Kent State University - SOC 1000

CHAPTER 2 Culture and Society

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1)According to the textbook, the sociological study of culture began with which theorist?

1. 1. George Herbert Mead                            c.   Émile Durkheim
   2. Karl Marx                                                d. Max Weber

2. Johann is from the United Kingdom. He sees that women in Afghanistan are often expected to wear head scarves, but women in the United Kingdom are not. He concludes, then, that women in Afghanistan would be freer if their culture were more like that of the United Kingdom. How might sociologists likely critique Johann's position?
   1. Johann has not yet made an argument for how the United Kingdom might free the women of Afghanistan.
   2. Johann first needs to look at class relations in the two countries because gender expression is mainly determined by class.
   3. Johann cannot make meaningful cross-cultural comparisons without at least four more sample countries.
   4. Johann would be better served as a social scientist if he avoided those kinds of value judgments.

3.               occur(s) when members of one cultural group borrow elements of another group's culture.
   1. Ethnocentrism                                         c.   Cultural relativism
   2. Cultural appropriation                            d. Linguistic relativity

4. When Yale administrators cautioned students to be thoughtful and sensitive in their choice of Halloween costume, their concern was that cultural elements used in some costumes can reduce cultural groups to demeaning stereotypes. This concern is about the issue of
   1. ethnocentrism.                                        c.   cultural appropriation.
   2. cultural relativism.                                  d. assimilation.

5. An American begins to take an interest in the culture of India and starts wearing saris and bindis in public. Another American likes to wear elaborate feathered headdresses to music festivals. These individuals are engaging in what social scientists call
   1. cultural appropriation.                            c.   cultural relativism.
   2. assimilation.                                            d. multiculturalism.

6.             refer(s) to abstract ideals in a given society.
   1. Norms                                                      c.   Values
   2. Cultural relativism                                  d. High culture

7. Laura attends a prestigious university on a full scholarship. Most of her classmates come from upper- class backgrounds. Her own family has trouble making ends meet, and they encourage her to do well in school. They believe that if she works hard, she will be able to escape poverty and achieve the same economic stability as that of her fellow classmates. This belief in the merit of individual achievement is an example of
   1. a symbol.                                                 c.   a value.
   2. cultural appropriation.                            d. ethnocentrism.

8.               are widely agreed-upon principles or rules people are expected to observe; they represent the dos and don'ts of social life.
   1. Norms                                                      c.   Values
   2. Signifiers                                                  d. Sanctions

9. Candace is doing a comparative study to compare different societies' expectations of how husbands

should treat their in-laws. Candace will be analyzing

1. 1. values.                                                     c.   material culture.
   2. norms.                                                     d. instincts.

10.             is one of the best examples for demonstrating both the unity and the diversity of human culture, because there are no cultures without it.
    1. Language                                                 c.   Agriculture
    2. Writing                                                    d.   Monogamy

11. Karl notes that in all human societies, people use symbols to communicate ideas to one another. Karl is taking note of

12. Anthropological linguist Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Lee Whorf argued that the language we use influences our perceptions of the world. This is known as
    1. social control theory.                              c.   the linguistic relativity hypothesis.
    2. the echo chamber.                                  d. structuration theory.

13. Many languages may have an equivalent to the color yellow, but an object that may be classified as yellow in one language may not be described so in another. This is an example of
    1. the linguistic relativity hypothesis.         c.   culture as “toolkit.”
    2. the echo chamber.                                  d. culture shock.

14. If the language of a highly individualistic society contains many words and phrases about personal success and individual achievement that someone from a more communal society has difficulty fully understanding, this is an example of
    1. cultural appropriation.                            c.   culture as “toolkit.”
    2. Westoxification.                                      d. the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

15. Which of the following is an example of the linguistic relativity hypothesis?
    1. An indigenous people’s word for coffee is “cach”
    2. A non-English speaking group learns English as a second language at a very high rate due to the worldwide popularity of English.
    3. An indigenous people have no equivalent words for planet, Earth, or world. They do not view a macro picture of multiple planets.
    4. A non-English speaking group adopts particular English words, such as coffee and Earth, into their own language.

16. Writing was first used for what purpose?
    1. to record the teachings of religious leaders
    2. to assist in the administrative needs of early civilizations
    3. to send messages long distances
    4. to record creation stories

17. Pablo studies clothing choices in subcultural groups. He is investigating
    1. values.                                                     c.   material culture.
    2. linguistic relativity.                                  d. instincts.

18.             refer(s) to the physical objects that individuals in society create. These objects, in turn, influence how we live.
    1. Norms                                                      c.   Values
    2. Material culture                                      d. Sociobiology

19. Danny studies winks, waves, language, smiles, frowns, laughs, and any other kind of symbolic communication. What is he researching?
    1. material culture                                      c.   emoticons

1. 2. signifiers                                                  d. cultural relativism

20. Carolina studies mainstream American culture. One of her colleagues notices that she consistently ignores material objects, such as food, clothing, and art. Why might her studies be criticized?
    1. These objects are crucial parts of culture that influence how we live our lives.
    2. Studying American culture is useless because it has spread all over the globe.
    3. Culture is a secondary effect of social structures, so Carolina would do better to begin her studies with capitalism and the state.
    4. Art matters in the context of studying culture (but not food or clothing).

21. Lucy wants to study American culture. Why might sociologists be critical of such a study?
    1. Americans do not produce their own culture; they only copy others.
    2. Culture originated with the high art associated with western Europe, not the United States.
    3. There is no single American culture but rather a contested terrain of mainstream culture and hundreds, if not thousands, of subcultures.
    4. Americans are notoriously uncultured people.

22. The textbook defines a(n)             as a system of interrelationships that connects individuals.
    1. culture                                                     c.   ethnocentrism
    2. sociobiology                                             d. society

23. Alice stole a bit of money from her friend Rosa to buy groceries. Rosa finds out and angrily chastises Alice for her behavior. What does this exchange demonstrate?
    1. instincts                                                   c.   social control
    2. cultural appropriation                             d. cultural relativism

24. Which of the following examples of social control is informal?
    1. A man who drinks heavily at social events stops receiving social invitations.
    2. A woman is sentenced to a year in prison for driving while under the influence of alcohol.
    3. A social worker explains to a child that the law requires kids to attend some form of school.
    4. A teenager receives a small fine for littering.

25. What distinguished early humans from other animals?
    1. Early humans were physically superior to all other mammals.
    2. Early humans relied more on instinct to survive than most other mammals.
    3. Early humans relied more on culture to survive than other mammals.
    4. Early humans were less able to adapt to the physical environment than most other

mammals.

26. Kendrick studies which human behaviors might be innate and which might be learned through social processes. His studies contribute most to which sociological debate?
    1. macro vs. micro
    2. economics vs. culture
    3. functionalist vs. conflict
    4. nature vs. nurture

27.             refers to the application of biological principles to explain the social activities of animals, including human beings.
    1. Multiculturalism                                      c.   Social constructionism
    2. Sociobiology                                            d. Social Darwinism

28. Mario is researching how genetic factors influence human behaviors. His research would best be described as
    1. social constructionism.                            c.   conflict theory.
    2. sociobiology.                                            d. structural functionalism.

29. Simone de Beauvoir once famously asserted that "one is not born a woman, but becomes one," to suggest that women are created by cultural forces. How might sociobiologists respond to this?
    1. De Beauvoir does not account for the role of industrialization in creating the category of woman.
    2. De Beauvoir misses that what constitutes a woman is biological as well as cultural.
    3. De Beauvoir fails to show how the category of woman is purely an effect of economics.
    4. De Beauvoir is correct because our biology determines our culture.

30. Mihir notes that altruism seems innate to humans rather than learned. Mihir is taking note of

31. The term           does not refer only to people from different cultural backgrounds or to those who speak different languages within a larger society. It can also refer to any segment of the population that is distinguishable from the rest of society by its cultural patterns.
    1. subculture                                                c.   ethnicity
    2. race                                                         d. colony

32. Yang is researching how certain groups that live in Spain seem to have their own sets of norms and values that are at times different from mainstream Spanish norms and values. Which sociological concept best describes what he is studying?

33. According to the textbook, a key difference between subcultures and countercultures is that
    1. subcultures seek to be absorbed into mainstream culture.
    2. countercultures are only found in industrialized societies.
    3. subcultures can often turn into cults due to their inability to allow freedom of expression.
    4. countercultures reject the values and norms of dominant society.

34. Scholars have argued that immigrant groups like the Irish and Italians were initially considered a race apart from native-born Anglo-Saxon white Americans. However, over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Irish and Italian immigrants managed to become part of dominant white culture. This historical context reveals how different cultures are absorbed into a single mainstream culture, a process also known as
    1. multiculturalism.                                     c.   nationalism.
    2. ethnocentrism.                                        d.   assimilation.

35. Danny is examining U.S. culture for the possibility that different immigrant communities in the United States maintain more or less separate cultures but might still manage to participate equally in economic and political life. His study focuses on which concept?
    1. multiculturalism                                      c. globalization
    2. assimilation                                             d. nationalism

36. A society that includes more than one distinct cultural or linguistic group, where no group is dominant over the others, is characterized by
    1. multiculturalism.                                     c.   functionalism.
    2. ethnocentrism.                                        d. assimilation.

37.             can be defined as judging other cultures in terms of the standards of one's own.
    1. Multiculturalism                                      c.   Cultural relativism
    2. Ethnocentrism                                         d. Assimilation

38. Shannon notes that women in some cultures voluntarily alter their bodies with sometimes painful piercings that, in her opinion, look weird. Based on this, Shannon decides that women in those cultures must be horribly oppressed compared with women in her own culture. Shannon's position might be best interpreted as
    1. Westoxification.                                      c.   cultural relativism.
    2. ethnocentrism.                                        d. historical materialism.

39. Lucinda hears about the common practice among Nordic parents of leaving babies in their strollers outside of restaurants and shops. Although this is an accepted practice in Nordic society, Lucinda concludes that Nordic parents are neglectful and that this behavior should lead to arrest. Lucinda is engaging in
    1. ethnocentrism.                                        c.   cultural relativism.
    2. multiculturalism.                                     d. assimilation.

40. Which pair of concepts consists of two direct opposites?
    1. ethnocentrism and cultural relativism
    2. semiotics and signifiers
    3. norms and values
    4. culture and cultural universals

41. According to the textbook, two cultural universals particularly stand out in human societies. They are

              and             .

1. 1. ways of expressing meaning; material goods
   2. material goods; money
   3. competition; ways of expressing meaning
   4. competition; money

42. According to the textbook, marriage is a cultural universal, which means that
    1. norms that relate to marriage are the same across all cultures.
    2. due to globalization, divorces in Western societies will inevitably spread and influence the rest of the world.
    3. marriage always involves one man and one woman even through marriage ceremonies across cultures.
    4. marriage is present in all societies even though the norms related to marriage may differ.

43. Michelle claims that all human cultures are different and cannot be compared. How might sociologists critique her claim?
    1. They would not. All cultures are different and cannot be meaningfully compared.
    2. Sociologists would respond that we cannot talk about human culture because it is not

separate from our natural environment.

1. 3. They would criticize it because it focuses on something as vague as human culture instead of our institutions.
   4. Sociologists would point out that there are cultural universals that all human cultures seem to share.

44. Ana is studying the ways different societies socially sanction and formally approve of certain sexual relationships. As she studies this in each society, she will come across
    1. countercultures.                                      c.   marriage.
    2. industrialization.                                      d. cultural appropriation.

45. Which of the following statements concerning writing is the most accurate?
    1. Writing has had little impact on culture.
    2. For most of human history, humans communicated by writing.
    3. The development of writing made possible different forms of social organization than those that had previously existed.
    4. Writing has not changed over the last fifty years.

46. Hector is doing research on a tribe called the Malagasians. This group organizes itself in highly participatory ways, moves around frequently, and affords older people respect within the group. This group could be described as
    1. pastoral.                                                  c.   industrial.
    2. agrarian.                                                  d. hunter-gatherer.

47. According to the chapter, compared with larger societies—particularly modern societies, such as the United States—most hunting and gathering groups are
    1. egalitarian.                                              c.   competitive.
    2. materialistic.                                           d. authoritarian.

48. Societies whose subsistence derives from the rearing of domesticated animals are called           

societies.

1. 1. agrarian                                                   c.   hunting and gathering
   2. industrialized                                           d. pastoral

49. Societies whose means of subsistence are based on agricultural production (crop growing) are called

            societies.

1. 1. pastoral                                                   c.   agrarian
   2. hunting and gathering                             d. industrialized

50. Rosa notes in her comparative historical research that one group she studied was sedentary but was not fully industrialized and relied primarily on crops as its means of livelihood. This group would best be classified as

51. What is the key difference between pastoral and agrarian societies?
    1. Pastoral societies have gender equality, while agrarian societies are male-dominated.
    2. Agrarian societies grow crops for food, while pastoral societies raise livestock.
    3. Pastoral societies combine government and religion, while agrarian societies keep them separate.
    4. Agrarian societies have well-defined territorial borders, while pastoral societies do not.

52. Medina is looking at the historical period in which smaller groupings of humans developed into much larger societies, often ruled by kings, queens, and emperors, with the creation of cities and increasing inequality. She is studying the birth of what most sociologists call
    1. civilization.                                              c.   nation-states.
    2. religion.                                                   d. society.

53. The textbook refers to the emergence of machine production based on the use of inanimate power resources (such as steam or electricity) as
    1. capitalism.                                               c.   globalization.
    2. civilization.                                              d. industrialization.

54. Frank notices that at some point in relatively recent times humans in some places began using machines powered by nonhuman means, such as water and steam. Frank is noting what process?
    1. nationalism                                              c.   industrialization
    2. civilization                                               d. globalization

55. Chen studies the process through which Brazil is shifting from workers mostly working in fields and living in rural villages to people living in cities and working in factories, offices, and the like. He is noting how Brazil is becoming a(n)       society.

56. The process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories is called
    1. assimilation.                                            c.   industrialization.
    2. cultural appropriation.                            d. colonialism.

57. Sweta studies how Britain came to control large parts of India before the Indian independence movement. It could be said that she is studying
    1. emerging economies.                             c.   industrialization.
    2. nationalism.                                             d. colonialism.

58. Sociologists often refer to less-developed societies, in which industrial production is either virtually nonexistent or developed only to a limited degree, as
    1. the developing world.                             c.   emerging economies.
    2. industrialized societies.                           d. the Global North.

59. Jia Yin notes that in many countries, industrial development is, more or less, nonexistent. She is taking note of the
    1. urban core.                                              c.   industrializing of countries.
    2. emerging of society.                                d. developing world.

60. Colonialism may involve either large-scale immigration and settlement by the colonizing population or only a small-scale influx of administrators who govern the native population for the benefit of the colonizing power. Historically, what has been the relation between the type of colonialism and the eventual industrialization of the colonized nation?
    1. Colonization by large-scale settlement leads to greater industrialization.
    2. Colonization by a small cadre of administrators leads to greater industrialization.
    3. Neither type tends to lead to industrialization.
    4. Both types tend to lead to industrialization within a century or so.

61. Most nations in the Global South became independent states
    1. immediately after World War I.
    2. immediately after the fall of communism.
    3. with the aid of China.
    4. since World War II, often following bloody anticolonial struggles.

62. Although the majority of developing countries lag behind industrialized societies, some have now successfully embarked on a process of industrialization. These are sometimes referred to as

1. 1. emerging economies.                             c.   industrialized societies.
   2. the Global North.                                     d. colonies.

63. Deric studies Singapore and the process through which it has begun developing a strong industrial base. It might be said that he is studying
    1. an emerging economy.
    2. a colony.
    3. a postmodern society.
    4. a Western society.

64. Why might sociologists criticize the idea that the world is made up of many isolated cultures?
    1. The idea assumes that we can provide a reasonably coherent definition of culture.
    2. Sociologists might note the rise of the Internet and globalization as features of different cultures being connected.
    3. Sociologists would likely criticize the idea because of its underlying multiculturalism.
    4. The idea suggests that human communities actually have different cultures when we have shown that culture is the same everywhere.

65. Identify which of the following contributes to the globalization of culture.
    1. national policies such as the “Great Firewall of China”
    2. the increasing economic clout of small-scale producers, such as microbreweries
    3. the proliferation of international organizations, such as the United Nations
    4. growing respect and recognition for regional dialects and languages

66. Which language is the main language for the plurality of Internet users?
    1. English
    2. Chinese
    3. Spanish
    4. Hindi

67. What is a characteristic of social media in Saudi Arabia?
    1. Criticism of the royal family is widespread on messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp.
    2. The FaceTime app on iPhones is used by the Saudi government to disseminate official propaganda.
    3. Twitter is banned in Saudi Arabia.
    4. Women in Saudi Arabia are able to engage in Internet discussions that would be forbidden in public.