LAW ABILITY TEST.

Number of questions = 17 Time = 10 minutes

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

In what kinds of societies are laws usually written down formally?

a)

large-scale societies

b)

small-scale societies

c)

both of the above

d)

neither of the above

What are common laws?

a)

laws that evolve slowly over time and are usually part of the existing cultural tradition rather than being
enacted by legislatures or rulers

b)

laws that are enacted by legislatures or rulers and that apply commonly to everyone

c)

laws that are commonly found in all kinds of societies

Which of the following statements about law is true?

a)

It is not uncommon for some laws to be confusing for the members of the society in which they exist.

b)

Laws are often open to interpretation depending on the situation of a crime.

c)

both of the above

d)

none of the above

Juries around the world commonly are expected to reflect the judgment of _________________ .
a)

a reasonable man

b)

a reasonable person

c)

the political elite within society

The term "positive sanction" refers to ____________________ .

a)
the concept of ownership in which an owner of property has the right to keep it whether or not it is
being used or actively possessed
b)

a reward for appropriate or admirable behavior that conforms with the social norms

c)

a punishment for violations of social norms

6.

An informal negative sanction is _________________________ .

a)

an unofficial, non-governmental punishment for violations of social norms

b)

a law prohibiting sexual intercourse and marriage between people of different races

c)
a socially recognized link between individuals created as an expedient for dealing with special
circumstances, such as the bond between a godmother and her godchild

7.

8.

In what kind of social environment are informal negative sanctions most likely to be an effective mechanism of
social control?
a)

large cities in modern nation states like the United States

b)

small rural towns in which everyone knows everyone else

c)

isolated bands of foragers

d)

b and c

e)

all of the above

Which of the following are important parts of social control in some small non-western societies?

(Select an answer based on what you learned in this tutorial.)

9.

a)

forced use of hallucinogenic drugs

b)

threat of witchcraft

c)

both of the above

d)

neither of the above

Which of the following would be a positive sanction?

a)

receiving good grades in school

b)

being promoted in the military

c)

being allowed to go to your religion's "heaven"

d)

all of the above

e)

none of the above

10.

11.

12.

Which of the following kinds of people would most likely be considered to be criminal for acting oddly in
public and subsequently be arrested by the police in North America?
a)

a well dressed rich man

b)

an unemployed man of African origin who is living on the street

c)

a homeless woman of European origin who is living on the street

What kinds of legal concerns are common in societies that have pedestrian foraging or simple horticultural
subsistence bases?
a)

failure to share food

b)

theft of property

c)

fights resulting from competition for the same mate

d)

a and c

e)

all of the above

How were disputes and crimes within the community usually settled traditionally by the Ju/'hoansi and other
small-scale societies?
a)

They openly gossiped about the deviant individuals and socially ostracized them.

b)

They had trials in formally organized courts with judges and advocates speaking for defendants.

c)
They avoided public discussion about a dispute or crime in order for the tension to be reduced and
everyone forget about it.

13.
Which of the following cultures traditionally used "song duels" to settle quarrels between individuals within
their community?

14.

a)

Masai

b)

Ju/'hoansi

c)

Inuit

What is the legal concept at work in the following case?

A man is murdered by his neighbor as a consequence of a dispute over the ownership of a small field. The neighbor's
family is ordered by a judge to pay the dead man's wife 12 goats in order to pay for the crime and to end the murder's
guilt.
a)

weregeld

b)

primogeniture

c)

neither of the above

15.
Which of the following kind of legal concern is commonly found among pastoralist and rich settled fishing
societies but usually not among pedestrian foraging ones?

16.

a)

property theft

b)

violence among men resulting from competition for the same mate

c)

both of the above

d)

neither of the above

Which of the following statements is true?

a)
Unlike permanently settled farmers, pastoralists usually can move to a new area to avoid a continuing
dispute with their neighbors.
b)
One method horticulturalists commonly use to deal with crime within their own community is to shift
the blame to people in other communities or even other societies.
c)
The fear that witchcraft might be used against you is often enough to prevent deviation from the social
norms in settled fishing and farming communities.
d)

all of the above are true

17.
Which of the following kinds of society are most likely to have formalized laws and special government
institutions (e.g. police, courts, and jails) to enforce them?
a)

pastoralist

b)

horticultural

c)

advanced agricultural and industrial

ANSWERS
A
A
C
A
B
A
D
B
D
B
D
A
C
A
A
D
C

Study Guide
Law Students: Read current Affairs, Logic reasoning and Verbal on the study pack.