Lesson 4.2.4.1

4.2.4.1 The nature, existence and persistence of poverty Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 2

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 4.2.4.1, The nature, existence and persistence of poverty: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Sociology (7192), Unit 2: Topics in Sociology, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. What is the difference between absolute and relative poverty?

    • Absolute poverty is a temporary state caused by unemployment, while relative poverty is a permanent state caused by low pay
    • Absolute poverty is lacking the minimum needed for survival, while relative poverty is lacking what is customary in society
    • Absolute poverty affects only people in rural areas, while relative poverty affects only people living in cities and towns
    • Absolute poverty is measured by wealth held in property, while relative poverty is measured by the income of a single household

  2. Which sociologist defined poverty in terms of relative deprivation, arguing that people are poor when they cannot participate in the customary activities of their society?

    • Oscar Lewis, who described a culture of poverty passed down through generations of families
    • Peter Townsend
    • Charles Murray, who argued that a dependent underclass has developed through welfare dependency
    • Seebohm Rowntree, who identified primary and secondary poverty in his surveys of York

  3. In the UK, how is relative low income commonly measured for official poverty statistics?

    • Households with income below a fixed sum set in 1948 and not changed since, to allow long-term comparisons
    • Households with income below 60 per cent of the median household income, after housing costs
    • Households with income below the average wage of manual workers, which is updated each year by the government
    • Households whose members are not in full-time employment, regardless of their total income or assets

  4. What is meant by Seebohm Rowntree's distinction between 'primary' and 'secondary' poverty?

    • Primary poverty affects only men, while secondary poverty affects only women and their dependent children in most households
    • Primary poverty happens in cities only, while secondary poverty happens in rural areas only
    • Primary poverty is income too low for basic needs, while secondary poverty is income that would cover needs but is spent on other things
    • Primary poverty is caused by illness only, while secondary poverty is caused by the loss of a job alone

  5. Which concept describes the view that poverty persists because the poor develop attitudes and values that keep them in poverty across generations?

    • The functional necessity of inequality, which argues that unequal rewards help society fill its most important positions
    • The feminisation of poverty, which argues that women are increasingly over-represented among the poor
    • The reserve army of labour, which argues that unemployed workers keep wages low for those in work
    • The culture of poverty

  6. Which term describes the view that poverty is maintained by a dependent group that relies on welfare benefits and lacks work ethic, associated with Charles Murray?

    • The working class, which is the group that sells its labour power to the owners of the means of production
    • The reserve army of labour, which is the pool of unemployed workers that keeps wages low in capitalist economies
    • The precariat, which is the group of workers with unstable contracts and few rights at work and in welfare
    • The underclass

  7. Which group is most likely to be living in poverty in the UK according to the 'feminisation of poverty' argument?

    • Students living in shared accommodation, who are the group most likely to be in poverty in every year
    • Lone-parent households headed by women
    • Men aged over 80 living alone, who are the group most likely to face the highest rates of poverty
    • Married couples with no children, who are typically the most financially dependent group in the population

  8. A country's median household income is 20,000 pounds a year. Using the 60 per cent relative low-income threshold, what is the threshold in pounds?

    • 10,000 pounds
    • 12,000 pounds
    • 15,000 pounds
    • 8,000 pounds

  9. A family's income falls below the threshold for relative low income because one parent loses their job. Which explanation best describes the persistence of poverty in this case?

    • The family remains poor only because the government never provides any benefits to any family in any situation
    • Low pay, insecure work and the absence of savings can keep the family below the threshold for long periods
    • The family is poor only because of a personal failure to find work, which has no link to the wider labour market
    • The family is poor only because of its location in a rural area, which has no effect on income or employment

  10. Which concept describes the way poverty is passed from one generation to the next within families?

    • Social solidarity, which describes the mutual support that members of a community provide to one another in hard times
    • Intergenerational mobility, which describes the ability of children to move up or down the social scale relative to parents
    • Intergenerational transmission of poverty
    • Social closure, which describes the way powerful groups restrict access to valued resources such as high-paid jobs

  11. Which argument from the functionalist perspective explains why some poverty may persist?

    • Inequality is always dysfunctional, because it prevents any member of society from making any contribution at all
    • Unequal rewards may motivate people to fill important positions, so some degree of inequality is seen as functional
    • Poverty is a product of the ruling class deliberately choosing to keep workers poor for their own profit alone
    • Poverty has no social function, so it can be eliminated without any effect on the stability of the social system

  12. Which Marxist concept explains that a pool of unemployed workers keeps wages low for those in employment?

    • Relative deprivation, which explains how people feel poor when they cannot share in customary activities
    • The underclass, which explains how welfare dependency is said to create a group with no work ethic
    • The culture of poverty, which explains how values are passed from one generation to the next in deprived families
    • The reserve army of labour

  13. Why is a relative measure of poverty considered important in sociology?

    • It measures only the cost of food and shelter, which are the same in all societies around the world
    • It shows that poverty is the same in every society and every period, so it can be compared across centuries easily
    • It recognises that what counts as poverty depends on the living standards and expectations of the society in which people live
    • It removes the need to consider income altogether, because poverty can be measured through education alone

  14. Which statement best describes the 'persistence' of poverty in contemporary Britain?

    • Poverty has remained a significant problem over several decades, with many people staying in poverty for long periods
    • Poverty is found only among people from outside Britain, so there is no persistent poverty among British families
    • Poverty has always been temporary in Britain, because people in poverty quickly return to work with few difficulties
    • Poverty was eliminated in Britain during the twentieth century, and only a small number of individuals are poor today

  15. A sociologist argues that poverty is a result of a shortage of well-paid, secure jobs in the labour market. Which type of explanation is this?

    • A structural explanation, which locates poverty in the economic and social arrangements of society
    • A biological explanation, which locates poverty in the genetic inheritance of the people who are poor
    • An individualistic explanation, which locates poverty in the personal choices and character of poor people
    • A cultural explanation, which locates poverty in the values and habits passed down within families

  16. Which factor is most often identified as increasing the risk of child poverty in the UK?

    • Living in a household where no adult is in work, or where there is only one earner and several children
    • Living in a household where children attend private schools, which is the factor most closely linked to child poverty
    • Living in a household where all adults are in full-time professional employment with high salaries and secure pensions
    • Living in a household with a single adult who has no children and who owns their home outright with no debts

  17. Evaluate the claim that poverty persists mainly because of the attitudes and choices of poor people.

    • The claim is confirmed by the fact that poverty rates fall whenever poor people change their personal habits or values
    • The claim is fully supported, because poverty is always the result of individual choices made by poor people alone
    • The claim ignores structural factors such as low pay, insecure work and limited access to services that shape choices and outcomes
    • The claim is irrelevant, because poverty has no causes at all and simply appears in societies by chance

  18. Which conclusion best follows from the view that poverty is relative rather than absolute?

    • Poverty standards should be set only by employers, since employers know best what workers need to live on
    • Poverty standards should be abandoned, since poverty cannot be measured in any meaningful way by any method at all
    • Poverty standards should be linked to the living standards and social norms of a particular society at a particular time
    • Poverty standards should be fixed for all societies and all periods, since basic needs are the same everywhere in the world

  19. Why is the poverty line set at 60 per cent of median income described as a relative rather than an absolute measure?

    • Because it moves with average living standards, so poverty is judged against what is typical in the society
    • Because it is calculated only from the spending of the poorest households, which ignores the income of all other households
    • Because it is fixed at a set cash amount each year, so it is unaffected by changes in national income or average earnings
    • Because it applies only to households in rural areas, where living costs are not compared with the costs in cities

  20. Which factor is most associated with persistent poverty over several years in the UK?

    • Long spells of unemployment or low pay, combined with low savings and few assets to fall back on
    • Having no dependants at all, which allows people to save all of their income each year towards their retirement
    • Holding a degree in a subject with strong demand in the labour market, which provides security across many years of paid work
    • Living in a household that owns its home outright, which removes all housing costs across the whole of the life course

All AQA Sociology quizzes