Deck 1: Culture and Human Nature

Question 1

If a psychological process involved in statistical reasoning is present only among individuals in a certain culture, it is a(n)

A) statistical universal.
B) nonuniversal.
C) accessibility universal.
D) existential universal.
E) functional universal.

Answer 1

nonuniversal.

Question 2

All cultures congratulate their members' achievements to make them feel good about themselves, but some cultures are much more willing to do this than others.According to Norenzayan and Heine (2005), what is this an example of?

A) existential universal
B) accessibility universal
C) functional universal
D) nonuniversal
E) conditional universal

Answer 2

functional universal

Question 3

What is the highest level of universality?

A) nonuniversal
B) existential universal
C) functional universal
D) accessibility universal
E) ultimate universal

Answer 3

accessibility universal

Question 4

A cultural neuroscience study by Hedden, Ketay, Aron, Markus, and Gabrieli (2008) had European Americans and East Asians make judgments on the figure-line task while in an fMRI scanner.The key results were that European Americans showed more activation in the left inferior parietal lobe and right precentral gyrus during the relative task, while East Asians showed this pattern during the absolute task.What do these results mean?

A) European Americans had to pay more attention in the absolute task than the relative task.
B) East Asians had to pay more attention in the absolute task than the relative task.
C) East Asians were better at the absolute task than at the relative task.
D) European Americans were happier during the absolute task than during the relative task.
E) European Americans were more fearful during the relative task than during the absolute task.

Question 5

Assume that the act of giving gifts to neighbors has been documented in every culture that exists in the world.Which of the following is definitely true about the act of gift giving?

A) It is a nonuniversal.
B) It serves the same purpose across all cultures.
C) It happens more in Western than in non-Western cultures.
D) It solves the same evolutionary problem in all cultures.
E) It shows some level of universality.

Question 6

Gwen wants to conduct a study on dating preferences among teens in France, but she finds that French teens in the countryside are very different from French teens in the cities.The difference between French teens in the countryside versus the cities best illustrates which challenge to defining culture?

A) Cultural boundaries are not always clear-cut.
B) Cultures are dynamic and change over time.
C) Culture and the mind make each other up.
D) There are as many variations within cultures as there are between cultures.
E) Psychology relies too much on WEIRD samples.

Question 7

In an African studies research paper that you are writing for publication, you use the word "culture" to refer to a group of South African people.Which of the following is a challenge to using "culture" to define a group of South Africans?

A) South Africans are likely very different from people who live in parts of North Africa.
B) Present-day South Africans are likely very similar to South Africans in the early twentieth century.
C) All South Africans share the same political and environmental contexts, leading them to have very similar experiences.
D) There is too much variability within the South African population to warrant a single "South African" category.
E) South Africa is economically very different from its neighbor, Botswana.

Question 8

A key belief of the Sambia is that

A) people are born straight and become gay over time with experience.
B) femaleness is innate but maleness must be explicitly learned.
C) male sexuality is stable throughout life.
D) homosexual encounters are natural for males and females between the ages of 7 and 15.
E) maleness is innate, but femaleness must be explicitly learned.

Question 9

A chimpanzee learns from his human zookeeper to wash carrots in the artificial river in his habitat before eating them.Based on the definitions of culture used in the textbook, can this example be said to be culture?

A) yes, because the information was passed on by social learning
B) yes, because a habit or practice can be said to be culture
C) yes, because the chimpanzee belongs to a group of chimpanzees kept in zoos
D) no, because he learned the practice from a member of a different species
E) no, because he is the only member of his group to adopt this habit

Question 10

Your research team found evidence that people in multiple cultures walk with their shoes on their heads, but this "shoe-on-head" way of walking is activated for different reasons across cultures.This would be evidence of a(n)

A) nonuniversal.
B) existential universal.
C) functional universal.
D) accessibility universal.
E) conditional universal.

Question 11

According to the definition offered in the textbook, which of the following would NOT be a good example of culture?

A) a child mimics her friend by sticking her tongue out when she doesn't like her food
B) a child learns how to brush her teeth from her father
C) a child improves on her brother's game by using three marbles instead of two
D) a child creates a piece of art she has never seen before while, at the same time, listening to her sister sing songs
E) a child learns from her teacher how to sit down nicely in her chair during lunch

Question 12

Some people would describe cultural psychology as the study of how "culture and mind make each other up." What does this statement mean?

A) Culture and the mind are interchangeable concepts.
B) Culture and the mind are opposite concepts from one another.
C) Culture and the mind can be perceived as fantasy or make-believe.
D) Culture and the mind are dependent on each other.
E) Culture and the mind are very similar concepts.

Question 13

After an exhaustive study, you find no cultural variation across all samples explored in terms of sleeping in a tree at night.In other words, all examined cultures exhibited this practice, used trees for sleeping in the same way, and preferred sleeping in trees to the same extent.This finding would best be labeled as a(n)

A) nonuniversal.
B) existential universal.
C) functional universal.
D) accessibility universal.
E) conditional universal.

Question 14

In the Sambian context, the cultural emphasis on boys to go through rituals such as piercing their noses and thrashing them with sticks suggests that, for the Sambia,

A) men must work hard to maintain their innate maleness.
B) women need to work toward obtaining a female essence.
C) pain is not associated with masculinity.
D) masculinity is something that boys gain from certain behaviors.
E) there is also a strong emphasis on sexuality being rigid and unchangeable.

Question 15

According to the Sambia,

A) men can get jerungdu from trees with white sap.
B) females must be taught to engage in warfare.
C) men can never lose jerungdu.
D) heterosexuality is the only accepted form of sexuality.
E) maleness will develop naturally over time.

Question 16

Cat A teaches Cat B, who lives in the same alley, to hold a mouse in a certain way so that the mouse can be more easily eaten.This way of holding mice then gets passed on to other cats in different alleys.Based on the definitions of culture used in the textbook, can this example be said to be culture?

A) yes, because the information was passed on by social learning between Cats A and B
B) yes, because all animals have culture
C) no, because Cats A and B belong to a group of cats from the same alley
D) no, because the information was passed on to other cats in different alleys
E) no, because culture cannot not spread from one alley to another

Question 17

A key difference between cultural psychologists and general psychologists is that

A) cultural psychologists study people in many different cultures in order to study universals, whereas general psychologists study people from one culture to study universals.
B) cultural psychologists study people from one culture, whereas general psychologists study people from many cultures.
C) cultural psychologists try to discover laws that govern the mind as a central processing unit (CPU), whereas general psychologists study variability across contexts.
D) general psychologists believe that the mind is independent from context and content, whereas cultural psychologists believe that the mind cannot be separated from context and content.
E) general psychologists believe that all of human psychology is universal, whereas cultural psychologists believe that people in different cultures think and behave in very different ways that cannot be explained.

Question 18

Trina believes that deep down, people from different cultures are all the same.Which psychological perspective best represents Trina's view?

A) multicultural approach
B) existential universal
C) nonuniversal
D) cultural psychology
E) general psychology

Question 19

Which of the following defines culture, according to the textbook?

A) a group of at least three people
B) males and females across different species who possess mentalizing abilities
C) any information learned from other members of one's species that can influence an individual's behaviors
D) a group of people who do not share the same context
E) novel innovations that an individual creates and does not share with others

Question 20

People from all cultures use umbrellas, but in some cultures umbrellas are used only to block rainwater, whereas in other cultures umbrellas are used only to block the sun.The use of umbrellas across cultures would thus be classified as a(n)

A) statistical universal.
B) nonuniversal.
C) accessibility universal.
D) existential universal.
E) functional universal.

Question 21

What does the acronym "WEIRD" stand for?

A) White, Educated, Industrialized, Rural, Democratic
B) White, Educated, Introverted, Rich, Democratic
C) Western, Elite, Industrialized, Rich, Driven
D) Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic
E) Western, Educated, Introverted, Rural, Democratic

Question 22

Which of the following statements about ethnocentrism is true?

A) It is necessary for clearer definitions of what constitutes a cultural group.
B) It refers to a person who can use multiple cultural standards by which to judge behaviors.
C) It means that behaviors that do not seem normal tend to be viewed as less desirable.
D) It suggests an understanding that what may be natural to one person may not be natural to others.
E) It suggests an understanding that one takes a purely objective perspective when examining cultural differences.

Question 23

What is one way in which psychology samples tend to be unrepresentative of the world population?

A) They tend to be high school students.
B) They tend to be from North America.
C) They tend to be mostly male.
D) They tend to have a short attention span.
E) They tend to be from warm climates.

Question 24

Tia does not want to follow her tennis team's dress code, which requires girls to wear a short skirt.She decides to wear long pants instead because women of her culture dress more conservatively than Americans.Her teammate Myra thinks it is wrong for Tia to ignore the team's uniform dress code.Myra's belief is an example of

A) a color-blind approach.
B) a multicultural approach.
C) discrimination.
D) ethnocentrism.
E) acculturation.

Question 25

You grew up learning that nodding your head means "yes," and most people you know do the same; however, you recently learned that people in some cultures nod their heads when they mean to say "no." Nodding your head would thus be characterized as a(n)

A) existential universal.
B) functional universal.
C) nonuniversal.
D) accessibility universal.
E) statistical universal.

Question 26

Why is studying cultural psychology important?

A) Studying cultural psychology shows how cultural differences cannot be explained.
B) Psychology research conducted in North America is not valid.
C) Studying cultural psychology can give psychologists a more complete understanding of how the human mind works.
D) Studying cultural psychology can help psychologists separate culture from the mind.
E) Studying cultural psychology emphasizes a color-blind approach as a way to reduce racial discrimination.

Question 27

You want to raise your child so that she will not be susceptible to the Müller-Lyer illusion.Based on what the textbook discusses as being the reason for why some people are more susceptible to this illusion than others, what should you do to make your child less susceptible to it?

A) train her and drill her on it as soon as she can talk
B) remove her from North America
C) raise her in an environment without corners
D) make sure she is born in South Africa
E) This cultural difference is genetically inherited, so little can be done to make one less susceptible.

Question 28

Jarad wants to make sure he does not raise children who are susceptible to the Müller-Lyer illusion.As such, he should

A) first establish whether that susceptibility is an existential universal.
B) adopt the perspective of a general psychologist.
C) make sure his children are low on ethnocentrism.
D) raise his children in places where corners are uncommon.
E) train his children in the Russian cultural-historical school of psychology.

Question 29

How do the color-blind and multicultural approaches compare to each other?

A) Only the color-blind approach is relevant to the issue of cultural differences.
B) Only the multicultural approach has research supporting its perspective.
C) Both approaches respect group differences.
D) The color-blind approach recognizes that groups are different, while the multicultural approach emphasizes commonality as humans.
E) The color-blind approach ignores group differences, while the multicultural approach focuses on group differences.

Question 30

Celebrating birthdays is a functional universal.This means that in two cultures, the purpose of birthdays is ________ across the cultures and the importance of birthdays is ________ across the cultures.

A) different; the same
B) different; different
C) the same; the same
D) the same; different
E) There is not enough information to answer this question.

Question 31

Ethnocentrism involves

A) judging people from other cultures by the standards of one's own culture.
B) being exposed to other cultures early in life.
C) being exposed to at least three cultures.
D) seeing other cultures as superior to one's own culture.
E) constantly comparing different cultures to each other.

Question 32

You conduct a literature review on a topic for a class paper and realize that all the studies you found seem to use WEIRD samples.Based on this characteristic of the study samples, which of the following would be a limitation of your class paper?

A) You would be unable to determine the level of universality.
B) You would be relying on a non-Western perspective.
C) You would be using a multicultural rather than a color-blind approach.
D) Your conclusions would not generalize to people in industrialized countries.
E) You would not have enough studies to draw conclusions about WEIRD samples.

Question 33

Which of the following is the best example of ethnocentrism?

A) Emmett does not like it when his brother pushes him.
B) Bria believes it is wrong for Tessa to let her children sleep in their own room; to Bria, it is normal for children to sleep in the same room as their parents.
C) Finn wants his parents to pay attention to him so he spills his water all over the kitchen floor.
D) Ina believes that she is the best actress in her school and is angry when she is not chosen for the lead role in the school play.
E) After Wynn visits Japan for the first time, she decides that the Japanese have the best train system in the world.

Question 34

As the incoming CEO of a company in which people of different ethnicities work in the same workspace, you have been given the task of creating a work environment in which people of different ethnicities have trust in the company and positive emotions toward each other.To do so, you plan to give a speech.According to the textbook, which of the following approaches would be best for accomplishing your task?

A) "There are no racial differences here-only one human race."
B) "Treat everyone the same-as a friend-to make this workplace a friendlier place."
C) "Everyone brings their own experiences to the table, but what really unites us is that we are all people and all a part of this same company."
D) "There will be company parties every Friday night!"
E) "Every ethnicity brings a different piece of the puzzle, and we should treasure what makes each of us unique."

Question 35

Hank believes that all cultures are unique, whereas Van believes that deep down, people from different cultures are not that different because they are all human.How do color-blind and multicultural approaches relate to their beliefs?

A) Hank supports a color-blind approach, whereas Van supports a multicultural approach.
B) Hank supports a multicultural approach, whereas Van supports a color-blind approach.
C) Both support a color-blind approach.
D) Both support a multicultural approach.
E) Hank's and Van's beliefs demonstrate how the color-blind approach overlaps with the multicultural approach.

Question 36

Which of the following is an example of ethnocentrism?

A) "I grew up eating fish raw, but people from Culture X like to eat their fish cooked.Different countries just have different food preferences."
B) "I don't understand.How come we keep dogs as pets, but people from Culture X keep llamas as pets?"
C) "Those people from Culture X are weird.Rather than using forks to eat like we do-like people are supposed to-they like to eat by picking things up using sticks."
D) "We should be more tolerant of different ethnicities."
E) "Some cultures are better than others-that is a fact."

Question 37

What is the problem with relying too much on WEIRD societies for samples in psychology research?

A) WEIRD samples represent a very narrow slice of the world's population.
B) WEIRD samples tend to have inconsistent behavioral responses compared to those in non-Western societies.
C) WEIRD samples do not get paid for their participation.
D) WEIRD samples do not show the Müller-Lyer illusion.
E) WEIRD samples are difficult to obtain compared to non-WEIRD samples.

Question 38

You decide to start a new research project investigating the universality of drinking alcohol.To do so, you investigate two different cultures from two different continents (the Netherlands and Canada).You find evidence that people in both countries drink beer to the same extent and for the same reasons.Which of the following conclusions can you make about drinking alcohol?

A) It is an accessibility universal.
B) It is a functional universal.
C) It is an existential universal.
D) It is a nonuniversal.
E) No definite conclusion can be made.

Question 39

How do Americans compare to people from other cultures when tested on the Müller-Lyer illusion?

A) Americans are very low; they do not perceive the illusion very strongly compared to other cultures.
B) Americans are about average; they perceive the illusion more strongly than some cultures and less strongly than others.
C) Americans are very high; they perceive the illusion very strongly compared to other cultures.
D) All cultures tested on this illusion perceive it to the same degree.
E) Americans do not perceive the illusion at all.

Question 40

The boss of a company in the United States has instituted a new policy requiring all interactions between workers, who are predominantly white Americans, to take a color-blind approach.This means that the

A) boss wants the workers to interact with each other without acknowledging their ethnic or cultural differences.
B) boss belongs to the Russian cultural-historical school.
C) boss wants the workers to focus on aspects of psychology that are considered nonuniversals.
D) boss wants the workers to acknowledge and respect their ethnic and cultural differences.
E) ethnic minority workers will be more engaged with their work than they were before the new policy was instituted.

Question 41

Choose the position of either a general psychologist or a cultural psychologist; then, as your chosen type of psychologist, generate an explanation for cultural variability in susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer illusion.

Question 42

What does the acronym WEIRD stand for, and what are at least two problems with relying on samples from WEIRD societies in psychology?

Question 43

The Chinese abacus is a cultural invention that leads to the use of a hexadecimal numeral system (i.e., base 16, rather than the base 10 numeral system commonly used throughout the world).Therefore, the hexadecimal numeral system is a very unique cultural practice that few other cultures have.Choose the position of either a general psychologist or a cultural psychologist; then, as your chosen type of psychologist, generate an explanation for the capacity to use the hexadecimal numeral system.

Question 44

Adrian likes to take showers in the morning instead of the evening.He finds out that his friend Cyndi takes showers in the evenings.What would be an example of an ethnocentric response when Adrian learns about Cyndi's behavior?

Question 45

Your new job in a culturally diverse company requires you to figure out how to deal with this cultural diversity in a way that yields the most benefits for the company.Your two options are to take either the color-blind approach or the multicultural approach.Choose one approach, and justify your response based on the research presented in the textbook.

Question 46

Most companies in multicultural societies such as Canada and Great Britain are staffed with people from different cultural backgrounds.The best approach in dealing with group differences in terms of fostering work engagement and trust toward the company is the

Question 47

At the grocery store, you hear an employee in the meat department say, "It doesn't make sense to me that Muslims don't eat pork.That's the most delicious meat of all! It seems wrong that they won't even try it." Which of the following does this situation best demonstrate?

A) segregation
B) ethnocentrism
C) integrationism
D) discrimination
E) assimilationism

Question 48

People in Culture A breastfeed their children from birth until at least age 3, and people in Culture B never breastfeed their children and instead feed them formula from birth.People in both cultures think the other culture is feeding their children the wrong way.Which of the following most accurately describes this example?

A) Culture A is ethnocentric in their views.
B) Culture B is ethnocentric in their views.
C) Both cultures are ethnocentric in their views.
D) Neither culture is ethnocentric; Culture A is objectively right.
E) Neither culture is ethnocentric; Culture B is objectively right.

Question 49

Name each degree of universality based on Norenzayan and Heine's model.For each degree of universality, provide one example for each degree and justify why your examples are relevant for each level.