Deck 14: Culture

Question 1

The systematic acquisition of a particular object or set of objects is called ________.

A) prioritizing
B) hoarding
C) collecting
D) ritualizing

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Grooming rituals express two kinds of binary opposition: private/public and ________.

A) work/leisure
B) self/others
C) pride/modesty
D) innocence/experience

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Culture is best described as society's ________.

A) attitude
B) consciousness
C) personality
D) history

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Brands that we closely link to our rituals are called ________ brands; once they become imbedded in our rituals we are unlikely to replace them.

A) fighter
B) fortress
C) transcultural
D) sacralized

Question 5

Researchers primarily see the gift-giving ritual as one of ________ exchange.

A) symbolic
B) stylistic
C) psychological
D) economic

Question 6

A special ritual marking a person's change in social status is called a ________.

A) convention
B) sacralization
C) cycle
D) rite of passage

Question 7

We explicitly decide on ________ norms, such as the rule that a green traffic light means "go" and a red one means "stop."

A) crescive
B) enacted
C) reciprocal
D) ritualized

Question 8

A set of multiple symbolic behaviors that occur in a fixed sequence and tend to be repeated is called a ________.

A) myth
B) more
C) ritual
D) convention

Question 9

As a relationship grows and progresses, gift giving tends to become more ________.

A) exchange oriented
B) reciprocal
C) altruistic
D) reformulated

Question 10

________ postulated that myths involve binary opposition, in which two opposing ends of some dimension are represented (such as good versus evil).

A) Levi-Strauss
B) Freud
C) Hofstede
D) Bettelheim

Question 11

Through the process of ________, objects associated with sacred events or people become sacred in their own right.

A) congregation
B) reciprocity
C) desacralization
D) contamination

Question 12

A story containing symbolic elements that express the shared emotions and ideals of a culture is called a ________.

A) norm
B) ritual
C) myth
D) more

Question 13

________ usually dictate what is right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable.

A) Myths
B) Theories
C) Norms
D) Rituals

Question 14

________ consumption occurs with objects and events that are considered to be ordinary and everyday.

A) Profane
B) Sacred
C) Objectified
D) Ritualized

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT one of the three distinct stages of gift-giving rituals?

A) convention
B) gestation
C) presentation
D) reformulation

Question 16

Interest in the occult is most likely to increase in a society when ________.

A) economic conditions begin to improve
B) there has been a major triumph, such as winning a war
C) members of a society feel overwhelmed or powerless
D) people become less religious

Question 17

A ________ is a custom with a strong moral overtone.

A) more
B) superstition
C) convention
D) monomyth

Question 18

Myths serve four interrelated functions in a culture. All of the following are among those functions EXCEPT the ________ function.

A) cosmological
B) sociological
C) psychological
D) anthropological

Question 19

Which functional area of culture is most closely related to the idea of a common worldview?

A) ecology
B) social structure
C) ideology
D) socio-psychology

Question 20

Crescive norms are ________.

A) strict "must do" rules of behavior in a society
B) followed only by the females of a culture
C) associated with monetary rewards and punishments
D) subtle rules discovered as we interact with others

Question 21

Gen Akoi greatly values his micro-refrigerator. The refrigerator is so small it will fit almost anywhere. Gen believes that the efficient use of space is one of the characteristics any good product should have. With respect to the functional areas of a cultural system, Gen is focusing on ________ as a variable in selecting his products.

A) ideology
B) ecology
C) social structure
D) socio-psychology

Question 22

The story goes that George Washington (as a small child) cut down his father's cherry tree with a hatchet. When asked who might have committed this act (even though young Washington was afraid of punishment for the act), George replied, "I cannot tell a lie; I cut down the cherry tree." This story has taken on mythical proportions in the United States. Which of the following functions does this myth best match?

A) metaphysical
B) cosmological
C) psychological
D) anthropological

Question 23

When a sacred item or symbol is removed from its special place or is duplicated in mass quantities, then it becomes profane as a result of ________.

A) sacralization
B) desacralization
C) defamation
D) objectification

Question 24

A ________ innovation is a new product that creates major changes in the way we live.

A) globally continuous
B) continuous
C) discontinuous
D) dynamically continuous

Question 25

Which of the following statements most accurately describes high and low art?

A) High art is very expensive, but low art is relatively cheap.
B) It is becoming harder and harder to distinguish between high and low art.
C) Low art is popular with the masses while high art is popular among the cultural elites of American society.
D) Especially in Europe, low art is seen as commercial in nature while high art is seen as independent of commercialism.

Question 26

________ occurs as marketers appropriate elements of popular culture and convert them for use as promotional vehicles.

A) Reality engineering
B) Crescive norming
C) Desacralization
D) Product placement

Question 27

Ralf and his brother had a business in a Midwest college town taking SUVs and modifying them into tailgating machines. These "awesome party wagons" were equipped with the owner's desired team logo on the front, side, and back; gas grills; and large beverage coolers. Their business boomed, especially when the university had a winning season. Ralf and his brother were creating and selling what could be best described as ________.

A) myth carriers
B) ritual artifacts
C) symbolic exchange objects
D) attitudinal reciprocity products

Question 28

Sharon is upset with her secretary. Though everyone in the office agreed not to give Christmas presents this year, Sharon's secretary gave her an expensive bottle of perfume. Which of the following best identifies the source of Sharon's feelings?

A) objectification
B) self-serving guilt
C) the reciprocity norm
D) role transference

Question 29

Which of the following is an object that is admired strictly for its beauty or because it inspires an emotional reaction?

A) an art product
B) a reality-engineered product
C) a craft product
D) a trial product

Question 30

Products are winnowed out as they make their way down the path from conception to consumption, a process called ________.

A) diffusion
B) cooptation
C) cultural selection
D) cultural mapping

Question 31

In the cultural production process, the people who control the flow of information between producers and customers are called ________.

A) lead users
B) cultural gatekeepers
C) cultural transformers
D) innovators

Question 32

In the diffusion of innovation process, the ________ are the one-sixth of the population that is very slow to adopt.

A) innovators
B) early adopters
C) late adopters
D) laggards

Question 33

Which of the following statements would be viewed as most True about styles?

A) A style typically starts in a large group of people as a safe but unique statement.
B) Styles are often a reflection of more fundamental societal trends.
C) Influential people play only a minor role in deciding which styles will succeed.
D) Styles most often result from a deliberate statement from ordinary consumers that has been met by a rather spontaneous response from designers.

Question 34

The culture we live in creates the meaning of everyday products; these meanings move through a society to consumers. Meaning transfer is largely accomplished by ________.

A) product design and distribution
B) product design and pricing
C) advertising and fashion industries
D) public relations and the music industry

Question 35

Fashion refers to ________.

A) a particular combination of attributes within a style
B) the process of social diffusion by which a new style is adopted by some groups of consumers
C) being positively evaluated by some reference group
D) rejecting the norm and pushing for newness

Question 36

Pavel was an inventor. He read that there were several million people who could not sleep at night until they looked under the bed. He invented a light that could be put under a bed and went on automatically when someone looked there. Pavel's product is designed to help people perform a ________.

A) ritual
B) symbolic exchange
C) convention
D) rite of passage

Question 37

It is quite common for mainstream culture to modify symbols identified with "cutting edge" subcultures and present these to a larger audience. Such cultural products undergo a process of ________, by which their original meanings are transformed by outsiders.

A) innovation
B) transformation
C) diffusion
D) cooptation

Question 38

Promoters attempt to have their products shown prominently in full-length films. This type of promotion is referred to as ________.

A) desacralization
B) objectification
C) product placement
D) advertainment

Question 39

A ________ is a very short-lived fashion.

A) trend
B) fad
C) classic
D) style

Question 40

J. P. Stevens always looks perfect in his business suit. The colors are always right for the season and prevailing style. His tie has the proper knot, he does not wear a tie-tac, his handkerchief is the proper "two-fingers" above the pocket, and his socks and shoes do not distract from his overall look. Which of the following does J. P. seem to be adhering to with his "correctness"?

A) enacted behaviors
B) customs
C) mores
D) conventions

Question 41

A style typically begins as a risky or unique statement by a relatively small group of people.

Question 42

Most holidays commemorate a cultural myth.

Question 43

Casting directors, textbook authors, and retail buyers are all examples of formal gatekeepers in the culture production process.

Question 44

Fallon was the son of a very wealthy banker from Connecticut. The first time Fallon saw an artist on MTV wearing a polished bicycle chain around his neck, he knew he had to get an item like that for himself. Fallon's behavior is best explained by the ________ theory of fashion.

A) trickle-down
B) trickle-up
C) trickle-across
D) prestige-exclusivity

Question 45

Thomas and his family recently toured the Gettysburg battlefield on their vacation. The area was rich in history. While walking, Thomas remembered all the accounts of the battle that he had read in school. He finally understood why this place had such a special meaning in American history and to Americans in general. This tour is best classified as an example of ________ consumption.

A) profane
B) objectified
C) sacred
D) crescive

Question 46

Profane consumption involves consumer objects and events that are ordinary.

Question 47

A metaphysical myth fulfills the cultural function of explaining how the components of the universe relate to each other.

Question 48

Several years ago, a new Lincoln Mark VIII automobile design was introduced with several features added that had never been seen in a car before. The car had a ten-cartridge CD changer (stored in the trunk), a special garage door-opener button, technology allowing the driver to talk on a car phone without having to use her hands, and an air-suspension ride that raised and lowered the car for different driving conditions. Which of the following best describes the type of innovations included in the Lincoln Mark VIII?

A) revolutionary innovations
B) continuous innovations
C) dynamically continuous innovations
D) discontinuous innovations

Question 49

Romance novels often follow a cultural formula.

Question 50

The Macah, a Native American tribe from the Northwest, built functional seagoing canoes that are considered works of art by modern shipbuilders. By definition, these boats would be considered ________.

A) high art products
B) style and cultural icons
C) low art products
D) craft products

Question 51

Which of the following best supports the argument that tourism can be seen as a sacred experience?

A) Tourism often involves the binary opposition of work and leisure.
B) Tourism involves setting events, places, and time aside from everyday, mundane activities.
C) Tourism involves the four most important dimensions of culture.
D) Tourism provides opportunities for individuals to better understand their culture's crescive norms through interaction with other cultures.

Question 52

What is the primary difference between an innovator and an early adopter?

A) Early adopters are much the same as innovators except they (as a group) have higher average salaries and more education than do innovators.
B) Innovators are more risk adverse than are early adopters.
C) Innovators are more likely to accept risk than are early adopters.
D) Innovators are less socially active than are early adopters, who tend to be the True trendsetters of a society.

Question 53

In many cultures, stories feature talking animals that act as mediating figures.

Question 54

A myth that is common to many cultures is called a monomyth.

Question 55

Kyle liked to think he could program anything digital. He created a new video game, and a major industry firm wanted to buy it from him. He was bothered by their insistence that he modify the game by including a popular product's logo on the clothing of his main character. In this example, Kyle is concerned about the practice of ________.

A) cultural jamming
B) advergaming
C) pretailing
D) plinking

Question 56

Country singers Marty Stewart and Travis Tritt and their record label decided to change the culture of the Country and Western music scene. With their now famous "No Hats" tour, the singers abandoned conventional country and western fashion (they threw away their hats, let their hair grow long, and wore t-shirts) and tried to appeal to larger and younger audiences with a grinding sexy message. The process that these singers went through is best described as a ________.

A) cultural funnel
B) cultural production system (CPS)
C) cultural distribution system (CDS)
D) cultural gatekeeping process (CGP)

Question 57

Passing a driving test to receive a driver's license is an example of a rite of passage.

Question 58

Once a culture is established it doesn't change. An apparent change in a culture is simply the emergence of a new culture.

Question 59

Raymond Chandler wrote classic American detective stories. By always using certain roles for his characters and props that were appropriate to the genre, Chandler's novels followed what the text calls a(n) ________.

A) cultural formula
B) enacted norm
C) fashion cycle
D) innovation process

Question 60

Carl Thorne has just passed the final test to become a member of a college fraternity. This rite of passage has moved Carl from being an individual to being a member of a bonded group. When Carl receives his fraternity pin in a final ceremony and joins his new brothers, he will have passed through the final stage of a rite of passage. According to the text, what is this stage called?

A) separation
B) aggregation
C) liminality
D) finality

Question 61

A clothier produced a line of clothing with insect repellant impregnated into the fabric for outdoor enthusiasts. This product has a good chance of being adopted because it has a relative advantage.

Question 62

Because Stephanie is an innovator with computer products, marketers should assume that she is also an innovator with clothing styles.

Question 63

A promotion director of a fine arts museum could use mass-marketing techniques to promote a fine art gallery much the same way she could promote any other mass-marketed product.

Question 64

The most radical of the innovation change forms is called a discontinuous innovation because it creates major changes in the way we live.

Question 65

Define monomyth. Give an illustration.

Question 66

The trickle-down theory of fashion says that fashion moves from the upper classes to the lower classes.

Question 67

A cultural system consists of three functional areas. What are they? Give a brief explanation of each.

Question 68

Where you choose to sit in an almost empty movie theater is most likely determined by your culture's mores.

Question 69

Shira wants to prove that even the most mundane of objects can be sacralized through the process of objectification. She should use examples of hoarding to support her argument.

Question 70

The diffusion of innovations is a process whereby a new product, service, or idea spreads through a population.

Question 71

Identify and describe the factors that affect the successful adoption of innovations.

Question 72

Describe the difference between an enacted norm and a crescive norm. Indicate forms that the crescive norm may take.

Question 73

A fad has a relatively long acceptance cycle in today's marketplace because of the money necessary to develop the fad.

Question 74

A professor was given a warning after he made a bad joke about Princess Diana shortly after her death. Students were likely upset because they now saw Princess Di as a profane character worthy of special attention and respect.

Question 75

In the modern holiday rituals of Christmas, the figures of Christ and Santa can be seen as binary opposite; one promotes selflessness while the other promotes materialism.

Question 76

Explain the idea of an antifestival and describe an example of an antifestival.

Question 77

Anna's best friend Aubrey was getting married. Anna spent a lot of time thinking of the perfect gift. She was so excited about the gift that she gave it to Aubrey before the wedding. Aubrey cried and told Anna that she would never in her life have a better friend. Reformulation is the proper term for the new bond between Anna and Aubrey.

Question 78

Products appearing in retail stores are examples of the use of product placement.

Question 79

Every year, the students at a prestigious engineering school remove a car from the parking lot and place it on the highest point of the roof of the main engineering building. The students have been doing this for decades, but not once has anyone ever confided to an outsider how it was done. This is a classic example of a ritual.

Question 80

Shift Corporation could not sell its premium running shoe at $49.99, but when they were priced at $159.99, the shoes sold out of the stores almost overnight. Shift had just experienced the snob effect characteristically explained by the sociological model of fashion.