbringing alone
    • Consumption choices reflect only the random preferences of individuals, with no link to social background at all
    • Consumption choices can express identity, but they are also shaped by income, class and cultural background
    • Consumption choices are determined only by the production process, so individuals have no role in them

Related quizzes

• Conceptions of culture Quiz · 4.2.1.1 · 20 questions
• Socialisation and the agencies of socialisation Quiz · 4.2.1.2 · 20 questions
• The self, identity and difference Quiz · 4.2.1.3 · 20 questions
• Identity and age, disability, ethnicity, gender, nationality, sexuality and class Quiz · 4.2.1.4 · 20 questions
• The family, social structure and social change Quiz · 4.2.2.1 · 20 questions
• Marriage, cohabitation, divorce and the life course Quiz · 4.2.2.2 · 20 questions
• Gender roles, domestic labour and power in the family Quiz · 4.2.2.3 · 20 questions
• The nature of childhood Quiz · 4.2.2.4 · 20 questions
• Demographic trends in the UK since 1900 Quiz · 4.2.2.5 · 20 questions
• The social construction of health, illness and the body Quiz · 4.2.3.1 · 20 questions