Deck 2: History of Anthropological Theory

Question 1

Taylor maintained that culture evolved from a simple complex and passed through ________ basic stage(s) of development.

A) 6
B) 3
C) 9
D) 1

Answer 1

3

Question 2

Claude Levi-Strauss has been the leading proponent of an approach to cultural analysis called __________.

A) functionalism
B) neoevolution
C) structuralism
D) ethnoscience

Answer 2

structuralism

Question 3

The major objection to Malinowski's functionalism is that it cannot readily account for __________ variation.

A) culture
B) individual
C) societal
D) group

Answer 3

culture

Question 4

In general, behavioral ecological theory does not expect that ________ will prevail unless ______ underlies it.

A) individual good; individual selection
B) social good; individual selection
C) individual selection; social good
D) social good; individual good

Question 5

___________ believed that family units became progressively smaller and more self- contained as human society developed.

A) Mary
B) Taylor
C) Morgan
D) Smith

Question 6

To generalize about the psychological approach to cultural anthropology, we may say that it tries to understand how psychological factors and processes may help to __________ cultural practices.

A) shape
B) change
C) explain
D) retain

Question 7

___________ refers to the particular sequence of change and adaptation of a particular society in a given environment.

A) Evolution
B) General evolution
C) Specific evolution
D) Structural evolution

Question 8

__________ is the analysis of the relationship between a culture and its environment.

A) Ethnoscience
B) Ecology
C) Cultural ecology
D) Biological ecology

Question 9

Behavioral ecology is like cultural ecology in that it

A) shares the idea that natural selection can operate on the behavioral or social characteristics of populations and not just on their physical traits.
B) places a great deal of importance on genes.
C) emphasizes that behavior must be adaptive in evolutionary terms.
D) emphasizes group selection.

Question 10

Cultural ecology focuses mostly on what biologists would call

A) individual selection.
B) group selection.
C) individual behavior.
D) group behavior.

Question 11

__________ have (has) to do with the customary way of making a living, the customary composition of the family, and the customs of childrearing.

A) Secondary institutions
B) Primary institutions
C) Basic personality
D) Personality structure

Question 12

The American diffusionists attributed the characteristic features of a culture to a __________culture center.

A) societal
B) geographical
C) hypothetical
D) physical

Question 13

Boas published "the limitation of the Comparative Method of Anthropology," which dealt with his ________ to the evolutionist approach.

A) objections
B) agreements
C) concerns
D) feelings

Question 14

The more frequent survival and reproduction of the better adapted best describes

A) biological ecology.
B) cultural ecology.
C) natural selection.
D) cultural adaptation.

Question 15

In contrast to cultural ecology, behavioral ecology focuses mostly on what biologists would call

A) individual selection.
B) group selection.
C) individual behavior.
D) group behavior.

Question 16

A system that exists if a society is divided into two large intermarrying groups is a _________.

A) cultural phenomena
B) binary opposition
C) linear opposition
D) moiety

Question 17

By ___________, women anthropologists began asking why women were not a more important focus of research.

A) 1960
B) 1975
C) 1940
D) 1956

Question 18

Morgan speculated that the family evolved through ______ stage(s).

A) 1
B) 3
C) 6
D) 9

Question 19

The cultural practice of a ritual pig feast is practiced by the _________.

A) Japanese
B) Montagnais-Naskapi
C) Abelam
D) Tsembaga

Question 20

The school of thought known as __________ assumes that external forces explain the way a society changes and adapts.

A) diffusionism
B) cultural ecology
C) psychological anthropology
D) political economy

Question 21

Describe the American diffusionist school of thought.

Question 22

A theoretical orientation is a general attitude about how _______ is/are to be explained.

A) customs
B) cultural phenomena
C) societies
D) behaviors

Question 23

The French philosopher Michel Foucault was labeled a postmodern theorist because

A) he embraced the idea that political power had no place in modern times.
B) he thought every old idea was worthless.
C) he argued that those in political power were able to shape the way accepted truths were defined.
D) he misjudged Western political and intellectual elites.

Question 24

Julian Stewart became associated with the concept of cultural ecology because

A) he was one of the first anthropologists to see a relationship between a culture and it's environment.
B) he thought that some aspects of cultural variation could be found in the adaptation of societies to their environments.
C) he wanted to carry out empirical investigations.
D) all of the above.

Question 25

The studies of ______ have come to be regarded by many as vague and untestable.

A) Marshall Sahlins
B) Julian Steward
C) Immanuel Wallerstein
D) Levi-Strauss

Question 26

Ethnoscience was an early kind of ________.

A) evolutionary anthropology
B) biological anthropology
C) social anthropology
D) cognitive anthropology

Question 27

__________ argued that those in political power were able to shape the way accepted truths were defined.

A) Geertz
B) Spencer
C) Foucault
D) Salzman

Question 28

Franz Boas felt the complexity of cultural variation made it difficult to develop universal laws because

A) cultures would last forever and therefore require time to study.
B) single cultural traits had to be studied in the context of the society in which they appeared.
C) at the time, there was too much human data available for study.
D) you just could not develop universal laws about humans.

Question 29

Anthropology took a "literary turn" in the 1960s because

A) anthropologists became better writers.
B) it was recognized that fiction, personal insights, and poetry were forms of ethnography.
C) anthropology was becoming stagnant.
D) many English majors switched into anthropology.

Question 30

What is the Tsembaga ritual pig feast? Why is it practiced?

Question 31

Hermeneutics might be used to examine all except _______.

A) particular behaviors
B) language used
C) interactions of people
D) relationships between organisms and their environments

Question 32

___________ is defined as cultural traits that are spreading from one society to another.

A) Adaption
B) Evolution
C) Diffusion
D) Adoption

Question 33

By the 20^th Century how was "race" theory being used to shape the structure of society?

A) by introducing ideas to selectively breed humans with desirable characteristics
B) by preventing those with undesirable characteristics from having offspring
C) by discouraging "races" with low IQs from having children
D) all the above

Question 34

Why is feminist anthropology such a highly diverse area of interest?

A) some feminist anthropologists take a overtly political stance
B) some feminist anthropologists try to understand women's lives and how they differ from men's
C) feminist anthropologists share a critical assessment of traditions, scholarship, and understanding of the importance of power
D) all of the above

Question 35

Cultural ecology focuses mostly on what biologists call group selection because

A) certain behavioral or social characteristics may be adaptive for a group or society in a given environment.
B) certain characteristics may be adaptive for an individual in a given environment.
C) biological considerations have little to do with understanding culture.
D) none of the above.

Question 36

One of the most important effects ____________ has had on anthropology is the recognition that perceptions of other cultures are shaped by the observers' culture.

A) Benedict
B) behavioral ecology
C) Scaglion
D) feminist research

Question 37

Linnaeus is considered an anti-evolutionist for what reason?

A) he placed humans in the same order as apes and monkeys
B) he suggested a descending order from kingdom to species with humans on the bottom
C) he accepted the notion that all species were created by God and fixed in their form
D) he classified plants and animals in a sytema naturae

Question 38

The Abelam people of New Guinea believe that their ceremonial yams ____________.

A) have souls
B) appreciate tranquility
C) have family lines
D) all of the above

Question 39

Darwin's idea caused many problems for those who believed in the biblical account of creation because

A) he believed it possible that same genera are lineal descendents from other generally distinct species.
B) he refused to acknowledge the existence of God.
C) he clearly stated that humans were descendents from non-animals.
D) he implied that all animals had a common ancestor.

Question 40

Explain how child training, adult personality traits, and food are thought to be related.

Question 41

Compare and contrast group selection and individual selection.