Test your basic knowledge |

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. The belief that the products - styles - or ideas of one's society are inferior to those that originate elsewhere.






2. A sociological approach that emphasizes inequity in gender as central to all behavior and organization.






3. Hereditary systems of rank - usually religiously dictated - that tend to be fixed and immobile.






4. The scientific study of the sociological and psychological aspects of aging and the problems of the aged.






5. Social control carried out by people casually through such means as laughter - smiles - and ridicule.






6. The far-reaching process by which a society moves from traditional or less developed institutions to those characteristic of more developed societies.






7. The scientific study of population.






8. A form of marriage in which one woman and one man are married only to each other.






9. Records of births - deaths - marriages - and divorces gathered through a registration system maintained by governmental units.






10. A view of social interaction - popularized by Erving Goffman - under which people are examined as if they were theatrical performers.






11. A measurable trait or characteristic that is subject to change under different conditions.






12. Norms that generally are understood but are not precisely recorded.






13. 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.






14. The attempt to reach agreement with others concerning some objective.






15. A sociological approach that assumes that social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups.






16. The state of a population with a growth rate of zero - achieved when the number of births plus immigrants is equal to the number of deaths plus emigrants.






17. The process of disengagement from a role that is central to one's selfidentity and reestablishment of an identity in a new role.






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






19. A status that dominates others and thereby determines a person's general position within society.






20. An approach to urbanization that considers the interplay of local - national - and worldwide forces and their effect on local space - with special emphasis on the impact of global economic activity.






21. A social position 'assigned' to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics.






22. The process through which religion's influence on other social institutions diminishes.






23. Processes of socialization in which a person 'rehearses' for future positions - occupations - and social relationships.






24. Veblen's term for those people or groups who will suffer in the event of social change and who have a stake in maintaining the status quo.






25. A term coined by Robert N. Butler to refer to prejudice and discrimination against the elderly.






26. The tendency of workers in a bureaucracy to become so specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems.






27. Employees who work fulltime or part-time at home rather than in an outside office and who are linked to their supervisors and colleagues through computer terminals - phone lines - and fax machines.






28. The movement of a person from one social position to another of a different rank.






29. A term used by sociologists to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large group or society.






30. A literal interpretation of the Bible regarding the creation of man and the universe used to argue that evolution should not be presented as established scientific fact.






31. A term used by Karl Marx to describe an attitude held by members of a class that does not accurately reflect its objective position.






32. Going along with one's peers - individuals of a person's own status - who have no special right to direct that person's behavior.






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






34. A married couple and their unmarried children living together.






35. A preindustrial society in which people rely on whatever foods and fiber are readily available in order to live.






36. Questionnaires or interviews used to determine whether people have been victims of crime.






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






38. 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.






39. The practice of placing students in specific curriculum groups on the basis of test scores and other criteria.






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






41. Jean Piaget's theory explaining how children's thought progresses through four stages.






42. The sending of messages through the use of posture - facial expressions - and gestures.






43. An abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture. It also includes gestures and other nonverbal communication.






44. 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.






45. The number of deaths per 1 -000 population in a given year. Also known as the crude death rate.






46. A kinship system in which both sides of a person's family are regarded as equally important.






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






48. A religious organization that claims to include most or all of the members of a society and is recognized as the national or official religion.






49. Movement of individuals or groups from one position of a society's stratification system to another.






50. A kinship system that favors the relatives of the father.