Chapter 2 — The Concept of Culture
1. The central concept in anthropology is the concept of:
a. distribution.
b. power.
c. culture.
d. artifacts.
e. evolution.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 27-28
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
2. The anthropological concept of culture includes all of the following EXCEPT:
a. the ideas people learn.
b. genetic aspects of being human.
c. the material things people share.
d. the ways people behave.
e. the values and attitudes that people have.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 29
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
3. Which of the following statements about the concept of culture is FALSE?
a. Culture is symbolic.
b. Culture is learned.
c. Culture is always changing.
d. Culture is genetically-based.
e. Culture is adaptive.
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 29
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
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,Chapter 2 — The Concept of Culture
4. People from the same culture can predict one another's behavior because:
a. culture determines behavior.
b. culture conditions behavior.
c. all people in any given society accept exactly the same rules for behavior.
d. all people in any given society have exactly the same ideas.
e. culture groups are programmed to imitate each other.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 29
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
5. How does the earliest anthropological definition of culture by Edward Tylor differ from the definitions frequently
used today?
a. Tylor’s definition is more like a “laundry list” of attributes that together form a culture.
b. Definitions today tend to be more specialized and detailed about characteristics of culture.
c. Definitions of culture are no longer being formulated. Anthropology has a single significant definition of culture
that all researchers use.
d. Culture was more evident in the time of Tylor and his definition includes details that are no longer relevant to
the study of culture.
e. Tylor’s definition is the only definition still in use today.
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 28-29
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
6. All of the following are components of any definition of culture EXCEPT:
a. ideas and values.
b. biological predispositions.
c. material objects.
d. behavior patterns.
e. attitudes in society.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 30
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
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,Chapter 2 — The Concept of Culture
7. Symbols are one of the most critical components of culture. Which of the following statements is NOT true of
symbols?
a. Symbols unify people into a group.
b. Symbols provide meaning.
c. Symbols are completely separate from language.
d. Symbols help people identify objects and ideas.
e. Symbols are powerful.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 29
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
8. Which statement about the term civilization is true?
a. Civilization is synonymous with culture.
b. All cultures are civilizations, but all civilizations are not cultures.
c. Civilizations are characterized by monumental architecture, writing, and centralized government.
d. Civilizations first appeared around 10,000 years ago.
e. There are no contemporary civilizations. This was a phenomenon of the historical past.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 30
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
9. Trying to operate in an unfamiliar culture:
a. often leads to the experience of culture shock.
b. is never difficult for an educated person.
c. is relatively easy if you have read a book about that culture.
d. may lead to physical distress but not psychological distress.
e. creates mild psychological stress.
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Is Shared, p. 31
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
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, Chapter 2 — The Concept of Culture
10. Subcultures have all of the following characteristics EXCEPT:
a. they are subsets of the wider culture.
b. they always enjoy all the benefits of the mainstream culture.
c. they retain a level of cultural uniqueness that sets them apart.
d. they are neither inferior nor superior to mainstream culture.
e. they do not control society’s major institutional structures.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Is Shared, p. 31
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
11. Which of the following best illustrates a pluralistic society?
a. It is composed of a number of subcultural groups and has a low potential for misunderstandings or hostilities.
b. It has a great potential for misunderstandings or hostilities and is found in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
c. It is found in the United States and the United Kingdom but because of diffusion it is rapidly disappearing.
d. It is a peaceable society that promotes a great deal of cultural and social solidarity.
e. It is a type of society that first developed with immigration, but is no longer in existence.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Is Shared, p. 31
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
12. The process by which people acquire their own culture is:
a. called enculturation.
b. genetically based.
c. more rapid in industrialized societies than in less technologically developed ones.
d. slowest in industrialized societies and most rapid in less technologically developed ones.
e. called pluralism and results in pluralistic societies.
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Is Shared, p. 32
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.2 - How do we acquire our culture?
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1. The central concept in anthropology is the concept of:
a. distribution.
b. power.
c. culture.
d. artifacts.
e. evolution.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 27-28
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
2. The anthropological concept of culture includes all of the following EXCEPT:
a. the ideas people learn.
b. genetic aspects of being human.
c. the material things people share.
d. the ways people behave.
e. the values and attitudes that people have.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 29
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
3. Which of the following statements about the concept of culture is FALSE?
a. Culture is symbolic.
b. Culture is learned.
c. Culture is always changing.
d. Culture is genetically-based.
e. Culture is adaptive.
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 29
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
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,Chapter 2 — The Concept of Culture
4. People from the same culture can predict one another's behavior because:
a. culture determines behavior.
b. culture conditions behavior.
c. all people in any given society accept exactly the same rules for behavior.
d. all people in any given society have exactly the same ideas.
e. culture groups are programmed to imitate each other.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 29
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
5. How does the earliest anthropological definition of culture by Edward Tylor differ from the definitions frequently
used today?
a. Tylor’s definition is more like a “laundry list” of attributes that together form a culture.
b. Definitions today tend to be more specialized and detailed about characteristics of culture.
c. Definitions of culture are no longer being formulated. Anthropology has a single significant definition of culture
that all researchers use.
d. Culture was more evident in the time of Tylor and his definition includes details that are no longer relevant to
the study of culture.
e. Tylor’s definition is the only definition still in use today.
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 28-29
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
6. All of the following are components of any definition of culture EXCEPT:
a. ideas and values.
b. biological predispositions.
c. material objects.
d. behavior patterns.
e. attitudes in society.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 30
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
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,Chapter 2 — The Concept of Culture
7. Symbols are one of the most critical components of culture. Which of the following statements is NOT true of
symbols?
a. Symbols unify people into a group.
b. Symbols provide meaning.
c. Symbols are completely separate from language.
d. Symbols help people identify objects and ideas.
e. Symbols are powerful.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 29
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
8. Which statement about the term civilization is true?
a. Civilization is synonymous with culture.
b. All cultures are civilizations, but all civilizations are not cultures.
c. Civilizations are characterized by monumental architecture, writing, and centralized government.
d. Civilizations first appeared around 10,000 years ago.
e. There are no contemporary civilizations. This was a phenomenon of the historical past.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Defined, p. 30
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
9. Trying to operate in an unfamiliar culture:
a. often leads to the experience of culture shock.
b. is never difficult for an educated person.
c. is relatively easy if you have read a book about that culture.
d. may lead to physical distress but not psychological distress.
e. creates mild psychological stress.
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Is Shared, p. 31
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
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, Chapter 2 — The Concept of Culture
10. Subcultures have all of the following characteristics EXCEPT:
a. they are subsets of the wider culture.
b. they always enjoy all the benefits of the mainstream culture.
c. they retain a level of cultural uniqueness that sets them apart.
d. they are neither inferior nor superior to mainstream culture.
e. they do not control society’s major institutional structures.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Is Shared, p. 31
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
11. Which of the following best illustrates a pluralistic society?
a. It is composed of a number of subcultural groups and has a low potential for misunderstandings or hostilities.
b. It has a great potential for misunderstandings or hostilities and is found in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
c. It is found in the United States and the United Kingdom but because of diffusion it is rapidly disappearing.
d. It is a peaceable society that promotes a great deal of cultural and social solidarity.
e. It is a type of society that first developed with immigration, but is no longer in existence.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Is Shared, p. 31
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.1 What do anthropologists mean by the term “culture”?
12. The process by which people acquire their own culture is:
a. called enculturation.
b. genetically based.
c. more rapid in industrialized societies than in less technologically developed ones.
d. slowest in industrialized societies and most rapid in less technologically developed ones.
e. called pluralism and results in pluralistic societies.
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Culture Is Shared, p. 32
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Cult.Ferr.10.2.2 - How do we acquire our culture?
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