Chapter 2

Question 1

Which of the following is a true statement about symbols?

Answer 1

According to anthropologist Leslie White, the ability to use symbols led to the origin of culture.

Question 2

An example of a maladaptive aspect of culture is

Answer 2

policies encouraging overconsumption.

Question 3

Which of the following is a mechanism of cultural change?

Answer 3

diffusion

Question 4

What are cultural particularities?

Answer 4

traits unique to a given culture, not shared with others

Question 5

What process is most responsible for the existence of international culture?

Answer 5

cultural diffusion

Question 6

The tendency to view one’s own culture as superior and to use one’s own standards and values in judging others is called

Answer 6

ethnocentrism.

Question 7

In anthropology, cultural relativism is not a moral position but a methodological one. It states that

Answer 7

to understand another culture fully, we must try to understand how the people in that culture see things.

Question 8

What is the name for the process by which a child learns his or her culture?

Answer 8

enculturation

Question 9

The accelerating interdependence of nations in the world system today is referred to as

Answer 9

globalization.

Question 10

WTO stands for

Answer 10

World Trade Organization.

Question 11

An exchange of cultural features between groups in firsthand contact is known by the term

Answer 11

acculturation.

Question 12

__________ is the idea that behavior should be evaluated not by outside standards but in the context of the culture in which it occurs.

Answer 12

Cultural relativism

Question 13

What is the term for different cultural traditions associated with subgroups in the same complex society?

Answer 13

subculture

Question 14

The approach to culture known as __________ recognizes that individuals within a society or culture have diverse motives and intentions and different degrees of power and influence.

Answer 14

practice theory

Question 15

The __________ consists of what people say they should do and what they say they do.

Answer 15

ideal culture

Question 16

__________ refers to the actual behavior of people as observed by anthropologists.

Answer 16

Real culture

Question 17

A(n) __________ is a trait or feature of culture that is not generalized or widespread; rather, it is confined to a single place, culture, or society.

Answer 17

cultural particularity

Question 18

The name for a culture pattern or trait that exists in some but not all societies is

Answer 18

generality.

Question 19

Which of the following is a difference between humans and other primates?

Answer 19

mating patterns

Question 20

The values that are considered to be key, basic, or central and that integrate a culture are called

Answer 20

core values.

Question 21

Our own __________ depends on the uniquely developed human capacity to use symbols.

Answer 21

cultural learning

Question 22

“Birds of a feather flock together” is an example of the idea that culture is

Answer 22

shared.

Question 23

One of the most significant ways in which culture is learned is through

Answer 23

symbols.

Question 24

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

Answer 24

false

Question 25

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

Answer 25

false

Question 26

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,

Answer 26

individualism is a distinctive shared value, a feature of culture.

Question 27

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.

Answer 27

true

Question 28

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

Answer 28

true

Question 29

A universal is something that exists in every culture.

Answer 29

true

Question 30

Which of the following statements about culture is FALSE?

Answer 30

It is transmitted genetically.