Chapter 2 Flashcards
Which of the following is a true statement about symbols?
According to anthropologist Leslie White, the ability to use symbols led to the origin of culture.
An example of a maladaptive aspect of culture is
policies encouraging overconsumption.
Which of the following is a mechanism of cultural change?
diffusion
What are cultural particularities?
traits unique to a given culture, not shared with others
What process is most responsible for the existence of international culture?
cultural diffusion
The tendency to view one’s own culture as superior and to use one’s own standards and values in judging others is called
ethnocentrism.
In anthropology, cultural relativism is not a moral position but a methodological one. It states that
to understand another culture fully, we must try to understand how the people in that culture see things.
What is the name for the process by which a child learns his or her culture?
enculturation
The accelerating interdependence of nations in the world system today is referred to as
globalization.
WTO stands for
World Trade Organization.
An exchange of cultural features between groups in firsthand contact is known by the term
acculturation.
__________ is the idea that behavior should be evaluated not by outside standards but in the context of the culture in which it occurs.
Cultural relativism
What is the term for different cultural traditions associated with subgroups in the same complex society?
subculture
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.
practice theory
The __________ consists of what people say they should do and what they say they do.
ideal culture
__________ refers to the actual behavior of people as observed by anthropologists.
Real culture
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.
cultural particularity
The name for a culture pattern or trait that exists in some but not all societies is
generality.
Which of the following is a difference between humans and other primates?
mating patterns
The values that are considered to be key, basic, or central and that integrate a culture are called
core values.
Our own __________ depends on the uniquely developed human capacity to use symbols.
cultural learning
“Birds of a feather flock together” is an example of the idea that culture is
shared.
One of the most significant ways in which culture is learned is through
symbols.
Culture is transmitted by both formal and informal instruction, but not by observation.
false
Although there are many different levels of culture, an individual can participate in only one level at a time.
false
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,
individualism is a distinctive shared value, a feature of culture.
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.
true
In many countries, use of the English language reflects a colonial history and is thus a consequence of forced diffusion.
true
A universal is something that exists in every culture.
true
Which of the following statements about culture is FALSE?
It is transmitted genetically.
