Question 1

In North America, the relatively high incidence of expanded family households in the lower class is

Accepted Answer

The high incidence of expanded family households among the lower class in North America is an adaptive strategy used by the poor to cope with economic hardships. By pooling resources, sharing expenses, and providing mutual support, extended family living arrangements can help mitigate the impacts of poverty. This is not specifically tied to cultural practices brought by immigrants, nor is it inherently maladaptive or a cause of dysfunction.

Question 2

Which term refers to the family in which a child is raised?

Accepted Answer

The family of orientation refers to the family into which a person is born and raised, encompassing parents and siblings.

Question 3

What is the most common system of kinship classification used in the United States?

Accepted Answer

The most common system of kinship classification used in the United States is the lineal system. This system emphasizes the direct line of descent, distinguishing between relatives on the basis of direct descent (lineal relatives like parents, grandparents, children) and collateral relatives (like siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles).

Question 4

Your family of procreation is the one into which you were born.

Accepted Answer

Your family of procreation refers to the family you create through marriage and having or adopting children, not the family into which you were born.

Question 5

Industrialization increases mobility, which plays a major role in the disappearance of extended families in the United States.

Accepted Answer

Industrialization allowed for people to travel further and more frequently, making it easier for families to separate and move away from each other. Additionally, as people began to seek employment opportunities in cities and other areas, they often had to leave their families behind or were unable to bring everyone with them. This contributed to the eventual disappearance of extended families as a common living arrangement in the United States.

Question 6

In fact, other domestic arrangements outnumber the traditional U.S. household five to one. All of the following are among the reasons for this trend EXCEPT that

Accepted Answer

The trend of non-traditional households outnumbering traditional ones is not due to the growing importance of kinship, but rather factors like rising divorce rates, job demands, women joining the workforce, and economic feasibility for women to live independently.

Question 7

After reaching an all-time low for the twentieth century in the 1970s, the nuclear family is now making a rebound, accounting for a greater number of U.S. households each year.

Accepted Answer

The structure of U.S. households has been diversifying over the years, with a decrease in traditional nuclear families and an increase in single-parent households, unmarried couples living together, and other family arrangements.

Question 8

Understanding kinship systems is an important part of anthropology because

Accepted Answer

Kinship ties are crucial in many societies as they shape social structures, relationships, and cultural practices, making them a key focus for anthropologists studying human societies.

Question 9

A unilineal descent group whose members demonstrate their common descent from an apical ancestor is a(n)

Accepted Answer

A lineage is a unilineal descent group where members can demonstrate their descent from a common ancestor, often tracing their genealogy back to that ancestor.

Question 10

Traditionally, in some areas of Bosnia, several nuclear families were embedded in an extended family household called a zadruga. Among the Nayar in southern India, it was typical for people to live in matrilineal extended family compounds called tarawads. Descriptions of these two culturally specific cases highlight how

Accepted Answer

These examples illustrate the diversity in family structures across different cultures, showing that the nuclear family is not the only form of stable kin group arrangement.

Question 11

What is the name of the postmarital residence pattern in which the married couple is expected to establish their own home?

Accepted Answer

Neolocality refers to the practice where a newly married couple establishes their own residence separate from both the husband's and the wife's families. This allows for greater independence and is common in many Western cultures.

Question 12

A descent group consists only of a married couple and their children.

Accepted Answer

A descent group is a social group composed of individuals who share a common ancestor. It typically includes not only a couple and their children but also their extended family, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, who are all linked through a lineage or kinship system.

Question 13

In unilineal descent, one's ancestry is traced through only one line of descent.

Accepted Answer

Unilineal descent refers to tracing one's ancestry through only one line of descent, either through the father's (patrilineal) or mother's (matrilineal) lineage. It is the opposite of cognatic descent, which traces ancestry through both the mother's and father's lines.

Question 14

What does ego represent in a depiction of a kinship system?

Accepted Answer

Ego in a kinship system refers to the point of reference (usually the individual from whose perspective relationships are being considered) used to determine which kin terms are applicable to certain individuals. It does not inherently imply emotional attachment, a boundary between groups, a sense of individuality, or a gender-free way of reckoning kinship, although it can be used in analyses that consider these aspects.

Question 15

With patrilineal descent, someone takes his or her father's last name but recognizes descent through both parents.

Accepted Answer

In patrilineal descent, someone indeed takes his or her father's last name, but recognizes descent primarily through the male line, not both parents.

Question 16

The higher proportion of expanded family households among poorer Americans has been explained as an adaptation to poverty.

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that expanded family household arrangements, where family members beyond the nuclear family (e.g. grandparents, grandchildren, siblings) live together, are more common among poorer Americans as a means of pooling resources and support to cope with economic adversity. This is seen as an adaptation to poverty.

Question 17

Although nuclear families are found in many societies around the world, this phenomenon is not a cultural universal.

Accepted Answer

Nuclear families are not found in every society, making it not a cultural universal.

Question 18

Comparing notions of family between the United States and Brazil, the extended family still plays a central role for most Brazilians.

Accepted Answer

In Brazil, the extended family is still considered important and is often involved in family life and decision-making. In the United States, the nuclear family is more common and individualism is emphasized. However, this can vary depending on cultural background and personal values within each country.

Question 19

Contemporary North American adults usually define their families as consisting of their husbands or wives and their children. In contrast, when middle-class Brazilians talk about their families, they mean their parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and on, down to their children. They rarely mention the spouse. Which of the following is among the reasons for this stark cultural contrast?

Accepted Answer

Brazilians live in a less mobile society compared to North Americans, which means they are more likely to stay in close contact with a wide network of relatives, including their extended family. This cultural difference influences how families are defined and perceived in each context.

Question 20

What are the two basic social units of foraging societies?

Accepted Answer

Foraging societies are typically organized around the nuclear family and the band. The nuclear family is the basic family unit, while the band is a larger social group that consists of several families living and working together.

Quiz 13: Families, Kinship, and Marriage