Deck 13: Political Organization and Social Control

Question 1

A pan-tribal mechanism is an organization:

A) to which all the men belong.
B) to which all the women belong.
C) cutting across and integrating local segments of the tribe into a larger whole.
D) integrating all tribes from a region into a larger group.
E) integrating local cultural groups into a larger form of social organization.

Answer 1

cutting across and integrating local segments of the tribe into a larger whole.

Question 2

A nation refers to a group of people who frequently share all of the following except:

A) kinship.
B) symbolic identity.
C) culture.
D) history.
E) religion.

Answer 2

kinship.

Question 3

Which statement about pan-tribal mechanisms is true?

A) They serve to segregate local tribal segments.
B) They serve to integrate local tribal segments.
C) They are the same as extended families.
D) They are permanent political fixtures.
E) They are permanent forms of social control.

Answer 3

They serve to integrate local tribal segments.

Question 4

The voluntaristic theory of state development argues that:

A) state societies developed before agriculture.
B) state societies developed before occupational specialization.
C) the introduction of intensive agriculture created food surpluses, which allowed some individuals to engage in new occupational roles.
D) state societies developed because of dependence on irrigation.
E) the development of new forms of social control led to the development of more sophisticated forms of political organization.

Question 5

The European colonial powers:

A) only founded colonies in societies with long histories as chiefdoms.
B) never found chiefs to be associated with supernatural powers.
C) eliminated traditional chiefs because they interfered with colonial administration.
D) created chiefs where none had previously existed in order to facilitate administration of local populations.
E) recognized local chiefs and used them in order to create orderly societies that were subordinated to European administrations.

Question 6

The Poarch Creek Indians are located in which southern state?

A) Georgia
B) Florida
C) Alabama
D) Texas
E) North Carolina

Question 7

Since all societies must maintain social order; they all have:

A) legislatures.
B) elected officials.
C) mechanisms of social control.
D) permanent armies.
E) standing military.

Question 8

The redistributive mode of distribution is predominantly found in:

A) band societies.
B) chiefdoms.
C) state societies.
D) segmentary lineage societies.
E) horticultural societies.

Question 9

As a complex form of political organization,a state society:

A) always relies on supernatural sanctions to maintain social order.
B) maintains the exclusive right to use force and physical coercion.
C) maintains its authority by brute force alone.
D) has the least amount of deviation from the norms.
E) is the least centralized government of all types of human societies.

Question 10

The shifting nature of the political structure of tribal societies is demonstrated by:

A) pan-tribal mechanisms.
B) hunting and gathering subsistence.
C) segmentary lineage systems.
D) changing forms of mobility.
E) intensification of social control.

Question 11

Societies with intensive agriculture are most often:

A) state societies.
B) chiefdoms.
C) tribal societies.
D) band societies.
E) horticultural societies.

Question 12

Which statement about chiefdoms is not true?

A) Chiefs are involved with economic activities through redistribution.
B) Chiefs tend to have centralized power.
C) Chiefs hold permanent positions.
D) In chiefdoms, political authority is likely to reside in one individual.
E) Chiefdoms are rarely hereditary.

Question 13

Tribal societies are usually associated with all of the following except:

A) food production.
B) horticulturalists.
C) pastoralists.
D) tribal associations.
E) the least amount of political organization.

Question 14

Band societies are usually:

A) settled populations.
B) tightly organized under hereditary leaders.
C) found to have considerable political integration.
D) highly egalitarian.
E) food producers.

Question 15

The characteristics of state systems of government include all of the following except:

A) specialized political roles.
B) large bureaucratic organizations.
C) organizations with a suprakinship basis.
D) minimum surplus of resources.
E) a complex system of internal distribution and foreign trade.

Question 16

What do the Kurds living in Turkey,the French living in Canada,and the Chechens living in Russia all have in common?

A) They all share the same religion.
B) They are all seeking statehood or expanded autonomy.
C) They are all at the same level of economic development.
D) They are all tribal societies.
E) They speak the same languages.

Question 17

The quote "He carries his own load and is as thin as the rest" refers to the leader of a:

A) band.
B) chiefdom.
C) horticultural tribe.
D) state.
E) pastoral tribe.

Question 18

The hydraulic theory of state formation argues that:

A) machinery had to be invented before state systems developed.
B) farmers with irrigation systems came to see benefits in joining together and becoming part of a larger political entity.
C) centralized governments developed out of military power rather than self interest.
D) the plow was the major factor behind the development of state systems of government.
E) the use of a draft plow and domesticated animals meant that water was needed near the household and corrals.

Question 19

Which statement about Ruth Benedict's role in helping to rebuild Japan after WWII is false?

A) She argued to keep the institution of the Emperor in post war Japan.
B) Her book, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, sold more copies in Japan than in the United States.
C) She used her own anthropological research on Japanese culture to inform the rebuilding process in Japan.
D) She argued that Japan's society was very rigid and not adaptable to democratic forces.
E) She worked for the Office of War Information in the U.S.

Question 20

The global trend over the last several decades has been toward:

A) a greater number of democracies.
B) a greater number of autocracies.
C) fewer free elections of political leaders.
D) greater repression of opposition political parties.
E) the evolution of a non-state social system.

Question 21

A social mechanism meant to publicly humiliate someone who has broken a social norm is called:

A) a degradation ceremony.
B) a punitive sanction.
C) political coerciveness.
D) negative socialization.
E) corporate discipline.

Question 22

What is a "headless" society?

A) a society that has no form of social or political control
B) a society that has no political leader
C) a society that is without strict moral codes
D) a society that has no formal recognition at the state level
E) a society that is virtual and not geographically located

Question 23

"Verbal dexterity" is especially important in which form of social control?

A) ancestor worship
B) ghostly invocation
C) intermediaries
D) warfare
E) song duel

Question 24

Although there has been a trend toward increasing democracies,in 2009 all of the following were reported except:

A) in countries that showed a decline in democratization, there was also more persecution of dissidents.
B) in countries that showed a decline in democratization, there was also more persecution of journalists.
C) declines in democratization occurred primarily in Africa.
D) declines in democratization occurred in countries with military and economic power.
E) declines in democratization occurred in countries that, until quite recently, had been moving towards democratization.

Question 25

When someone must plunge his or her hand into boiling water to divine whether he or she is innocent or guilty,it is called a(n):

A) oath.
B) ordeal.
C) crime.
D) invocation.
E) rite of passage.

Question 26

Which of the following is the primary mechanism that corporate lineage societies use to control and manage the marriage process?

A) residence after marriage
B) degradation ceremonies
C) ancestor worship
D) remarriage compensation
E) bridewealth payment

Question 27

Bands and tribes are politically associated with each of the following except:

A) a small number of specialized political roles.
B) a high level of political integration.
C) little political coerciveness.
D) an absence of formal governmental structures.
E) informal mechanisms of social control.

Question 28

A Leopard-Skin Chief among the Nuer:

A) serves as a mediator between a victim's family and the family of a murderer.
B) serves as judge and jury in criminal and civil cases.
C) serves as a judge to determine guilt, but has no authority to determine punishment.
D) has authority to impose a settlement on the disputing parties.
E) can inflict punishment on the individual who has carried out a crime.

Question 29

The 2008 election of President Barack Obama was innovative because:

A) the political candidates created websites for the first time.
B) for the first time, the government did not contribute funds directly to the candidates.
C) more than half of the voting age population used the Internet to receive political news.
D) almost 40% of the population voted online for the first time.
E) all political contributions were made by website donation.

Question 30

Age set systems serve as mechanisms of social control because:

A) they are associated with a belief that social deviance will cause one to suffer in the afterlife.
B) only members of an individual's own age set have any authority over him.
C) the members always spend a lot of time drinking together.
D) individuals' initiations almost always include an intense period of training in the norms and values of the society.
E) individuals are socially considered to be a corporate lineage group because they have been socialized as a group since birth.

Question 31

Corporate lineages function effectively to maintain social control because of all of the following except:

A) they have power to control the economic well being of their members.
B) they allow individuals to make their own marriage decisions.
C) they are socially intimate.
D) they have diffuse roles.
E) members derive their primary identity from them.

Question 32

Social control in small-scale (acephalous)societies is maintained by all of the following except:

A) socialization.
B) degradation ceremonies.
C) corporate lineage structures.
D) positive sanctions.
E) deviance.

Question 33

In an age-graded society,senior elders' primary role is as:

A) adjudicators of crimes.
B) officers in the military.
C) social advisors.
D) mediators of small disputes.
E) foot soldiers in the military.

Question 34

Moots are:

A) found in most Asian societies.
B) formal public courts that decide cases involving the breaking of written laws.
C) formal settlements of disputes involving only kinsmen of the litigants.
D) informal announcements of disputes involving kinsmen and friends of the litigants.
E) social aggregations in which ancestors participate.

Question 35

If a spectator begins to criticize a referee at a baseball game by yelling out,"Do you know the rules? Can't you see? Do you need some help,Ref?" and the people around the spectator begin to cast sour looks back at him for disturbing the event,this is an example of:

A) positive, formal sanctions.
B) negative, formal sanctions.
C) positive, informal sanctions.
D) negative, informal sanctions.
E) none of these choices

Question 36

In societies where dead ancestors are considered fully functioning members of the descent group,an especially effective means of social control may be:

A) socialization.
B) ancestor worship.
C) public opinion.
D) witchcraft.
E) degradation ceremonies.

Question 37

Among the Lugbara,which of the following conditions is considered a symptom of ancestor vengeance?

A) social popularity
B) sickness of any kind
C) desire to have more children
D) desire to marry someone outside of the lineage
E) ability to influence other members of the lineage

Question 38

When a dead ancestor is believed to punish someone for a social infraction,it is referred to as:

A) ghostly invocation.
B) ancestor worship.
C) ghostly vengeance.
D) witchcraft.
E) sorcery.

Question 39

Deviance:

A) is an absolute defined in the same way by all cultures.
B) is more likely to occur in acephalous societies than in state societies.
C) refers to the violation of social norms.
D) has nothing to do with social control.
E) is a psychological state that has political repercussions.

Question 40

The term used to define what a society considers an expected way of behavior is called:

A) social control.
B) political control.
C) deviance.
D) corporate lineage.
E) social norms.

Question 41

The Customary Law Project in Papua New Guinea contributed all of the following except:

A) a legal database of customary law followed by different social groups.
B) a formal list of effective social sanctions to be used.
C) a basis for lawyers to research legal precedence and establish a formal legal system in the country.
D) a means to alleviate conflict between customary law and the national legal system.
E) the development of a family bill to recognize customary marriages and the institution of polygyny.

Question 42

All of the following are reasons not to equate the Islamic religion with terrorism except:

A) it is no more prone to violence than any other religion.
B) studies show that suicide terrorists are not Muslims.
C) research indicates that suicide attacks are directed more against secular ends than religious ones.
D) it is no different than most other world religions who also distinguish between believers and non-believers.
E) the Koran includes a number of passages that actively advocate against violence.

Question 43

Robert Pape's study of suicide attacks shows that more than 95% of all suicide attacks worldwide have been in response to:

A) economic injustice.
B) moral imperative.
C) U.S. military policy.
D) religious commands.
E) social needs.

Question 44

Which of the following is not a factor that contributes to warfare in small-scale societies?

A) moral objectives
B) political motivations
C) social problems
D) economic sanctions
E) perceived threats

Question 45

It has been estimated that the internet will be at least as powerful an influence on politics in the 21ˢᵗ century as the television was in the 20ᵗʰ century.

Question 46

The basic features of law include:

A) the illegitimate use of physical coercion.
B) allocating official authority to privileged people who are able to use coercion legitimately.
C) the total inability to predict the outcome of disputes because each situation is unique.
D) the use of both formal and informal means of social control.
E) a high incidence of capriciousness and unpredictability.

Question 47

The primary function of moot courts includes all of the following except:

A) to exert conflict resolution.
B) to re-establish harmony between the disputants.
C) to provide restitution.
D) to establish peace in society.
E) to enact punishment.

Question 48

True warfare probably began approximately _________ years ago.

A) 5,500
B) 1,000
C) 10,000
D) 7,000
E) 3,000

Question 49

In some state societies today,women hold the majority of leadership positions in the government.

Question 50

Political organization involves cultural arrangements to minimize disruption and maintain order.

Question 51

Leadership roles in band societies tend to be very informal.

Question 52

The beginning of warfare likely coincided with which of the following?

A) polygyny
B) private property
C) foraging
D) food production
E) establishment of human society

Question 53

State systems of government are supported by intensive agriculture,which is required to support a large number of non-food producing bureaucrats.

Question 54

In complex societies,what is the primary emphasis of legal systems?

A) punishment
B) restitution to the victim
C) reintegration of offender into society
D) reintegration of the corporate lineage into society
E) demonstration of legal authority

Question 55

Pan-tribal associations are permanent political fixtures that cut across and integrate all local segments of a tribe.

Question 56

State systems are large,hierarchical,and organized on a suprakinship basis.

Question 57

Karl Wittfogel proposed the coercive theory of state formation.

Question 58

All of the following are reasons that food foragers do not engage in warfare except:

A) they have no means of financing warfare.
B) they do not have large numbers of people.
C) they have no way of controlling people.
D) they do not control territorial boundaries.
E) they do not have as much hostility towards each other.

Question 59

In some parts of their colonial empire,the British imposed chiefs over tribal societies.

Question 60

During World War II,it was common for anthropologists to work for the U.S.government.

Question 61

Small-scale societies are less politically integrated than large-scale ones.

Question 62

What is the primary difference between rebellion and revolution?

Question 63

What are three theories of state formation and who are their major proponents?

Question 64

Societies with a belief in witchcraft accept the idea that misfortunes are the result of natural causes.

Question 65

Individuals enter the age-set system at the highest rank and are then initiated.

Question 66

The Yanomamo are likely to go to war when they need metal tools.

Question 67

All social norms,whether small or large,are sanctioned.

Question 68

The institution of the Leopard-Skin Chief is a formal means of social control.

Question 69

What is a nation-state?

Question 70

Name four reasons that foraging societies rarely go to war.

Question 71

List five formal mechanisms of social control.

Question 72

What are the four types of political structure?

Question 73

Religion does not play a central role in warfare,even though it is often invoked.

Question 74

What are the four general factors that contribute to warfare in small-scale societies?

Question 75

What is a major difference between tribes and bands?

Question 76

Kpelle moots are held in the homes of the complainant and all parties sit very close together in a random mixed fashion.

Question 77

List five informal mechanisms of social control.

Question 78

On what three dimensions do societies differ in their political organization?

Question 79

In Papua New Guinea the modern legal system is based on a thorough study of the complex mosaic of customary legal systems.

Question 80

A state society is a type of headless society.