Deck 2: Culture: Giving Meaning to Human Lives

Question 1

The American anthropologist responsible for the concept of historical particularism was named

A) E. B. Tylor
B) L .H. Morgan
C) Mary Douglas
D) Franz Boas

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Who was responsible for the theory of functionalism?

A) Franz Boas
B) E. B. Tylor
C) Bronislaw Malinowski
D) Alfred Kroeber

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The theory of culture that proposes that cultural practices, beliefs, and institutions fulfill the psychological and physical needs of society is called

A) historical particularism
B) social evolution
C) functionalism
D) cultural materialism

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The theorist most connected with post-structuralism is

A) Marvin Harris
B) Franz Boas
C) E. B. Tylor
D) Renato Rosaldo

Question 5

Culture is

A) learned and shared
B) easily defined
C) static and unchanging
D) a product of individual psychology

Question 6

Ethnocentrism

A) presents a major problem for anthropologists
B) means you think your culture is superior to others
C) is a common feature of culture
D) all of the above

Question 7

Who was responsible for the theory of social evolution?

A) Franz Boas
B) E. B. Tylor
C) Bronislaw Malinowski
D) E. E. Evans-Pritchard

Question 8

The process of learning culture from a very young age is called

A) enculturation
B) ethnocentrism
C) symbolism
D) acculturation

Question 9

The most enduring and ritualized aspects of culture are referred to as

A) customs
B) norms
C) traditions
D) symbols

Question 10

A symbol

A) is the basis of all human behavior
B) is something that conventionally stands for something else
C) includes numbers and the alphabet
D) all of the above

Question 11

The perspective that aims to identify and understand cultures in the entirety is called

A) holistic
B) structural
C) symbolic
D) ethnocentrism

Question 12

Examples of social institutions are

A) kinship
B) marriage
C) farming
D) all of the above

Question 13

Collective definitions of proper and improper behavior that "build" meanings through common experiences and negotiations are cultural __________.

Question 14

The experience of feeling that the way your culture does things is the right way and any different way of doing things is wrong is called __________.

Question 15

The idea that cultures pass through stages from primitive to complex is known as __________.

Question 16

Anthropologists believe that analyzing human cultural phenomena by comparing those phenomena across different societies, called the __________ approach, is necessary to appreciate how "artificial" our beliefs and actions are

Question 17

The theory that posits that cultural practices and beliefs serve purposes for society is called __________.

Question 18

The unilateral decision of one social group to take control of the symbols, objects, and practices of others is called __________.

Question 19

Culture is uniquely human.

Question 20

Most anthropologists believe in a single unified theory of culture.

Question 21

All humans are born with some culture.

Question 22

Activities that are biologically based, such as eating and sleeping, are universally the same for all humans.

Question 23

Culture can only be transmitted through face-to-face interaction.

Question 24

The defining feature of historical particularism is

A) all societies pass through stages from primitive to complex
B) individual societies develop particular cultural traits and undergo a unique process of change
C) cultural differences are the result of different evolutionary stages
D) the material world shapes people's customs and beliefs

Question 25

The main idea behind the holistic perspective is to study culture

A) by its individual parts
B) through systematic connections of different parts
C) as a system of binary oppositions
D) all of the above

Question 26

The structuralist approach to culture theorizes what?

A) people make sense of the world through binary oppositions (e.g., raw/cooked)
B) cultures evolve over time
C) culture is systematic, operating in a balanced fashion to keep society functioning smoothly
D) individual societies develop individual traits

Question 27

The idea that embraces dynamic cultural processes and the idea that the observer of cultural processes can never see culture completely objectively represent

A) interpretive anthropology
B) neo-evolutionism
C) post-structuralism
D) historical particularism

Question 28

Because our values and beliefs include many elements of life such as clothes, food, and language means that culture is

A) static
B) integrated
C) predetermined
D) homogenous

Question 29

Anthropologists overcome ethnocentrism by

A) developing theories to explain human action
B) studying a culture's customs
C) defending whatever another culture does
D) seeing matters from the point of view of another culture

Question 30

Cultural determinism is unproductive for cultural analysis because

A) it denies the influence of factors like physical environment and biology on humans
B) it can justify atrocities
C) it explains all human action as the product of culture alone
D) all of the above

Question 31

Norms are stable because

A) culture doesn't change
B) people learn them as they grow older
C) people learn them when they are young
D) they are the same in every culture

Question 32

The controversy between Native Americans and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) schools using mascots illustrates

A) the scientific method
B) historical particularism
C) the power of tradition
D) cultural determinism

Question 33

Norms are stable because

A) people learn them from an early age
B) they are always written down
C) they are the most ritualized aspects of a culture
D) culture rarely changes

Question 34

When Kay Warren presented her anthropological research, a group of Maya intellectuals, activists, and political leaders

A) were there to support her work
B) challenged her right, as a foreign anthropologist, to study the Maya culture
C) collaborated with Warren
D) co-published the paper

Question 35

Which of the following is an example of cultural appropriation?

A) the use of the Zia Pueblo sun symbol on the New Mexico state flag
B) white children "playing Indian"
C) New Age religion's imitation of Indian spirituality and rituals
D) all of the above

Question 36

An __________ approach to culture, such as that promoted by Clifford Geertz, Victor Turner, and Mary Douglas, emphasizes that culture is a shared system of meanings.

Question 37

Even though many people believe that their __________ are very old, these enduring and ritualized aspects of culture are often much more recent than we realize.

Question 38

A focus on __________ helps anthropologists understand intrinsically desirable principles held by a group of people.

Question 39

Michael Ames developed exhibits with native Canadian communities at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia because he believed in __________.

Question 40

Cultural relativism is important because it helps anthropologists understand and defend all the things that people in other cultures do.

Question 41

Culture consists of the collective processes that make the artificial seem natural.

Question 42

People rarely hold conflicting values.

Question 43

Cultural appropriation involves relationships of power.

Question 44

The application of a holistic perspective to understand changes in everyday practices, such as eating breakfast cereals, reveals

A) the interconnections between different domains of a society
B) the processes of cultural appropriation
C) the relativity of culture
D) the creation of cultural constructions

Question 45

The idea that Ongee ancestors make tidal waves and earthquakes would be understood by an interpretive anthropologist as

A) a reflection of underlying binary structures of thought
B) a misunderstanding of the natural world
C) a psychological disturbance
D) a way of explaining how the world works

Question 46

If you wanted to understand the norms of a society, you would most likely focus on

A) ceremonialized aspects of a society
B) everyday interactions
C) the symbolic use of the body
D) the principles and values people hold dear

Question 47

How would a critical relativist explain Native American criticisms of cultural appropriation?

A) their criticism is unjustified primarily because cultural appropriation is as old as humanity itself
B) cultural appropriation is a positive process of change for any society
C) it is important to understand Native American claims from their point of view though it doesn't necessarily mean we should accept them as the only way to view the issue
D) it is inherent in their culture to criticize dominant settler society

Question 48

A cross-cultural perspective on eating insect larvae would reveal

A) the artificiality of taste
B) the cultural constructions of insects as food
C) that eating insects can be adaptive
D) all of the above

Question 49

If a functionalist were to explain why the teacher lectures from the front of the classroom to students organized in neatly arranged chairs, she or he would emphasize that

A) learning happens best when students are being talked at
B) this way of teaching organizes people to promote shared cultural goals
C) this mode of teaching evolved over time
D) the teacher is the symbolic head of the class

Question 50

Explain how a focus on values can help us understand why people around the world love their countries.

Question 51

How would you apply a holistic approach to the study of technological change?

Question 52

How would you apply a cross-cultural approach to study sleeping habits?

Question 53

How would you use the culture concept to help you analyze the social relationships involved in Facebook and other social media?

Question 54

How would you apply the idea that culture is "the collective processes that make the artificial seem natural" to study food preferences?

Question 55

How would (a) a functionalist and (b) an interpretive anthropologist analyze Americans' love of baseball? How would their analyses differ?

Question 56

What is the role of symbols in our everyday lives? Give an example of an important symbol, and discuss how and why it creates meaning.

Question 57

Why does culture feel stable and natural when it is something that is artificial?

Question 58

What are social institutions, and how do they affect culture?

Question 59

Thinking holistically, what would you study if you wanted to understand the introduction of the cell phone into a rural community?