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A down to earth approach

Which of the following communities would be most aligned with the rational approach to life?

a nineteenth-century steel mill town in Pennsylvania

What term best applies to people who share a culture and a territory?

a society

Which of the following is a primary sex characteristic?

a uterus in women



Which sociologist coined the term "the power elite"?

C. Wright Mills

What was the specific Protestant theology that influenced Max Weber's theories of social change and the development of The Spirit of Capitalism?




What were the three major causes of slavery prior to life in the American colonies?

debt, crime, and war

Based on Weber's "ideal type," the perfect bureaucracy is one that has the most extensive hierarchical structure.


Because of apartheid, South Africa has become a democratic nation with power more evenly shared by all citizens.




In every society, from the hunting and gathering society to the postindustrial society, the most common basis for social stratification has been ________.


The term for the unequal access to power, prestige, and property based on a person's sex is ________.

gender stratification

In Professor Jones' social problems course, the students interact freely with one another, think of themselves as "Dr. J's class," and feel they are significant because of their mutual interest in social reform. Which concept best describes Dr. Jones' class?


In which two societies would someone find relationships based on history that are diffuse and long-term?

horticultural and agricultural societies

Sociologically, why is gender especially significant?

It is a master status cutting across all aspects of life.

In colonial America, immigrants were transported to the new world "on credit" by the captain of the ship, who then sold their services to wealthy colonists who paid their passage. In return, these immigrants worked for a specified period of time and were known as ________ or ________.

indentured servants; bonded laborers

The plow was to the second social revolution as the ________ was to the third social revolution.

invention of the steam engine


Karl Marx

The early theorist who proposed that religious beliefs are the key to whether or not a society embraces capitalism was ________.

Max Weber


Most criminals do not have XYY and everyone with XYY is not a criminal.

Suicide bombers in Iraq are accorded high praise by those who oppose an American presence in the Middle East and are considered heroic warriors. Such honor and praise is an example of a ________.

positive sanction

Although it is the most egalitarian, what was the one social division common to all hunting and gathering societies?

prestige based on male labor

An approach to life in which there is an emphasis on rules, efficiency, and practical results is ________.



social control


social order


social stratification

With the domestication of plants and animals, a number of significant social changes occurred. All of the following represent one of these changes, EXCEPT for which one?

societies became more egalitarian

Explanations for deviance that focus on genetic predispositions to explain why individuals commit deviant acts are most aligned with which discipline?


Erving Goffman used the term ________ to refer to characteristics that discredit people.


The relativity of deviance is most aligned with which sociological perspective?

symbolic interactionism

Weber discovered that countries dominated by the Roman Catholic faith were more likely to rely on the traditional orientation to life and less likely to embrace capitalism as an economic system.


The dawn of civilization is most associated with the advent of the agricultural society.


According to Marx, alienation refers to a worker's loss of ownership of the product of his or her labor.


The predecessor to the modern union was the guild, which prevented non-guild members from working at a particular craft.


According to Karl Marx, capitalism was responsible for breaking the bonds of tradition.




What is the major emphasis of the traditional orientation to life?

The past is the best guide for what should be done in the present.

Which statement regarding the nation's income is most accurate?

The top 20 percent of Americans earn nearly half the income.

In which of the following societies might slavery most likely exist?

the agricultural society

Napoleon Chagnon's visit to the Yanomamö tribe, where he observed tribe members appearing naked in public, using hallucinogenic drugs, and letting mucus hang from their noses, is a good example of ________.

the cultural relativity of deviance

The belief by many Americans that they actually contribute to major governmental decisions through the power of their vote is referred to by Hellinger and Judd as ________.

the democratic facade

What was the impetus for the first social revolution?

the domestication of plants and animals

Which society was the first to develop permanent settlements?

the horticultural society

Which society is characterized as being the most egalitarian and nomadic, consisting of 25 to 40 members?

the hunting and gathering society

In which two societies are people evaluated based on "the bottom line"?

the industrial and postindustrial societies

What was the term C. Wright Mills used to refer to those who make the big decisions in American society?

the power elite

When used by sociologists, the term "wealth" refers to ________.

the property owned and the income acquired minus debts made by the person


the rationalization of society

What are the two characteristics a people must share to qualify as a society?

the same culture and the same territory

Based on the Marxist orientation of conflict sociologists, how many distinct social classes exist?


What are the three variables Max Weber identified as defining social class?

wealth, power, prestige

What is the average per capita annual income in the United States, which includes all Americans, and even children?


What is the typical annual family income in the United States?


The first social revolution, namely the domestication of animals and plants, occurred approximately ________ years ago.


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