Cultural Anthropology Chapter 2

Interpretive and symbolic anthropologists primarily use methods drawn from the natural sciences. (True/False)

False

There are no disadvantages to cultural adaptation. (True/False)

False

Dominant cultures retain their power through control of institutions. (True/False)

True

In every society, human beings learn their culture continuously from the moment of birth to the time of death. (True/False)

True

Language is a symbolic system. (True/False)

True

Sometimes, when domination is intense, minority subcultures protect themselves through religious faith. (True/False)

True

Very few human behaviors are under direct genetic or biological control. (True/False)

True

Cultural ecologists primarily focus on the study of different systems of classification and organization within a society. (True/False)

False

Which of the following statements best illustrates the significance of culture for most anthropologists? a. Anthropologists agree on the basic characteristics of culture, but disagree on the relative importance of those characteristics and on how they study them. b. Anthropologists agree on the basic characteristics of culture and on the importance of each of those characteristics, but they do not all study observable behavior. c. Anthropologists see culture distinctly and do not agree on the basic characteristics of culture. d. Anthropologists study observable behavior, but only a few of them study cultural attributes. e. Anthropologists study observable behavior, but the meanings and understandings that people attach to their behavior is not important to anthropologists.

a. Anthropologists agree on the basic characteristics of culture, but disagree on the relative importance of those characteristics and on how they study them.

Which of the following anthropologists was classified primarily as a culture and personality theorist? a. Margaret Mead b. Victor Turner c. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown d. Bronislaw Malinowski e. Oliver Sacks

a. Margaret Mead

A change in the biological structure or cultural practices of an individual or population by which it becomes better fitted to survive and reproduce in its environment is called: a. adaptation. b. adaption. c. fertilization. d. diffusion. e. primary innovation.

a. adaptation.

The study of the relationship between environment and society is called: a. ecological functionalism. b. geographical functionalism. c. political functionalism. d. symbolic functionalism. e. social functionalism.

a. ecological functionalism.

Which of the following statements is true? a. Humans adapt to their environments purely through biological mechanisms. b. Humans are plastic and are able to change their behavior in order to adapt to changing social and ecological conditions. c. Humans are not constrained biologically, only culturally. d. Humans are plastic and biologically adaptive to any kind of social and environmental condition. e. All of the statements listed are true.

b. Humans are plastic and are able to change their behavior in order to adapt to changing social and ecological conditions.

How would you best characterize a subculture? a. It is a dominant cultural group within a society that does not hold a majority of the population. b. It is a group within a dominant society that does not share the society's norms and values. c. It is a cultural group that is oppressed and subordinated by a dominant culture. d. It is a cultural group made up of immigrants into a dominant society who do not speak the same language or have the same culture. e. It is a group that manages and guides all political and social decisions within a state society.

b. It is a group within a dominant society that does not share the society's norms and values.

The United States is a cultural complex of more than 318 million people and numerous cultural and ethnic backgrounds. However, we also tend to share certain attributes as a nation. Which of the following would you expect to be the LEAST shared among citizens of the United States? a. Federal government b. Religious belief system c. Court system d. Educational system e. English language

b. Religious belief system

Which of the following is a weakness in using an organic analogy for human culture? a. The organic analogy allows us to think about society as being composed of different elements working together. b. The organic analogy implies that properly functioning human societies are stable and conflict-free. c. The organic analogy implies that different systems are coordinated in the function of society. d. Using an organic analogy means that the anthropologist should describe the shape and role of different cultural elements. e. There are no weaknesses in using an organic analogy for human culture.

b. The organic analogy implies that properly functioning human societies are stable and conflict-free.

Which of the following anthropologists would be most interested in studying the role of the mudyi tree (with its white, sticky sap) for girls' puberty rites among the Ndembu of East Africa? a. Margaret Mead b. Victor Turner c. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown d. Bronislaw Malinowski e. Franz Boas

b. Victor Turner

Most anthropologists today, whatever their theoretical orientations, are primarily interested in: a. social change. b. cultural change. c. economic change. d. demographic change. e. political change.

b. cultural change.

The process of learning to be a member of a specific cultural group is called: a. culturation. b. enculturation. c. acculturation. d. transculturation. e. diffusion.

b. enculturation.

Among the Inuit, childhood play is useful in enculturation for all of the following EXCEPT: a. teaching cooperation. b. keeping a child under strict adult supervision. c. making a child physically adept. d. developing attention to details. e. testing a child's psychological endurance.

b. keeping a child under strict adult supervision.

Postmodernism is an approach that focuses specifically on: a. the relationship between environment and society. b. the negotiation of norms and values within a society. c. the relationship between mind and body. d. the evolution of technology and society. e. how culture has changed over time.

b. the negotiation of norms and values within a society.

In what kind of society would you be most likely to find an inherent conflict between family systems and employment systems? a. Geographically stratified b. Egalitarian c. Capitalist society d. Socially-nonstratified e. Subsistence-based

c. Capitalist society

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic shared by all cultures? a. Cultures are subject to change. b. Cultures are shared. c. Cultures are transmitted biologically. d. Cultures are patterned and integrated. e. Cultures are made up of learned behaviors.

c. Cultures are transmitted biologically.

Which of the following focuses primarily on describing human systems of organization and classification used by individual cultures? a. Cognitive anthropology b. Culture and personality c. Ethnoscience d. Interpretive anthropology e. Ethnobotany

c. Ethnoscience

Which of the following statements about Inuit child rearing is true? a. Inuit children do not have formal schooling and are rarely taught to read or write. b. Inuit peoples do not practice enculturation. c. Inuit children are discouraged from asking direct questions and primarily learn experientially. d. Inuit children are taught to be expressive and to consult adults about problems. e. Inuit children have an especially long period of child immaturity in which they have little or no adult responsibilities.

c. Inuit children are discouraged from asking direct questions and primarily learn experientially.

Which of the following statements about feral children is correct? a. All feral children are autistic. b. There have been many feral human children raised by other species. c. There is no reliable evidence that any human child has ever been raised by members of another species. d. There are only two examples of feral children that we know, and both of these children eventually adapted to European life. e. There are only two examples of feral children that we know, and neither of them was ever able to learn any cultural or social skills.

c. There is no reliable evidence that any human child has ever been raised by members of another species.

The primary means through which humans adapt to their environment is: a. society. b. biology. c. culture. d. technology. e. values.

c. culture.

All of the following statements about the lengthy period of human immaturity are correct EXCEPT: a. it allows time for an enormous amount of learning to occur. b. it demands that human cultures provide stable environments for their young. c. it allows mature individuals in a society to function as teachers and no longer be in a role as learners. d. it requires human cultures to protect their young for long periods of time. e. it leaves few specific human behaviors directly under genetic control.

c. it allows mature individuals in a society to function as teachers and no longer be in a role as learners.

Culture is an "ensemble of texts...which the anthropologist strains to read over the shoulders of those to whom they properly belong." Whose words are these? a. Bronislaw Malinowski b. Franz Boas c. Victor Turner d. Clifford Geertz e. Margaret Mead

d. Clifford Geertz

Culture, as a concept, can be thought of many different things. Which of the following is it NOT? a. Culture is symbolism and meaning. b. Culture is patterns of thought and behavior. c. Culture is dynamism and change. d. Culture is conflict without consensus. e. Culture is learning.

d. Culture is conflict without consensus.

The study of cultural texts in public events, celebrations, and rituals is a major part of: a. ethnoscience. b. culture and personality theory. c. symbolic anthropology. d. interpretive anthropology. e. cognitive anthropology.

d. interpretive anthropology.

Child-rearing practices in all cultures are designed to: a. produce adults who are submissive to the cultural content. b. allow adults to work as teachers only during a child's early period of development. c. produce children who know all cultural content at an early age. d. produce adults who know the cultural content. e. instill in children a sense of creativity and self-fulfillment.

d. produce adults who know the cultural content.

Functionalism is the study of: a. cultures as texts that can be read and analyzed. b. symbols and their meanings. c. the relationship between subsistence production and social structure. d. relationships between kinship, religion, and politics in order to find laws. e. how the mind functions to regulate human society.

d. relationships between kinship, religion, and politics in order to find laws.

Which theoretical school of thought focused on presenting objective descriptions of cultures within their historical and environmental context? a. Cognitive anthropology b. Culture and personality c. Ecological functionalism d. Symbolic anthropology e. Historical particularism

e. Historical particularism

What did anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn mean when he said that Americans are characterized by "effort optimism"? a. It is a practice of rewarding those who lead or direct others. b. It is the belief that all things will improve over time if you just keep hoping. c. It is the belief that creativity and innovation are the sources of social success. d. It is the belief that hard work is a sacred value that indicates a person is spiritually favored. e. It is the belief that if a person works hard enough, then success will follow.

e. It is the belief that if a person works hard enough, then success will follow.

The theoretical perspective focused on the relationship between mind and society is called: a. symbolic anthropology. b. interpretive anthropology. c. culture and personality. d. ethnoscience. e. cognitive anthropology.

e. cognitive anthropology.

The rapid transfer of American music all over the world is a form of: a. innovation. b. indoctrination. c. enculturation. d. invention. e. diffusion.

e. diffusion.

The culture with the greatest wealth and power in a society that consists of numerous subcultures is referred to as the: a. national culture. b. head culture. c. primary culture. d. predominant culture. e. dominant culture.

e. dominant culture.

The notion that technological improvements are good and beneficial to society is classified as a: a. symbol. b. belief. c. analogy. d. norm. e. value.

e. value.