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CLEP Sociology

Subjects : clep, humanities
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A technique for measuring social class that assigns individuals to classes on the basis of criteria such as occupation - education - income - and place of residence.






2. Long term trend in human societies that results from the interplay of innovation - continuity - and selection.






3. The process of introducing new elements into a culture through either discovery or invention.






4. The systematic study of the biological bases of social behavior.






5. A construct or model that serves as a measuring rod against which specific cases can be evaluated.






6. A theory of social change that holds that change can occur in several ways and does not inevitably lead in the same direction.






7. A society whose economic system is primarily engaged in the processing and control of information.






8. The respect and admiration that an occupation holds in a society.






9. As defined by the World Health Organization - a state of complete physical - mental - and social well-being - and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.






10. A form of polygamy in which a woman can have several husbands at the same time.






11. The act of physically separating two groups; often imposed on a minority group by a dominant group.






12. The state of being related to others.






13. Changes in the social position of children relative to their parents.






14. A theory of social change that holds that all societies pass through the same successive stages of evolution and inevitably reach the same end.






15. An interactionist theory of aging that argues that elderly people who remain active will be best-adjusted.






16. Max Weber's term for people's opportunities to provide themselves with material goods - positive living conditions - and favorable life experiences.






17. A component of formal organization in which rules and hierarchical ranking are used to achieve efficiency.






18. A term used by Parsons and Bales to refer to emphasis on tasks - focus on more distant goals - and a concern for the external relationship between one's family and other social institutions.






19. A principle of organizational life - originated by Laurence J. Peter - according to which each individual within a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence.






20. A theory developed by Robert Merton that explains deviance as an adaptation either of socially prescribed goals or of the norms governing their attainment - or both.






21. A term used by George Herbert Mead to refer to those individuals who are most important in the development of the self - such as parents - friends - and teachers.






22. Reductions taken in a company's workforce as part of deindustrialization.






23. The phenomenon whereby the media provide such massive amounts of information that the audience becomes numb and generally fails to act on the information - regardless of how compelling the issue.






24. The use of two or more languages in particular settings - such as workplaces or educational facilities - treating each language as equally legitimate.






25. In Harold D. Lasswell's words - 'who gets what - when - and how.'






26. An enumeration - or counting - of a population.






27. A group or category to which people feel they do not belong.






28. A social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence mobility.






29. The process by which a person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become part of a different culture.






30. An increase in the lowest level of education required to enter a field.






31. An element or a process of society that may disrupt a social system or lead to a decrease in stability.






32. A systematic - organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity and consistency in researching a problem.






33. Transfers of money - goods - or services that are not reported to the government.






34. A view of society in which many competing groups within the community have access to governmental officials so that no single group is dominant.






35. The process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one's life.






36. The social institution that relies on a recognized set of procedures for implementing and achieving the goals of a group.






37. A speculative statement about the relationship between two or more variables.






38. Failures that are inevitable - given the manner in which human and technological systems are organized.






39. A functionalist theory of aging introduced by Cumming and Henry that contends that society and the aging individual mutually sever many of their relationships.






40. A city characterized by relatively large size - open competition - an open class system - and elaborate specialization in the manufacturing of goods.






41. A society that depends on mechanization to produce its economic goods and services.






42. The tendency to assume that one's culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others.






43. Unconscious or unintended functions; hidden purposes.






44. The systematic - widespread withdrawal of investment in basic aspects of productivity such as factories and plants.






45. Elements beyond everyday life that inspire awe - respect - and even fear.






46. A hypothesis concerning the role of language in shaping cultures. It holds that language is culturally determined and serves to influence our mode of thought.






47. Established standards of behavior maintained by a society.






48. Unreliable generalizations about all members of a group that do not recognize individual differences within the group.






49. The amount of reproduction among women of childbearing age.






50. Norms governing everyday social behavior whose violation raises comparatively little concern.