Chapter 2: Culture and Society

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Culture consists of

a. / values.
b. / norms.
c. / material goods.
d. / all of the above
e. / a and b only

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2. The scientific study of culture began with ______in the nineteenth century.

a. / Marx
b. / Durkheim
c. / Weber
d. / C. Wright Mills
e. / the Internet

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3. Values are

a. / abstract ideals.
b. / concrete rules of behavior.
c. / definite principles or rules people are expected to follow.
d. / all of the above
e. / none of the above

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4. Definite principles or rules of behavior people are expected to observe are called

a. / culture.
b. / values.
c. / norms.
d. / material goods.
e. / material bads.

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5. The physical objects a culture creates are known as

a. / culture.
b. / values.
c. / norms.
d. / material goods.
e. / material bads.

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6. A helpful image describing culture is that of

a. / a way of life.
b. / a design for living.
c. / a tool kit of practices, knowledge, and symbols.
d. / all of the above
e. / none of the above

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7. Society is

a. / a set of abstract ideals.
b. / a set of concrete rules of behavior.
c. / a system of interrelationships that connects individuals.
d. / all of the above
e. / none of the above

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8. The concept of “culture” as used by sociologists includes

a. / marriage customs and family life.
b. / the “higher things of the mind” such as art and literature.
c. / material goods made in factories.
d. / all of the above
e. / none of the above

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9. A mother scolds her child for not chewing his pretzels thoroughly. This is an example of

a. / informal social control.
b. / formal social control.
c. / natural selection.
d. / all of the above
e. / none of the above

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10. Archaeological evidence suggests the first human culture began about

a. / 8 million years ago.
b. / 2 million years ago.
c. / 800,000 years ago.
d. / 100,000 years ago.
e. / 4,000 years ago.

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11. According to sociobiologists, ______has led to female chastity and male promiscuity.

a. / the decay of cultural values
b. / cultural relativism
c. / ethnocentrism
d. / instinct
e. / reproductive strategy

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12. Sociobiologists believe

a. / that evolution is a theory that does not apply to humans.
b. / that much of social life is based in our genetic makeup as human beings.
c. / that “reproductive strategy” shapes the relations between the sexes.
d. / all of the above
e. / b and c only

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13. Human behavior and cultural beliefs

a. / are just about the same everywhere.
b. / vary widely from culture to culture.
c. / are based on instinct.
d. / vary only slightly from one culture to another.
e. / are based on natural selection.

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14. When it comes to the relationship between nature and nurture in human behavior, sociologists believe that

a. / biology is destiny.
b. / sociology is destiny.
c. / nature and nurture interact to shape human behavior.
d. / all of the above
e. / none of the above

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15. ______society is culturally diverse, including within it numerous ______.

a. / Hunting and gathering; societies
b. / Industrial; subcultures
c. / Industrial; subsocieties
d. / Hunting and gathering; subsocieties
e. / Human; subspecies

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16. Which of the following groups characterize a subculture?

a. / high school students who are members of the chess club
b. / vegans—that is, strict vegetarians who will not eat eggs or cheese
c. / motorcycle collectors
d. / computer geeks who spend their time creating computer viruses
e. / all of the above

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17. Rather than understanding American society as a melting pot where groups merge together, a more appropriate analogy would be

a. / meat and potatoes, the core of the American diet.
b. / a salad bowl.
c. / a double chocolate brownie with ground up nuts.
d. / a strawberry Daiquiri.
e. / pizza dough.

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18. Judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own is known as

a. / ethnocentrism.
b. / cultural relativism.
c. / nacirema.
d. / macarena.
e. / macaroni.

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19. Assessing a society by its own cultural standards is known as

a. / ethnocentrism.
b. / cultural relativism.
c. / ethnocreationism.
d. / sociobiology.
e. / culturobiology.

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20. Features that are found in virtually all societies are called

a. / cultural relativism.
b. / multiculturalism.
c. / ethnocentrism.
d. / cultural universals.
e. / subcultures.

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21. All cultures possess

a. / language.
b. / some form of family system.
c. / prohibitions against incest.
d. / all of the above
e. / none of the above

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22. The linguistic relativity hypothesis was developed by

a. / Durkheim.
b. / Einstein.
c. / Chomsky.
d. / Sapir and Whorf.
e. / Picard and Riker.

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23. ______is limited to a particular context; ______permits transmission of ideas and experiences through many generations and cultures.

a. / Language; culture
b. / Culture; language
c. / Speech; writing
d. / Writing; speech
e. / Culture; society

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24. The way a person dresses, holds a knife and fork, and drives a car are examples of a

a. / chromosome.
b. / signifier.
c. / tool.
d. / society.
e. / truck.

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25. Which of the following is a signifier?

a. / certain material objects, like dress styles
b. / sounds made in speech
c. / a stop sign
d. / all of the above
e. / none of the above

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26. Semiotics is

a. / the study of premodern societies.
b. / the analysis of nonverbal cultural meanings.
c. / the theory of natural selection.
d. / the use of standardized questionnaires.
e. / the sound of trucks.

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27. In ancient cities, the religious temple was placed in the highest or central location; in modern cities, skyscrapers occupy that position. What method of analysis allows us to compare symbolic cultural meanings of such physical structures?

a. / semiotics
b. / sociobiology
c. / sociophysiology
d. / life history
e. / semiphysics

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28. For most of their existence as a species, humans have lived in

a. / hunting and gathering societies.
b. / pastoral and agrarian societies.
c. / nonindustrial civilizations.
d. / traditional states.
e. / industrial societies.

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29. Very little inequality, no divisions of rich and poor, few differences in power, emphasis on cooperation rather than competition, participatory decision making, an elaborate ceremonial life; what type of society is described by these characteristics?

a. / hunting and gathering societies
b. / pastoral and agrarian societies
c. / nonindustrial civilizations
d. / traditional states
e. / industrial societies

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30. Which type of society shows that human beings are not simply competitive by nature?

a. / industrial
b. / hunting and gathering
c. / pastoral
d. / agrarian
e. / traditional civilization

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31. ______societies relied mainly on domesticated animals, while ______societies grew crops for their livelihood.

a. / Hunting; gathering
b. / Pastoral; agrarian
c. / Agrarian; pastoral
d. / Gathering; hunting
e. / Nonindustrial; industrial

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32. Which type of society is more settled and tends to have more material possessions?

a. / hunting
b. / gathering
c. / pastoral
d. / agrarian
e. / All of the above are equal in those characteristics.

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33. Development of larger cities, pronounced inequality in wealth and power, rule by kings and emperors, written language, flourishing art and science—what type of society exhibits these characteristics?

a. / hunting and gathering societies
b. / pastoral and agrarian societies
c. / nonindustrial civilizations
d. / modern societies
e. / industrial societies

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34. Most of the traditional civilizations were ______, developed through conquest and incorporation of other societies.

a. / hunters and gatherers
b. / pastoral
c. / barbarians
d. / industrial
e. / empires

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35. ______is the emergence of machine production, based on the use of inanimate power resources.

a. / Hunting
b. / Pastoral society
c. / Agriculture
d. / Civilization
e. / Industrialization

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36. In which of the following societies do most people live and work on the land (in agricultural production)?

a. / newly industrializing
b. / industrialized
c. / traditional civilizations
d. / all of the above
e. / none of the above

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37. A rapid pace of discoveries, inventions, and technological innovation; most people live in cities and work in factories, offices, or shops; social life in the cities is impersonal and many encounters are with strangers; large-scale organizations predominate—what type of society is described by these characteristics?

a. / hunting and gathering societies
b. / pastoral and agrarian societies
c. / nonindustrial civilizations
d. / traditional states
e. / industrial societies

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38. Which type of society saw the advent of the nation-state?

a. / hunting and gathering societies
b. / pastoral and agrarian societies
c. / nonindustrial civilizations
d. / traditional states
e. / industrial societies

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39. Political communities with clearly defined borders (rather than vague frontiers) in which the governments have extensive power over citizens’ lives are known as

a. / barbarian empires
b. / nonindustrial civilizations.
c. / traditional states.
d. / nation-states.
e. / communism.

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40. ______was the central process shaping the social geography of the modern world.

a. / Agriculture
b. / Hunting
c. / Pastoralism
d. / Natural selection
e. / Colonialism

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41. Conditions in the developing world today are largely a result of

a. / those countries’ falling behind in the type of development that built the First World.
b. / colonialism; those countries’ contact with Western industrialized societies.
c. / communism.
d. / natural selection.
e. / those countries’ refusal to adopt the nation-state as their political system.

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42. Those developing societies that have begun to successfully develop industrial systems are known as

a. / newly industrializing economies (NIEs).
b. / newly First World countries (NFWCs).
c. / the Second World.
d. / the Second First World (SFW).
e. / No Third World societies have been successful in that way.

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43. Of the developing societies undergoing industrialization, which have had the most economic success?

a. / those in South America
b. / those in Africa
c. / those in Asia
d. / those in Antarctica
e. / None of them have had economic success.

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44. The industrialized and developing societies have developed

a. / separately from one another.
b. / in interconnection with one another.
c. / at the same rate.
d. / in entirely different ways, but equally.
e. / None of the above; the Third World is essentially the same today as it was a thousand years ago.

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45. Reggae music illustrates the cultural effects of globalization, as it is based on influences from

a. / West African slaves.
b. / a religious cult worshiping the late emperor of Ethiopia.
c. / American rhythm and blues.
d. / all of the above
e. / none of the above

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46. Why was France so averse to supporting the Internet?

a. / France is a postindustrial society that has gone beyond the Internet.
b. / The French were too busy drinking wine and eating cheese to use the Internet.
c. / France is reluctant to support anything that is not certifiably French.
d. / The French did not believe George W. Bush when he said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
e. / France was defending itself against Americans who were anti-French.

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