COMPREHENSIVE SCRIPT 2026 FULL STUDY
GUIDE COMPLETE RESPONSES
◉ The sociologist Susan Mayer studied poverty and welfare. She
concluded that character traits in parents like "diligence, honesty,
good health, and reliability" led to increased achievement in
children. Which theory do her conclusions support? Answer: The
culture of poverty
◉ It is often said that you can always tell a millionaire by her shoes.
She may dress like a slob in every other respect, but someone from
the upper class is bound to have expensive, custom-made footwear.
Whether this is true or not, it helps demonstrate the way we?
Answer: Make split-second judgments about who people are and
what social statuses they occupy based on their appearances.
◉ What makes the just-world hypothesis psychologically appealing
to the average person? Answer: Most people have a strong need to
believe that the world is orderly, predictable, and fair.
◉ Although they make very little money, priests, ministers, rabbis,
imams, and clergy are often prestigious members of their
communities. Which social theorist first suggested that this is an
important element of class status? Answer: Max Weber
,◉ Why do members of the lower class exercise less often? Answer:
Exercise is a luxury often accessible only to those who do not have to
struggle with day-to-day existence.
◉ Why are people more likely to marry individuals with social and
cultural backgrounds similar to their own? Answer: People have
greater access to individuals like themselves.
◉ What is realistic about so-called Cinderella stories like the film
Pretty Woman, where a low-status woman marries a wealthy,
powerful man? Answer: When class boundaries are crossed, women
usually marry up while men marry down.
◉ What is cultural capital? Answer: The tastes, habits,
expectations,skills,knowledge, and other cultural assets that helps
us gain advantages in society.
◉ What is social reproduction? Answer: The tendency of social
classes to remain relatively stable as a class status is passed down
from one generation to the next.
◉ What is social mobility? Answer: The movement of individuals or
groups within the hierarchical system of social class.
, ◉ What is status inconsistency? Answer: A situation where an
individual's social positions have both positive and negative
influences on his or her social status.
◉ What is intergenerational mobility? Answer: The movement
between social classes that occurs from one generation to the next.
◉ What is the New Jim Crow? Answer: Mass incarceration
◉ What is structural mobility? Answer: Changes in the social status
of large numbers of people as a result of structural changes in
society.
◉ What is horizontal social mobility Answer: The movement of
individuals or groups within
◉ What is the relationship between race and class according to
sociologists like Howard Winant and Michael Omi? Answer: Race is
not a side effect of class; rather, it permeates every aspect of daily
life.
◉ There are a number of derogatory terms in the United States for
members of minority groups whose behavior does not match the
expectations relating to their skin color. What term embodies these
insults? Answer: Identity challenges