Q&A Hero

Q: Nationalities are "imagined communities" because A. all were created by colonial governments. B. most members of a nationality will never meet. C. they are merely fictional constructs of the ruling intelligentsia. D. nationalities are comprised of many different ethnic groups and subcultures. E. the members of a nationality constantly compare their society to an idealized, quasi-historical past.

Q: Discrimination that is not legally sanctioned is A. ethnic discrimination. B. prejudicial discrimination. C. de jure discrimination. D. de facto discrimination. E. situational discrimination.

Q: __________ refers to the devaluing of a group because of its assumed behavior, values, abilities, or attributes. A. Discrimination B. Apartheid C. Assimilation D. Diaspora E. Prejudice

Q: Belief in mana, or mana-like forces, is a primitive form of religion found only among tribal societies.

Q: __________ is the term for identification with, and feeling part of, a cultural group, and exclusion from other cultural groups. A. Culture shock B. Ethnicity C. Cultural relativism D. Assimilation E. Ethnocentrism

Q: In a rite of passage, people experiencing liminality together form a community of equals.

Q: By participating in a ritual, performers signal that they accept a common social and moral order.

Q: Communitas is the strong feeling of collective unity shared by individuals at the core of society, who define themselves in opposition to the society's liminal members.

Q: Religion is a cultural generalitythat is, it is found in most, but not all, societies.

Q: Witch hunts are an example of how religion can be used to limit deviant social behavior by instilling strong motivations to behave in a certain manner.

Q: Magic, in the form of rituals, taboos, and sacred objects, is particularly evident in baseball.

Q: In Melanesia, mana was a sacred force that could reside in people, animals, plants, and objects.

Q: According to Malinowski, religion provides people with emotional comfort during times of stress or uncertainty.

Q: Cargo cults are A. an example of religion as a form of social control. B. a type of revitalization movement in response to new contact with industrial societies. C. based on the popular style of pants with many pockets. D. religious organizations within the United States that meet in large warehouses. E. rites of passage found among the Betsileo of Madagascar.

Q: Contrast ritual behavior with ordinary behavior. Give examples of religious and secular rituals, and identify the main differences between such kinds of ritual.

Q: Discuss whether or not religion is becoming more or less important in contemporary American society. If you believe that religion is becoming less important, discuss what is replacing it.

Q: Define a rite of passage. Identify three phases that ordinarily constitute a rite of passage. Provide at least two different examples to illustrate your answer.

Q: Discuss two cases in which religion played an important role in social change.

Q: Define mana, and discuss the difference in the beliefs that surround mana in Melanesia and Polynesia.

Q: ____________ have arisen in colonial situations in which local people have regular contact with outsiders but lack their wealth, technology, and living standards. A. Shamanistic cults B. Revitalization movements C. Rite of passages D. Structuralist movements E. Cargo cults

Q: As a part of cargo cults, __________ invoked supernatural beings were invoked to intercede, to kill or otherwise deflate the European big men and redistribute their wealth. A. rites of passage B. revitalization movements C. syncretism D. taboos E. magical leveling

Q: Sequences of words and actions used during rituals are A. ritual scripts. B. rites of passage. C. taboos. D. liturgical orders. E. communitas.

Q: The statement, __________, is not true. A. "specific religious beliefs and practices vary cross-culturally" B. "religion can be an instrument of societal change, even revolution" C. "religion serves only to maintain social solidarity; it does not create or maintain social divisions" D. "religion is a cultural universal" E. "state religions are presided over by full-time specialists"

Q: The religious specialist most frequently found among foraging bands is a A. full-time practitioner. B. shaman. C. witch. D. priest. E. totem.

Q: __________ are not examples of shamans. A. Priests B. Curers C. Palm readers D. Astrologers E. Mediums

Q: The largest religion in the world, in terms of number of practitioners, is A. Buddhism. B. Islam. C. Judaism. D. Hinduism. E. Christianity.

Q: Witch hunts are an example of religion's function as A. a revitalization movement. B. shamanism. C. a form of social control. D. a mechanism to reduce fear and uncertainty. E. a rite of passage.

Q: Communitas is A. social inequality that is accepted even by those who are less privileged. B. a feeling of great social solidarity, equality, and togetherness. C. anxiety about the meaning of life. D. the Latin word for mana. E. the supernatural.

Q: The bodies and possessions of Polynesian chiefs considered taboo because chiefs A. were the primary totems for Polynesian descent groups. B. occupied a liminal place in society. C. were considered to be ritually unpure. D. were practitioners of contagious magic. E. were imbued with a great amount of mana.

Q: The use of voodoo dolls is an example of A. imitative magic. B. contagious magic. C. taboo. D. animism. E. superstition.

Q: Malinowski found that the Trobriand Islanders used magic A. as a means of increasing social solidarity. B. to increase the bountifulness of the yam harvest. C. in psychologically stressful situations, such as sailing. D. as a means of leveling Europeans who refused to redistribute their wealth. E. to kill their adversaries during intertribal warfare.

Q: ___________ involves full-time religious specialists. A. Communal religion B. Shamanic religion C. Olympian religion D. Mana E. Taboo

Q: Belief in mana was especially prominent in A. the North Pacific coast of North America. B. Madagascar. C. ancient Greece. D. Melanesia. E. sub-Saharan Africa.

Q: ___________ is the belief that whatever is done to an object will affect a person who once had contact with it. A. Contagious magic B. Imitative magic C. Serial magic D. Sequential magic E. Simultaneous magic

Q: According to Tylor, ___________ is the idea that a person's body is inhabited by two entities. A. olympianism B. totemism C. animism D. mana E. polytheism

Q: Mana is A. a kind of bread prepared during communal rituals in Melanesia and Polynesia. B. absent in societies with differential access to strategic resources. C. the most archaic religious doctrine. D. concerned with supernatural beings rather than with powers or forces. E. acquired in Melanesia, but it is attached to political offices in Polynesia.

Q: __________ refers to the manipulation of the supernatural to accomplish specific goals. A. Animism B. Magic C. Religion D. A rite of passage E. Pantheism

Q: Rites of passage usually consist of __________ phases. A. uncertainty, anxiety, and solace B. ritual, purification, and absolution C. separation, liminality, and incorporation D. aggregation, celebration, and liturgical orders E. confusion, ecstasy, and nirvana

Q: __________ frequently occurs during the liminal phase of a rite of passage. A. Reversals of ordinary behavior B. Intensification of social hierarchy C. Formation of an implicit ranking system D. Use of secular language E. No change in social norms

Q: Induction into the U.S. Marine Corps and going through the Native American vision quest are examples of A. revitalization movements. B. generalized reciprocity. C. totemism. D. rites of passage. E. imitative magic.

Q: __________ is the term for the marginal or in-between phase of a rite of passage. A. Voodoo B. Mana C. Taboo D. Liminality E. Animism

Q: Witchcraft accusations are often aimed at A. powerful politicians. B. individuals who are widely respected in a community. C. socially marginal people. D. upstanding citizens. E. prominent religious leaders.

Q: The designer Dior changed the image of male model from a thin juvenile to a rugged outdoorsman.

Q: Polytheism refers to A. belief in a single, all-powerful god. B. the second stage of a revitalization movement. C. the third phase of a rite of passage. D. belief in a force that animates all living things. E. belief in multiple gods.

Q: Domestic violence against women is prevalent in patrilineal-patrilocal societies because women are isolated from their supportive kin.

Q: In the United States, attitudes regarding the role of women in the workplace have varied according to economic needs.

Q: Women head more than half of the households in America that have incomes below the poverty.

Q: Single-parent families headed by women are becoming increasingly common because of male migration, divorce, abandonment, and the idea that child care is women's responsibility.

Q: The World Economic Forum in 2006 found that the gender gap in education worldwide has only closed 20 percent.

Q: The World Economic Forum in 2006 ranked the U.S. as 61st in the world in terms of equal pay for equal work.

Q: During the liminal phase of a rite of passage, participants occupy ambiguous social positions.

Q: The cargo cults of Melanesia predated the arrival of Europeans in the region.

Q: The cargo cults of Melanesia paved the way for the unified political action of indigenous communities.

Q: Totems are animals, plants, or geographical features from which members of a totemic group claim to be descended.

Q: According to Tylor, religion evolves through the sequence of A. olympianism, polytheism, monotheism. B. animism, polytheism, monotheism. C. mana, polytheism, monotheism. D. animism, cargo cults, monotheism. E. polytheism, animism, monotheism.

Q: ___________ was one of the founders of the anthropology of religion. A. Emile Durkheim B. Anthony Wallace C. Victor Turner D. Edward B. Tylor E. Bronislaw Malinowski

Q: Gender stratification refers to an unequal distribution of socially valued resources, power, prestige, and personal freedom between men and women.

Q: Cross-culturally, women's activities tend to be associated with the home, while men are generally more active in the public domain.

Q: The specific roles assigned to each gender vary from culture to culture.

Q: Intersex can result from such unusual chromosome combination as X0.

Q: Yanomami society is one of the few matriarchies that have been documented by anthropologists.

Q: Cross-cultural studies of foraging societies indicate that women never hunt or fish.

Q: Homosexual practices among the Etoro demonstrate that homosexuality is more pronounced in matrilocal societies.

Q: Male-female avoidance among the Etoro was linked to beliefs about the cycle of birth, physical growth, maturity, old age, and death.

Q: Countries with the greatest female labor force participation also ranked the least happy according to a 2010 Gallup poll.

Q: Identify social, political, and economic conditions that influence gender stratification and violence against women.

Q: Explain how industrialism affected gender roles and stratification. Discuss the reasons that poverty is becoming feminized.

Q: Oversimplified ideas about the characteristics of males and females are known as gender roles.

Q: The fact that chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates engage in masturbation and same-sex sexual activity suggests that A. human sexuality is completely determined by biology. B. it is immoral for humans to engage in such activities. C. flexibility in sexual expression is part of humans' primate heritage. D. heterosexual sex is more common among humans than among other primates. E. human sexuality is completely determined by culture.

Q: A matrilineal-matrilocal society is most likely to emerge when A. population pressure is high. B. a shift to agriculture has recently taken place. C. men's hunting activities are more important than women's gathering. D. polygyny is common. E. warfare is infrequent.

Q: Compare two of the following in terms of gender roles and stratification: (a) foraging societies, (b) matrilineal-matrilocal societies, (c) patrilineal-patrilocal societies, and (e) industrial societies.

Q: Define the domestic-public dichotomy. Identify the kinds of societies where it is more pronounced and less pronounced. Explain how it relates to gender stratification.

Q: Discuss whether or not certain sexual preferences are more natural than others. Use cross-cultural evidence to substantiate the argument.

Q: List differences between sex and gender. Explain why it is important to understand this distinction.

Q: Explain the difference between intersex individuals and self-identified transgender individuals. Give at least two examples of each.

Q: Domestic-public dichotomy is defines as strong differentiation between A. spheres of exchange. B. the secular and the sacred. C. elite and commoners. D. the home and the outside world. E. local and international trade.

Q: Cross-cultural studies indicate that A. men contribute much more to subsistence than women do. B. a gender-based division of labor is very uncommon. C. in most societies, women tend to be the primary child caregivers. D. women generally are less restricted than men are with respect to premarital and extramarital sex. E. men never contribute to child care.

Q: The __________ is an example of a matrilineal-matrifocal society. A. United States B. Yanomami C. Betsileo D. Etoro E. Minangkabau

Q: More than half of American households with incomes below the poverty line A. are patrifocal. B. are extended. C. are headed by men. D. are headed by women. E. are headed by grandparents.

Q: A political system ruled by men in which women have inferior status is a(an) A. matriarchy. B. patriarchy. C. patrilocality. D. patrilineality. E. anarchy.