Ch. 9: Political Organization and Social Control

Question 1

Ascribed status

Answer 1

The status a person has by virtue of birth

Question 2

Authority

Answer 2

The power or right to give commands, take action, and make binding decisions

Question 3

Band societies

Answer 3

The basic social units in many hunting-and-gathering societies;

Characterized by being based on kinship and having no permanent political structure

Question 4

Caste

Answer 4

A group in a rigid system of social stratification in which membership is determined by birth and social mobility is nonexistent

Question 5

Chiefdoms

Answer 5

An intermediate form of political organization in which integration is achieved through the office of chiefs

Question 6

Class

Answer 6

A ranked group within a stratified society characterized by achieved status and considerable social mobility

Question 7

Corporate lineages

Answer 7

Kinship groups whose members often live, work, play, and pray together

Question 8

Council of Elders

Answer 8

A formal control mechanism composed of a group of elders who settle disputes among individuals in a society

Question 9

Crime

Answer 9

Violent disputes between individuals or groups

Question 10

Dalit

Answer 10

The politically correct term for those formerly called Untouchables in India

Question 11

Deviance

Answer 11

The violation of social norms

Question 12

Headless societies

Answer 12

Societies that have no political leaders, such as presidents, kings, or chiefs

Question 13

Intermediaries

Answer 13

Mediators of disputes among individuals of families within a society

Question 14

Law

Answer 14

Cultural rules that regulate human behavior and maintain order

Question 15

Leopard-Skin Chief

Answer 15

An intermediary between a murderer’s family and the family of the victim;

Found among the Nuer of the Sudan

Question 16

Moots

Answer 16

Informal airings of disputes involving kinsmen and friends of the litigants

Question 17

Nation

Answer 17

A group of people who share a common symbolic identity, culture, history, and often religion

Question 18

Negative sanctions

Answer 18

A mechanism of social control that enforces a society’s norms through punishments

Question 19

Oath

Answer 19

A formal declaration to some supernatural power that what you are saying is truthful or that you are innocent

Question 20

Ordeal

Answer 20

A dangerous test used to determine guilt

Question 21

Pan-Tribal mechanisms

Answer 21

Mechanisms such as clans, age grades, and secret societies found in tribal societies the cut across kinship lines and integrate all the local segments of the tribe into a larger whole

Question 22

Political integration

Answer 22

The process that brings disparate people under the control of a single political system

Question 23

Positive sanctions

Answer 23

A mechanism of social control that enforces a society’s norms through rewards

Question 24

Public opinion

Answer 24

Social pressure;

What the general public thinks about some issue;

When public opinion is brought to bear on an individual, it can influence his or her behavior

Question 25

Rebellion

Answer 25

Attempts to displace the people in power

Question 26

Revolution

Answer 26

Attempts to overthrow the entire system of government

Question 27

Sanctions

Answer 27

Any means used to enforce compliance with the rules and norms of a society

Question 28

Social control

Answer 28

Mechanisms found in all societies that encourage people not to violate the social norms

Question 29

Social mobility

Answer 29

The ability of people to change their social position within a society

Question 30

Social norms

Answer 30

What a society considers to be normal, proper, or expected ways of behaving

Question 31

Socialization

Answer 31

The process of teaching young people the norms in a society

Question 32

Song duel

Answer 32

A derisive song contest, fought with song and lyrics rather than with weapons

Question 33

Specialized political roles

Answer 33

Specific tasks expected of a person or group, such as law enforcement, tax collection, dispute settlement, recruitment of labor, and protection from outside invasions

Question 34

State

Answer 34

A particular type of political structure distinct from a band, tribal society, or chiefdom

Question 35

State system of government

Answer 35

A bureaucratic, hierarchical form of government composed of various echelons of political specialists

Question 36

Supernatural belief systems

Answer 36

Belief in supernatural forces such as gods, witches, and sorcerers

Question 37

Tribal societies

Answer 37

Small-scale societies composed of autonomous political units with common linguistic and cultural features

Question 38

Varnas

Answer 38

Caste groups in Hindu India that are associated with certain occupations

Question 39

Witchcraft

Answer 39

The use of inborn, involuntary, and often unconscious powers to cause harm to other people

Question 40

Achieved status

Answer 40

The status an individual attains during the course of her or his lifetime