Chapter 1: Attitudes Toward Death

Which of the following BEST describes a "cosmopolitan" society? a. Ideas and practices are forward thinking b. Ideas and practices from other historical periods and cultures are valued and examined c. Culture, identity, history, and language are guarded from change due to a strong sense of pride d. Cultural complexity of a globalizing world is rejected

B. Ideas and practices from other historical periods and cultures are valued and examined

Avoiding words like dead or dying, instead using phrases in which loved ones "pass away," the deceased is "laid to rest and the corpse is "remains", is an example of a. death porn b. euphemisms c. thanatos d. keenings

b. Euphemisms

The modern scientific approach to the study of death is usually traced to a symposium organized in 1956 by a. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross b. Hermal Feifel c. Jacques Choron d. Avery Weisman

b. Herman Feifel

What has been called the "oil of society"? a. music b. humor c. funeral rituals d. literature

b. Humor

What is the largest ongoing community arts project in America? a. Operations Gold Star Flag b. The AIDS Memorial Quilt c. The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall d. The Faith, Hope, Love Project

b. The AIDS Memorial Quilt

Which of the following is NOT cited in the text as journal in the field of death and dying? a. Illness, Crisis and Loss b. The Carnegie Journal of Death c. Mortality d. Death Studies

b. The Carnegie Journal of Death

According to Ulrich Beck, a German scholar and observer of the "cosmopolitan society," the human condition in the present century a. is too depended on medical technology b. cannot be understood nationally or locally but only globally c. is too concerned about diversity and cultural awareness d. must engage in practice thanatology

b. cannot be understood nationally or locally but only globally

Brief standardized printed statements following the death of an average citizen are called a. obituaries b. death notices c. thanatographs d. death dirges

b. death notices

In reviewing the status of research and practice in thanatology, Herman Feifel points out that the a. fear of death is a monolithic variable b. human mind operates on various levels of reality or finite provinces of meaning c. human mind operates in an interdependent, not autonomous, manner d. conscious fear of death is unrelated to innate fears

b. human mind operates on various levels of reality or finite provinces of meaning

A feature length story on the death of someone famous is a/an a. mediamac b. obituary c. lossography d. journalist's life review

b. obituary

Approximately how much has the average life expectancy in the United States increased since 1900? a. 5 years b. 15 years c. 30 years d. 45 years

c. 30 years

According to Kastenbaum, what is defined as "the study of life with death left in it?" a. clinical ethics b. anthropology c. thanatology d death anxiety

c. Thanatology

Media experts say that the "reality violence" on TV news began with coverage of the a. Kennedy assassination b. explosion of the space shuttle c. Vietnam War d. Los Angeles riots

c. Vietnam War

In traditional Hawaiian culture, mele kanikau may have been carefully composed of spontaneous and used a. at the signing of the will b. while sprinkling ashes in the Pacific c. during the funeral procession d. at the moment of death

c. during the funeral procession

Thanatos, from Greek mythology, is generally understood as a response to the a. invention of life and death b. reincarnation of dieties c. personification of death d. God of the afterlife

c. personification of death

Research into death anxiety has been characterized by Kastenbaum as a. an express lane into the fear of death and dying b. data which is impractical and generally useless c. thanatology's own assembly line d. a unitary and monolithic set of variables

c. thanatology's own assembly line

What do some commentators call the new "porn star" of popular culture? a. The TV medical examiner b. Crisis text 'hot' lines c. The corpse d. Managed death

C. The corpse

What is an example of a homemade condolence? a. Comfort quilts b. colored headstones c. cookies sent from the funeral home d. obituaries written by friends

a. Comfort quilts

( . ) has the longest life expectancy of countries worldwide. a. Japan b. United States c. Switzerland d. South Africa

a. Japan

What term do social scientists use to describe the phenomenon of societies falling behind in dealing with new challenges resulting from rapid technological and social change? a. cultural lag b. globalization c. social lag d. managed advancement

a. cultural lag

In 1963, The University of Minnesota a. held the first formal course in death education b. was the site of an on-campus shooting covered by TV reporters for the first time c. published articles about President Kennedy's assassination in the college newspaper d. held the first-ever candlelight vigil for a slain professor

a. held the first formal course in death education

Depictions of death in the mass media, in which the symbolic use of death contributes to an "irrational dread of dying and thus to a diminished vitality and self-direction in life" is referred to as

mean world syndrome

What are the two leading causes of death in the United States? a. Suicide and Alzheimer's disease b. Accidents and cancer c. Alcoholism and stroke d. Heart disease and cancer

d. Heart disease and cancer

Which of the following factors does NOT affect our familiarity with death? A. Life expectancy b. Geographic mobility c. Medical technology d. Political decision making

d. Political decision making

According to George Gerbner, the "mean world syndrome" describes depictions of death in the mass media as embedded in a structure of violence that conveys a. security and trust in the world b. an enhanced vitality and joy in life c. numbness and dismissal of death d. a heightened sense of danger

d. a heightened sense of danger

Themes of loss and death are heard in a. classical music b. American blues music c. laments d. all of the above

d. all of the above

Hannelore Wass observes that the study of death an dying will a. die out as people will be less interested in such obscure subjects b. become a pop culture phenomenon focused on the "hereafter" c. be in the hands of the faith community d. help individuals and societies transcend self-interest in favor of concerns for others

d. help individuals and societies transcend self-interest in favor of concern for others

Even when curative treatments have ended, the effort to control circumstances around death and dying so that it comes out "right" is termed a. plastinated care b. death anxiety c. terror management d. managed death

d. managed death

Deaths of the famous are likely to be announced on the newspaper's front page as well as via feature-length a. death notices b. narcocorridos c. elegies d. obituaries

d. obituaries

Which of the following BEST describes the phrase "medical technology that seems to one person a godsend, extending life, may seem to another a curse"? a. People do not know how to manipulate machinery b. People do not believe in the technology c. The effect of new technology helps define death d. The effect of new technology involves personal and social consequences and trade-offs

the effect of new technology involves personal and social consequences and trade-offs

In Gerbner's "mean world syndrome", the symbolic use of death contributes to 1. an irrational dread of dying 2. diminished vitality 3. diminished self-direction in life 4. an increased hoarding of weapons

1, 2, and 3 an irrational dread of dying diminished vitality diminished self-direction in life

Epidemiologic transition is BEST defined as the a. shift in disease patterns characterized by a redistribution of deaths from the young to the old b. contribution of Americans' highly mobile life styles to making death less immediate and intimate c. change in cultural attitudes toward death as a significant determinant of how we live our lives d. trent toward more rapid and sudden death from epidemics

a. shift in disease patterns characterized by a redistribution of deaths from the young to the old

In his emphasis relevant to terror management theory, Ernest Becker addressed a. the need to control our basic anxiety and to deny the terror of death b. our belief that the world is generally not a terrifying place c. our inability to focus on threats, especially those that are political in nature d. terrorists' behaviors

a. the need to control our basic anxiety and to deny the terror of death