Deck 7: Analyzing Sociocultural Systems

Question 1

It has been argued by anthropologists such as Leslie White and Julian Steward that technology, as opposed to values, emotions, or social organization, is the basic and primary source of sociocultural change.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Formalists maintain that the best method for studying any economy is to view it as being embedded in the sociocultural system, including the values, beliefs, and norms of the society.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Part of the challenge for anthropologists in doing field research is adjusting to a different society and gaining a much better perspective of one's own society.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The general categories used by anthropologists to describe different political systems are band, tribe, chiefdom, and state.

Question 5

If a researcher finds that two variables are correlated, this always means that one of the variables causes the other one.

Question 6

Through enculturation people learn the specific norms regarding the expectations of society, and this, in turn, brings about perfect social control since these internalized norms are always followed.

Question 7

Small-scale societies tend to have more social stratification than large-scale societies because there are fewer people to occupy the statuses and play the roles.

Question 8

Since there are no ethical guidelines in conducting cultural or anthropological research, the anthropologist is free to examine any topic and gain information in any manner he or she sees fit.

Question 9

Polyandry is the marriage of two women to two men.

Question 10

Anthropologists are interested in understanding how biological, environmental, demographic, economic, social, political, and other cultural variables influence warfare and feuds.

Question 11

Demographic anthropologists are interested in demonstrating how cultural systems modify the natural environment.

Question 12

Anthropologists who use the holistic approach to analyze sociocultural systems try to "shoot holes" in the theories and studies of other anthropologists.

Question 13

Skin color has been used to designate ascribed status differences in South Africa under the system of apartheid.

Question 14

A family is a social group that consists of two or more people related by blood, marriage, or adoption that live together while sharing economic resources and caring for their young.

Question 15

Age is a universal principle used in prescribing social status within a sociocultural system.

Question 16

The two major types of families found throughout the world are the extended family and the nuclear family.

Question 17

Anthropological research has shown that in some cultures females do not have social roles; only men have roles.

Question 18

When examining cultural systems, anthropologists often use the image of social structure, which posits that societies are random, chaotic collections of people who accidentally interact with one another.

Question 19

Both sex and gender are biologically determined.

Question 20

A biome is a cultural area where people behave in a predictable manner because they follow the ethos of the society.

Question 21

During your lifetime you will probably be a member of two families, the family of orientation (the family into which you were born and enculturated) and the family of __________ (the family in which you will have or adopt children).

A) acculturation
B) deculturation
C) procreation
D) life
E) socialization

Question 22

A major goal of most anthropological studies of religion is to determine the "truth" or "falsity" of particular religious beliefs so that the truth about the supernatural can be discovered.

Question 23

Studies of hunter-gatherer groups often include an investigation of the maximum population that a specific environment can support, or what is called the , in order to understand population change and distribution.

A) fecundity
B) life expectancy
C) carrying capacity
D) niche load
E) population burden

Question 24

Marriage within the same social group or category is , while is marriage between people from different social categories or groups.

A) incest / outcest
B) endogamy / exogamy
C) in-marriage / out-marriage
D) monogamy / polygamy
E) endogroup / exogroup

Question 25

The process in which an organism adjusts successfully to a specific environment is called:

A) chance
B) a correlation
C) adaptation
D) environmental shock
E) the carrying capacity of the area

Question 26

Shamans are full-time religious practitioners who serve in an official capacity as the custodians of sacred knowledge.
Multiple Choice Questions

Question 27

The relationship between age and status is an anthropologically interesting subject. Which of the following statements concerning age and status is correct?

A) Since age is biologically determined, the statuses attached to each age category are the same in every culture around the world.
B) The elderly occupy a high level of status in all societies.
C) Anthropologists doing cross-cultural research have found that age does not influence status; statuses are either ascribed at birth or earned during one's lifetime, and they do not change even if one ages.
D) Anthropologists have found that age stratification varies in accordance with the level of technological development; the elderly have relatively high status in many preindustrial societies, but experience a loss of status in most industrial so?cieties.

Question 28

Which of the following is not a function of the family?

A) nurture and enculturation of children
B) regulation of sexual activity
C) protection and support for members
D) regulation of statuses, roles, and gender

Question 29

In order to understand population change and distribution, demographic anthropologists usually focus on what three major variables in a population?

A) resources, capital, and technology
B) fertility, mortality, and migration
C) language, race, and culture
D) climate, geography, and altitude
E) social organization, technology, and ideology

Question 30

Most religious beliefs, whether they are derived from inductive or deductive logic, are always based on strict scientific criteria.

Question 31

Religion appears to be a cultural universal, although specific practices and beliefs vary significantly from culture to culture.

Question 32

The substantivist approach in economics differs from the formalist view by:

A) suggesting that money is the prime mover in all economic systems
B) focusing on supply and demand economics as opposed to price fixing
C) maintaining that the ways of allocating goods and services in small-scale societies differ fundamentally from those of large-scale Western eco?nomic systems
D) assuming that all peoples act to maximize their individual gains
E) maintaining that formal mathematical theories and models of economics can be applied to every economy in the world

Question 33

The __________ of a society consists of the social relationships that organize the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

A) ecology
B) carrying capacity
C) economy
D) enculturation
E) technological loop

Question 34

An important component of social structure is status, or the recognized position that a person occupies within society. Societies recognize two kinds of status, one attached to a person from birth called status and the other based on a person's specific actions called status.

A) ascribed / achieved
B) natal / gained
C) birth / adult
D) born / won
E) family / career

Question 35

From a female perspective, you will be a daughter and possibly a mother and wife. As such, you assume what are called roles that correspond to these different status positions.

A) family
B) social
C) gender
D) temporary
E) ascribed

Question 36

Ethnographic research can be very demanding, and often ethnologists experience psychological stress that results from adjusting to the realities of a society radically different from their own. This reaction is called:

A) cultural relativism
B) cultural psychosis
C) culture shock
D) psycho-cultural trauma
E) xenophobia

Question 37

Conducting unstructured and structured interviews, talking with key informants, making naturalistic observations, engaging in participant observation, and collecting quantitative and qualitative data are all parts of a research design __________.

A) in ethnographic fieldwork
B) that attempts to uncover ecofacts that influence cultures
C) of sociologists but not anthropologists
D) to avoid getting culture shock

Question 38

A typical consists of two parents and their immediate biological offspring or adopted children.

A) basic family
B) atomic family
C) extended family
D) band unit
E) nuclear family

Question 39

Within any society, an individual occupies a status and plays a .

A) flute
B) role
C) gender
D) pattern

Question 40

Anthropologists have found that all societies have inequality in statuses which are arranged in a hierarchy. This hierarchy is known as:

A) social stratification
B) role differentiation
C) status steps
D) levels of prejudice
E) stages of prestige

Question 41

Full-time religious specialists who serve in an official capacity as the custodians of sacred knowledge are:

A) shamans
B) myth-holders
C) priests and priestesses
D) ritual retainers

Question 42

What is the difference between legitimate and illegitimate political power? Give an example of each.

Question 43

Is there any difference between a newspaper reporter and an anthropologist reporting on his or her findings in another culture?

Question 44

Repetitive religious behaviors that communicate sacred symbols to members of society are:

A) rituals
B) myths
C) shamans
D) norms Essay Questions

Question 45

What are some of the research goals of demographic anthropologists as they relate to hunter-gatherer studies? Why is a demographic perspective important in anthropological research?

Question 46

Ethnologist Leopold Pospisil has suggested that there are four criteria that must be present in order for a norm to be considered a law. Which of the following is not one of these criteria?

A) authority
B) intention of universal application
C) obligation
D) sanction
E) internalization

Question 47

Political systems with centralized bureaucratic institutions that establish power and authority over large populations in a specific territory are known as:

A) bands
B) tribes
C) chiefdoms
D) fiefdoms
E) states

Question 48

How does enculturation influence male and female gender roles? Is there a universal division of labor based on sex? Are gender roles static entities within each society? Are gender roles changing in the United States?

Question 49

Clifford Geertz provides the following as a definition of religion: "A religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic." Examine this quote closely while thinking about your religion or belief system. What do you think of Geertz's definition? Does it apply to your particular religion or belief system and perceptions? If not, why not?

Question 50

Cross-cultural studies:

A) allow anthropologists to make distinctions between behaviors that are culture specific and those that are universal
B) make it possible for anthropologists to determine if a social trait is biologically inherited or culturally derived
C) are not used anymore by anthropologists; this older methodology has been shown to produce false results due to time and geographic lag
D) cannot be conducted today because there has been too much migration from one culture to another due to modern transportation

Question 51

What are the benefits and limitations of conducting cross-cultural research?

Question 52

Let us assume that the United States has just invaded Haiti and installed a new government on the island. Will everyone in Haiti consider the new government to be a legitimate one or an illegitimate one? Why or why not?

Question 53

You have just been awarded a grant of $100,000 to conduct research among the Tingunee of the lower Quebin river valley. The Tingunee have never been visited by other peoples and nothing is known about their culture. What might your goal be in this study? Formulate a general research design to study the culture of these people. What research strategies might you employ, what data might you collect, and what concerns might you have in doing this study?

Question 54

The formalist and substantivist approaches to understanding an economic system are decidedly different. Are these approaches mutually exclusive, or could they be used together to examine the economic system of a society?

Question 55

Have you ever gone through a "rite of passage"? If so, what was the rite of pas?sage? Have you experienced more than one rite of passage? Pick one rite of passage that you have experienced and describe it in terms of Van Gennep's stages of separation, marginality, and incorporation (aggregation).

Question 56

Clearly defined norms of a society that provides punishment when violated through the application of formal sanctions by a ruling authority are called:

A) internalized norms
B) ethos
C) laws
D) taboos
E) myths

Question 57

Do you think that technology is the primary and basic source of sociocultural change? Do values play any role in sociocultural change?