Contemporary Cultures Exam #3

Conflict theorists of inequality argue that - inequality ensures that the most qualified will occupy all positions. - those who earn the most are the most deserving. - inequality motivates people. - the elite exploit others in order to enrich themselves and protect their own interests.

- the elite exploit others in order to enrich themselves and protect their own interests.

Adoption is an example of: Extended family A fictive kinship A consanguineous relationship An affine

A fictive kinship

Which of the following is NOT part of the explanation for egalitarian societies among foragers? A system of inherited wealth High degree of mobility Many options about where and with whom to live Many options about where and with whom to live

A system of inherited wealth

Which of these statements about the incest taboo is FALSE? - The specific relationships to which the taboos apply vary from people to people - Biomedical knowledge is the primary explanation for the incest taboo - Mating between parents and children is universally taboo - Incest taboos are cultural universals

Biomedical knowledge is the primary explanation for the incest taboo

Which of these is the highest social category in India's caste system? Vaishas Nobles Brahmins Jati

Brahmins

The most common form of all marital exchange throughout the world is: Bridewealth Bride service Gift exchange Dowry

Bridewealth

What is the term for the transfer of wealth from a prospective husband and his kin group to the kin group of his bride? Bridewealth Dowry Bride bestowal payments Gift exchange

Bridewealth

Ideologies that justify inequality Are always religious Are unusual within industrialized societies, like the U.S. Do not involve coercion or force Are always secular

Do not involve coercion or force

The oldest of the categories for degree of inequality in a society is Stratified Caste Ranked Egalitarian

Egalitarian

What do the castes in India provide an example of? Hypogamous groups Exogamous groups Endogamous groups Agamous groups

Endogamous groups

________ means that a person is required to marry within his or her own social group. Endogamy Affinity Exogamy Polygamy

Endogamy

Rules that prohibit marriage within a person's own group are called Endogamous Polyandrous A caste system Exogamous

Exogamous

Within ranked societies, one's social position Is based on how much wealth one accumulates Is normatively inherited Is earned through special skill, such as hunting Is based on age and gender only

Is normatively inherited

Cross-culturally, marriage: - Requires cohabitation - Is not necessarily a matter of personal or individual choice - Is generally based on romantic love - Unites two people, a man and a woman

Is not necessarily a matter of personal or individual choice

From a functionalist perspective, inequality Only benefits the rich and powerful in society Is immoral Is disruptive for society Is socially useful

Is socially useful

In most societies marriage is important because - It creates social relationships that provide for the needs of children - Monogamy is a dominant cultural value - Marriage is the backbone of society - Children require two parents for healthy development

It creates social relationships that provide for the needs of children

Which of the following statements about marriage is false? - Marriages sometimes continue even after death - Marriage is always expected to last a lifetime - Marriage is important for creating political alliances - Individuals who have never met are sometimes married

Marriage is always expected to last a lifetime

Which of these is a criticism of the functionalist theory of inequality? - No one knows how much inequality is needed to motivate people. - A little inequality is motivating, but inequality is more commonly very extreme. - Only extreme inequality is motivating, but inequality is common even when not extreme. - There is evidence that inequality does not motivate people.

No one knows how much inequality is needed to motivate people.

When brothers live with their parents, as well as their own nuclear families, this is called: The levirate Patrilocally extended family A stem family Matrilocally extended family

Patrilocally extended family

_______ is the term for a marriage in which one woman has multiple husbands. Polyandry Polygyny Group marriage Gyndogamy

Polyandry

What is the term for marriage in which one man has multiple wives? Polygyny Endogamy Monogamy Polyandry

Polygyny

The respect, admiration and approval of others in the group is a social reward that anthropologists call Reverence Reputation Social position Prestige

Prestige

In the United States many people marry, divorce, and re-marry. The term for this is: Plural marriage Polygamy Serial monogamy Continual marriage

Serial monogamy

What is the term for a marriage in which one man marries women who are sisters? Fraternal polygyny The levirate Sororal polygyny Fraternal polygamy

Sororal polygyny

Among many African peoples, if a woman dies her kin group is obliged to replace her with another woman with no additional bridewealth paid. This practice is termed: Endogamy Levirate Polysororal marriage Sorority

Sorority

Which of these societies was egalitarian? Native Americans of the Northwest Coast Late industrial society The Tikopians of Polynesia The foraging BaMbuti

The foraging BaMbuti

Ownership of and access to valued material goods, and the resources necessary for producing those goods is: Income Status Wealth Power

Wealth

Which of these is the best description of an egalitarian society? - A society in which there are few differences between families and kin groups in access to resources - All of these describe an egalitarian society - A society within which all men are considered created equal - A group in which females and males receive equal or nearly equal reward

- A society in which there are few differences between families and kin groups in access to resources

Which of these is distinguishing characteristic of stratified societies? - Marked and enduring inequalities between strata in access to all types of rewards - Strata consisting of families with roughly the same amount of access to rewards - Inequality based on unequal access to productive resources necessary for making a living - All of these are characteristics distinguish stratified societies from others.

- All of these are characteristics distinguish stratified societies from others.

Why do social scientists use wealth as the primary indicator of class status in the United States? - Wealth is relatively easy to measure. - Wealth can be used to gain access to political power. - Wealth generally correlates with the ownership of productive resources. - All of these are reasons for relying on wealth as an indicator of class.

- All of these are reasons for relying on wealth as an indicator of class.

For the elite in society, relying on force in order to maintain their status is risky because - relying on brute force lowers their honor and esteem. - the use of the military is costly. - repression may lead to increased risk of future rebellion. - All of these are reasons that relying on force is risky for elites.

- All of these are reasons that relying on force is risky for elites.

Anthropologists use a classification system for the amount of inequality in a society, developed by Morton Fried. In this system - All of these are true of Fried's classification scheme. - the categories refer to all types of inequality, including that based on gender, age and ethnicity. - the categories are more points along a continuum; most societies fit somewhere between these specific points. - the categories are caste, class, and egalitarian.

- All of these are true of Fried's classification scheme.

Anthropologists studying inequality are interested in how culturally valued material and social rewards are unevenly distributed. Cross-culturally, these rewards - Are valued to varying degrees within different societies - All of these are true of material and social rewards. - Generally fall into one of three basic categories - Vary in form from one society to another

- All of these are true of material and social rewards.

The major difference between class and caste systems is that caste systems - All of these distinguish caste systems from class systems. - are strongly and normatively endogamous. - are entirely based on inherited status, theoretically. - have norms and laws regulating contact between members of different castes.

- All of these distinguish caste systems from class systems.

Why is it difficult to formulate a cross-culturally valid definition of marriage? - All of these explain the difficulty defining marriage cross-culturally - In some societies, married men and women do not generally share the same house - Amon the Na of China there is no marriage - In some societies, such as among the Nuer and the Nandi, it is possible for women to "marry" other women

- All of these explain the difficulty defining marriage cross-culturally

Global inequalities - Began as early as the 1500s with the plunder of resources from the "new" world - Decreased during the 20th century - Only affect the standard of living of the nations and peoples of the developing world - Are fairly recent, emerging with free trade agreements beginning in the 1990s

- Began as early as the 1500s with the plunder of resources from the "new" world

In the study of inequality, how do anthropologists use the term ideology? - A radical perspective on any social issue - Ideas that challenge the status quo in terms of social inequality - Beliefs that explain inequality as desirable or legitimate - Any set of ideas held by group

- Beliefs that explain inequality as desirable or legitimate

Which of these statements is true about the use of force by the elite in society to maintain their position? - The elite never use coercion or force against those with less power. - Elites do sometimes use coercion and force to maintain their access to resources. - The use of force is not necessary because the poor and powerless rarely resent their position. - It is not possible for elites to mobilize an army sizeable enough to put down a rebellion.

- Elites do sometimes use coercion and force to maintain their access to resources.

Traditionally, the Yanomamo of South America: - Formed marriage alliances with other villages for political purposes - Viewed individuals outside their kin groups as enemies and therefore not suitable for marriage - Were endogamous and therefore made no marriage alliances outside their group - Formed marriage alliances for trading purposes with non-Yanomamo peoples living at their borders

- Formed marriage alliances with other villages for political purposes

Which of these statements about functionalist theories of inequality is true? - All of these are true of functionalist theories of inequality. - Functionalist theories stress that talents and skills are not uniformly distributed throughout any given population. - Functionalist theories emphasize that elites exploit others in order to achieve wealth. - Functionalist theories emphasize the dysfunctional aspects of stratification.

- Functionalist theories stress that talents and skills are not uniformly distributed throughout any given population.

Today in India, the caste system - Is the source of social harmony since the different castes are interdependent - Is still fairly strong in both rural and urban areas - Still functions in rural areas, though in a weakened form - Has decreases in the number of castes that are recognized

- Still functions in rural areas, though in a weakened form

Two major sets of ideas are used to justify the high degree of inequality in the contemporary United States. What are these? - The beliefs that current wealth differences are only temporary and that sound economic policy will eliminate them - The assumptions that differences in wealth are God-given and that nothing can be done to change them - The beliefs that Christian values are rewarded with success and that "money isn't everything" - The ideas that inequality serves to motivate people to do their best and that success is the result of hard work

- The ideas that inequality serves to motivate people to do their best and that success is the result of hard work

What is the difference between stratified and ranked societies? - In stratified societies wealth is the only type of reward that matters - In ranked societies rewards are inherited; in stratified societies they are earned - The nobility in ranked societies are not generally a great deal wealthier than the general population - The size of the population is the only significant difference between stratified and ranked societies

- The nobility in ranked societies are not generally a great deal wealthier than the general population

n rural areas, if land is continually divided and inherited by each son, eventually there is not enough land left to support a family. One solution is primogeniture, which is - The practice of buying additional land for each son - The practice of inheritance by the eldest son only - Learning to farm smaller plots more intensively - The practice of inheritance by the youngest son only

- The practice of inheritance by the eldest son only

The main difference between egalitarian and ranked societies is that in ranked societies - Leadership statuses are less formal and more open to all - There are a limited number of formal positions that grant authority - There are marked differences in wealth between the classes - An individual's social rank is not influenced by his or her kinship relations

- There are a limited number of formal positions that grant authority

What is the effect of having endogamous marriage rules? - They maintain social distance between groups of different social ranks - Endogamy provides protection against interbreeding and familial disinterest - One gains new allies and potential trading partners - All of these are effects of endogamous marriage rules

- They maintain social distance between groups of different social ranks

The poorest one-fifth of the U.S. population - is continually increasing in size. - is the only group that has increased the amount of their wealth. - has negative net worth. - owns about 2 percent of the total wealth.

- has negative net worth.

The three classifications for degree of inequality, developed by Morton Fried, refers to differences in - social and material rewards allocated on the basis of age and sex. - amount of social and material rewards a society has to allocate to its members. - how social and material rewards are distributed among family and kin groups. - social rewards distributed to individuals based on skill and age.

how social and material rewards are distributed among family and kin groups.