Sociology Clep exam questions and 100%
correct answers
1). Absolute poverty
Ans: A standard of poverty based on a minimum level of subsistence below which
families should not be expected to exist.
2). Achieved status
Ans: A social position attained by a person largely through his or her own efforts.
3). Activity theory
Ans: An interactionist theory of aging that argues that elderly people who remain
active will be best-adjusted.
4). Adoption
Ans: In a legal sense, a process that allows for the transfer of the legal rights,
responsibilities, and privileges of parenthood to a new legal parent or parents.
5). Affirmative action
Ans: Positive efforts to recruit minority group members or women for jobs,
promotions, and educational opportunities.
6). Ageism
Ans: A term coined by Robert N. Butler to refer to prejudice and discrimination against
the elderly.
7). Agrarian society
Ans: The most technologically advanced form of preindustrial society. Members are
primarily engaged in the production of food but increase their crop yield through such
innovations as the plow.
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, 8). Alienation
Ans: The condition of being estranged or disassociated from the surrounding society.
9). Amalgamation
Ans: The process by which a majority group and a minority group combine through
intermarriage to form a new group.
10). Anomie
Ans: Durkheim's term for the loss of direction felt in a society when social control of
individual behavior has become ineffective.
11). Anomie theory of deviance
Ans: 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.
12). Anticipatory socialization
Ans: Processes of socialization in which a person "rehearses" for future positions,
occupations, and social relationships.
13). Anti-semitism
Ans: Anti-Jewish prejudice.
14). Apartheid
Ans: The former policy of the South African government designed to maintain the
separation of Blacks and other non-Whites from the dominant Whites.
15). Argot
Ans: Specialized language used by members of a group or subculture.
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, 16). Ascribed status
Ans: A social position "assigned" to a person by society without regard for the
person's unique talents or characteristics.
17). Assimilation
Ans: The process by which a person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to
become part of a different culture.
18). Authority
Ans: Power that has been institutionalized and is recognized by the people over whom
it is exercised.
19). Bilateral descent
Ans: A kinship system in which both sides of a person's family are regarded as equally
important.
20). Bilingualism
Ans: The use of two or more languages in particular settings, such as workplaces or
educational facilities, treating each language as equally legitimate.
21). Birthrate
Ans: The number of live births per 1,000 population in a given year. Also known as the
crude birthrate.
22). Black power
Ans: A political philosophy promoted by many younger Blacks in the 1960s that
supported the creation of Black-controlled political and economic institutions.
23). Bourgeoisie
Ans: Karl Marx's term for the capitalist class, comprising the owners of the means of
production.
24). Bureaucracy
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, Ans: A component of formal organization in which rules and hierarchical ranking are
used to achieve efficiency.
25). Bureaucratization
Ans: The process by which a group, organization, or social movement becomes
increasingly bureaucratic.
26). Capitalism
Ans: An economic system in which the means of production are largely in private
hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits.
27). Castes
Ans: Hereditary systems of rank, usually religiously dictated, that tend to be fixed and
immobile.
28). Causal logic
Ans: The relationship between a condition or variable and a particular consequence,
with one event leading to the other.
29). Census
Ans: An enumeration, or counting, of a population.
30). Charismatic authority
Ans: Max Weber's term for power made legitimate by a leader's exceptional personal
or emotional appeal to his or her followers.
31). Class
Ans: A term used by Max Weber to refer to a group of people who have a similar level
of wealth and income.
32). Class consciousness
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