Deck 2: Culture

Question 1

People stand during the national anthem and are emotionally moved by the display of a cross or the Star of David because

A) these symbols are innately significant.
B) of the significance people bestow on them as cultural symbols.
C) crosses and stars are instinctually moving to people.
D) people innately know how to behave when facing these symbols.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A(n) is something that stands for something else, or anything to which people give meaning.

A) symbol
B) culture
C) identity
D) society

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following is an example of non-material culture?

A) A painting
B) A fashion magazine
C) A building
D) Table manners

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The discussion of birthday traditions demonstrates that

A) some forms of celebration are universal.
B) even seemingly "normal" practices have cultural roots.
C) American birthday traditions represent cultural lag.
D) U.S. culture dominates globally, even in birthday practices.

Question 5

Which of the following is true about culture in the U.S.?

A) Groups have different traditions but share a culture.
B) Groups have different traditions and do not share a culture.
C) Groups have independent culture experiences.
D) Groups have independent cultural traditions and do not learn a similar culture.

Question 6

The complex system that includes a group's beliefs, values, dress, and way of life is called _.

A) counterculture
B) culture
C) social structure
D) culture complex

Question 7

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that:

A) reality is the result of social inequality.
B) language provides the category through which social reality is defined.
C) there is no relationship between language and culture.
D) language reflects social differences and therefore material culture.

Question 8

Which of the following is not part of the definition of culture?

A) Language
B) Beliefs
C) Behavior
D) Globalization

Question 9

Which of the following is true about the meanings of symbols?

A) They depend on the culture in which they appear.
B) They have no influence on human behavior.
C) They are inherent in the symbol itself.
D) They are always the same, regardless of the context in which they exist.

Question 10

Today, almost all sociologists would agree that

A) language determines what people think.
B) culture determines language.
C) language and culture are inextricably linked and each shapes the other.
D) there is no relationship between language and culture.

Question 11

What is the relationship between other animals and humans, according to scientists?

A) Human biology determines most of our behavior.
B) The natural environment is the biggest determinant of human behavior.
C) Other animals lack the elaborate symbol-based forms of knowing and communication that are common in human societies.
D) Other animals and humans are identical with regard to behavior.

Question 12

How do sociologists view the value of culture for the individual?

A) A person must learn culture in order to know how to behave in their society.
B) Having culture gives a person higher status than other people.
C) The more culture one has, the more income one will earn.
D) None of these; culture is not of particular importance for humans.

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of nonmaterial culture?

A) Media
B) Art
C) Ideas
D) Cars

Question 14

Norms, values, laws, and customs are all examples of

A) high
B) material
C) nonmaterial
D) nontraditional

Question 15

Regardless of where it is found in the world, culture is

A) shared.
B) genetic.
C) questioned by those who take part in it.
D) the same everywhere at all times.

Question 16

In their day-to- day lives, most people

A) have to consciously think about their cultural practices.
B) take the expectations of their culture for granted.
C) spend a lot of time questioning why they engage in certain behaviors.
D) ignore their own cultural traditions.

Question 17

Which of the following is true about cultural change?

A) Culture changes only after extreme situations change.
B) While culture changes from place to place, in each place it stays virtually the same.
C) Culture changes as people adapt in different time periods and in to different environments.
D) Culture changes overtime but not across places.

Question 18

Which of the following is an element of culture?

A) Language
B) Norms
C) Mores
D) All of the above

Question 19

As an element of culture, language is important because

A) it enables a person to become a part of society.
B) it permits the formation of culture
C) it enables us to learn social skills.
D) All of these choices are true.

Question 20

Material culture consists of

A) objects created in a given culture.
B) ideas and beliefs of a group of people.
C) laws, customs, and ideas.
D) ideas about what is right and wrong.

Question 21

The abstract standards that define the ideal principles of a society are called _.

A) beliefs
B) values
C) myths
D) mores

Question 22

According to researchers on culture and language:

A) terms like "handicapped" do not stigmatize people.
B) culture and language are unrelated.
C) terms for race are accurate depictions of human history.
D) language affects people's perception of reality.

Question 23

Which of the following statements about values is true?

A) Values are really too abstract to provide any guidelines for behavior.
B) Values are never the source of cultural tensions.
C) Values may cause conflict in society.
D) Values create ideals that cannot ever be achieved.

Question 24

People generally follow norms for behavior because they

A) only fear serious punishment for violations.
B) have thought about all their actions and act in the way they find most efficient.
C) are physically forced to do so.
D) have learned and internalized the common expectations for behavior.

Question 25

Mechanisms of social control that enforce rules against killing are examples of:

A) norms.
B) folkways.
C) sanctions.
D) mores.

Question 26

Those behaviors that bring the most serious sanctions are called _.

A) folkways
B) mores
C) taboos
D) laws

Question 27

What is the relationship between language and social inequality?

A) Language may reproduce the inequalities that exist in society.
B) The language that people use may alter social stereotypes to some extent.
C) The power relations in a situation provide a context for the meanings of particular expressions.
D) All of these choices are true.

Question 28

Mores are

A) the ordinary customs of different group cultures.
B) strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior.
C) often upheld through laws that bring serious repercussions.
D) norms that provide strict codes of behavior.

Question 29

Folkways are

A) the ordinary customs of different group cultures.
B) strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior.
C) often upheld through laws that bring serious repercussions.
D) norms that provide strict codes of behavior.

Question 30

Through ethnomethodological research sociologists have learned all of the following, except

A) most of the time, specific sanctions are not necessary to achieve conformity.
B) society exists because people behave as if there is no other way to do so.
C) when norms are violated, their existence becomes apparent.
D) social norms are less important among children than adults.

Question 31

Two classic cultural concepts associated with the work of William Graham Sumner are _.

A) explicit and implicit norms
B) folkways and mores
C) dominant culture and subcultures
D) culture traits and culture concepts

Question 32

Which of the following statements is false with regard to beliefs?

A) Shared beliefs hold people in a group or society together.
B) Beliefs are the basis for many norms and values in a society.
C) Beliefs must be true in order for them to guide human behavior.
D) Beliefs may be so strongly held that it is difficult to consider any contradictory information.

Question 33

Shared ideas that help bind people in society together are called _.

A) folkways
B) beliefs
C) mores
D) sanctions

Question 34

The strength or seriousness of social sanctions is

A) harsh, regardless of how strictly the norm is held.
B) generally lighter for violations of folkways than violations of mores.
C) unrelated to the type of norm that is violated.
D) not something that sociologists consider in the study of norm violations.

Question 35

The theoretical approach that is based on the idea that one can discover the normal social order through disrupting it is referred to as _.

A) dramaturgy
B) ethnomethodology
C) exchange theory
D) impression management

Question 36

The specific cultural expectations for how to behave in a given situation are called _.

A) norms
B) directives
C) belief-based actualizations
D) culture-constructs

Question 37

Which of the following statements about values is true?

A) Values define what is considered desirable and morally correct.
B) Values are not guides for behavior because they are too abstract.
C) Societal values are actually realized or achieved most of the time.
D) Values most often create conflict.

Question 38

How does language influence patterns of social inequality?

A) Language has little effect on patterns of race or gender inequality.
B) Language may reproduce inequalities through stereotypes and assumptions that may be built into what people say.
C) Studies have proven that what someone is called really doesn't matter, since identity is developed internally by the individual.
D) While language affects patterns of race and gender, there is no indication that it influences patterns of class inequality.

Question 39

As a means of social control, to enforce norms, sanctions

A) are always negative.
B) are always positive.
C) may be mild or severe.
D) are not very effective.

Question 40

Why are norms such an important element of culture?

A) Without norms society would be chaotic.
B) People cannot survive without norms.
C) Norms are the way that people communicate with each other.
D) Norms are the basis for the formal education system.

Question 41

The cultures of groups whose values and norms differ to some extent from those of the dominant culture are called _.

A) countercultures
B) subcultures
C) popular cultures
D) postmodern cultures

Question 42

An ethnocentric person is characterized by which of the following?

A) An ethnocentric person is always extreme.
B) An ethnocentric person protects their identity from others.
C) An ethnocentric person is not normal.
D) None of the answer choices are correct.

Question 43

Which of the following statements is false regarding ethnocentrism?

A) Ethnocentrism may be a strong force for group solidarity.
B) Only Americans are ethnocentric.
C) Ethnocentrism discourages intergroup understanding.
D) One's own culture is taken for granted so it may be difficult to understand other people's culture.

Question 44

Whereas earlier immigrants to the U.S. were predominantly from Europe, today most new immigrants come to the U.S. from _.

A) Southern and Eastern Europe
B) Asia and Latin America
C) the Middle East and Africa
D) South America and the Caribbean

Question 45

Consumption for the sake of displaying one's wealth is called _.

A) conspicuous consumption
B) conspicuous austerity
C) economic posturing
D) financial reciprocity

Question 46

Members of a subculture

A) are never well-integrated into the dominant culture.
B) tend to share the same practices, values and beliefs as the members of the dominant culture.
C) exist within and share some elements of the dominant culture.
D) are indistinguishable from members of the dominant culture.

Question 47

Which of these is true regarding cultural diversity in society?

A) It is rare for a society to be diverse.
B) Diversity is very characteristic of American society.
C) Many very technologically simple societies actually have the most cultural diversity.
D) As societies become more complex, the more the culture will be internally uniform and consistent across all groups.

Question 48

Ethnocentrism

A) can be subtle or extreme.
B) can only be practiced by dominant groups.
C) encourages intergroup understanding.
D) is another word for cultural relativism.

Question 49

America's dominant culture is characterized by which of the following?

A) Diversity
B) Middle-class values
C) Later arriving immigrants
D) Asians and Latin Americans

Question 50

The habit of seeing things only from the point of view of one's own group is called .

A) ethnocentrism
B) xenocentrism
C) cultural relativism
D) multiculturalism

Question 51

Puerto Ricans in New York and the Amish are examples of _.

A) subcultures
B) minority cultures
C) majority groups
D) countercultures

Question 52

From the perspective of cultural relativism, in order to understand a particular cultural practice we must know

A) how much harm it does.
B) whether or not it is practiced by the majority of people in a society.
C) the cultural values that it is based on.
D) how it compares to the practices of our own culture.

Question 53

The difference between subcultures and countercultures is that

A) countercultures reject and defy the dominant culture and subcultures do not.
B) subcultures are created as a reaction to the dominant culture and countercultures are not.
C) countercultures retreat from the dominant culture and subcultures do not.
D) subcultures always lead to the development of countercultures.

Question 54

In every society, the dominant culture is

A) the only culture in society.
B) the culture of the most powerful group.
C) strongly influenced by minority subcultures.
D) always the culture of the majority of people.

Question 55

Cultural relativism is the idea that

A) a phenomena should be understood and judged only in relation to the cultural context in which it appears.
B) things should be viewed from one's own point of view.
C) culture is diffused throughout the world.
D) cultures are created in reaction to social change.

Question 56

Extreme ethnocentrism

A) is rare.
B) may result in violence, including terrorism, war, and genocide.
C) is found primarily in less developed countries.
D) has not been studied by sociologists.

Question 57

Freedom, democracy, and equal opportunity are examples of:

A) sanctions.
B) functions.
C) values.
D) mores.

Question 58

Members of a counterculture

A) share many elements of the dominant culture and exist within it.
B) conform to most of the standards of the dominant culture.
C) reject the dominant cultural values of a society.
D) seek to redefine the dominant culture.

Question 59

The dominant culture in any society

A) is the only true culture in the society.
B) is commonly believed to be "the" culture of a society.
C) does not necessarily correspond to the groups with the most power.
D) is the least recognized.

Question 60

Which of the following is an example of a counterculture?

A) White supremacist
B) Feminist
C) Irish Americans
D) Anglo Americans

Question 61

The widespread dissemination of information and entertainment through widely available channels of communication is called

A) mass
B) cyber
C) cultured
D) elite

Question 62

Recent research on the content of television programs has found that

A) the popular media has been influential in expanding the boundaries of what is considered female beauty in our society.
B) the working class are now depicted as intelligent and involved members of society.
C) there has been a recent increase in the portrayal of gays and lesbians.
D) images of racism have increased despite the decline of racism within the larger society.

Question 63

Which of the following media sources dominates most Americans' leisure time?

A) Newspaper
B) Books
C) Music
D) Television

Question 64

Which of the following is true about prime time media?

A) Women are often the large majority of characters.
B) Women are presented as professionals late in their careers.
C) Black women are accurately depicted.
D) Men are a large majority of the characters shown.

Question 65

What were the results of the media blackout experiment that your text author, Anderson, did with her students?

A) Students were able to live without their cell phones, but not without television.
B) Students reported feeling alienated, isolated, and detached.
C) Students noted that they could not study at all if they did not have background music.
D) Most students found the experiment much easier than they had expected.

Question 66

Content analyses of media show that there are patterns for how race, gender and social class are presented. For example, research on the content of television reveals that

A) during prime time the majority of television characters are women.
B) Hispanics have caught up with whites and are now equally well-represented on television.
C) more women are shown in professional roles, and beauty has become much less important.
D) racial and gender stereotypes continue to dominate on television.

Question 67

The growth of media conglomerates means that fewer organizations are involved in producing and distributing culture. Which of the following is not a consequence of this growth?

A) There may be less diversity in content of the
B) People may conform to the interests of the dominant groups without realizing they are doing so.
C) Cultural messages in the media become more homogeneous.
D) Over time, there inevitably will be a single corporation controlling all media sources.

Question 68

Cultural hegemony is the term for

A) the commercialization of the
B) the excessive influence of one culture in society.
C) the resistance of localized cultures to the dominant culture.
D) phenomena such as the struggle between "McWorld vs. Jihad."

Question 69

Sociologists refer to the concentration of cultural power as cultural .

A) borrowing
B) relativism
C) hegemony
D) pervasiveness

Question 70

The diffusion of a single culture throughout the world is termed:

A) cultural commerce.
B) cultural relativism.
C) global culture.
D) infusion.

Question 71

The digital divide refers to:

A) inequality based on access to electronic information.
B) differences in technology.
C) differences in perception of
D) None of the answer choices are correct.

Question 72

Mass media influences

A) values alone.
B) styles, but not values.
C) language, but not styles.
D) values, styles, and language.

Question 73

Beliefs, practices, and objects that are part of everyday traditions, such as music and films, mass-marketed books and magazines, newspapers, and Internet websites are known collectively as culture.

A) popular
B) high
C) elite
D) institutional

Question 74

Television is so ever-present in people's lives that today about of U.S. households are "constant television households" in which the television is on almost all the time.

A) 2 percent
B) 12 percent
C) 24 percent
D) 42 percent

Question 75

Sociological research on the impact of media images has found that

A) most people are unable to distinguish between fantasy on television and real life.
B) music videos are the only type of media that does not have a negative impact.
C) White girls in particular believe they are judged according to media standards of beauty.
D) media has little overall influence of individual lives.

Question 76

The reflection hypothesis contends that

A) media organizations create popular values.
B) the mass media reflects the values of the general population.
C) nonmaterial culture shapes material culture.
D) the media tries to appeal to the rich and powerful.

Question 77

The concept of cultural hegemony implies that culture is highly

A) politicized.
B) gendered.
C) racist.
D) religious.

Question 78

The emergence of a global culture has resulted in

A) a more heterogeneous world culture.
B) a greater appreciation for the diverse folk cultures throughout the world.
C) an increase in the influence of capitalism.
D) a significant decrease in ethnocentrism throughout the world.

Question 79

Some argue that many of the recent conflicts in the world are the result of a struggle between the values of a consumer-based, capitalist Western culture and the

A) influence of socialist cultures.
B) values of a merchant-based Eastern culture.
C) traditional values of local communities.
D) global environmental movement.

Question 80

Cultural hegemony refers to

A) the pervasive influence of just one culture.
B) the social agreement that the powerful should control the
C) the belief that mass media's influence is larger than desirable.
D) multiple cultures merging to create a new mass