Deck 1: Anthropology and Complexity

Question 1

Which is a good example of 'ecosystems services'?

A) Bees pollinating plants
B) Maggots decomposing dead ducks
C) Trees letting out oxygen
D) Microbes in a stream filtering the water
E) All are good examples

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The study of how the health of animals influences the health of humans, and vice versa, reflects a theoretical model called ____________.

A) One Health
B) Ecosystem services
C) Microbiomatics
D) Homeostatics
E) No answer provided is correct

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The term 'microbiome' refers to:

A) biological determinism
B) the total number of members of a given species that a niche or habitat can support without provoking its own collapse.
C) adaptive human strategies
D) a variety of human phenomena
E) the pooled genetic material of the microbial organisms inhabiting a certain space.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Choose the best example of 'systems thinking' from the list below:

A) Studying what the circulatory system does in the human body and how this system is affected by the social and physical environment.
B) Studying systems as if they have impermeable (solid) borders.
C) Studying air-quality as an isolated variable that can be reduced to its chemical properties.
D) Studying isolated genetic variables linked to the circulatory system.
E) Studying what the circulatory system does in the human body

Question 5

What is moving between or exchanged by the parts in a mechanical system?

A) Energy
B) Information
C) Energy and information
D) Purpose and capacity
E) Capacity

Question 6

What can a 'complex adaptive system' do that a 'mechanical system' cannot do?

A) Adapt
B) Reflect
C) Remain static
D) Have moving parts
E) Be studied

Question 7

What flows from part to part in a complex adaptive system but not a mechanical system?

A) Energy
B) Information
C) Energy and information
D) Purpose and capacity
E) Capacity

Question 8

Within an ecosystem, a 'species' is which kind of population?

A) abiotic
B) biotic
C) macrobiotic niche
D) uncompetitive
E) past its carrying capacity

Question 9

The idea that nature (rather than nurture) fully determines one's capacities and characteristics is:

A) cultural determinism
B) biological determinism
C) systems thinking
D) homeostasis
E) ethnocentrism

Question 10

The idea that nurture (rather than nature) fully determines one's capacities and characteristics is:

A) cultural determinism
B) biological determinism
C) systems thinking
D) homeostasis
E) ethnocentrism

Question 11

A unified approach to the study of human biocultural diversity requires:

A) Avoiding systems thinking, ethnocentrism, and biological determinism.
B) Rejecting biological determinism, avoiding ethnocentrism, and adopting systems thinking.
C) Ignoring the archeological record to focus on the ethnographic data.
D) Investigating the archeological & ethnographic record through an ethnocentric lens.
E) Adopting a holistic understanding, employing biological determinism, and rejecting reductionism.

Question 12

The emergent, nonlinear outcomes of complex adaptive systems can fulfil what is sometimes called:

A) The Law of Mechanical Consequences
B) The Law of Maladaptive Consequences
C) The Law of Unintended Consequences
D) The Law of Environmental Consequences
E) The Law of Cultural Consequences

Question 13

Which theoretical model applies an ecosystems-influenced approach on the grandest scale?

A) Nonlinearlity
B) Mechanical systems
C) Individual human microbiome
D) One Health
E) Reductionism

Question 14

Which item(s) in the list is/are 'abiotic'?

A) fungal yeast
B) maggots
C) sunlight
D) rats
E) trees

Question 15

According to the original ecosystems model, which of the following would be seen as a negative stressor?

A) a species of vulture becoming extinct.
B) a significant population increase of rabid dogs.
C) a decline in oak tree fertilization as a result of squirrel pesticides.
D) everything in this list.
E) human-caused water pollution.

Question 16

What would a 'cultural determinist' say makes individuals like Venus and Serena Williams, Ludwig van Beethoven and Albert Einstein such stars?

A) genetic inheritance
B) somatic structure of neurons
C) socioeconomic conditions and accumulated hours of deliberate practice
D) ancestral lineage.
E) luck.

Question 17

How would a researcher using 'holistic systems thinking' define a cake?

A) A cake is a pan filled with eggs, milk, sugar, flour, and butter.
B) A cake is the thing that emerges through the combination of ingredients plus a cooking process.
C) A cake is the result of a chemical reaction caused by baking powder.
D) A cake is the byproduct of a mechanical system (the oven).
E) A cake is an idea associated with a sweetened bready food.

Question 18

Which statement regarding 'cultural determinism' is true?

A) This position was popularized by 16^th century anthropologists in Europe who were appalled by racism.
B) It was Francis Galton's main argument in his book Hereditary Genius.
C) This position focuses on the nonbiological causes of human diversity.
D) Cultural determinists do NOT believe that a person's upbringing can explain their characteristics.
E) No answer is correct

Question 19

The phrase; 'The whole is more than the sum of its parts. Indeed, the whole is the product of its parts,' reflects which of the following concepts?

A) Systems thinking and Holism
B) Reductionism
C) Unificationism
D) Holism and unificationalism
E) Foundationalism

Question 20

Which of the following scenarios is NOT an example of 'reflexivity'?

A) examining personal & cultural biases prior to conducting research
B) an anthropologist noting in fieldnotes that they felt homesick to remind themselves of potential bias that day.
C) acknowledging the role of subjective perception when forming conclusions.
D) when a researcher claims to have no biases or to be wholly objective
E) holding one's own culture up not as an ideal but for a fair comparison

Question 21

Which statement about 'biological determinism' is true?

A) This position was popularized by 20^th century anthropologists in the US who were appalled by racism.
B) It has never been popular or useful to human groups
C) This notion focuses on the nonbiological causes of human diversity.
D) This framework asserts that a person's upbringing can explain their characteristics.
E) It has been used as a justification for unjust treatment of various demographic groups

Question 22

What would a 'biological determinist' say makes individuals like Venus and Serena Williams, Ludwig van Beethoven and Albert Einstein such stars?

A) accumulated hours of deliberate practice
B) their inborn, biologically given gifts
C) cultural conditions
D) the repetitive nature of their drills
E) luck

Question 23

Arguing that a child grows up to be tall because her genes code for being tall is an example of:

A) biological determinism, because height IS a biological (genetic) fact.
B) biological determinism, because the stated reason for being tall is biological.
C) cultural determinism, because height is a culturally constructed idea, and must be measured in a non-universal unit of measurement such as the inch.
D) cultural determinism, because the connection between genes and being tall is conventional and arbitrary.
E) Structural determinism, because height comes from or is based on the skeleton..

Question 24

'Cultural determinism' is:

A) now the dominant perspective in anthropology, having replacedearlier, less sophisticated models of natural selection.
B) a model in which biological phenomena have a strong effect on cultural variation.
C) a comprehensive explanation of cultural variation.
D) a one-sided explanation of human experience more accurately replaced by holistic systems thinking.
E) a model that arose in anthropology as a response to historical particularism

Question 25

'Systems thinking' centers around which of the following?

A) the synergistic relationships between individual elements and the emergent properties of these relationships
B) the relationships between moving parts and how their relative speeds affect the entire system.
C) the predictable ways in which cultural systems can evolve after specific environmental changes
D) the idea that an entire system can be explained by a single aspect of the system.
E) complexity science and its utility in ethnology

Question 26

What is a distinguishing feature or quality of a complex adaptive system?

A) can change itself in response to the environment
B) dynamic connections
C) ecologically sound
D) relationships between parts
E) unaffected by surrounding environment

Question 27

Which of the following provides the best example of a mechanical (as opposed to a complex adaptive) system?

A) the human brain
B) an oven
C) a wildlife preserve
D) a college class
E) a hammer

Question 28

Which of the following best exemplifies (provides the best example of) 'emergence'?

A) a small change leading to another small change
B) a small change leading nowhere
C) the invention of laws regarding texting while driving
D) a heater turning on after a thermostat recognizes that the temperature has gotten too low
E) an ecosystem in homeostatic balance

Question 29

To be nonlinear, in the context of systems thinking, means:

A) a particular set of events must always occur, but not in any particular order.
B) events can give rise to unpredicted events and have unforeseen ramifications.
C) when the distribution of system achievements is graphed over time, it seems completely random.
D) effect can sometimes precede cause, so it is often difficult to tell what came first.
E) butterflies flap their wings and ponds will ripple.

Question 30

'Nonlinear' changes are NOT:

A) predictable.
B) unexpected.
C) indeterminate.
D) unintended.
E) found in complex adaptive systems.

Question 31

What is NOT true of 'ethnology'?

A) It is the study of culture.
B) It is also termed "sociocultural" or "cultural" anthropology.
C) It is part of archaeology.
D) It makes cross-cultural comparisons.
E) Many of its original practitioners were very ethnocentric.

Question 32

What is NOT true of the 'comparative method'?

A) It compares cultures under study as a basis for generalizing about humankind.
B) It was adopted by ethnologists.
C) It compares cultures under study with cultures native to the anthropologist.
D) It requires ethnocentrism.
E) Anthropologists still apply it today.

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT part of 'holistic' anthropology?

A) the ethnographic record
B) participant-observation
C) experimental psychology
D) the archaeological record
E) physical remains such as bones and coprolites

Question 34

Which assumption did NOT fit with the 'ecosystems' approach originally, as the approach was first conceived?

A) Homeostasis is always restored.
B) There is an enduring ideal balance point.
C) There is a "steady state."
D) Change is good.
E) Humans are part of nature.

Question 35

What development is 'biological determinism' NEVER going to support or lead to?

A) people placing false limitations on their potential
B) blindness to the ways that sociocultural conditions advantage certain groups
C) underdevelopment of talent in individuals in whom such talents are not expected
D) the enslavement of various subpopulations
E) recognition of the sociocultural basis for racism or sexism

Question 36

Which of the following does NOT contrast with 'reductionism'?

A) explaining an entire system by explaining a single aspect of that system
B) focusing on the connectedness between aspects of a system
C) studying the relationships between aspects of a system
D) holism
E) the idea that what really counts emerges from the interaction of a system's various parts

Question 37

'Population-based human variation generated through or reflecting the dynamic, interacting combination of biological and cultural factors' is more simply called:

A) anthropological diversity.
B) biocultural diversity.
C) adaptive variation.
D) variation dynamics.
E) biological divergence.

Question 38

Which of the following offers the best definition of 'biocultural diversity' for our purposes?

A) population-based human variation generated through the synergistic interrelationship of biology and culture
B) biological differences seen between various populations around the world
C) population-based human biological variation driven by the ecosystem
D) culturally driven human variation in the human body as it exists around the world
E) all individual differences generated by the interrelationship of biocultural factors

Question 39

Which best describes 'biological determinism'?

A) Biology determines our capacities and characteristics.
B) Upbringing determines our capacities and characteristics.
C) Nurturing creates characteristics and capacities.
D) Culture is determined by biology.
E) Human biology is determined by human actions.

Question 40

Which label best fits the view that only culture determines one's capacities and characteristics?

A) biological determinism
B) epigenetics
C) cultural relativism
D) cultural determinism
E) holism

Question 41

"The whole is more than the sum of its parts" is a saying describing:

A) reductionism.
B) Cartesian thinking.
C) systems thinking.
D) biological determinism.
E) anthropocentrism.

Question 42

Anthropology is the study of:

A) animals.
B) humans; human systems .
C) ancient humans.
D) the environment.
E) archaeology.

Question 43

A fight between those on the nature side of 'the nature-nurture question' and those on the nurture side is essentially a fight between:

A) biological determinism and cultural determinism.
B) biocultural perspectivism and relativism.
C) determinism and systems thinking.
D) holism and reductionism.
E) biological determinism and psychological determinism.

Question 44

The idea that an entire system can be described on the basis of one of its parts is known as:

A) reductionism.
B) systems thinking.
C) mechanical determinism.
D) holism.
E) ethnocentrism.

Question 45

Which of the following are 'reductionist' views?

A) biological and cultural determinism
B) cultural determinism and relativism
C) holism and relativism
D) biological determinism and complexity theory
E) holism and ethnocentrism

Question 46

The philosophy or theory that one's biology (e.g., hormones, ancestry) controls one's way of being in the world (e.g., personality, interests, temperament) is a form of:

A) holism.
B) determinism.
C) concordance.
D) relativism.
E) ethnocentrism.

Question 47

Anthropology (or, more specifically, ethnology) studies humans through:

A) ethnocentrism.
B) the comparative method.
C) the conversational method.
D) experiments.
E) laboratory manipulations.

Question 48

Holism in anthropology can be understood as existing in contrast or opposition to:

A) determinism.
B) evolutionism.
C) ethnocentrism.
D) adaptationism.
E) reductionism.

Question 49

Which term refers to a state in which a system is balanced?

A) adapted
B) reciprocity
C) homozygous
D) homeostasis
E) thermostatic balance

Question 50

A 'species' is a:

A) composite of individuals with closely similar traits.
B) breeding group.
C) group of highly specialized individual organisms.
D) group of individuals in the same geographic location.
E) population that occupies an abiotic niche.

Question 51

An interconnected system consisting of 'biotic' and 'abiotic' elements:

A) is an ecosystem.
B) is a population.
C) cannot occur, as biotic and abiotic elements are separate elements.
D) is an example of a mechanical system.
E) can only happen when adaptation is homeostatic.

Question 52

When a species occupies a particular role within its habitat, this role is known as that species':

A) adaptation.
B) homeostatic set point.
C) niche.
D) developmental adjustment.
E) carrying capacity.

Question 53

Given a change in the environment in which a system is embedded, interactions between parts of a system can change, leading to an entirely new pattern of action. This is best called:

A) homeostasis.
B) emergence.
C) equilibrium.
D) appearance.
E) nonlinearity.

Question 54

'Emergence' is a property of:

A) biological determinism.
B) complex adaptive systems.
C) niche construction.
D) holistic thinking.
E) reductionism.

Question 55

'Adaptation' happens when a system:

A) breaks down in response to pressure.
B) tries to restore itself to a preset balance point.
C) alters itself and evolves in tandem with a changing environment.
D) completes its set tasks.
E) resists change of any kind.

Question 56

Using one's own culture as the basis for interpretation of features of another is called:

A) cultural relativism.
B) ethnocentrism.
C) self-preservation.
D) heritage.
E) self-centrism.

Question 57

The 'archaeological record':

A) refers to all historical events that occurred before the advent of writing.
B) consists of all material items that people of the past have left behind.
C) refers to our knowledge of non-human events.
D) considers all material culture, but not actual human remains.
E) cannot be referred to in a court of law.

Question 58

'Participant observation' is different from other forms of observation in that:

A) it focuses on individual participants, instead of the group.
B) the observer participates in the culture under study.
C) the observer actively manipulates the environment of those she observes in order to test hypotheses.
D) the observer maintains a certain amount of proximity to the people she tries to observe.
E) it does not take place in a laboratory.

Question 59

The 'comparative method':

A) is another name for ethnography.
B) compares individuals from the same culture to see if anything transcends the individual.
C) involves comparing cultures to one another as a basis for understanding human universals or generalizing about humnkind.
D) allows us to compare the contribution of biological and cultural factors.
E) compares and ranks non-Western cultures.

Question 60

The comparative study of cultures is known as:

A) paleoanthropology.
B) biological anthropology.
C) evolutionary biology.
D) ethnology.
E) holism.

Question 61

What is the difference between 'ethnography' and 'ethnology'?

A) Ethnography is the in depth account of a people's culture and society, while ethnology is the cross-cultural comparison of different peoples.
B) Ethnography is the in-depth account of a people's culture and society, while ethnology is the in-depth account of a people's biology.
C) Ethnology is a highly numerical science in comparison to ethnography.
D) Ethnography focuses on simple societies, while ethnology focuses on complex societies.
E) Ethnology is actually the same as ethnography; they are two words for the same thing.

Question 62

Which of the following is true regarding 'ethnocentrism'?

A) It is a key tool in modern anthropology.
B) Its rejection was a fundamental step in the founding of anthropology.
C) Anthropologists have learned how to minimize the limitations it imposes on good scholarship .
D) It is a pointless concept because it is impossible to counteract.
E) Once we recognize our own ethnocentrism, we are paralyzed.