Deck 12: Pivotal Institutions Marriage and the Family

Question 1

Institutions are the habits or traditional ways of doing things that eventually crystallize into patterns of behavior.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

In urban industrial societies, the family has become increasingly more extended.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Historically, the most prevalent form of marriage has been group marriage.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Endogamy means that individuals are encouraged to marry outside their subcultural group.

Question 5

The function of providing affection and companionship became more important in the nuclear family.

Question 6

The nuclear family is typical of an agricultural society.

Question 7

When individuals become parents, the family they form is one of procreation.

Question 8

The marriage of one man with one woman is called polygamy.

Question 9

Marrying a person with traits altogether different than one's own is called homogamy.

Question 10

The incest taboo represents an example of exogamy

Question 11

The anthropologist George Murdock stated that the family is found only in some human societies.

Question 12

Most single mothers are working women who made a deliberate choice to have a child even though they are unmarried.

Question 13

All of the former family functions have been taken over by new institutions.

Question 14

Endogamy and homogamy are characteristic of traditional societies only.

Question 15

The early years of marriage are the easiest in terms of stability because the spouses are still very much in love.

Question 16

Having a baby tends to stabilize a marriage, just as folk wisdom suggests.

Question 17

Modernization and affluence has had the effect of decreasing birthrates, increasing voluntary childlessness, and dramatically increasing divorce rates.

Question 18

Remarriage is a rare occurrence because the institution of marriage has been so discredited.

Question 19

Women who have a stable financial situation cope quite well with the unmarried status.

Question 20

The no-fault divorce has proven to be one of the more progressive ideas of the 20th century, especially for women and children.

Question 21

The psychological adjustment to divorce may be harder for males who commit suicide more often, have a higher number of car accidents, and higher rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and anxiety than women.

Question 22

The best adjustment to divorce is made by childless couples.

Question 23

According to the Wallerstein study, the worst adjustment in a divorce is made by children, especially those in the 9- and 10-year-old group.

Question 24

Teenagers manifest the damaging effects of divorce more overtly than younger children, by committing crimes and abusing alcohol and drugs.

Question 25

The divorce rates have taken a slight dip at the turn of the 20th century.

Question 26

Cohabitation previous to marriage leads to more successful unions than marriages without previous cohabitation.

Question 27

It has been definitely shown that maternal care is a prerequisite for the development of a psychologically sound individuals.

Question 28

Single parenthood has greatly decreased, especially among teenagers, because of the easy availability of birth control.

Question 29

Kinship systems existed only in traditional societies.

Question 30

Romantic love as a prerequisite for marriage evolved in Biblical times.

Question 31

Most couples fight most commonly about children and money.

Question 32

According to the resource theory, the distribution of power in a marriage depends on the resources each spouse brings to it.

Question 33

Americans' preoccupation with individualism and the self is incompatible with relationships that require commitment, such as marriage.

Question 34

The leading causes of divorce are infidelity, alcohol and drug abuse, and psychological abuse.

Question 35

In the last two decades, the rates of divorce have increased most rapidly among middle-aged Americans.

Question 36

Social institutions:

A) are ingrained patterns of behavior representing solutions to universal human needs
B) are things like banks and schools
C) make up cultural components
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 37

Which component of culture is central to human life?

A) Interdependence
B) The industrial
C) The normative
D) The habitual

Question 38

An example of a basic, pivotal institution is:

A) show business
B) gossip
C) sports
D) the family

Question 39

The anthropologist George Murdock believes that the family:

A) is found only in some human societies
B) has functions fundamental to human life
C) is harmful and leads to schizophrenia
D) was the last institution to develop

Question 40

The family-and particularly marriage--binds its members through:

A) interfaith competition
B) legal and economic bonds
C) educational functions
D) class conflict

Question 41

In rural India, a man and his wife often live with their unmarried and married children and grandchildren under one roof. This family type is called:

A) nuclear
B) conjugal
C) extended
D) homogamous

Question 42

The nuclear form of the family often appears in:

A) traditional agrarian societies
B) industrial societies
C) locations where there is the need for large families
D) rural areas

Question 43

A kinship system is based on:

A) marriage
B) common descent
C) adoption
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

Question 44

Marriage is:

A) any union of males and females
B) a union recognized as legal by a society
C) always monogamous
D) always endogamous

Question 45

In some cultures, a man can have several wives at one time. This custom is called:

A) lunacy
B) polyandry
C) polygyny
D) serial marriage

Question 46

Social scientists explain the incest taboo as:

A) biologically programmed
B) a religious universal
C) way of reducing family conflict
D) all of the above

Question 47

In rural India, a person must marry within his or her caste. This custom is called:

A) exogamy
B) endogamy
C) polygamy
D) purdah

Question 48

The family today influences:

A) production activities
B) attitudes on politics
C) hospitalization rates
D) none of the above

Question 49

Romance as a reason for marriage:

A) is an ancient principle
B) is a modern invention
C) prevents divorce
D) contributes to divorce

Question 50

Marrying someone with similar traits is called:

A) homogamy
B) heterogamy
C) exogamy
D) hypogamy

Question 51

The low birthrate in the United States is related to:

A) questionable nutrition
B) increased drug use
C) increase of women in work force
D) none of the above

Question 52

The high divorce rate in industrial societies is related to:

A) the importance of religion
B) the low status of women
C) emphasis on group goals
D) the stress on values of individualism and personal goals

Question 53

A number of celebrities in the entertainment world have been married five or six times. They may be said to have had:

A) the standard number of marriages in our society
B) a faulty distribution of power in their marriages
C) respect for polygamy
D) a negative experience of married life

Question 54

Divorced men, as compared to married men, are subject to:

A) more suicides
B) more instances of depression
C) more car accidents
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

Question 55

Children of divorce have:

A) no problems
B) a preference for parental conflict rather than their divorce
C) the most difficulty at ages nine and ten
D) fewer problems of adjustment than children from intact families

Question 56

Female-headed families have:

A) increased in number since 1970
B) generally a lower income than two-parent families
C) greater emotional stress in dealing with children
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 57

The blended family:

A) consists of natural parents and children
B) is another name for a childless family
C) is made up of natural parents, stepparents, natural children and stepchildren
D) is quite stable for children

Question 58

While birthrates in the United States have been in a state of decline, a countertrend may be seen in:

A) the fact that young women unanimously want children
B) the "baby boomlet" caused by births to women in their thirties and forties
C) the desire of most couples to have large families
D) Census Bureau predictions about the increase in family size in the next century

Question 59

Which is a true statement?

A) Industrialization has increased divorce rates wherever it has appeared.
B) Marriage rates in the U.S. have greatly decreased from the turn of the century.
C) The majority of divorces in the U.S. are granted to people who have been married 30 years or more.
D) Social pressure to marry is currently very strong in the U.S.

Question 60

teenage birthrate:

A) has soared in the past two years
B) has declined in the past several years
C) is highest among white teenagers
D) none of the above

Question 61

Teenagers who are sexually active are in danger of:

A) becoming pregnant
B) contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS
C) having to quit school
D) only a and b
E) all of the above

Question 62

Which is not a new alternative to the traditional family?

A) Single-parent family.
B) Extended family.
C) Blended family.
D) Reconstituted family.

Question 63

The nuclear family is characteristic of industrial societies because:

A) most functions are better performed in secondary groups
B) geographic and social mobility are common in industrial societies
C) ascribed status is more important in industrial societies
D) a large family means more hands to work

Question 64

The nuclear family form is also called:

A) conjugal
B) consanguine
C) procreational
D) extended

Question 65

The opposite of a nuclear family is the:

A) conjugal family
B) atomic family
C) extended family
D) group family

Question 66

Which is not a form of plural marriage?

A) Polyandry
B) Polygyny
C) Polygamy
D) Monogamy

Question 67

The most fundamental function of the family is:

A) ensuring the reproduction of the species
B) providing sex education
C) feeding its members
D) keeping members sheltered

Question 68

Endogamy and exogamy are:

A) two social science disciplines
B) ways of studying institutions
C) social limitations placed on marriages
D) practiced only by select groups in society

Question 69

Mistreatment or abuse of children:

A) occurs with greater frequency in extended families
B) occurs less frequently in extended families
C) is a function of social class
D) happens only in industrial societies

Question 70

Most societies:

A) discourage marriage
B) encourage marriage
C) accept all kinds of man-woman unions
D) pay couples to have children

Question 71

Group marriage:

A) is widespread in several societies
B) is practiced among Australian aborigines
C) has been a consistent feature in Western societies
D) has never been consistently or extensively practiced

Question 72

The regulation of sex:

A) is attempted by societies through encouraging marriage
B) has become unimportant in the U. S.
C) has no relationship to the liberalization of sexual norms
D) is unrelated to societal mores and taboos

Question 73

Reproduction outside the family:

A) cannot occur
B) has not been positively sanctioned in any society
C) reflects the norms and values of American society
D) is considered a sin by all religions of the world

Question 74

The first years of marriage:

A) are the most difficult
B) require the most adjustment
C) offer the most satisfaction
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 75

The expectations people have regarding how husbands and wives ought to behave are called marital:

A) norms
B) illusions
C) orders
D) scripts
E) models

Question 76

Young couples who have children very soon after marriage:

A) are quite content with their lot
B) spend very little time together
C) experience constant elation
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 77

When children reach school age, their parents:

A) experience a decline in marital satisfaction
B) spend more time together and are more content
C) shift their focus toward their own relationship
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 78

A perspective that focuses on power relations between spouses is called:

A) microconflict theory
B) transactional analysis
C) resource theory
D) dependency theory
E) strategic interaction theory

Question 79

he resources each spouse brings to a marriage include:

A) income
B) the ability to earn income
C) occupational prestige
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 80

Women after divorce:

A) need not do any of the menial housework
B) have a more difficult psychological adjustment than men
C) experience a 45 percent drop in income
D) all of the above
E) none of the above