CA C4 Understanding and Explaining Culture

What is one major impediment to historical research?

collecting and analyzing historical data is very time consuming

Which theorist was pivotal in the theoretical approach of evolutionism?

Lewis Henry Morgan

Why can theories not be proved?

Many of the concepts and ideas in theories are not directly observable

Richard Scaglion's study into the ceremonial yams used by the Abelam of New Guinea was influenced by similar studies in other populations. Which of these procedures was Scaglion using?

comparative study

Participant-observation always involves fieldwork, but fieldwork might involve other methods such as __________.

conducting a census

Dual-inheritance theory relates to the roles of __________ and __________ in transmitting traits to future generations.

genes; culture

What earlier theoretical approach did Leslie White's neoevolution counter?

historical particularism

What do scientists use as predictions of what might be found in a study?

hypotheses

Whiting predicted that societies with a __________ would have long postpartum sex taboos.

low-protein diet

What does the p-value tell a researcher?

the likelihood that the observed result could have occurred by chance

How a researcher describes the procedure that will be followed to measure a variable is __________.

the operational definition

To whom do anthropologists have the most important ethical obligation?

the people they study

The method of __________ shows that a theory seems to be wrong.

falsification

Which of these gives an accurate example of a researcher's sampling universe?

An investigator wants to understand high school drop-out rates, so she draws her sample from all the high school students in her city.

What influence did Darwin's theory of evolution have on 19th-century anthropology?

Early anthropologists believed that cultures develop in a uniform manner, as Darwin suggested species do.

Whose anthropological research was most closely derived from the biological work of Charles Darwin?

Edward Tylor

What was one of the ways that Franz Boas brought about the end of the evolutionism period in early anthropology?

He disagreed with the dependence on fieldwork and encouraged more theoretical research.

What is a statistical association?

It is a relationship between two variables that is unlikely to be due to chance.

Why is it incorrect to explain a cultural feature by saying it is "traditional"?

It is an unsatisfactory answer because it is a tautology.

While anthropologists often use pseudonyms to protect their study populations, what problem might arise from this practice?

It is difficult to conduct follow-up research if the community has been disguised.

Why is making an operational definition so important in anthropological research?

It provides a way to measure variables and to compare results across studies.

From where do we derive most anthropological data?

Participant-observation

Which of these is an example of cultural lag?

a society has recently changed its diet but still remains a food-related taboo

What can be concluded about a theory if its related hypothesis is supported after rigorous testing?

The theory is consistent with the available evidence, and can be accepted for the time being.

What is the relationship between associations and theories?

Theories are more complicated explanations for observed associations.

What should be taken into account when using ethnographic information from multiple cultures?

You should make sure that all of the information was gathered in the same time period.

When making sampling decisions in human research, what factor becomes very important?

choosing which population to study

What type of research allows anthropologists to generate interpretations on the basis of worldwide comparisons of particular characteristics?

cross-cultural research

Which of these fields focuses on the relationship between a culture and its environment?

cultural ecology

__________ is the study of descriptive materials about a single society at more than one point in time.

ethnohistory

Theories are _______.

explanations of laws and statistical associations

Which of the following is an example of a hypothesis?

kinship terminology is associated with marital patterns

Participant-observation refers to the __________

practice of immersing oneself in the language and customs of a society

Anthropologists have realized that __________ on their experiences and personal interactions is an important part of understanding.

reflecting

An anthropologist comparing kinship terms between the Turkana and the Maasai—both pastoral peoples from East Africa—is doing __________.

regional controlled comparison

How are cases chosen for a random sample?

so that each case has an equal chance of being selected

In a study of the effects of different types of soil on plant growth, which of these would be the variable?

soil type

In any field of investigation, __________ are generally the most plentiful commodity.

theories

When do you use a statistical test of significance?

when you need to measure the differences among variables

What method should be used to test a theory within one society?

within-culture comparison