4.2.8.2 Dimensions of inequality: class, status and power Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 2

The 20 questions

1. In Weber's model, which three dimensions make up the analysis of inequality?

   • Income (earnings from work), wealth (accumulated assets) and education (qualifications gained through formal schooling)
   • Occupation (type of work done), gender (social identity as male or female) and ethnicity (shared cultural origin and heritage)
   • Class (market position), status (social honour and prestige) and party (power and the ability to influence decisions)
   • Age (stage of the life course), disability (long-term impairment) and religion (belief system and religious practice)

2. Which of Weber's dimensions refers to the ability of a group to influence decisions, often through political organisation?

   • Occupation: the type of work a person does, measured by the qualifications needed and the level of responsibility involved
   • Class: the position of a group in the labour market, determined by ownership of property or the sale of skills and labour
   • Status: the social honour a group receives, often expressed through lifestyle, education, consumption and recognised prestige
   • Party: the capacity to influence decisions and to organise collectively, often through political parties or pressure groups

3. Which statement best describes the link between status and class in Weber's analysis?

   • Status and class can diverge, so a group may have high prestige but low market position, or the reverse
   • Status is determined entirely by income, so there is no independent role for prestige or honour in social stratification
   • Status and class always coincide, so anyone in the highest class automatically has the highest possible status in society
   • Class is determined entirely by education, so people with degrees always belong to the highest class without exception

4. A survey finds that some families in the top income decile have little social prestige, while some families in the middle deciles are widely respected for their standing in the community. Which Weberian point does this illustrate?

   • Income determines everything, so the prestige differences in the survey must come from inaccurate reporting by respondents
   • Class (market position) and status (honour) can differ, so inequality cannot be reduced to a single measure of income
   • Status and class are identical measures, so the survey results must contain a recording error that needs to be corrected
   • Prestige is always determined by age, so younger families always have low status regardless of their income or occupation

5. Which of these is an example of life-chance differences linked to social class?

   • Children from lower-income families are more likely to attend university, because their families are more committed to learning
   • Children attend university in proportions that depend entirely on their gender, with no link to family income or social class
   • Children from higher-income families are more likely to attend university than children from lower-income families
   • Children from every income group are equally likely to attend university, so class has no measurable effect on educational outcomes

6. How does 'party' in Weber's sense differ from 'power' as the term is used in everyday speech?

   • Party refers to organised groups seeking to influence decisions, which is a more specific form of power than general influence
   • Party refers to the social events that elites organise for entertainment, which are unrelated to political or economic influence
   • Party refers to the financial resources of a household, which determine what goods and services it can buy each month
   • Party refers to the legal rights of individuals to vote in elections, which is the same as the everyday meaning of power

7. Which of the following best illustrates status inequality?

   • A group of unskilled workers earns exactly the same hourly wage as a group of skilled workers in the same sector and region
   • A professional group receives deference and respect in local communities, with lifestyle and occupational prestige valued highly
   • A government changes the tax rate on property, which affects households with large holdings more than those with small holdings
   • A large company dismisses many workers in a single week, which reduces the income of those affected and their families

8. Which dimension of inequality is most closely linked to differences in access to political decision-making?

   • Ethnicity, because it concerns only cultural practices such as language, religion and food, which have no political dimension
   • Class, because it concerns only the wages earned from market work, with no connection to political decision-making at all
   • Status, because it concerns only the social honour given to people in traditional occupations such as farming and crafts
   • Party, because it concerns the organised ability of groups to influence decisions and shape political outcomes

9. Why do sociologists argue that inequality should be analysed across several dimensions rather than through income alone?

   • Income is the only dimension that people experience directly, so other dimensions add nothing to the analysis of advantage
   • Income is always the same as wealth, so analysing both dimensions separately would produce duplicate results with no value
   • Income is determined solely by the state, so no other dimension of inequality can influence how much money individuals earn
   • Advantage and disadvantage can come from prestige, political influence and other resources, not just money

10. Which example illustrates the disability dimension of life chances?

    • Disabled people are less likely to vote, which is the only measurable effect of disability on their social and political life
    • Disabled people have identical employment rates to non-disabled people, so disability has no effect on access to paid work
    • Disabled people are more likely to be employed in top management roles, which shows that disability brings career advantages
    • Disabled people have lower employment rates than non-disabled people with similar qualifications, reflecting labour market barriers

11. Which statement about the gender dimension of inequality is most consistent with sociological research?

    • Gender inequality concerns only pay differences, which have been fully eliminated in all sectors of the UK economy since the 1990s
    • Gender inequality concerns only political representation, since economic differences between men and women are negligible today
    • Gender inequality appears in pay, occupational segregation, domestic labour and political representation, not in pay alone
    • Gender inequality does not exist, because men and women have equal status in every family, workplace and political institution

12. A sociologist claims that status inequality can persist even when income differences narrow. Which evidence would best support this claim?

    • Groups with different incomes receiving exactly the same level of respect and recognition, which shows that income drives status
    • Groups with similar incomes continuing to receive different levels of respect, recognition and social deference over time
    • Groups with equal incomes disappearing from all social surveys, which shows that status has become irrelevant to modern life
    • Groups with rising incomes losing all their prestige, which shows that wealth always destroys social honour in the long run

13. Which concept refers to the advantages that arise from a person's social connections, such as useful contacts in business or politics?

    • Cultural capital: knowledge, tastes and skills valued in society, which are typically acquired through family and education
    • Social capital: the networks, trust and reciprocal relationships that give individuals access to resources and opportunities
    • Economic capital: money, property and other financial assets that can be exchanged directly for goods and services in markets
    • Human capital: the skills, training and qualifications that increase a person's productivity in work and in the labour market

14. Which of these is the best example of inequality of power?

    • A small group of owners and senior managers makes decisions that affect the working lives of thousands of employees
    • A city council reduces its budget for parks, which affects the leisure facilities available to residents of every income group
    • Families in a village all own the same amount of land, so no family has any influence over local decisions or resources
    • Workers in a factory all earn the same wage, and every decision about the firm is taken by a democratic vote of all staff

15. Which statement best summarises the relationship between class, status and power in contemporary stratification?

    • Class, status and power always move together, so measuring one dimension is enough to predict the position of any individual
    • Each dimension can reinforce the others, but they are analytically distinct and can vary independently in different contexts
    • Class, status and power are unrelated, so no connection exists between economic resources and the ability to influence decisions
    • Class, status and power have been fully replaced by a single measure of consumption, which determines all forms of advantage

16. A researcher wants to measure a person's economic position more accurately than income alone. Which measure would be most useful to add?

    • Religious affiliation, measured through the number of times a person attends a place of worship in a typical year
    • Wealth, measured as the value of assets such as property, savings and investments minus debts
    • Leisure time, measured in hours per week spent watching television, since leisure is the main source of economic advantage
    • Height, measured in centimetres, since taller people tend to earn more in professional occupations than shorter people do

17. Which example best reflects the concept of 'cultural capital' in relation to stratification?

    • Children from families with the highest incomes never attend university, since cultural tastes have no effect on education
    • Children from families with no books in the home always gain the highest exam marks, since they are not influenced by culture
    • Children from families with extensive reading habits and familiarity with museums tend to perform better in school assessments
    • Children from families with the largest houses always perform worse at school, since large homes distract children from study

18. Which of these is the most accurate description of 'status groups' in Weber's work?

    • Groups defined only by their income levels, since status and income are always identical measures of social position
    • Groups defined by shared lifestyles, consumption patterns and recognition of honour, which can cut across economic class lines
    • Groups defined only by their legal citizenship, since status depends entirely on the rights granted by the state
    • Groups defined only by their occupations, since status is determined entirely by the type of work a person performs

19. What distinguishes ascribed status from achieved status?

    • Ascribed status changes every year with income, while achieved status remains fixed throughout a person's entire life course
    • Ascribed status is set by law for all citizens equally, while achieved status depends only on the income a person earns each year
    • Ascribed status is given at birth, such as sex or ethnic origin, while achieved status is gained through effort, education or choice
    • Ascribed status is gained through effort and education, while achieved status is given automatically to people at the moment of birth

20. Which of these best describes the market situation that underlies Weber's concept of class?

    • A person's life chances depend on what they can offer in the market, such as property ownership or the skills they can sell
    • A person's class is determined only by the number of years they have spent in formal education and training institutions
    • A person's class is determined entirely by the political party they support, and by how they vote in each general election
    • A person's class is determined only by the honour they receive from their community, regardless of economic activity or work

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