Social Inequality and Demographics for the MCAT: Everything You Need to Know
Learn essential MCAT Psych/Soc topics on social inequality including health disparities, demographics, social mobility, and MCAT practice questions.
(Note: This guide is part of our MCAT Psychology and Sociology series. )
Part 1: Introduction to social inequality and demographics
Part 2: Social class
a) Socioeconomic status
b) Forms of capital
c) Intersectionality
d) Class and false consciousness
e) Bureaucracy
Part 3: Spatial Inequality
a) Residential segregation
b) Environmental justice
c) Poverty
d) Global inequalities
Part 4: Health and Healthcare Disparities
a) Socioeconomic gradient in health
Part 5: Epidemiology and Demographics
a) Epidemiology basics
b) Demographic classes
c) Fertility, migration, and mortality
d) Theories of demographic change
e) Population pyramids
f) Social movements and globalization
Part 6: High-Yield Terms
Part 7: Passage-Based Questions and Answers
Part 8: Standalone Questions and Answers
Part 1: Introduction to social inequality and demographics
Social inequality and demographics are high-yield sociology topics that are likely to give you points on the MCAT. These subjects help to explain many of the challenges our world faces today, and you will gain a greater appreciation of these challenges as you continue your journey towards becoming a physician.
Part 2: Social class
Social class divides society based on socioeconomic status, which is a term we’ll cover in more detail shortly. The simplest breakdown of social class says that there are three levels of society: upper-class, middle-class, and lower-class.
Status can be more generally defined as falling into two subtypes: ascribed and achieved status. Ascribed status is a status that you are born with and cannot change, such as your skin color or age. Achieved status, on the other hand, is a status that can be changed or earned, such as the status of being a doctor. Master status is the status that is primarily used to identify an individual. For example, LeBron James is mostly known as a famous basketball player, which would be his master status. However, he’s also a father, husband, and philanthropist.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at an extremely important topic: socioeconomic status.
a) Socioeconomic status
Socioeconomic status (SES) defines the social standing of a group based on a combination of factors, such as social group, income, or education. SES analyses often show racial disparities and inequalities that prevent people of color from achieving a proportionate level of middle- or upper-class status levels.
The phrase “poverty breeds poverty” describes this phenomenon, known as social reproduction, or the idea that social inequalities are passed between generations. Many times, disadvantaged children attend underfunded schools and lack access to extracurricular resources, making it harder for them to obtain strong educations, well-paying jobs, and move into middle- or upper-class SES.
In the case that an individual is able to move between different SES, that is known as intragenerational mobility. If an individual’s child moves into a different SES than the parent, that is known as intergenerational mobility. The movement from a lower SES to a higher SES is known as upward mobility, while the movement from a higher SES to a lower SES is known as downward mobility. The movement within an SES is known as horizontal mobility, and the movement out of an SES to another SES is known as vertical mobility.
Individuals with a higher SES may have that status due to more power, privilege, and prestige. Power is the ability of an individual to influence the behavior or conduct of others. Privilege is an entitlement or advantage that is unearned and can be used to an individual’s benefit. Prestige is a reputation an individual with a high SES has and can be a result of either ascribed or achieved status.
b) Forms of capital
Social and cultural capital are partially responsible for social reproduction as they work to block intragenerational and intergenerational mobility. Together, social and cultural capital can also lead to social isolation or social exclusion, which describes the process by which individuals with a low SES are excluded from many resources.
Social capital describes the connections that an individual has can lead to economic, social, or personal benefits. For example, a wealthy individual’s connections through his or her job may allow his or her child to obtain a coveted internship position in that same company. On the other hand, an individual with a lower SES may not have access or time to form personal connections that allow his or her child to obtain a well-paying job.
Cultural capital describes non-economic resources that allow for economic, social, or personal benefits. Cultural capital falls into three categories, which include objectified (i.e., personal belongings), embodied (i.e., how you act or talk), and institutionalized (i.e., education). For example, an individual with a lower SES may only have access to underfunded educational systems, thereby preventing him or her from obtaining a better-paying job.
c) Intersectionality
Intersectionality describes the interconnected nature of oppressed groups, which leads to overlapping and compounding disadvantages for individuals. For example, a person of color belongs to a certain oppressed group, and they may have a low SES, which also makes them an oppressed group. Intersectionality states that there is a correlation between these different oppressed groups, leading to a compounded and exacerbated negative effect. It is important to note that intersectionality, however, has been refuted by some as lacking nuance.
Figure 1 Intersectionality
d) Class and false consciousness
Karl Marx put forth Marxist theory in the mid-19th century, and Marxism states that as society develops a class consciousness, workers will own their own production instead of giving it to the upper class. What did Marx mean by class consciousness?
Class consciousness is an individual’s awareness of his or her position in society. The term especially applies to the working class as they decide upon collective action and revolt in order to produce social progress. False consciousness, on the other hand, occurs when an individual does not perceive the true social situation, which leads to inaction and no social change.
e) Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy refers to levels of administration that govern an institution or community. According to the sociologist Max Weber, an ideal bureaucracy is characterized by several factors:
detailed rules and regulations for work
clear definitions of hierarchy
impersonal relationships between subordinates and superiors
division of labor into specialized jobs
In modern times, the bureaucratization of institutions has also been referred to as McDonaldization, named after a fast-food franchise that has become extremely profitable and efficient. The McDonaldization of society is characterized by:
Efficiency: optimizing the time and monetary resources dedicated to producing a product
Predictability: developing a consistent product that a customer can reliably receive time after time
Calculability: setting standards and goals for employees that can be measured and compared against one another
Control: using a central authority to standardize employee work
Bureaucracy receives criticism for its depersonalization and dehumanization of employees. The iron law of oligarchy states that all institutions and organizations will eventually come under the control of a few powerful authority figures, who value power and elitism over the rights of the many who work for the organization.
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Part 3: Spatial inequality
In addition to social inequality, spatial inequality is an important term you should know for the MCAT. Spatial inequality describes unequal access or quality of resources depending on geographical location. There are many factors that may lead to this, and we’ll discuss them in greater detail here:
a) Residential segregation
Residential segregation describes the physical separation of individuals along the socioeconomic gradient, leading to a difference in resources and quality of life. Neighborhoods containing individuals with middle to high SES tend to be more suburban, which are generally areas with individual houses, good school systems, and safe access to resources.
On the other hand, individuals with low SES tend to live in more urban areas, which tend to be less safe, have closer living quarters, and contain poor access to resources. Over time, as individuals with higher SES move to suburban areas, urban areas undergo a process of urban decay in which portions of the city undergo deterioration over time. In addition, food deserts describe places where it is difficult to find healthy and affordable food options, which commonly occurs in low-income neighborhoods.
Recently, however, individuals with higher SES have moved back to cities. This process of migration from rural areas to cities is known as urbanization. In many cases, urbanization can lead to gentrification. Gentrification describes the renovation of a housing district that causes middle and high SES individuals to move in while displacing low SES individuals.
Gentrification can also result in the unequal allocation of resources in combating social inequalities, such as unemployment, public health issues, crimes, and poor economic opportunity. This results in a further entrenching of residential segregation and the division of urban areas into neighborhoods with differing crime rates.
b) Environmental justice
Given that many low SES individuals must live in urban or industrial areas, they are more frequently exposed to polluted air, toxic waste products, and carcinogenic material. Environmental justice calls for the equal treatment of all people and the right to live in places without environmental or health hazards.
c) Poverty
Poverty is a lack of material goods or access to resources, and it is often correlated with the previously mentioned geographic factors. We can further classify poverty into two subtypes: absolute and relative. Absolute poverty occurs when an individual does not have enough resources to sustain basic human needs, such as food, water, and shelter. Relative poverty occurs when an individual is poor compared to those around them, but it does not necessarily mean that they lack resources to sustain basic human needs.
d) Global inequalities
Global inequalities arise when we don’t just compare individual cities or states, but rather we compare countries to one another. Different countries have different access to resources, and whether the country is industrialized (has widespread industries that produce and sell goods) or agriculture-based (economy is centered around agricultural production) plays a role in the average quality of life for individuals in the country. In many countries, subsistence farming, in which an individual farms for his or her family’s own food, is still common.
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Part 4: Health and healthcare disparities
Similar to quality of education, healthcare access, cost, and quality varies greatly for individuals of differing SES. Individuals in low-income areas may be unable to afford costly medical bills or attend specialists for the treatment of complex health issues. This difference produces the socioeconomic gradient in health, which describes the difference in health outcomes based on an individual or group’s SES.
This difference is known as second sickness, or the worsening of health conditions based on socioeconomic disparities in healthcare. For example, a high SES individual with diabetes is likely to have a better health outcome than a low SES individual with diabetes due to the ability of the former to access better medical care, afford healthy food, and live in a safer environment.
In addition, there are barriers to healthcare between different racial and SES groups. Medical mistrust describes the lack of trust of medical providers by an individual or group and is often observed for low SES patients.
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Part 5: Epidemiology and demographics
a) Epidemiology basics
Epidemiology is the study of human disease, generally at a population level. Descriptive epidemiology focuses on observational data collection and describes disease distribution or frequency by using a case or ecological studies. Analytical epidemiology focuses on experimental data collection and searches for cause-and-effect relationships through the use of case-control studies, randomized clinical studies, cohort studies, and cross-sectional studies. For a more detailed description of these types of studies, stick around for the next chapter.
To understand epidemiology on the MCAT, you need to be familiar with the following terms:
Incidence: the number of new cases of a disease per population per unit time (e.g., 5 new cases per 1000 people in a year)
Prevalence: the total number of cases of a disease in a population per unit time (e.g., there are 87 total cases per 1000 people every year)
Morbidity: the severity of illness caused by a disease
Mortality: the amount of death caused by a disease
b) Demographic classes
Demographics are used to analyze a population by stratifying the population into different groups. This stratification can be conducted across several dimensions, such as:
Age
The population of many countries, such as the US, is growing older due to advances in healthcare. Age cohorts can be used to divide individuals of certain age ranges into groups. Individuals that share an age cohort tend to have similar life experiences, as they have lived through the same historical events. The baby boomer generation, which is made up of individuals born during the post-World War II baby boom, makes up a significant part of the US population. As a result, increases in diseases associated with old age, such as Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, have a higher prevalence.
The value placed on individuals as they age can vary significantly, depending on cultural and social values. Certain cultures and societies may expect aging adults to continue working and contributing to society, while others may expect older adults to retire or assume more responsibilities for family care.
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is also often used as a demographic parameter. Sexual orientation defines a person’s identity based on who they are sexually attracted to. Heterosexual individuals are attracted to individuals of the opposite sex. Homosexual individuals are attracted to individuals of the same sex. Bisexual individuals are attracted to individuals of both sexes.
Gender
Gender defines sexual characteristics pertaining to the social and cultural differences of sex. Gender inequality describes the empowerment of one gender over another in economic, social, or personal settings. Feminism has responded to the traditional gender inequality providing males easier access to economic, social, or personal gain at the expense of women.
Gender segregation refers to the separation of male and female genders as imposed by institutional and societal norms. This can be observed today in the division of male and female sports teams, dress codes, and restrooms.
Race and ethnicity
Race groups humans based on perceived shared qualities among members of the group. Examples of races in the US include American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and white. Racial formation theory states that these perceived traits serve to construct the identity of a race, which can change and develop over time.
One important term you should remember when discussing race is racialization, which is the process of ascribing race to a social process that does not inherently have a racial component. Racialization often has unintended consequences and is often harmful to members of the group in question.
Ethnicity groups people based on cultural identifiers, such as tradition, religion, or language. To distinguish between race and ethnicity, you can think that race depends on what you see by just looking at a person, whereas ethnicity includes cultural factors. Thus, race should be considered a societal construct or artificially constructed group, whereas ethnicity can unify a group based on a concrete cultural practice or trait.
Immigration status
Immigration status discusses whether or not an individual was born in the US. Immigration refers to the influx of people to a new area that leads to an increase in population size. Emigration refers to an efflux (or moving out) of people that leads to a decrease in population size. Migration is a general term discussing the relocation of people and encompasses both immigration and emigration.
c) Fertility, migration, and mortality
Fertility, migration, and mortality are terms often used to describe demographic changes over time. Fertility refers to the average number of children a woman gives birth to over the course of her life in a certain population. Mortality refers to the death rate in a given population or the number of deaths per unit time.
Fertility and mortality can be reported in three forms: total, crude, and age-specific. Total fertility/mortality refers to the rate for an entire population. Crude fertility/mortality refers to the rate for a population over a certain time period. For example, a crude fertility rate might be 8.2 births per 1,000 people in a given year. Age-specific fertility/mortality refers to the rate for a specific age group.
As we defined earlier, migration refers to both immigration into a country and emigration out of a country, and we’ll explore why that is important shortly. Push factors lead to emigration, and they often include social or economic hardships. Pull factors lead to immigration, and they may include chances for social or economic prosperity.
d) Theories of demographic change
Over time, the demographic composition of a certain population may shift. There are a couple of theories you should be aware of. First, the Malthusian theory states that population growth is exponential while food growth is linear. As a result, people will run out of food, leading to the Malthusian catastrophe in which there is no longer enough food to support society. As a result, anomie, or the lack of social structure and standards, could occur.
Figure 2 Malthusian theory.
The second theory is the demographic transition model, which analyzes population changes and shifts over time. The model is broken down into four different stages:
Stage 1: high birth and death rates in a pre-industrial society
Stage 2: death rate falls due to improvements in public health and healthcare
Stage 3: birth rate falls due to industrialization and movement away from agriculture
Stage 4: death and birth rates are low, and the population grows steadily
Figure 3 Demographic transition model.
e) Population pyramids
Population pyramids are used to plot age versus the number of people of that age for specific populations. When you look at a population pyramid, you can obtain a good sense of whether or not the population is growing or declining. In general, industrialized societies tend to have an aging population, whereas agricultural societies tend to have a youthful population.
Figure 4 Population pyramids for young and old populations
f) Social movements and globalization
Social movements are groups of people organized to achieve a social goal, which may be resisting, promoting, or undoing social change. Relative deprivation, or the lack of resources to sustain basic human needs, is often the driving factor behind social movements. Social movements are organized in order to achieve maximum efficiency, and the age of social media has allowed social movements to gain greater traction and pull with the opening of widespread communication networks.
Globalization describes the growing interconnectedness and interdependence of economies. This has been largely promoted by advances in communication technology (e.g., sending an email instead of a letter that has to travel across an ocean by ship) and economic interdependence (e.g., widespread trade of goods).
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Part 6: High-yield terms
Social class: divides society based on socioeconomic status
Status: the position an individual occupies in society
Ascribed status: a status that you are born with and cannot change, such as your skin color or age
Achieved status: a status that can be changed or earned, such as the status of being a doctor
Master status: the status that is primarily used to identify an individual
Socioeconomic status (SES): the social standing of a group based on a combination of factors, such as social group, income, or education, among other factors
Social reproduction: the idea that social inequalities are passed between generations
Intragenerational mobility: an individual that moves between different SES
Intergenerational mobility: an individual whose child moves into a different SES than the parent or other relatives
Upward mobility: movement from a lower SES to a higher SES
Downward mobility: movement from a higher SES to a lower SES
Horizontal mobility: movement within an SES
Vertical mobility: movement out of an SES to another SES
Power: the ability of an individual to influence the behavior or conduct of others
Privilege: entitlement or advantage that is unearned and can be used to an individual’s benefit
Prestige: a reputation an individual with a high SES has and can be a result of either ascribed or achieved status
Social isolation/social exclusion: describes the process by individuals with a low SES are excluded from many resources
Social capital: describes the connections that an individual has that can lead to economic, social, or personal benefits
Cultural capital: describes non-economic resources that allow for economic, social, or personal benefits
Intersectionality: describes the interconnected nature of oppressed groups, which leads to overlapping and compounding disadvantages for individuals
Marxist theory: states that as society develops a class consciousness, workers will own their own means of production instead of giving it to the upper class
Class consciousness: an individual’s awareness of his or her position in society
False consciousness: occurs when an individual does not perceive the true social situation, which leads to inaction and no social change
Spatial inequality: describes unequal access or quality of resources depending on geographical location
Residential segregation: describes the physical separation of individuals along the socioeconomic gradient, leading to a difference in resources and quality of life
Suburban area: generally more wealthy areas with individual houses, good school systems, and safe access to resources
Urban area: tend to be less safe, have closer living quarters, and poorer access to resources
Urban decay: portions of the city undergo deterioration over time
Food deserts: describe places where it is difficult to find healthy and affordable food options, and this commonly occurs in low-income neighborhoods
Gentrification: describes the renovation of a housing district that causes middle and high SES individuals to move in while displacing low SES individuals
Environmental justice: calls for the equal treatment of all people and the right to live in places without environmental or health hazards
Poverty: lack of material goods or access to resources
Absolute poverty: occurs when an individual does not have enough resources to sustain basic human needs, such as food, water, and shelter
Relative poverty: occurs when an individual is poor compared to those around them, but it does not necessarily mean that they lack resources to sustain basic human needs
Global inequalities: different countries have different access to resources
Industrialized economy: a country that has widespread industries that produce and sell goods
Agriculture-based economy: an economy that is centered around agricultural production
Subsistence farming: an individual farms for his or her family’s own food
Socioeconomic gradient in health: describes the difference in health outcomes based on an individual or group’s SES
Second sickness: the worsening of health conditions based on socioeconomic disparities in healthcare
Medical mistrust: describes the lack of trust of medical providers by an individual or group
Epidemiology: the study of human disease, generally at a population level
Descriptive epidemiology: focuses on observational data collection and describes disease distribution or frequency
Analytical epidemiology: focuses on experimental data collection and searches for cause-and-effect relationships
Incidence: the number of new cases of a disease per population per unit time (e.g., 5 new cases per 1000 people in a year)
Prevalence: the total number of cases of a disease in a population per unit time (e.g., there are 87 total cases per 1000 people every year)
Morbidity: the severity of illness caused by a disease
Mortality: the amount of death caused by a disease
Demographics: used to analyze a population by stratifying the population into different groups
Baby boomer generation: made up of individuals born during the post-World War II baby boom and makes up a significant part of the US population
Sexual orientation: defines a person’s identity based on who they are sexually attracted to
Heterosexual: individuals are attracted to individuals of the opposite sex
Homosexual: individuals are attracted to individuals of the same sex
Bisexual: individuals are attracted to individuals of both sexes
Gender: defines sexual characteristics pertaining to the social and cultural differences of sex
Gender inequality: describes the empowerment of one gender over another in economic, social, or personal settings
Feminism: responded to the traditional gender inequality providing males easier access to economic, social, or personal gain at the expense of women
Race: groups humans based on perceived shared qualities among members of the group
Racialization: the process of ascribing race to a social process that does not inherently have a racial component
Ethnicity: groups people based on cultural identifiers
Immigration: refers to the influx of people to a new area that leads to an increase in population size
Emigration: refers to an efflux (or moving out) of people that leads to a decrease in population size
Migration: a general term discussing the relocation of people and encompasses both immigration and emigration
Total fertility/mortality: refers to the rate for an entire population
Crude fertility/mortality: refers to the rate for a population over a certain time period
Age-specific fertility/mortality: refers to the rate for a specific age group
Push factors: lead to emigration, and they often include social or economic hardship
Pull factors: lead to immigration, and they may include chances for social or economic prosperity
Malthusian theory: states that population growth is exponential while food growth is linear
Malthusian catastrophe: there is no longer enough food to support society
Anomie: the lack of social structure and standards
Demographic transition model: contains 4 stages and analyzes population changes and shifts over time
Population pyramids: used to plot age versus the number of people of that age for a specific population
Social movements: groups of people that are organized to achieve a social goal, which may be resisting, promoting, or undoing social change
Relative deprivation: the lack of resources to sustain basic human needs and is often the driving factor behind social movements
Globalization: describes the growing interconnectedness and interdependence of economies
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Part 7: Social Inequality practice passage
High infant mortality rates are observed more frequently in some neighborhoods than others. In the US, high infant mortality rates are much more prevalent in socioeconomically disadvantaged and racial minority groups. In addition, lower access to healthcare has been observed for these populations.
In Study 1, researchers collected birth data from three urban centers: New York, Los Angeles, and Houston. At each center, they recorded data from 9,000 births. The investigators collected the following demographic characteristics from the mothers: age, racial and ethnic identity, income, marital status, socioeconomic status (SES), and much more. The researchers also measured rates of infant mortality. The results from the study are shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Number of infants who die per 1,000 live births stratified by birth and SES.
| New York | Los Angeles | Houston | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | |||
| Age | |||
| SES | |||
Following the initial study, the researchers wanted to determine how access to healthcare might prevent low SES mothers from attending prenatal appointments. The investigators had two hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 stated that low SES mothers are less likely to have primary care providers. Hypothesis 2 stated that low SES mothers must travel farther to healthcare clinics and are therefore less likely to attend their appointments.
The results from the investigation of the latter hypothesis are shown in Table 2.
Table 2 Distance from clinic stratified by SES.
| New York | Los Angeles | Houston | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SES | |||
Note: The information in this passage was created for the sole purpose of presenting an MCAT-style passage and should not be construed to be factually true.
Question 1: Which concept is the most relevant for explaining the effect of SES on infant mortality in Study 1?
A) Gender inequality
B) Food deserts
C) Socioeconomic gradient of health
D) Epidemiology
Question 2: According to the results from Table 2, researchers might use all of the following as a proxy for measuring SES except:
A) Income
B) Neighborhood school funding
C) Distance from a healthcare clinic
D) Occupation
Question 3: After investigating Hypothesis 1, the researchers determined that low SES and medium SES mothers are equally likely to have primary care providers. However, low SES mothers are much less likely to attend their prenatal healthcare appointments. Which of the following concepts best explains this observation?
A) Distance from a healthcare clinic
B) Medical mistrust
C) Environmental justice
D) False consciousness
Question 4: Suppose a high rate of infant mortality (>10) is found in a rural town among women between the ages of 25 and 27. How does this new data affect the results found in Table 1?
A) Supports; mothers in that age range have the highest rate of infant mortality.
B) Supports; mothers with low SES have the highest rate of infant mortality.
C) Refutes; mothers in that age range tend to have a lower rate of infant mortality.
D) Refutes; mothers with high SES have the lowest rate of infant mortality.
Question 5: Which of the following stages of the demographic transition model are the three cities mentioned in this study most likely in?
A) Stage 1
B) Stage 2
C) Stage 3
D) Stage 4
Answer key for passage-based questions
1. Answer choice C is correct. The socioeconomic gradient of health describes a correlation in health outcomes based on SES (i.e., low SES individuals have worse outcomes). In the table, it is apparent that low SES mothers have higher infant mortality rates (choice C is correct). Gender inequality describes differences between males and females, but only females are discussed in this study (choice A is incorrect). While food deserts may be relevant in the observed trend, they are not explicitly proven by Study 1 (choice B is incorrect). Epidemiology is a tool for the study of human disease; epidemiology itself does not explain the correlation between SES and infant mortality (choice D is incorrect).
2. Answer choice C is correct. A proxy is a variable that can be used to provide information about another variable. Income, neighborhood school funding, and occupation can all provide information about an individual’s SES. For example, a high income would correlate with a high SES (choices A, B, and D are incorrect). According to Table 2, however, it appears that distance from the clinic is relatively constant among SES classes in the three cities. In other words, a patient’s distance from the clinic would not be sufficient to provide a reasonable approximation of the patient’s SES (choice C is correct).
3. Answer choice B is correct. Medical mistrust often occurs among low SES individuals, particularly in African Americans, and describes the lack of trust of medical providers by an individual or group (choice B is correct). Table 2 shows that distance from the clinic likely does not play a role in missing healthcare appointments (choice A is incorrect). Environmental justice does disproportionately affect low SES individuals, but it is known to cause health problems and not necessarily prevent individuals from going to their healthcare appointments (choice C is incorrect). False consciousness is a Marxist theory that occurs when an individual does not perceive the true social situation, which leads to inaction and no social change. This is not likely occurring here (choice D is incorrect).
4. Answer choice C is correct. Even though the question stem states that the mothers are in a rural town, we do not have enough information to make conclusions about the SES of the women (choices B and D are incorrect). According to Table 1, women between the ages of 18 and 30 have the lowest infant mortality rate, and the women in the question stem are between the ages of 25 and 27 (choice A is incorrect; choice C is correct).
5. Answer choice D is correct. Most cities in the US, which is a post-industrialized society, are in stage 4 of the demographic transition model (choice D is correct; choices A, B, and C are incorrect).
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Part 8: Standalone practice questions
Question 1: During which stage of the demographic transition model does the death rate fall while the birth rate remains constant?
A) Stage 1
B) Stage 2
C) Stage 3
D) Stage 4
Question 2: Education is an example of:
A) Social capital
B) Cultural capital
C) Socioeconomic status
D) Anomie
Question 3: Which of the following best describes a meritocracy?
A) Success is based on familial connections
B) Success is based only on an individual’s level of education
C) Success is based on an individual’s ability
D) Success is based on random assignment to professional education
Question 4: Which of the following is NOT likely to be a push factor for emigration?
A) Unequal access to education
B) Widespread social prosperity
C) Civil war
D) Political unrest
Question 5: An epidemiologist determines that 10 new cases of a novel disease are present per every 1,000 people in a given year. This number is known as:
A) Prevalence
B) Morbidity
C) Mortality
D) Incidence
Answer key for standalone questions
1. Answer choice B is correct. During stage 1, birth and death rates are both high (choice A is incorrect). During stage 2, the death rate falls while the birth rate remains constant (choice B is correct). During stage 3, the birth rate also decreases while the death rate stabilizes (choice C is incorrect). During stage 4, both the birth and death rate are low and population growth levels are high (choice D is incorrect).
2. Answer choice B is correct. Education is an example of cultural capital (choice B is correct; choices A, C, and D are incorrect).
3. Answer choice C is correct. In a meritocracy, success is based on an individual’s ability to complete the task (choice C is correct; choices A and D are incorrect). The completion of a task does not necessarily correlate with a high level of education (choice B is incorrect).
4. Answer choice B is correct. Push factors are factors that cause an individual to leave his or her country. Widespread social prosperity is unlikely to cause this (choice B is correct). Unequal access to education, civil war, and political unrest are push factors (choices A, C, and D are incorrect).
5. Answer choice D is correct. Incidence describes the number of new cases of a disease per population per unit time (choice D is correct). Prevalence describes the total number of cases of a disease in a population per unit time (choice A is incorrect). Morbidity describes the severity of illness caused by a disease (choice B is incorrect). Mortality describes the amount of death caused by a disease (choice C is incorrect).
