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Chapter 2
Theories of Social Evolution
and Development
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. By definition, theories of social evolution:
a. explain how and why the “fittest” societies survive and change
b. explain and describe the biological adaptations of individuals and their
impact on society
c. explain and describe sequences of long-term social change (*)
d. none of these
2. According to Erik Olin Wright, evolutionary theories have which of the following
characteristics:
a. they organize history into a typology of stages
b. they assume there is a greater chance of societies evolving to a higher stage
rather than regressing back to an earlier one
c. they identify mechanisms that explain the movement from one societal stage
to another
d. all of these (*)
e. none of these
3. The classical evolutionist Herbert Spencer assumed which of the following about social
evolution:
a. societies evolve in the direction of increasing social differentiation (*)
b. language, myth, and religion are the key evolutionary features of human societies
c. human history is divided into three great stages of technological development
d. none of these
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4. Lewis Henry Morgan argued that the major mechanism that explains the change from
“primitive society” to “civil society” is:
a. the domestication of plants and animals
b. the change from polytheistic to monotheistic religion
c. the development of a phonetic alphabet and writing (*)
d. the move from incoherent homogeneity to coherent heterogeneity
5. Which classical evolutionist was interested primarily in the ideational or mental aspects
of social evolution?
a. Lewis Henry Morgan
b. Herbert Spencer
c. Karl Marx
d. Edward Burnett Tylor (*)
6. Which of the following do Sanderson and Alderson consider a major flaw in classical
evolutionary theorizing:
a. there was not enough emphasis on the ideational or mental aspects of social
evolution
b. the classical evolutionists passed off mere descriptions of evolutionary changes as
explanations
c. the early evolutionary theories were rather ethnocentric
d. two of these (*)
e. none of these
7. Sanderson and Alderson believe that the most important part of Marxian evolutionism
is its ________ conception of social life:
a. idealist
b. materialist (*)
c. revolutionary
d. Hegelian
8. Marx and Engels explained that human societies are comprised of two major
components
These are:
a. societas and civitas
b. religion and philosophy
c. materialism and idealism
d. infrastructure and superstructure (*)
9. According to Marx and Engels, the last stage of human history will be:
a. capitalism
b. feudalism
c. socialism (*)
d. slavery
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10. Sanderson and Alderson argue which of the following about Marxian evolutionism?
a. its predictions have failed, but it still provides important insight into social
evolution (*)
b. it is the best evolutionary theory we have
c. it is useless and should be discarded
d. none of these
11. The Neolithic Revolution of V. Gordon Childe is associated with which of the
following:
a. the emergence of agriculture (*)
b. the move from societas to civitas
c. the invention of the plow
d. the shift from polytheism to monotheism
12. Leslie White identifies two major transitions in human history, which are the:
a. Neolithic Revolution and Urban Revolution
b. fall of feudalism and the rise of capitalism
c. Agricultural Revolution and Fuel Revolution (*)
d. development of tools and the rise of agriculture
13. The evolutionary theorist Julian Steward placed special emphasis on which of the
following as a major causal force in social evolution?
a. technology
b. ecology (*)
c. economics
d. ideology
14. Steward argued against ________ evolutionism and in favor of ________ evolutionism:
a. multilinear; unilinear
b. parallel; convergent
c. divergent; convergent
d. unilinear; multilinear (*)
15. The evolutionary theory of sociologist Talcott Parsons can be considered
a(n)________ theory:
a. idealist (*)
b. materialist
c. generalist
d. adaptive
16. Parsons distinguished three types of societies in social evolution, which were:
a. primitive, intermediate, and modern (*)
b. parallel, convergent, and divergent
c. archaic, modern, and postmodern
d. simple, complex, and doubly complex
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17. A key evolutionary concept for Parsons was that of evolutionary universals. These are:
a. social innovations that allow a society to undergo adaptive upgrading (*)
b. social innovations that spread to every single society on earth
c. philosophical breakthroughs
d. features that all societies have but that aid the functioning of only some
18. Gerhard Lenski argued that the key driving force of social evolution was:
a. ecology
b. economics
c. technology (*)
d. religion
19. Lenski’s main evolutionary stages were ________ societies:
a. hunter-gatherer, horticultural, pastoral, and agrarian
b. hunter-gatherer, horticultural, agrarian, and industrial (*)
c. horticultural, pastoral, agrarian, and industrial
d. hunter-gatherer, agricultural, industrial, and postindustrial
20. Sanderson and Alderson argue that Lenski’s theory of social evolution:
a. was a very important contribution to sociology when it first emerged
b. overemphasizes technological advancement as the ultimate cause of societal
evolution
c. both of these (*)
d. neither of these
21. Marvin Harris’s Principle of Infrastructural Determinism assumes that the ________
conditions the ________, which in turn conditions the ________:
a. superstructure; structure; infrastructure
b. economy; politics; religion
c. infrastructure; structure; superstructure (*)
d. technology; economy; ideology
22. According to Harris, the overall process of social evolution is driven by:
a. technological change
d. automatic social differentiation
c. environmental depletion and the intensification of production (*)
d. philosophical change
23. Harris is one of the few evolutionists to:
a. be a progressivist
b. be an antiprogressivist or nonprogressivist (*)
c. emphasize growing complexity as the key feature of social evolution
d. emphasize the causal role of ideas rather than technology
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24. Sanderson’s evolutionary materialism differs from Harris’s in which of the following
ways?
a. Sanderson emphasizes that at different stages of social evolution different
“evolutionary logics” operate (*)
b. Sanderson emphasizes only economic forces, whereas Harris emphasizes mostly
ecological and demographic forces
c. Sanderson emphasizes only ecological and demographic forces, whereas Harris
emphasizes mostly economic forces
25. According to Sanderson, parallel evolution occurs when:
a. societies that were once dissimilar evolve in ways that make them more alike
b. societies that were once similar evolve in ways that make them less alike
c. societies evolve along similar lines at similar rates (*)
d. none of these
26. Sanderson argues that social evolution is a(n) ________ process whereby social
patterns are created by humans as rational responses to the problems of existence.
a. idealist
b. adaptive (*)
c. maladaptive
d. materialist
27. The disappearance of many hunter-gatherer societies and Indian tribes is an example
of:
a. social continuity
b. social devolution
c. adaptation
d. social extinction (*)
28. Sanderson’s evolutionary approach makes which of the following arguments about
social adaptations?
a. individuals are the units of adaptation in any society
b. an adaptive social pattern should not necessarily be considered “good” or “morally
desirable”
c. a new social adaptation may not benefit all individuals in a society
d. all of these (*)
TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS
29. Evolutionary theories are those that assume that societies have been progressing
through a uniform set of stages of development since earliest times. (F)
30. Sanderson’s evolutionary materialism contains a modified version of Harris’s Principle
of Infrastructural Determinism. (T)
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31. The primary purpose of social evolutionary theories is to explain the biologically
evolved adaptations that drive human social behavior. (F)
32. An important feature of all social evolutionary theories is that they organize history
into a typology of stages. (T)
33. According to Sanderson and Alderson, the strongest evolutionary theories are those
that focus on the ideational aspects of human society. (F)
34. A major flaw of early evolutionary theorizing was its rather ethnocentric nature. (T)
35. Karl Marx’s approach to social evolution was strongly materialist in nature. (T)
36. The evolutionary theories of Edward Burnett Tylor are most noted by their emphasis
on the ideational aspects of human society. (T)
37. Herbert Spencer argued that language, myth, and religion are the most important
evolutionary features of human societies. (F)
38. Karl Marx argued that human societies are made up of two important components,
the infrastructure and superstructure. (T)
39. According to Karl Marx’s theory of social evolution, capitalism is the last stage of
human history. (F)
40. Sanderson and Alderson strongly agree with Marx’s predictions concerning the
emergence of a future socialist society. (F)
41. According to V. Gordon Childe, the rise of agriculture was the key features of the
Neolithic Revolution. (T)
42. Julian Steward was especially concerned with the role technology plays in social
evolution. (F)
43. According to Sanderson and Alderson, the weakest point of the social evolutionary
ideas of Talcott Parsons is their excessive materialism. (F)
44. Gerhard Lenski’s theories of social evolution are most concerned with the role of
technology as an evolutionary force. (T)
45. According to Marvin Harris’s Principle of Infrastructural Determinism, the
superstructure is causally prior to the structure. (F)
46. According to Sanderson and Alderson, all social adaptations made by humans are good
and morally desirable. (F)
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47. Sanderson’s evolutionary materialism modifies Harris’s Principle of Infrastructural
Determinism by focusing more heavily on the ideational aspects of human societies.
(F)
48. The survival of some preindustrial societies into the modern era is an example of
social adaptation. (F)
49. Societies evolving in similar ways at similar rates is what is meant by parallel evolution.
(T)
50. Parsons and Spencer both emphasized social differentiation or increasing complexity
as the key dimension of social evolution. (T)
51. The key difference between Harris’s evolutionism, and the evolutionism of Childe,
White, and Lenski, is that Harris sees technological change occurring because of
environmental depletion, whereas the others see technological change resulting from
the gradual accumulation of knowledge. (T)
52. Sanderson’s evolutionary materialism claims that as societies evolve they function
more efficiently. His approach is therefore in agreement with Parsons’s concept of
“increased adaptive capacity.” (F)
ESSAY QUESTIONS
53. What is an evolutionary theoretical strategy? What different sorts of evolutionary
strategies exist in the social sciences, and what are their important similarities and
differences?
54. Explain the differences between idealist and materialist perspectives in evolutionary
theorizing.
55. Choose two evolutionary theorists from Chapter 2 and compare and contrast their
theoretical perspectives.
56. Describe the basic goal of social evolutionary theories and the key characteristics of
these theories.
57. What are the differences between parallel, convergent, and divergent evolution ?
What would be some examples of each?
58. Discuss what Sanderson and Alderson mean when they say that social evolution is an
“adaptive” process. Then, explain their argument that individuals are the units of
adaptation in human societies.
