Deck 10: Kinship, Family, and Marriage

Question 1

The two types of descent groups distinguished by anthropologists are clans and:

A) lineages.
B) descents.
C) heredities.
D) cognatics.
E) cousins.

Answer 1

lineages.

Question 2

Individuals learn basic patterns of human behavior from their families in a process termed:

A) enculturation
B) adaptation
C) adoption
D) indoctrination
E) proselytization

Answer 2

enculturation

Question 3

Which of the following terms is defined as the system of meaning and power that cultures create to determine who is related to whom and to define their mutual expectations, rights, and responsibilities?

A) family
B) marriage
C) descent
D) kinship
E) heredity

Answer 3

kinship

Question 4

Which of the following statements about kinship is true?

A) Kinship is the only means through which humans form groups in any given society.
B) Kinship is the system that determines who is related to whom in a given society.
C) Kinship groups arise predominantly around the nuclear family.
D) Kinship is not influenced by nonbiological relationships such as marriage.
E) Unlike other aspects of culture, kinship is understood similarly across all cultures.

Question 5

Which of the following is a descent group that is constructed through the mother's side of the family?

A) patrilineal
B) matrilineal
C) ambilineal
D) bilateral
E) cognatic

Question 6

Most people in the world practice which type of descent as their primary strategy to track kin group membership?

A) matrilineal
B) monolineal
C) polylineal
D) patrilineal
E) colineal

Question 7

A type of descent group that is based on a claim to a founding ancestor but lacks genealogical documentation is a:

A) relation.
B) marriage.
C) clan.
D) lineage.
E) bridewealth.

Question 8

Which of the following types of descent groups traces kinship through both the mother and the father?

A) ambilineal
B) unilineal
C) polylineal
D) bilineal
E) monolineal

Question 9

The most effective strategy humans have developed to form stable, reliable, separate, and deeply connected groups that can last over time and through generations is termed:

A) heredity.
B) family.
C) marriage.
D) descent.
E) kinship.

Question 10

A patrilineal descent group traces kinships through which side of the family?

A) mother's
B) sibling's
C) grandparent's
D) father's
E) cousin's

Question 11

Enculturation that takes place within a family shapes individuals' lives:

A) outside of the household, including ways they think about gender roles, the division of labor, religious practices, warfare, politics, migration, and nationalism.
B) outside of the household, including ways they think about issues like gender roles, the division of labor, and religious practices, but not issues like warfare, politics, migration, and nationalism.
C) outside of the household, including ways they think about issues like warfare, politics, migration, and nationalism, but not issues like gender roles, the division of labor, and religious practices.
D) inside of the household only, and never shapes individuals' lives outside of the household.
E) until they reach adulthood and start their own families, at which point the enculturation of their youth ceases to shape the way they think about gender roles, the division of labor, religious practices, warfare, politics, migration, and nationalism.

Question 12

Both matrilineal and patrilineal patterns of descent build kinship groups through either one genealogical line (the mother's side) or the other (the father's side), which reflects which type of descent?

A) ambilineal
B) cognatic
C) bilateral
D) patrilineal
E) unilineal

Question 13

Families and kinship networks have the power to provide support and to nurture, as well as to ensure reproduction of which of the following?

A) a subsequent marriage
B) economic resources
C) the next generation
D) the political system
E) social norms

Question 14

Individuals in descent groups whose primary relationships are determined in the United States via "blood" relations are generally called which of the following types of relatives?

A) unilineal
B) sanguine
C) ambilineal
D) cross-related
E) consanguineal

Question 15

The concept of kinship groups based chiefly on biological assumptions and the nuclear family consisting of solely a mother, a father, and their children is:

A) a nearly universal, cross-cultural understanding of kinship.
B) a Euro-American ideal.
C) a stable model that matches the lived experience of most Americans.
D) proven to be the best structure for society.
E) unfamiliar as a cultural icon.

Question 16

Which of the following cultures has generally NOT constructed large social networks based on descent and kinship connections?

A) United States
B) Nuer
C) Maori
D) Samoan
E) Lu

Question 17

One way in which humans construct kinship groups is by tracking genealogical:

A) ascent.
B) kinship.
C) family.
D) descent.
E) monogamy.

Question 18

Which of the following is defined as a type of descent group that traces genealogical connections through generations by linking individuals to a founding ancestor?

A) companionates
B) marriages
C) families
D) clans
E) lineages

Question 19

Early anthropologists considered which of the following groups as key to understanding each culture's economic, political, and religious dynamics?

A) ascent groups
B) unilineal groups
C) descent groups
D) ambilineal groups
E) consanguineal groups

Question 20

Ambilineal descent groups such as Samoans, Maori, and Hawaiians are sometimes referred to as:

A) unilineal descent groups.
B) polylineal descent groups.
C) cognatic descent groups.
D) monolineal descent groups.
E) bilineal descent groups.

Question 21

Early anthropologists identified how many primary systems used to classify relatives in the parental generation, including the bifurcate merging system?

A) two
B) seven
C) nine
D) four
E) five

Question 22

By collecting kinship data from cultures worldwide, early anthropologists found that:

A) there were more than seventeen different ways of organizing relatives.
B) there were only six different ways of organizing relatives.
C) there is only one way of organizing relatives.
D) there is no consistent way of organizing relatives.
E) there are as many different ways of organizing relatives as there are families.

Question 23

The marriage practice in which one woman is married to two or more men is considered:

A) polyandry
B) monogamy
C) polymandry
D) polygyny
E) monyandry

Question 24

The incest taboo universally prohibits sexual relations:

A) between cousins, regardless of cross- or parallel cousin relationships.
B) between first cousins and between second cousins.
C) between parents and children and siblings.
D) between half siblings and parallel cousins.
E) between half siblings and cross cousins.

Question 25

The practice of marriage to an individual outside of a particular group of people is termed:

A) endrogamy.
B) androgamy.
C) endogamy.
D) polygamy.
E) exogamy.

Question 26

Which of the following builds kinship ties between two people who are not typically immediate biological kin?

A) blood
B) marriage
C) lineage
D) descent
E) dowry

Question 27

Clans that do not permit marriages within the group are considered:

A) endogamous.
B) monogamous.
C) polygamous.
D) polydromous.
E) exogamous.

Question 28

The practice of requiring an individual to marry someone within their own group is considered:

A) endrogamy.
B) androgamy.
C) endogamy.
D) polygamy.
E) exogamy.

Question 29

New kinship groups created through affinal relationships are:

A) linked through affinity and alliance, not through shared biology or common descent.
B) traced through consanguine or "blood" relatives.
C) distinguished by relation to a founding ancestor.
D) only achieved through arranged marriages.
E) found only in very few cultures.

Question 30

Which of the following types of marriage specifically involves the union of one man to two or more women?

A) polyandry
B) monogamy
C) polymandry
D) polygyny
E) monyandry

Question 31

Which type of marriage between two individuals is negotiated in order to form economic and political alliances between larger kinship groups?

A) arranged
B) disrupted
C) companioned
D) reproduced
E) inherited

Question 32

Which of the following statements about marriage is true?

A) Marriage occurs in every culture and is found in identical form wherever and whenever it exists.
B) Marriage occurs in every culture in some form, but its exact characteristics vary widely.
C) Marriage occurs in only a few cultures, but is found in identical form wherever and whenever it exists.
D) Marriage occurs in only a few cultures, but takes a unique form wherever and when ever it exists.
E) Marriage occurs in every culture in some form, and that form does not change over time.

Question 33

Which of the following types of marriage is established based on love rather than strict social obligations?

A) inherited
B) lineal
C) disrupted
D) arranged
E) companionate

Question 34

Which of the following types of marriage consists of one individual married to one other individual only (most commonly one man married to one woman)?

A) polyandry
B) monogamy
C) polymandry
D) polygyny
E) monyandry

Question 35

Humans form kinship groups via affinal relationships, which are most commonly achieved through:

A) unionization.
B) insemination.
C) globalization.
D) divorce.
E) marriage.

Question 36

Which of the following commonly creates socially recognized relationships that may involve physical and emotional intimacy, sexual pleasure, reproduction and raising of children, mutual support and companionship, and shared legal rights to property and inheritance?

A) lineage
B) marriage
C) heredity
D) descent
E) biology

Question 37

The process by which an individual, whose marriage has ended due to divorce or death, remarries another individual is commonly called:

A) serial polyandry
B) lineal polygamy
C) serial monogamy
D) lineal monotony
E) serial bigamy

Question 38

The incest taboo-rules that forbid sexual relations with close relatives such as siblings and parents-is:

A) universal across all cultures in the world.
B) very rare in world cultures.
C) a direct response to concerns about biological degeneration and abnormality.
D) inherited from our primate ancestors.
E) not regulated by law in Western countries.

Question 39

Which of the following is considered a general rule that forbids sexual relations with close relatives?

A) incest moderation
B) incest regulation
C) incest law
D) incest taboo
E) incest prohibition

Question 40

Which of the following phenomenon is currently placing stress on kinship systems worldwide?

A) democratization
B) neoliberalization
C) globalization
D) politicalization
E) idealization

Question 41

The Defense of Marriage Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 2004 forbids the federal government from recognizing which of the following?

A) adolescent marriages
B) marriages of divorced adults
C) same-sex marriages
D) marriages of affinal relatives
E) heterosexual marriages

Question 42

Changing patterns over time demonstrate that marriage, family, and kinship are cultural:

A) stances.
B) constructs.
C) biases.
D) positions.
E) misnomers.

Question 43

Cousins who are children of a father's brother or a mother's sister are considered which type of cousin?

A) companionate cousins
B) affinal cousins
C) cross-cousins
D) parallel cousins
E) second cousins

Question 44

Artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, and cloning are four forms of which of the following types of technologies?

A) bilateral
B) reductive
C) propagative
D) reproductive
E) productive

Question 45

Discussions regarding same-sex marriage in the United States are a clear example of changing patterns of:

A) heredity.
B) kinship.
C) legality.
D) descent.
E) endogamy.

Question 46

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Despite the current high rate of divorce in the United States, marriages in earlier generations did not last any longer than those today.
B) In 1900, far fewer children lived in poverty than do today.
C) Teen pregnancy rates have increased dramatically during the past fifty years.
D) Kinship patterns of today show dramatic changes when compared to the historical norm.
E) The increasing life expectancy has improved the stability of marriage in the United States.

Question 47

First cousin marriages (between the children of two siblings) are legally prohibited:

A) in all fifty states in the United States of America.
B) in some states in the United States of America.
C) in no state in the United States of America.
D) in all Western countries.
E) universally.

Question 48

The process of adoption:

A) provides further evidence that kinship is constructed rather than biologically inherited.
B) is not affected by norms and values or by political and economic values.
C) has been made easier and more affordable by globalization.
D) favors Latino, Native American, and African American babies.
E) is not one of the methods by which kinship is constructed.

Question 49

Which type of assisted reproductive technology involves the implantation of a woman's egg that has been fertilized in a laboratory?

A) surrogate fertilization
B) in vitro fertilization
C) artificial insemination
D) reproductive fertilization
E) fertile insemination

Question 50

Looking cross-culturally, anthropologists argue that:

A) there is clearly a single universal definition of marriage.
B) definitions of marriage vary across cultures and over time.
C) definitions of marriage vary across cultures but are stable over time.
D) definitions of marriage have been made universal by globalization.
E) marriage and family are unchanged by modern technology and globalization.

Question 51

Which of the following are the two primary forms of gift exchange that formalize and legalize marriages, while establishing a relationship tie or alliance between kinship groups?

A) bridewealth and endogamy
B) dowry and exchange
C) bridewealth and reciprocity
D) bridewealth and dowry
E) dowry and exogamy

Question 52

Kinship includes:

A) direct biological connections or marriage alliances only.
B) biological descent and marriage alliances, but also practices such as fostering and fictive kin.
C) marriage alliances and fictive kin only.
D) biological connections only.
E) marriage only.

Question 53

The form of reproductive technology that involves the creation of genetically identical copies of cells or whole organisms is called:

A) surrogacy.
B) in vitro fertilization.
C) artificial insemination.
D) relational reproduction.
E) cloning.

Question 54

Similar to membership in a family, citizenship in a nation-state derives mostly from:

A) birth and biology.
B) adoption and fostering.
C) cohabitating and co-feeding.
D) personal choice.
E) economic exchanges similar to bridewealth and dowry.

Question 55

Nation-states draw heavily on ideas of which of the following in order to create a sense of connection among very different people found within their national borders?

A) nationalism and kinship
B) kinship and family
C) hegemony and kinship
D) nationalism and hegemony
E) family and hegemony

Question 56

Cousins who are children of a mother's brother or father's sister are considered which type of cousins?

A) companionate cousins
B) affinal cousins
C) cross-cousins
D) parallel cousins
E) second cousins

Question 57

Which of the following forms of reproductive technologies involves a woman whose uterus has been implanted with a fertilized egg in which the egg has come from another woman?

A) surrogacy
B) in vitro fertilization
C) artificial insemination
D) cloning
E) relational reproduction

Question 58

The practice of exchanging a gift from the groom and his family to the bride's family in order to formalize and legalize the marriage is called:

A) endogamy
B) bridewealth
C) polygamy
D) dowry
E) exogamy

Question 59

________is a gift exchange practice that helps stabilize a marriage by establishing a vested interest for both the groom's and bride's extended families in the success of the marriage.

A) Bridewealth
B) Dowry
C) Bridal shower
D) Reciprocity
E) Groom purchase

Question 60

Which of the following is the practice of formalizing and legalizing a marriage through the exchange of gifts from the bride's family to the husband's family?

A) endogamy
B) bridewealth
C) polygamy
D) dowry
E) exogamy

Question 61

Arranged marriages that are orchestrated by the families of the bride and groom are common in many cultural groups in Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. While arranged marriage is not the primary form of marriage in the United States, it does exist. In fact, anthropologists contend that arranged marriages actually do occur more frequently when marriages that are arranged in subtle and implicit ways are considered. What are three examples of subtle, "arranged" marriages that occur in the United States that may not necessarily be overtly called "arranged marriages"? Who benefits from these "arranged" marriages? Why do you think these types of marriages occur? How do these types of marriage compare to companionate marriages? Which type of marriage do you think is more beneficial to the spouses and to their communities, and why?

Question 62

Anthropologists have clearly demonstrated that kinship is not solely given at birth via biological connections or through marriage alliances, but can be acquired through other means. What are three other ways in which kinship can be acquired? What are the benefits of being able to acquire kinship outside of biological relations and marriage? Are these other forms of acquiring kinship present in the United States? Are they present in your own home community? Provide at least two examples of alternate forms of acquiring kinship in the United States and in your own home community.

Question 63

Through kinship studies across cultures, anthropologists have determined that the ways in which genealogies are constructed can be messy and far from exact. Gaps, interruptions, disruptions, uncertainties, and assumed connections are all found among genealogies. This fact is further underscored by Kathleen Gough's reexamination of anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard's kinship work with Nuer people in Sudan. Describe one example of a genealogical disruption that Gough found among Nuer kinship data collected in the 1930s, and discuss why the disruption likely occurred. What sorts of gaps and disruptions are present in your own genealogy and why do you think they have occurred? Do you think that genealogies will undergo even greater gaps and disruptions in the future? Why or why not?

Question 64

How families are conceptualized and formed varies across cultural groups. Define and describe the ways in which a family of orientation and a family of procreation differ. How does the concept of a nuclear family fit into these two concepts of family? Why is the concept of a nuclear family more common in the United States and other Western industrialized cultures and societies? What are some examples of other concepts of family found in other cultures throughout the world? What may be some underlying factors that contribute to the diverse ways in which family is conceptualized and formed? How do you think the concept of family may change in the future, and why?

Question 65

Comparing and contrasting marriage rates of the past with those of the present, anthropologists found that earlier marriages did not last any longer than marriages today. What are some of the reasons for this? If past and present marriage rates do not differ significantly, do the proportion of children raised in single-parent households differ between past and present? Why or why not? How might shorter marriages and single-parent households affect kinship within a society? What other elements may contribute to shorter marriages and single-parent households today, and how do they differ from elements that likely contributed to shorter marriages and single-parent households in the past? Why would anthropologists be interested in researching topics such as shorter marriages and single-parent households?

Question 66

Anthropologists argue that kinship is one of several ways in which individuals form groups. Name three other ways in which humans form groups and provide some concrete examples of each. Does kinship influence how these other groups are formed? Why or why not?

Question 67

In 2007, 14 percent of all U.S. adoptions were arranged across national borders. The top "sending" country for transnational adoptions that year was China. What are some of the reasons that China was a top "sending" country for transnational adoptions? What is the typical marriage pattern in China and how does it contribute to the availability of Chinese children for transnational adoption? How do female infanticide and abandonment of baby girls reflect the preferred marriage pattern in China? In your opinion, why were so many Chinese children adopted by families in the United States rather than by families from other countries? Is transnational adoption the only option for abandoned Chinese children or are there other options that may also work to address this issue? What are some of the consequences of transnational adoptions for Chinese adoptees?

Question 68

Marriage in various forms occurs all over the world. In the United States, we typically practice kindred exogamy. What is kindred exogamy and what are two examples of marriages that would violate its rules? How does exogamy generally differ from endogamy? Is endogamy officially or unofficially practiced in the United States? What are two examples of unofficial or implicit endogamy that may occur in a group of people? What are some benefits and drawbacks of exogamy and endogamy?

Question 69

The author of your textbook describes a situation in a Chinese village in which family and ancestral records had been destroyed as part of the national Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. The author uses this case to underscore the fact that political factors can shape efforts to construct and maintain kinship. What are two examples of ways in which political factors may have shaped kinship in the United States? Do you think that political factors continue to influence kinship in any way today? Why or why not? What future implications may current political factors have on future forms of kinship?

Question 70

In 2004, the American Anthropological Association (AAA)-the largest association of anthropologists in the United States-issued a statement regarding same-sex marriages and the Defense of Marriage Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 2004. What position did the AAA take on same-sex marriages and the act? What sort of research or evidence did the AAA use to substantiate its stance? In your opinion, why did the AAA take the position that it did, and what are the benefits and drawbacks of it taking this stance? Do you think that professional associations such as the AAA should make formal position statements regarding congressional acts? Why or why not?

Question 71

Anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard conducted ethnographic research with Nuer people of southern Sudan in the 1930s, and argued that this group of people constituted a patrilineal descent group. What does it mean to be a patrilineal descent group and how does this differ from a matrilineal descent group? How were cattle used to reflect the patrilineal nature of Nuer descent? Provide at least two examples.

Question 72

Families in the United States are supplementing biological connections and affinal marriage connections with alternative family forms based on friendship, respect, and mutual support. One alternative family form is that of chosen families. What are chosen families, and what are some of the reasons that they exist and are becoming more common? Give three examples of chosen families in the United States. Do you think that chosen families existed in the distant past? Why or why not? What do you think will happen to the prevalence of chosen families in the future and why?