Deck 3: Culture

Question 1

The United States is multicultural because:

A) everyone holds the same values and beliefs.
B) each individual holds many different and conflicting values and beliefs.
C) there are many widely shared values and beliefs.
D) in this country many different languages and ways of life can be found.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to scientists, homo sapiens first appeared on Earth about how long ago?

A) 2,500 years
B) 25,000 years
C) 250,000 years
D) 250 million years

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Standards by which people who share culture define what is desirable, good, and beautiful are called:

A) folkways.
B) norms.
C) mores.
D) values.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Cultural transmission refers to the process of:

A) cultural patterns moving from one society to another.
B) using the oral tradition.
C) passing cultural patterns from one generation to another.
D) using writing to enshrine cultural patterns.

Question 5

As a part of human culture, religion is an example of:

A) material culture.
B) nonmaterial culture.
C) culture shock.
D) human nature.

Question 6

Among all forms of life, humans stand out as the only species that:

A) relies on culture to ensure survival.
B) has patterned ways of living.
C) has biological instincts.
D) makes use of tools.

Question 7

The United States is the most _______ of all countries.

A) multicultural
B) culturally uniform
C) slowly changing
D) nonmaterial

Question 8

Cars, computers, and iPhones are all examples of which of the following?

A) high culture.
B) material culture.
C) norms.
D) nonmaterial culture.

Question 9

The term _____ refers to a shared way of life, and the term ____ refers to a political entity.

A) culture society
B) country nation
C) nation culture
D) culture nation

Question 10

The chapter opening story of the diversity initiative at Charles Schwab & Co. shows us that:

A) various minorities respond to the same advertising as everyone else.
B) Asian American immigrants prefer English to their native language when doing business.
C) Learning more about cultural diversity can help a company boost sales.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 11

The dominant values of U.S. culture share which of the following?

A) a deep respect for the traditions of the past
B) a belief in equality of condition for all
C) a belief in individuality
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 12

All but one of the following are values central to U.S. culture, as identified by Robin Williams which one is NOT?

A) equal opportunity
B) material comfort
C) racism and group superiority
D) belief in tradition

Question 13

What is the term for the beliefs, values, behavior, and material objects that together make up a people's way of life?

A) social structure
B) social system
C) culture
D) society

Question 14

The language widely spoken by people in more nations of the world than any other is:

A) Spanish.
B) Chinese.
C) English.
D) Hindi.

Question 15

The term Homo sapiens, the name of our species, comes from Latin meaning:

A) "person of culture."
B) "intelligent person."
C) "one who walks upright."
D) "person who evolves."

Question 16

Sociologists define a symbol as:

A) anything that carries meaning to people who share a culture.
B) any material cultural trait.
C) any gesture that conveys insult to others.
D) social patterns that cause culture shock.

Question 17

The fact that instant messaging is based on a new set of symbols shows us that:

A) today's young people are creating new symbols.
B) there are many ways to use symbols to communicate.
C) culture changes over time.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 18

The intangible world of ideas created by members of a society is referred to as:

A) high culture.
B) material culture.
C) norms.
D) nonmaterial culture.

Question 19

Looking all around the world, what we find everywhere is:

A) the same ideas about what is right.
B) that people enjoy the same sports.
C) people create cultural systems.
D) the same standards that define what is beautiful and ugly.

Question 20

Which of the following most closely conveys the point of the Sapir-Whorf thesis?

A) Language involves attaching labels to the real world.
B) People see the world through the cultural lens of their language.
C) Most words have the same meaning if spoken in different languages.
D) Every word exists in all known languages.

Question 21

If you were to attend a New York Ballet performance, you would be experiencing:

A) high culture.
B) popular culture.
C) cultural transmission.
D) virtual culture.

Question 22

__________ are rules about everyday, casual living __________ are rules with great moral significance.

A) Mores folkways
B) Folkways mores
C) Proscriptive norms prescriptive norms
D) Prescriptive norms proscriptive norms

Question 23

The distinction between high culture and popular culture is based mostly on:

A) how advanced the cultural pattern is.
B) how long the cultural pattern has existed.
C) the social standing of the people who display the cultural pattern.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 24

Subculture refers to:

A) a part of the population lacking culture.
B) people who embrace popular culture.
C) cultural patterns that set off a part of a society's population.
D) people who embrace high culture.

Question 25

Sociologists refer to tangible or physical human creations as:

A) nonmaterial culture.
B) artifacts.
C) technology.
D) values.

Question 26

When immigrants bring new cultural patterns to the United States, the result may be:

A) changes to the dominant culture.
B) cultural conflict between dominant and subcultural patterns.
C) changes to the immigrant culture.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 27

Which of the following statements about technology is True?

A) Nations with more advanced technology are always superior to nations with less advanced technology.
B) Advanced technology improves life in some ways but also threatens it in other ways.
C) Access to technology is evenly distributed across any society's population.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 28

Wrong-doing, such as an adult forcing a child to engage in sexual activity, is an example of violating cultural:

A) mores.
B) symbols.
C) folkways.
D) control.

Question 29

Cultural patterns that are widespread among a society's population are referred to as:

A) high culture.
B) popular culture.
C) elite culture.
D) established culture.

Question 30

_____ distinguish between right and wrong _____ distinguish between right and rude.

A) Mores folkways
B) Taboos mores
C) Folkways mores
D) Prescriptive norms proscriptive norms

Question 31

Which of the following statements represent an emerging value in our society?

A) "What was good enough for my parents is good enough for me."
B) "The present is better than the past."
C) "Work is important, but I want more time for leisure and personal growth."
D) "It's good to be free."

Question 32

The fact that some married men and married women are sexually unfaithful to their spouses is an example of _____ culture, while the fact that most adults say they support the idea of sexual fidelity is an example of _____ culture.

A) high low
B) low high
C) ideal real
D) real ideal

Question 33

Key values of U.S. culture:

A) always fit together easily.
B) change quickly, even from year to year.
C) are shared by absolutely everyone in a society.
D) are sometimes in conflict with one another.

Question 34

As our society has entered a postindustrial, computer-based phase, which of the following have become more important?

A) gaining symbolic skills, including speaking, writing and computing
B) gaining mechanical skills using industrial machinery
C) knowing more about the past
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 35

The early U.S. sociologist who described the difference between folkways and mores was:

A) Emile Durkheim.
B) William Graham Sumner.
C) Harriett Martineau.
D) George Herbert Mead.

Question 36

Harley Davison motorcycle riders, computer nerds, and jazz musicians all display _____ patterns.

A) high cultural
B) popular cultural
C) virtual cultural
D) subcultural

Question 37

Elements of social control in everyday life include:

A) shame.
B) guilt.
C) sanctions, including the response of other people.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 38

An act of kindness, such as opening the door for an elderly man, illustrates conforming to:

A) mores.
B) taboos.
C) folkways.
D) proscriptive norms.

Question 39

What is the term for the application of cultural knowledge to the task of living in an environment?

A) real culture
B) ideal culture
C) cultural transmission
D) technology

Question 40

Low-income countries have cultures that value which of the following?

A) economic survival
B) equal standing for women and men
C) self-expression
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 41

The spread of cultural traits from one society to another is called:

A) immigration.
B) cultural transmission.
C) popular culture.
D) diffusion.

Question 42

About how many adults in the United States speak a language other than English at home?

A) 2 million
B) 12 million
C) 22 million
D) 57 million

Question 43

Cultural change is set in motion in three general ways. What are they?

A) invention, discovery, and diffusion
B) invasion, invention, and experiment
C) immigration, imagination, and innovation
D) adaptation, integration, and immigration

Question 44

The term "cultural lag" refers to the fact that:

A) the rate of cultural change has been slowing.
B) some societies advance faster than others do.
C) some people are more cultured than others.
D) some cultural elements change more quickly than others.

Question 45

Which of the following statements is a good example of cultural lag?

A) gaining the ability to modify genetic patterns before understanding the possible social consequences of this kind of work
B) a slowing in the rate of invention in the computer industry
C) older people trying to make younger people respect tradition
D) virtual culture replacing traditional culture

Question 46

Cultural universals are elements of culture that:

A) have always been part of U.S. culture.
B) have diffused from the United States to other countries.
C) have come to the United States from elsewhere.
D) are part of every known culture.

Question 47

The claim that U.S. culture is dominated by European and especially English ways of life states that our culture is:

A) ethnocentric.
B) Afrocentric.
C) Eurocentric.
D) culturally relative.

Question 48

Other than English, which is the most widely-spoken language in the United States?

A) French
B) Spanish
C) German
D) Chinese

Question 49

The practice of understanding another culture on its own terms and using its own standards is called:

A) ethnocentrism.
B) cultural relativism.
C) cultural diffusion.
D) cultural integration.

Question 50

Which theoretical approach states that the stability of U.S. society rests on core values shared by most people?

A) the structural-functional approach
B) the social-conflict approach
C) the symbolic-interaction approach
D) the sociobiology approach

Question 51

Which of the following adds to the creation of a global culture?

A) the flow of goods from country to country
B) the flow of information around the world
C) the flow of people from country to country
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 52

The emergence of rock and roll in the United States demonstrates:

A) the emergence of a youth culture.
B) that musical tastes are linked to people's social standing.
C) that cultural patterns are subject to change.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 53

George Murdock pointed to many cultural universals. Which of the following is NOT an example of a cultural universal?

A) belief in a heavenly afterlife
B) funeral rites
C) the family
D) telling jokes

Question 54

Compared to college students of the late 1960s, more of today's college students are concerned with:

A) developing a philosophy of life.
B) making money.
C) seeking justice in the world.
D) being involved in political affairs.

Question 55

The region of the United States where the largest percentage of people speak a language other than English at home is the:

A) Southwest.
B) South.
C) Northeast.
D) Northwest.

Question 56

A person who criticizes the Amish farmer as "backward" for tilling his fields with horses and a plow instead of using a tractor is displaying:

A) ethnocentrism.
B) cultural relativism.
C) cultural diffusion.
D) cultural integration.

Question 57

Counterculture refers to:

A) people who differ in some small way.
B) popular culture.
C) high culture.
D) cultural patterns that oppose those that are widely held.

Question 58

Cultural integration refers to the fact that:

A) U.S. society contains many cultural patterns.
B) European cultural patterns dominate U.S. society.
C) change in one cultural pattern is usually linked to changes in others
D) everyone in the United States shares most cultural values.

Question 59

Multiculturalism is defined as:

A) efforts to encourage immigration to the United States.
B) efforts to establish English as the official language of the United States.
C) an educational program recognizing the cultural diversity of the United States and promoting equality of all cultural traditions.
D) the idea that the United States should have a single, dominant culture.

Question 60

Ethnocentrism refers to:

A) people taking pride in their ethnicity.
B) claiming that another culture is better than your own.
C) judging another culture using the standards of your own culture.
D) understanding another culture using its own standards and values.

Question 61

Certain ways of life are biologically "natural" to humans everywhere.

Question 62

A theory that explains how schooling helps prepare young people for the work they will do as adults represents the:

A) structural-functional approach.
B) social-conflict approach.
C) symbolic-interaction approach.
D) sociobiology approach.

Question 63

People around the world have much the same outward appearance, wearing the same clothing and bodily decoration.

Question 64

Culture is a source of human freedom because:

A) culture does not guide behavior.
B) all culture changes very quickly.
C) as cultural creatures, humans make and remake the world for themselves.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 65

A Marxist analysis of U.S. culture suggests that our competitive and individualistic values reflect:

A) the values of the "founding fathers."
B) trends in Western European history.
C) this nation's capitalist economy.
D) this nation's family system.

Question 66

Culture refers to values, beliefs, behavior, and material things that form a way of life.

Question 67

Culture acts as a constraint, limiting human freedom because:

A) much culture is habit, which people repeat again and again.
B) humans cannot create new culture for themselves.
C) culture always discourages change.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 68

The story of Helen Keller, who became blind and deaf, shows how developing our humanity depends on the ability to understand the use of symbols.

Question 69

Businesses in this country can profit from recognizing the cultural diversity of the U.S. population.

Question 70

The emergence of computer-based instant messaging shows how new symbols are being created all the time.

Question 71

The Census Bureau reports that only ten different languages are spoken in the United States.

Question 72

An example of nonmaterial culture would be the types of vehicles people use to get around.

Question 73

For at least 12,000 years, humans have used culture as a strategy for survival.

Question 74

The theoretical approach that highlights the link between culture and social inequality is the:

A) structural-functional approach.
B) social-conflict approach.
C) symbolic-interaction approach.
D) sociobiology approach.

Question 75

The United States and Canada are both _______ however, Canadian culture is more _______ than U.S. culture.

A) monocultural individualistic
B) multicultural collectivist
C) ethnocentric individualistic
D) monocultural collectivist

Question 76

Symbols allow people to make sense of their surroundings.

Question 77

Symbols refer to anything that carries meaning recognized by people who share culture.

Question 78

Which theoretical approach explains why the sexual "double standard" is found around the world?

A) the structural-functional approach
B) the social-conflict approach
C) the symbolic-interaction approach
D) the sociobiology approach

Question 79

Experiencing an unfamiliar culture can generate culture shock.

Question 80

Which theoretical approach is linked to the philosophical doctrine of materialism?

A) the structural-functional approach
B) the social-conflict approach
C) the symbolic-interaction approach
D) the sociobiology approach