American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Practice Exam

Which scale is most appropriate for assessing social class as a category?

1. Ratio Scale

2. Nominal Scale

3. Ordinal Scale

4. Interval Scale

The correct answer is: Nominal Scale

In assessing social class as a category, using a nominal scale is appropriate because it allows for the classification of social class into distinct, non-overlapping categories without any inherent order. Social class can be segmented into types such as lower, middle, and upper class, or according to specific demographic groups, but these classifications do not imply any ranking or distance between the categories. Nominal scales focus on labeling variables without any quantitative value, making them suitable for identifying and categorizing data without assumption of a relationship or hierarchy among the categories. For example, each social class label is unique and represents a different category of individuals, but there is no mathematical relationship in terms of more or less within this scale. In contrast, the other scales serve different purposes. A ratio scale is used for measuring quantities with a true zero point, which doesn't apply to social class. An ordinal scale does imply a ranking or order among categories, which is not appropriate when discussing social classes that may not have a strictly hierarchical structure. The interval scale measures variables with equal distances between points but without a true zero, which does not suit the categorical nature of social classes. Therefore, the nominal scale effectively captures the essence of social class classification.