Deck 4: Recognizing Culture

Question 1

A group or society's way of life, including characteristics that make it different from other groups or societies, refers to ______.

A) ethnographic attributes
B) social constructs
C) culture
D) religion

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A foreign exchange student is placed with a family in Paris. While attending school in France, she learns about Parisian history, language, norms, and values. What is occurring?

A) She is adopting a new religion.
B) She is utilizing social media.
C) She is researching historical data.
D) She is experiencing culture.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Material culture includes aspects such as ______.

A) language
B) fashion
C) values
D) symbols

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Tara is studying the inhabitants of a Pacific island. She is particularly interested in the norms, values, and beliefs of this area. Tara is studying ______.

A) material culture
B) nonmaterial culture
C) patterns of behavior
D) cultural symbols

Question 5

How do flat-screen TVs relate to culture?

A) They are a non-material aspect of a society.
B) They exemplify non-material technology of a society.
C) They reflect the values of a material culture.
D) They express the language of a material culture.

Question 6

A group of close friends have devised their own set of hand signals to communicate with each other without anyone else understanding. How would sociologists explain this?

A) The group is using material culture to create a new set of symbols.
B) The group is communicating with socially constructed meanings.
C) The group has developed its own access to resources.
D) The group is providing a sense of belonging to each other.

Question 7

Which statement about culture is TRUE?

A) It is socially constructed.
B) There is a lack of tradition.
C) It is always inherited.
D) There is a lack of uniqueness.

Question 8

Expectations about the appropriate thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of people in a variety of situations are called ______.

A) values
B) symbols
C) norms
D) culture

Question 9

While at a restaurant, a female server must smile at all customers in order to appear friendly and approachable, even if she is not in the mood to do so. This is an example of a societal ______.

A) exception
B) rule
C) norm
D) anomaly

Question 10

When a person uses an expression such as, "Everyone loves ice cream!" that individual is demonstrating the concept of ______.

A) dissonance
B) generalized other
C) stereotyping
D) social norming

Question 11

What is the term for the ability to act and think free from wider society's social constraints?

A) discourse
B) constraint
C) power
D) agency

Question 12

If a person is caught stealing from a store, this person has broken one of societies ______.

A) mores
B) taboos
C) symbols
D) structures

Question 13

What is transmitted when children are taught to look someone in the eyes when speaking to them?

A) roles
B) mores
C) folkways
D) symbols

Question 14

A teenager talks with her parents about which college would be the best for her to attend. Her parents argue that she should attend a local college in order to save money by living at home, while she believes that she needs to learn how to take care of herself while attending an out-of-state college. The teenager is exhibiting ______.

A) social identity
B) social intelligence
C) subculture
D) agency

Question 15

Most shoppers look for the end of the line to wait to pay for their items. How do they arrive at this behavior?

A) They are fearful of breaking the law.
B) They are directed by the people who work in the store.
C) They follow other people and ask them what they should do.
D) They exercise the social norms they have learned about shopping.

Question 16

A group attends a football game and sits on the side of the stadium reserved for fans of the home team. When the referee makes a call against the home team, they all look at each other and shake their heads, assuming they all feel the same about the call. How would a sociologist explain these assumptions?

A) The fans are acting based on a sense of communal agency that requires them to band together.
B) The fans understand that most people sitting on that side of the stadium share the same opinions based on the generalized other.
C) The fans have developed their own set of values that everyone on that side of the stadium must follow.
D) The fans must follow the mores of behavior for a typical football game.

Question 17

In the United States, when a man occupies a high paying job, his ______ provides him with a feeling of power and respect.

A) status
B) role
C) value
D) belief

Question 18

Which situation best describes what a role is in society?

A) a gendered performance based on opportunity
B) the lack of power based on the increasing poverty of middle class workers
C) the type of job someone has and how much money they receive for it
D) a socially expected behavior usually determined by an individual's status

Question 19

When society deems hard work and honesty as an attribute, they are assigning a(n) ______ to those categories of behavior.

A) achievement
B) belief
C) value
D) behavior

Question 20

What is an important element of culture?

A) population density
B) beliefs
C) geographic location
D) laws

Question 21

A belief is defined as ______.

A) a thought or suggestion that society deems important
B) accepting that something is true
C) a thought or suggestion that society rejects as absolute
D) accepting that something is true only when those in power say it is

Question 22

The most obvious mechanism for transmitting beliefs is through ______.

A) the media
B) political activity
C) trial and error
D) observation and reinforcement

Question 23

According to sociologist Robin Williams, which of these is least likely to be considered an American value?

A) individualism
B) activity and work
C) cooperation and sharing
D) progress and material comfort

Question 24

Marta and Christine agree that holding your palm up in front of a person to tell them to stop talking is acceptable. This makes the gesture ______.

A) a symbol
B) an interaction
C) an idea
D) a more

Question 25

People in the United States often fly the national flag as a(n) ______ of their patriotism.

A) idea
B) symbol
C) expectation
D) justification

Question 26

In the United States, giving someone a thumbs up is a positive sign, but in Iraq it has an entirely different meaning. This demonstrates ______.

A) how each culture creates its own symbols
B) how the sign has been usurped to insult Americans
C) how Americans don't understand the signs they use
D) how signs are universal

Question 27

A series of symbols people use to communicate meaning is called ______.

A) an idea
B) language
C) a belief
D) a culture

Question 28

Patriotic music, fireworks, and picnics represent Independence Day in the United States. These are examples of ______.

A) symbols
B) norms
C) beliefs
D) folkways

Question 29

Which statement is the best description of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

A) The representation of culture has a linguistic structure.
B) Language influences our understanding of reality.
C) The fewer words a culture uses, the better it is able to communicate.
D) Culture is the framework of meaning, language is the personification of it.

Question 30

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is also known as ______.

A) culture of technology
B) linguistic relativism
C) cultural ideology
D) communication symbolism

Question 31

A sociologist uses terms like "feminism," "doing gender," and "functionalism" to describe different aspects of society. People who are not sociologists might have trouble understanding these terms. How would the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis explain this?

A) Language is learned automatically as an individual is exposed to it.
B) Sociologists use specific words to describe sociological concepts.
C) Language is based on the environment someone is in and does not change.
D) Sociologists have common symbols that they do not share with others.

Question 32

Sociologist Gerhard Lenski argued that ______ is what leads to different types of societies over time.

A) capital
B) religion
C) people
D) technology

Question 33

A society that is viewed as pre-society because its members move around to find food is ______.

A) hunter-gatherer
B) pastoral
C) industrial
D) agricultural

Question 34

A person whose subsistence comes largely from foraging plants and eating animals would live in what type of society?

A) hunter-gatherer
B) pastoral
C) industrial
D) agricultural

Question 35

The development of hand tools and the domestication of animals were the precursor to ______ societies.

A) hunter-gatherer
B) horticultural/pastoral
C) agrarian
D) industrial

Question 36

How does the ability to grow food and raise animals for food impact the stability of a society?

A) The society is too busy working in the fields to create cultural artifacts.
B) The members of the society are able to build homes and care for their families.
C) The roles and norms of the society center around survival.
D) The society is less able to utilize technological developments.

Question 37

Cultures in horticultural/pastoral societies are most likely to focus on ______ .

A) the community and survival
B) material and nonmaterial goods
C) personal development
D) technology

Question 38

Hortense's family has advanced tools for raising crops, resulting in more food than they can consume. The extra food is sold or traded for material goods. Hortense lives in a(n) ______ society.

A) horticultural
B) industrial
C) agrarian
D) modern

Question 39

Culture for elite groups of people are called ______ cultures and ______ cultures are those that exist among the common people.

A) fixed; low
B) low; fixed
C) high; popular
D) popular; high

Question 40

How would consumers of popular culture most likely spend their days?

A) managing a large business
B) traveling around the world
C) reading a book
D) working in a factory

Question 41

To produce food and goods, an industrial society relies on the use of ______.

A) consumers
B) technology
C) hand tools
D) animals

Question 42

How do changes in societal norms interact with the legal system?

A) Laws are written in order to change societal norms.
B) The norms of society remain constant, while laws change to reflect crime rates.
C) New laws occur regularly whether norms change or not.
D) Changes in laws are a reflection of changes in norms and values.

Question 43

A cultural group that exists within another, larger culture is a ______.

A) material culture
B) fixed culture
C) homogenous culture
D) subculture

Question 44

Shui lives in the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco. Her values and beliefs mostly reflect those of the people around her, but she also embraces American cultural values. Shui's cultural group is a ______.

A) material culture
B) primary culture
C) homogenous culture
D) subculture

Question 45

The city of Chicago is a mixture of White, Black, asian, and Hispanic citizens, along with many others. This is an example of ______.

A) multiculturalism
B) subcultures
C) monocultures
D) nationalism

Question 46

When a group in society expresses ideas, beliefs, values, and rules that conflict with larger society, these groups would be considered a ______.

A) counterculture
B) radical culture
C) subculture
D) high culture

Question 47

The Ku Klux Klan is an example of a ______.

A) radical culture
B) counterculture
C) main culture
D) low culture

Question 48

Sociologist Franz Boas popularized the concept "cultural relativism." Which statement best describes this concept?

A) Based on sociological research, cultures can be ranked as good or bad.
B) No culture can be ranked as better or worse than another.
C) Societies that allow for countercultures are more tolerant.
D) Multicultural societies are better than homogenous cultures.

Question 49

What is an example of cultural capital?

A) social intelligence
B) transnationalism
C) money
D) education

Question 50

According to George Murdock, each country has a unique culture, but there are some cultural practices that exist in most or all societies. These are called ______.

A) subcultures
B) cultural universals
C) multiculturalism
D) high cultures

Question 51

A student states that technological societies are better than agrarian societies. How would a sociologist respond based on cultural relativism?

A) Each society needs to be judged on its own merits rather than compared to each other.
B) As societies progress, they get typically improve and grow.
C) Technological societies are the most advanced societies that can exist.
D) Agrarian societies establish stronger cultural bonds and should be judged accordingly.

Question 52

According to Daniel Goleman, a person who can get along with others and understands social relationships exemplifies ______.

A) wealth
B) social intelligence
C) identity
D) cultural capital

Question 53

An individual who is able to accurately read the cues given off by others ______.

A) is developing a social identity.
B) is following a cultural universal.
C) has a high level of fiscal capital.
D) has a high level of social intelligence.

Question 54

Social intelligence requires a high level of ______ capital to be able to understand cues in society, such as how to dress and what is acceptable appearance.

A) cultural
B) fiscal
C) social
D) personal

Question 55

Every person has a unique set of traits, roles, and statuses, which are known as ______.

A) personal traits
B) cultural traits
C) social identities
D) fixed identities

Question 56

Cell phones are part of material culture.

Question 57

Culture is created through interactions among people.

Question 58

Norms are based on social expectations.

Question 59

Mores refers to the ability to act independently of social constraints.

Question 60

Henry said that the Patriots are the best football team of all time. This is a value.

Question 61

After a shooting at a high school, students protested at the state offices carrying signs that said, "NO MORE!" These signs are symbols.

Question 62

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis posits that if you can't find the words to describe something, it may be because your culture doesn't have words for what is happening.

Question 63

Hunter-gatherer societies are more likely to have intricate artifacts.

Question 64

High culture includes fine arts and foods.

Question 65

Historical events can impact a people's cultural heritage even if they do not have a direct impact on all of the individuals in a given society.

Question 66

Subcultures are groups that work against the main culture.

Question 67

Virtually all cultures have religious beliefs, rituals, and politics. As such, these represent the concept of cultural relativism.

Question 68

People in multicultural societies respect differing cultures and honor their unique contributions to a larger, "umbrella" culture.

Question 69

A college degree is an example of cultural capital.

Question 70

Social intelligence is the ability to understand social relationships and act accordingly.

Question 71

Discuss how culture is socially constructed.

Question 72

Explain the relationship between norms and expectations.

Question 73

Differentiate between mores and folkways.

Question 74

Why are hunter-gatherers thought of as indicators of a pre-society?

Question 75

Give examples of cultural capital, and provide an example of how one of these can influence a person's place in society.

Question 76

Explain the difference between material and nonmaterial culture, with examples.

Question 77

What are the characteristics of a subculture? Provide an example using high school as the culture.

Question 78

Compare and contrast multiculturalism with counterculture. Provide examples of each in your descriptions.

Question 79

Explain the relationship between cultural capital and fiscal capital.

Question 80

What are social identities and how do expectations influence them?