Midterm Exam Flashcards
What is the critical goal of cultural anthropology as an academic discipline?
Observe, Analyze, Record
Applying one’s own cultural standards of value, worth, and morality to another culture is called ______.
Ethnocentrism
Anthropology takes a holistic approach to explaining human behavior by studying ______.
all varieties of people and all aspects of their existence
A distinguishing characteristic of Western ethnocentrism is that ______.
Westerners have more often been in a position to impose their view of culture than have others
Applying one’s own cultural standards of value, worth, and morality to another culture is called ______.
Ethnocentrism
What is cultural relativism?
not judging a culture to our own standards of what is right or wrong, strange or normal
Norms are best described as ______.
social rule that isn’t written but people abide to such customs in their behaviour
Which of the following is characteristic of cultural symbols?
They are used to create meaning. Something that represents something
Today, most anthropologists agree that culture______.
Anthropologists do not agree on a single meaning of culture
The ability of humans to change their behavior in response to environmental demands is called ______.
Plasticity
A symbol is something that ______.
represents or suggests something else
When we compare dominant culture and subcultures within a society, it is clear that ______.
Dominant Cultures are more powerful than sub-cultures
Pure cultures, free from outside influence ______.
Have never existed
Which of the following best describes an anthropologist’s approach to the study of culture?
Holistic
Biopsychological equality is the notion that ______.
All human groups have equal biological and mental capabilities
How has globalization impacted indigenous populations?
Globalization has negatively impacted these populations
A pidgin is ______.
a. a language of contact and trade that includes a mixture of other languages
b. a language that can be taught to parrots and other nonhuman animals
c. a language made by blending of other, earlier languages
d. the language of lower class or oppressed groups in a society
a. a language of contact and trade that includes a mixture of other languages
Researchers who study interpersonal space refer to three different ranges of space. They are ______.
a. friendly distance, antagonistic space, neutral space
b. intimate distance, personal distance, and social distance
c. built space, social distance, and personal distance
d. city space, peri-urban space, and rural space
b. intimate distance, personal distance, and social distance
Which of the following concepts is used to explain why signs for an object might have multiple meanings beyond the plain meaning of the object itself? For example, a flower is more than a flower; it is often taken as a sign for the arrival of spring or fertility.
a. signifier
b. phoneme
c. displacement
d. glottochronology
a. signifier
The relationship between language and culture is illustrated by the fact that ______.
a. all languages have the same number of words regardless of their complexity
b. the most complex societies have the most complex languages
c. the vocabulary of a language emphasizes those features of the environment that are culturally significant
d. all languages contain words for all aspects of the physical environment
c. the vocabulary of a language emphasizes those features of the environment that are culturally significant
Which statement about language development is true?
a. Human speech must be learned through a speech community.
b. There are a limited number of possible languages.
c. Humans can acquire the capacity for language at any age.
d. Some languages are easier to learn for biological reasons.
a. Human speech must be learned through a speech community.
Displacement is the human ability to do which of the following?
a. adapt language to an environment over time
b. speak about different times and places
c. merge languages into a pidgin language
d. eliminates competing dialects through war
b. speak about different times and places
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that ______.
a. the best way to study language is with subjects in a laboratory
b. the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers perceive reality.
c. the ability to use language determines an individual’s intelligence.
d. formal education increases vocabulary.
b. the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers perceive reality.
Which of the following is an example of code-switching?
a. conversations in which people try to avoid committing themselves to any specific position or course of action
b. conversations in which people attempt to offer a deal or advantage without specifying exactly what it is
c. conversations in which people try to let some people know that they are lying to other people
d. conversations in which people talk to some people in one language while talking to others in a different language
d. conversations in which people talk to some people in one language while talking to others in a different language
What is the most popular language in the world for people to speak as their primary language?
a. Mandarin Chinese
b. English
c. Spanish
d. Esperanto
Ç
a. Mandarin Chinese
When anthropologists examine language across different cultures, they find that ______.
a. children learn to speak very early when the culture has written language
b. children learn to speak early when mothers and babies interact a lot
c. children learn to speak in the same way in all cultures regardless of different languages
d. children learn to speak at the same time in all cultures and with equal competence
d. children learn to speak at the same time in all cultures and with equal competence
When studying how humans make a living, anthropologists are most interested in ______.
a. interactions between humans and their environments
b. controlling human population growth
c. protecting the natural environment
d. increasing the world’s food supply
a. interactions between humans and their environments
The earliest human food-getting strategy was ______.
a. horticulture
b. industrialism
c. foraging
d. pastoralism
c. foraging
The Maasai are East African transhumant pastoralists who primarily raise ______.
a. camels
b. sheep
c. yak
d. cattle
d. cattle
Which statement is true about foraging in human history?
a. Foraging requires a permanent settlement.
b. Foraging requires more labor than food production.
c. Foraging is characterized by hunting and gathering.
d. Foraging is a key driver of environmental degradation.
C. Foraging is characterized by hunting and gathering.
Which type of subsistence strategy sets restrictive limits on population growth and density?
a. foraging
b. pastoralism
c. horticulture
d. agriculture
a. foraging
Foraging societies in extreme environments such as the arctic or the desert rely primarily on ______ to sustain their population.
a. hunting
b. combat
c. bread
d. vegetables
a. hunting
According to the text, the greatest source of pollution comes from ______.
a. slash and burn farming practiced by traditional peoples
b. consumer desires and energy needs in wealthy nations
c. slash and burn farming practiced by modern peasants
d. traditional agriculture done without soil erosion control techniques
b. consumer desires and energy needs in wealthy nations
Agriculture is marked by the use of which of the following?
a. letting fields lay fallow to regain fertility
b. plows, draft animals, and irrigation
c. migration to find more resources
d. isolation and lack of trade
b. plows, draft animals, and irrigation
Agriculture is characterized by a ______.
a. simple technology, such as the use of a digging stick
b. low population densities when compared with other food-getting strategies
c. complex techniques of water and soil control
d. slashing and burning of forest cover
c. complex techniques of water and soil control
A major characteristic of industrialism is that it ______.
a. is an energy-conserving strategy
b. restrains population growth
c. is incompatible with urbanization
d. invariably expands beyond its own boundaries
d. invariably expands beyond its own boundaries
Horticulture is defined as ______.
a. the use of simple tools in the production of plants for food
b. a more advanced and sophisticated version of agriculture
c. the cultivation of grains in the genus hortis
d. raising animals on a plant-based diet
a. the use of simple tools in the production of plants for food
Which groups are expected to feel the impact of climate change?
a. large corporate-owned farms in wealthy nations
b. rural populations in poor nations
c. subsistence farmers in the far reaches of the Arctic
d. all groups, entities, and organizations
d. all groups, entities, and organizations
In economics, economizing behavior is ______.
a. behavior designed to save money for a household
b. choosing to buy a generic rather than a name brand product
c. attempting to increase profits by investing savings
d. making choices in ways believed to provide the greatest benefit
d. making choices in ways believed to provide the greatest benefit
Economics is the study of ______.
a. financial fluctuations within a particular society
b. the ways in which the choices people make determine how their society uses resources
c. the interaction between culture, politics, and finances
d. activities that affect distribution, exchange, and consumption
d. activities that affect distribution, exchange, and consumption
Capitalist cultures like those in the United States are defined by a proclivity for ______.
a. status
b. family and kinship connections
c. wealth and material prosperity
d. reciprocal relations of gift giving
c. wealth and material prosperity
In foraging (hunting and gathering) societies, land is ______.
a. generally owned by individuals who are generous about letting others use it
b. customarily used by certain groups, but others are not denied access to it
c. owned by the corporate group and not the individual
d. owned by chiefs or headmen, who have the right to sell it if desired
b. customarily used by certain groups, but others are not denied access to it
In horticultural societies, land is ______.
a. owned by individuals
b. owned by chiefs or headmen
c. owned by men but worked by women
d. communally owned by kin groups
d. communally owned by kin groups
Marcel Mauss, and many other anthropologists, theorized that an important function of gift giving is to ______.
a. hold societies together
b. expand the technological base of a society
c. build up the economic resources of some families at the expense of other families
d. provide an outlet for the innate human desire to give and receive gifts
a. hold societies together
The dominant form of exchange in ______is generalized reciprocity.
a. foraging societies
b. pastoral societies
c. chiefdoms
d. peasant agricultural societies
a. foraging societies
Balanced reciprocity is most typical among ______.
a. industrialized peoples with market economies
b. non-industrialized peoples without market economies
c. non-industrialized peoples with market economies
d. foraging societies with no formal economies
b. non-industrialized peoples without market economies
How does market exchange differ from reciprocity and redistribution?
a. Market exchange is an impersonal process.
b. Reciprocity and redistribution is unique to state societies.
c. Market exchange is based upon social position.
d. The state has a monopoly on reciprocity, but not market exchange.
a. Market exchange is an impersonal process.
In the reading Eating Christmas with the Kalahari , by insulting the anthropologist’s ox, the !Kung were practicing
a. social leveling mechanism
b. social sanctions
c. negative reciprocity
d. generalized reciprocity
a. social leveling mechanism
Which of the following statements best defines Typographic Tone of Voice ?
a. Typographical tobookne of voice is how we use expressions in writing, allowing the reader to understand what kind of tone we had.
b. Typographical tone of voice is the variety of ways we use things: such as letters, punctuation, spacing, to emphasize moods, convey the unspoken, or present tone or feeling in addition to the “standard” written
communication.
c. Typographical tone of voice is how you decide to write something so it can affect the tone or mood of the message.
d. Typographical tone of voice is the way something is conveyed when you type, text, or write.
b. Typographical tone of voice is the variety of ways we use things: such as letters, punctuation, spacing, to emphasize moods, convey the unspoken, or present tone or feeling in addition to the “standard” written
communication.
______ is a fieldwork technique that involves gathering cultural data by observing people’s behavior
and participating in their lives.
a. Cross-cultural survey
b. Participant observation
c. Laboratory experimentation
d. Structured interview
b. Participant observation
