4. Society

Question 1

society

Answer 1

people who interact in a defined territory and share a culture

Question 2

sociocultural evolution

Answer 2

Lenski’s term for the changes that occur as a society gains new technology

Question 3

hunting and gathering

Answer 3

making use of simple tools to hunt animals and gather vegetation for food

Question 4

horticulture

Answer 4

the use of hand tools to raise crops

Question 5

pastoralism

Answer 5

the domestication of animals

Question 6

agriculture

Answer 6

large-scale cultivation using plows harnessed to animals or more powerful energy sources

Question 7

industrialism

Answer 7

the production of goods using advanced sources of energy to drive large machinery

Question 8

postindustrialism

Answer 8

the production of information using computer technology

Question 9

social conflict

Answer 9

the struggle between segments of society over valued resources

Question 10

capitalists

Answer 10

people who own and operate factories and other businesses in pursuit of profits

Question 11

proletarians

Answer 11

people who sell their labor for wages

Question 12

social institutions

Answer 12

the major spheres of social life, or societal subsystems, organized to meet human needs

Question 13

false consciousness

Answer 13

Marx’s term for explanations of social problems as the shortcomings of individuals rather than as the flaws of society

Question 14

class conflict

Answer 14

conflict between entire classes over the distribution of a society’s wealth and power

Question 15

class consciousness

Answer 15

Marx’s term for workers’ recognition of themselves as a class unified in opposition to capitalists and ultimately to capitalism itself

Question 16

alienation

Answer 16

the experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness

Question 17

ideal type

Answer 17

an abstract statement of the essential characteristics of any social phenomenon

Question 18

tradition

Answer 18

values and beliefs passed from generation to generation

Question 19

rationality

Answer 19

a way of thinking that emphasizes deliberate, matter- of-fact calculation of the most efficient way to accomplish a particular task

Question 20

rationalization of society

Answer 20

Weber’s term for the historical change from tradition to rationality as the main type of human thought

Question 21

anomie

Answer 21

Durkheim’s term for a condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individuals

Question 22

mechanical solidarity

Answer 22

Durkheim’s term for social bonds, based on common sentiments and shared moral values, that are strong among members of preindustrial societies

Question 23

organic solidarity

Answer 23

Durkheim’s term for social bonds, based on specialization and interdependence, that are strong among members of industrial societies

Question 24

division of labor

Answer 24

specialized economic activity