Deck 4: Death-Related Practices and the American Death System

Question 1

The functions of a "death system" include

A) people and places
B) times
C) objects and symbols
D) making sense of death
E) none of these

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to our book,

A) death systems may be formal, explicit, and widely acknowledged in some of their aspects
B) some type of death system is found in every society
C) some death systems are largely hidden and not much talked about
D) all of these
E) none of these

Answer 2

D

Question 3

In recent years, homicide rates in the U.S. have been highest among

A) females 15-24 years of age
B) the elderly
C) strangers of different races
D) the U.S. population as a whole
E) males 15-24 years of age

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Chapter Four in our textbook is most directly focused on

A) death-related encounters
B) death-related practices
C) death-related attitudes
D) death-related experiences
E) none of these

Question 5

In 2007, the fifteenth leading cause of death in the United States for the entire population was

A) war
B) homicide
C) cancer
D) accidents
E) diseases of the heart

Question 6

The elements of a "death system" include

A) preventing death
B) caring for the dying
C) objects and symbols
D) disposing of the dead
E) sanctioning certain kinds of killing

Question 7

In the days following September 11, 2001, the contemporary American death system

A) gave advance warnings of the assault that was to occur at the World Trade Center
B) sought to work toward social consolidation
C) rejected the idea that rallying symbols could be helpful to our society
D) found those responsible for placing a bomb in a parking garage at the World Trade Center
E) prevented the spreading of anthrax spores through the mails

Question 8

The phrase "human-induced deaths" includes deaths caused by

A) accidents
B) homicide
C) suicide
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 9

According to Kastenbaum, a "death system"

A) includes persons (e.g., lawyers, florists)
B) refers to specific times (e.g., Memorial Day
C) points to symbols associated with death (e.g., a skull and crossbones)
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 10

Approximately 50% of all homicides in the United States occur

A) between people of opposite genders
B) between people of different races
C) between family members or acquaintances
D) between persons of different national origin
E) between people in widely different age cohorts

Question 11

On September 11, 2001, the contemporary American death system

A) destroyed a significant portion of the Pentagon
B) provided a formal network whereby passengers on one airliner overcame their hijackers and frustrated the goals of the terrorists
C) prevented the spreading of anthrax spores through the mails
D) found those responsible for placing a bomb in a parking garage at the World Trade Center
E) mobilized to try to prevent death and save lives

Question 12

In 2007, the fifth leading cause of death in the United States for the entire population was

A) war
B) homicide
C) cancer
D) accidents
E) diseases of the heart

Question 13

In the U.S., the group that has the highest death rates from vehicular accidents is

A) elderly persons over age 65
B) 15-24 year-old males
C) 15-24 year-old females
D) children under age 2
E) adults between 35-55 years of age

Question 14

In its study of events associated with September 11, 2001, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks found that there were many failures of intelligence and coordination. These
Failures primarily affected the American death system in its function of

A) caring for the dying
B) working toward social consolidation after death
C) bringing about socially-sanctioned killing
D) helping to make sense of death
E) giving warnings and predictions

Question 15

Dying by homicide is

A) usually sudden and unexpected
B) often nonviolent
C) rarely an experience involving family members
D) typically found among older members of society
E) most frequently experienced by females

Question 16

Experts describe typical characteristics of perpetrators of mass shootings as including:

A) having access to weapons powerful enough to satisfy their need for revenges
B) finding emotional support from friends or family
C) a tendency to internalize blame
D) heightened ability to cope with life's disappointments
E) able to overcome catastrophic precipitating events

Question 17

Among the three natural disasters described in Focus On 4.2, the largest numbers of death occurred in:

A) New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005
B) Haiti after the earthquake in January 2010
C) Japan after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011
D) Haiti in connection with the cholera epidemic from October 2010 through January 2011
E) none of these

Question 18

Since 2002, deaths rates for accidents in our society

A) have been gradually increasing
B) have been gradually declining
C) have remained basically the same
D) have not been affected by wearing seatbelts
E) none of these

Question 19

Since the late 1980s in our society, homicide rates have

A) been trending gradually upward
B) declined sharply
C) remained largely unchanged
D) shown an unexpected reduction in only one year (2001)
E) been extraordinarily low for a developed society

Question 20

The leading cause of death in the United States among all persons aged 1 to 44 is

A) heart disease
B) cancer
C) suicide
D) homicide
E) accidents

Question 21

In contemporary American society

A) individuals never use death-related language
B) most individuals are horrified to hear someone say "dead" or "die"
C) many individuals use death-related language, but usually in contexts other than those involving the dying or death of a human being
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 22

Acts of terrorism in the 21^st century

A) typically lead to traumatic losses
B) are often careless in their disregard for human life
C) frequently result in sudden death
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 23

Most people in contemporary American society have

A) encountered death directly and often
B) encountered death vicariously (e.g., through the media)
C) witnessed non-violent deaths in media news reports
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 24

Acts of terrorism in the 21^st century

A) typically lead to non-traumatic losses
B) are often careless in their disregard for human life
C) rarely bring about sudden death
D) often have political or religious implications
E) allow time to prepare for the deaths they cause

Question 25

Nuclear power became a new force for death

A) in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945
B) at the accident in the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979
C) on July 16, 1945, at the Trinity test site in New Mexico
D) at the explosion in the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986
E) on March 9, 1945, at the firebombing of Tokyo

Question 26

Terrorism that employs suicide bombings

A) is an example of acting at a distance
B) is an example of roadside bombs
C) was used by Timothy McVeigh against the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April 1995
D) was used against the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993
E) was used in the attack on the USS Cole in the harbor at Aden, Yemen, in 2000

Question 27

Death announcements are

A) an exception to the general rules of newsworthiness
B) different from obituaries
C) brief notices mentioning the fact of death, names of survivors, and plans (if any) for funeral or burial services
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 28

Which of the following is not an example of socially sanctioned deaths discussed in Chapter 4 in our textbook?

A) genocide
B) homicide
C) war
D) the Holocaust
E) the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Question 29

Reports of deaths in the news media of contemporary society

A) are not governed by criteria of newsworthiness
B) are a highly selective portrait of death
C) emphasize ordinary people who die in ordinary ways
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 30

Ethnic cleansing

A) is closely regulated by international groups like the United Nations
B) defies easy definition
C) easily distinguished from forced emigration and population exchange
D) not found in the history of the United States of America
E) typically relatively benign in its goals and methods

Question 31

A prominent example of an ongoing genocide during 2004 and 2005 is found in

A) Iraq
B) Afghanistan
C) Poland
D) Sudan
E) Iran

Question 32

Phrases used to describe death, such as "bought the farm" or "passed away" typically reflect

A) non-acceptance of death
B) denial of death
C) distancing from death
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 33

To speak of fantasized death in the media means that

A) death is frequently present in the entertainment media, but often in unrealistic ways
B) death is almost completely absent in the entertainment media
C) those who usually die are "good guys," heroic figures
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 34

Which of the following is correct?

A) individual terrorism involves one person acting to harm or kill others or to destroy property, acting as a lone agent
B) group terrorism involves a formally organized group of people
C) state-supported terrorism is explicitly supported by a government
D) terrorism which acts at a distance endangers the life of the terrorist
E) none of these

Question 35

The Holocaust is thought to be

A) similar in its basic characteristics to other forms of human-induced death
B) unique for its scope and political or ideological basis
C) distinguished by its focus on prisoners of war
D) limited to the Japanese in World War II
E) none of these

Question 36

Entertainment programs in contemporary media tend to distort portrayals of death because they use

A) selectivity and fantasization
B) realism and individuation
C) impossible situations
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 37

The use of euphemisms about death

A) is declining in American society
B) can be useful if they are not overused
C) supports the acceptance of dying and death
D) demonstrates American willingness to support the grief of survivors
E) is most prevalent among Americans who are 19-26 years of age

Question 38

Which of the following is most accurate?

A) media portrayed deaths most often focus on violent deaths
B) media deaths often focus on the deaths of so-called "special" persons rather than more "ordinary" people
C) death announcements in newspapers are paid for by survivors
D) the violent deaths portrayed in entertainment media are seldom accompanied by portrayals of grief
E) all of these

Question 39

Since World War II, the lethal potential of nuclear weapons and nuclear power has been manifested in

A) the nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979
B) the results of a natural disaster in Japan in 2011
C) the explosion in the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 40

In children's cartoons like "Roadrunner," death is often depicted as

A) a natural part of living
B) an occasion for grief
C) an unrealistic phenomena that does not involve finality
D) all of these
E) none of these