Q&A Hero

Q: Émile Durkheim's focus on social facts illustrates what assumption shared by many anthropologists? A. Social fact, just like any other fact, can be studied objectively. B. Culture is more of an idea in people's heads than a social reality. C. Culture is primarily a psychological and individual phenomenon. D. Social phenomena studied by anthropologists require study methods that are different from those used by other social scientists. E. Psychologists study individuals, but anthropologists study individuals as representative of something more: a collective phenomenon that is more than the sum of its parts.

Q: Interpretive anthropologists such as Clifford Geertz approach the study of culture as A. a diachronic phenomenon. B. functional puzzles. C. a system of meaning. D. underlying sets of rules that must be deciphered through the analysis of cultural patterns. E. distinct from human psychology.

Q: Which is the key assumption in Claude Lvi-Strauss's structuralism? A. All myths can be classified as either good or evil. B. The human propensity to classify phenomena in certain ways is acquired through enculturation. C. There is a very specific role for human agency in culture, and the structure of cultural patterns determines that role. D. Cultural patterns determine the human propensity to classify things in certain ways. E. Human minds have certain universal characteristics that originate in common features of the Homo sapiens brain and lead people everywhere to think similarly regardless of their society or cultural background.

Q: The actions individuals take, both alone and in groups, in forming and transforming cultural identities are referred to as A. psychological individualism. B. dynamic structuralism. C. free will. D. agency. E. volition.

Q: Practice theory A. focuses on how individuals, through their actions and practices, influence and transform the world they live in. B. was popularized by Margaret Mead in the 1940s. C. is the only theoretical paradigm to effectively solve the "culture-individual" problem. D. actually shares the same deterministic assumptions of earlier theoretical paradigms. E. explains social phenomena only in nonindustrial societies.

Q: Lewis Henry Morgan is well known for his work The League of the Iroquois, considered anthropology's earliest ethnography. This and others of his works illustrate his view of unilinear evolutionism, which is that A. cultural diversity was actually a sign of the slowing down of cultural evolution. B. only the better and more civilized societies could survive. C. all societies are on some path toward civilization, but the exact paths vary. D. natural selection acts simultaneously on the biological and cultural aspects of human life. E. there is one line or path through which all societies have to evolve, and this path involves specific stages that cannot be skipped, ending at the final stage of civilization.

Q: Franz Boas is the undisputed father of four-field U.S. anthropology. One of his most important and enduring contributions to anthropology was A. the field's earliest example of multitimed and multisited ethnography. B. providing evidence that both biology and culture are susceptible to evolutionary forces, thus providing a framework for the comparative method. C. stressing the relevance of independent invention in human cultural history. D. showing that human biology is plastic, and that biology (including race) does not determine culture. E. expanding the local ethnographic focus to include a regional perspective.

Q: Ethnographers typically combine emic and etic research strategies in their fieldwork. This means they are interested in applying both A. local- and scientist-oriented research approaches. B. local and bifocal research approaches. C. reflexive and salvage approaches. D. personal and impersonal research approaches. E. the genealogical and survey methods.

Q: Which of the following is NOT a characteristic field technique of the ethnographer? A. structured interviewing B. life histories C. random sampling D. working with informants E. the genealogical method

Q: Traditional ethnographic research focused on the single community or culture, which was treated as more or less isolated and unique in time and space; however, A. all such single communities have already been studied, so anthropologists have very limited project choices. B. there has been a shift within the discipline toward a recognition of ongoing and inescapable flows of people, technology, images, and information. C. the American Anthropological Association still requires its members to strive toward research focused on one single community. D. this is no longer true, nor has it ever really been true, a fact that renders classic ethnographies historical curiosities and not serious academic works. E. there has been a shift within the discipline against the concept of culture and toward the individual as the only true, reliable unit of analysis.

Q: The relatively recent creation of virtual worlds has attracted contemporary ethnographers to venture into online communities. Of the various techniques used to study these virtual worlds, which has been most important? A. participant observation B. interviews C. genealogical method D. key consultants E. life histories

Q: Reflecting today's world in which people, images, and information move about as never before, fieldwork must be more flexible and done on a larger scale. The result of such fieldwork is often an ethnography that A. challenges anthropologists concerned with salvaging isolated and untouched cultures around the world. B. becomes less useful and valuable to understanding culture. C. is increasingly multisited and multitimed, integrating analyses of external organizations and forces to understand local phenomena. D. is more traditional, negating anthropologists' concerns about defending their field's roots. E. requires researchers to stay at the same site for more than three years.

Q: In survey research, what is sampling? A. the collection of a study group from a larger population B. the interviewing of a small number of key cultural consultants C. a form of participant observation D. the collection of life histories of every member in a community E. a collection reflecting the emic perspective

Q: In survey research, a sample should A. include the entire population in question. B. include anyone who will be interviewed by the ethnographer. C. target only one social, cultural, or environmental factor that influences behavior. D. be constituted so as to allow inferences about the larger population. E. be invariant.

Q: In survey research, what term is used to refer to the attributes that vary among the members of a population? A. unknowns B. questionnaires C. interviews D. variables E. random samples

Q: Despite the variety of research techniques the ethnographer may utilize in the field, in the best studies the hallmark of ethnography remains A. collaborating with the community to construct a cohesive image of local culture. B. entering the community and getting to know its people. C. gathering large quantities of data on a limited budget. D. defining the local culture in such a way as to highlight what makes the particular culture so unlike any other. E. providing detailed descriptions of "the imponderabilia of native life and of typical behavior."

Q: This chapter's survey of the major theoretical perspectives that have characterized anthropology highlights all of the following EXCEPT A. a continuous concern with how to define and study culture. B. the theoretical and methodological shift from complexity to models that simplify human diversity. C. a continuous concern with scientific fundamentals and whether or not anthropology's research subject is best studied scientifically. D. attention to whether or not anthropological data ought to be comparative across time and space. E. the discipline's profound commitment to understanding human diversity.

Q: An anthropologist has just arrived at a new field site and feels overwhelmed with a creepy, profound feeling of alienation, of being without some of the most ordinary, trivial (and therefore basic) cues of his culture of origin. What term best describes what he is experiencing? A. culture shock B. diachrony C. synchrony D. configurationalism E. agency paralysis

Q: Which of the following is NOT an example of participant observation? A. administering interviews according to an interview schedule over the phone B. helping out at harvest time C. dancing at a ceremony D. buying a shroud for a village ancestor E. engaging in informal chit-chat

Q: What did Bronislaw Malinowski mean when he referred to everyday cultural patterns as "the imponderabilia of native life and of typical behavior?" A. Features of culture such as distinctive smells, noises people make, how they cover their mouths when they eat, and how they gaze at each other are so fundamental that natives take them for granted but are there for the ethnographer to describe and make sense of. B. Everyday cultural patterns are full of senseless cultural "noise," and it is the anthropologist's job to get at the truly valuable behaviors that distinguish one culture from another. C. Everyday cultural patterns of native life can best be studied by asking key informants to explain them. D. Features of everyday culture are, at first, imponderable, but as the ethnographer builds rapport, their logic and functional value in society become clear. E. Everyday cultural patterns are important but so numerous that their detailed description should not be included in the main body of an ethnographic study.

Q: In the field, ethnographers strive to establish rapport: a good, friendly working relationship based on personal contact A. that is necessary in conducting any valuable research in the social sciences, not just anthropology. B. that, if done properly, ensures the ethnographer's ability to conduct detached, unbiased research. C. achieved in large part by engaging in participant observation. D. and if that fails, the next option is to pay people so they will talk about their culture. E. as well as on payment, based on local standards, for people's time spent with the researcher.

Q: The research technique that uses diagrams and symbols to record kin connections is called A. kin-based interviewing. B. genealogical participant observation. C. interpretive anthropology. D. DNA testing. E. the genealogical method.

Q: What is the term for an expert on a particular aspect of native life? A. representative sample B. etic informant C. key cultural consultant D. biased informant E. life-history approach specialist

Q: How has this chapter challenged your understanding of the concept of human nature?

Q: Compare and contrast the various mechanisms of cultural change discussed in this chapter. In particular, to what extent does each model for change suggest that culture shapes human behavior or is shaped by human behavior?

Q: Which of the following research methods is a distinctive strategy within anthropology? A. its practice of cross-cultural comparison B. the biological perspective C. ethnography D. the evolutionary perspective E. working with skilled respondents

Q: All of the following are characteristic field techniques of the ethnographer EXCEPT A. detailed work with key consultants. B. direct, firsthand observation of behavior, including participant observation. C. in-depth interviewing, often leading to the collection of life histories. D. problem-oriented research. E. longitudinal analysis of data sets gathered from state-sponsored statistical agencies.

Q: In many countries, use of the English language reflects a colonial history and is thus a consequence of forced diffusion.

Q: Independent invention occurs when two or more cultures independently come up with similar solutions to a common problem.

Q: Acculturation is the process by which people lose the culture they learned as children.

Q: Indigenous cultures are at the mercy of the forces of globalization, as they can do nothing to stop threats to their cultural identity, autonomy, and livelihood.

Q: Modern means of transportation and communication have facilitated the process of globalization.

Q: What does it mean to say that culture is all-encompassing?

Q: What are the different kinds of learning? On which kind (or kinds) of learning is culture based? How is culture transmitted across generations?

Q: Explain the distinctions among cultural universals, generalities, and particularities, and give examples of each.

Q: Agency refers to the actions that individuals take, both alone and in groups, in forming and transforming culture. Describe examples in your own life that illustrate the relationship between agency and culture.

Q: What does it mean to say that there are levels of culture? What are they? How do cultural traits extend to a broader geographic area?

Q: What are ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, and how do they affect the work of anthropologists? How do they influence your own life in an increasingly diverse society?

Q: The idea of universal and inalienable human rights that are superior to the laws and ethics of any one culture can conflict with some of the ideas central to cultural relativism.

Q: Diffusion plays an important role in spreading cultural traits around the world.

Q: According to Leslie White, culture is dependent upon the ability to create and use symbols.

Q: Cultural particularities are unique to certain cultures, while cultural generalities are common to several (but not all) cultures.

Q: Cultures are integrated, patterned systems in which a change in one part often leads to changes in other parts.

Q: Once an individual has been enculturated, that person must adhere to the cultural rules that govern that culture.

Q: Although culture is one of the principal means humans use to adapt to their environment, some cultural traits can be harmful to a group's survival.

Q: While cultural abilities have a biological basis, they do not have an evolutionary basis.

Q: Although humans do employ tools much more than any other animal does, tool use also turns up among several nonhuman species, including birds, beavers, sea otters, and apes.

Q: Hunting is a distinctive human activity not shared with the apes.

Q: Practice theory recognizes that the study of anthropology takes a lot of practice before resulting in accurate descriptions of a culture.

Q: Although there are many different levels of culture, an individual can participate in only one level at a time.

Q: Only people living in the industrialized, capitalist countries of Europe and the United States are ethnocentric.

Q: Cultural relativists believe that a culture should be judged only according to the standards and traditions of that culture and not according to the standards of other cultural traditions.

Q: Anthropology is characterized by a methodological rather than moral relativism; in order to understand another culture fully, anthropologists try to understand its members' beliefs and motivations.

Q: Methodological relativism does not preclude making moral judgments or taking action.

Q: Culture is transmitted by both formal and informal instruction, but not by observation.

Q: Culture is transmitted in society.

Q: The tendency to view one's own culture as superior and to use one's own standards and values in judging others is called A. patriotism. B. ethnocentrism. C. moral relativism. D. cultural relativism. E. illiteracy.

Q: In anthropology, cultural relativism is not a moral position but a methodological one. It states that A. because cultural values vary between cultures, they cannot be analyzed and compared. B. some cultures are relatively better than others. C. to understand another culture fully, we must try to understand how the people in that culture see things. D. to understand another culture, we must use tactics to try to jar people so that their true views are revealed. E. to bring about desired cultural change, anthropologists should act as emissaries of the most evolved cultural values.

Q: How are cultural rights different from human rights? A. Human rights are real, whereas cultural rights are just perceived. B. The United Nations protects human rights but not cultural rights. C. Cultural rights are vested in groups, not in individuals. D. Cultural rights are more clear-cut than human rights. E. The term cultural rights is a politically correct synonym for human rights.

Q: Human rights are seen as inalienable. This means that A. no one can abuse them. B. nations cannot abridge or terminate them. C. they are vested in groups and not individuals. D. anthropologists have no moral grounds to question them. E. they are universally accepted by all individuals.

Q: Although rap music originated in the United States, it is now popular all over the world. Which of the following mechanisms of cultural change is responsible for this? A. acculturation B. enculturation C. independent invention D. colonization E. diffusion

Q: What is the term for the kind of cultural change that results when two or more cultures have consistent firsthand contact? A. acculturation B. enculturation C. independent invention D. colonization E. imperialism

Q: Which of the following is an example of independent invention, the process by which people in different societies have innovated and changed in similar but independent ways? A. acculturation B. culture C. globalization D. agriculture E. language

Q: Culture helps us define the world in which we live, to express feelings and ideas, and to guide our behavior and perceptions.

Q: Which of the following is a cultural generality? A. exogamy B. the use of fire C. the incest taboo D. the use of symbols E. the nuclear family

Q: Which of the following LEAST explains the existence of cultural generalities? A. cultural borrowing B. globalization C. colonialism D. isolationism E. trade

Q: What are cultural particularities? A. traits isolated from other traits in the same culture B. traits unique to a given culture, not shared with others C. different levels of culture D. the most general aspect of culture patterns E. cultural traits of individuals rather than groups

Q: All of the following are evidence of the tendency to view culture as a process EXCEPT A. analysis that attempts to establish boundaries between cultures. B. practice theory. C. attention to agency in anthropological analysis. D. interest in public, collective, and individual dimensions of day-to-day life. E. interest in how acts of resistance can make and remake culture.

Q: What process is most responsible for the existence of international culture? A. ethnocentrism B. cultural relativism C. dendritic acculturation D. gene flow E. cultural diffusion, whether direct, indirect, or by force

Q: Which of the following statements about subcultures is NOT true? A. Subcultures exemplify "levels of culture." B. Subcultures have different learning experiences. C. Subcultures have shared learning experiences. D. Subcultures may originate in ethnicity, class, region, or religion. E. Subcultures are mutually exclusive; individuals may not participate in more than one subculture.

Q: Which of the following statements about culture is NOT true? A. It has an evolutionary basis. B. It is acquired by all humans, as members of society, through enculturation. C. It encompasses rule-governed, shared, symbol-based, learned behavior, as well as beliefs transmitted across the generations. D. Everyone is cultured. E. It is transmitted genetically.

Q: The Makah, a tribe that lives near the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the Olympic Peninsula, see themselves as whalers and continue to identify themselves spiritually with whales. Their ongoing struggle to maintain their traditional way of life, which involves whale hunting, demonstrates how A. some indigenous communities are able to isolate themselves from national and international politics despite continuous threat from outsiders. B. indigenous communities do not understand the threat their activities pose to endangered species. C. contemporary law is useless in solving disputes with indigenous communities. D. contemporary indigenous groups have to grapple with multiple levels of culture, contestation, and political regulation. E. animals do not have rights.

Q: Many human traits reflect the fact that our primate ancestors lived in trees. These traits include all of the following EXCEPT A. grasping ability. B. depth and color vision. C. learning ability based on a large brain. D. substantial parental investment in a limited number of offspring. E. echolocation, made possible by overlapping visual fields.

Q: What archaeological evidence suggests that humans were hunting by at least 2.6 million years ago? A. cave paintings B. the fossil record C. stone meat-cutting tools D. generational enculturation E. contents of trash pits

Q: There are two meanings of globalization: globalization as fact and process, and globalization as ideology and contested policy. What is the primary and neutral meaning of globalization as it is applicable to anthropology? A. promotion of the interests of multinational corporations at the expense of farmers and workers B. the efforts by international financial powers to create a global free market for goods and services C. the impact of the world on the rest of the universe D. the spread and connectedness of production, communication, and technologies across the world E. opposition to global free trade

Q: Anthropologists agree that cultural learning is uniquely elaborated among humans and that all humans have culture. They also accept a doctrine designated in the 19th century as the "psychic unity of man." What does this doctrine mean? A. Although women and men both share the emotional and intellectual capacities for culture, at the population level there is less variability in these capacities among men than among women. B. Although individuals differ in their emotional and intellectual capacities, all human populations have equivalent capacities for culture. C. Although an individual's genetic endowment does not affect that person's ability to learn cultural traditions, it does affect his or her capacity to change culture creatively. D. Although human populations differ in their emotional and intellectual capacities, all individuals have equivalent capacities for culture. E. Both mental abilities and mental disabilities are evenly distributed among individuals of all cultures.

Q: Anthropologist Clifford Geertz defined culture as ideas based on cultural learning and symbols. For anthropologist Leslie White, culture originated when our ancestors acquired the ability to use symbols. What is a symbol? A. a distinctive or unique cultural trait, pattern, or integration that can be translated into other cultures B. any element within a culture that distinguishes it from other cultures, precisely because it is difficult to translate C. something verbal or nonverbal, within a particular language or culture, that comes to stand for something else, with no necessary or natural connection to the thing for which it stands D. a linguistic sign within a particular language that comes to stand for something else in another language E. something verbal or nonverbal with a non-arbitrary association with what it symbolizes

Q: What does it mean to say that humans use culture instrumentally? A. People use culture to fulfill their basic biological needs for food, drink, shelter, comfort, and reproduction. B. People use culture to develop artistic endeavors, including musical instruments and visual arts. C. People use culture to advance civilization. D. Culture is a human construct. E. Culture is instrumental in the creation of societies.

Q: What do anthropologists mean when they say culture is shared? A. Culture is an attribute of particular individuals. B. Culture is an attribute of individuals as members of groups. C. Culture is what ensures that all people raised in the same society have the same opinions. D. Culture is universally regarded as more important than the concept of the individual. E. Passive enculturation is accomplished by more than one person.

Q: People in the United States sometimes have trouble understanding the power of culture because of the value that American culture places on the idea of the individual. Yet in American culture, A. individualism is a distinctive commercial value, a feature of capitalist culture shared only by the business elite. B. the cult of individualism is truly shared only by the country's atheist minority. C. individualism is a distinctive shared value, a feature of culture. D. individualism is a distinctive shared value, a result of genetic enculturation. E. individualism is only something people talk about but don't practice, because it is not really part of their culture.