PART 1
CULTURE AND ETHNOGRAPHY
The introduction to Part 1 discusses the concept of culture and the nature of ethnographic
fieldwork with special emphasis on the following definitions.
KEY DEFINITIONS
Culture is the acquired (learned) knowledge that people use to generate behavior and interpret
experience.
Explicit culture is culture that people are consciously aware of and can talk about.
Tacit culture is culture that is not coded in language by a people, such as speaking distances.
Ethnography is the process of discovering and describing a particular culture.
A microculture is a system of cultural knowledge characteristic of a subgroup within a larger
society.
Detached observation is a research approach in which investigators observe human behavior and
create their own categories and theories to describe and explain it.
,A subject is a person who is observed by social scientists conducting experimental social or
psychological research.
An informant is an individual from whom anthropologists learn a culture.
A respondent is an individual who responds to questions normally associated with survey
research.
Naive realism is the belief (often unconscious) that people everywhere see the world in the same
way.
Culture shock is a state of anxiety that results from cross-cultural misunderstanding.
Ethnocentrism is the belief and feeling that one's own culture is best.
PART 1 QUESTIONS
True or False?
F 1. Culture is the patterned behavior characteristic of a group of people.
T 2. Detached observation is a research approach in which investigators observe human
behavior and create their own categories and theories to describe and explain it.
F 3. A microculture is the patterned behavior characteristic of a subgroup within a larger
society.
,T 4. An informant is what anthropologists call the individuals from whom they learn a culture.
F 5. Culture shock is the process of discovering and describing a particular culture.
Multiple Choice
1. Sir Edward Burnett Tylor is known for his early definition of
a. ethnography.
b. culture.
c. naive realism.
d. culture shock.
Correct Answer: b
2. When they do ethnographic fieldwork, anthropologists interview
a. objects.
b. subjects.
c. informants.
d. participants.
Correct Answer: c
3. The process of discovering and describing a particular culture is called
a. interviewing.
b. ethnocentrism.
c. participant observation.
, d. ethnography.
Correct Answer: d
CULTURE AND ETHNOGRAPHY
The introduction to Part 1 discusses the concept of culture and the nature of ethnographic
fieldwork with special emphasis on the following definitions.
KEY DEFINITIONS
Culture is the acquired (learned) knowledge that people use to generate behavior and interpret
experience.
Explicit culture is culture that people are consciously aware of and can talk about.
Tacit culture is culture that is not coded in language by a people, such as speaking distances.
Ethnography is the process of discovering and describing a particular culture.
A microculture is a system of cultural knowledge characteristic of a subgroup within a larger
society.
Detached observation is a research approach in which investigators observe human behavior and
create their own categories and theories to describe and explain it.
,A subject is a person who is observed by social scientists conducting experimental social or
psychological research.
An informant is an individual from whom anthropologists learn a culture.
A respondent is an individual who responds to questions normally associated with survey
research.
Naive realism is the belief (often unconscious) that people everywhere see the world in the same
way.
Culture shock is a state of anxiety that results from cross-cultural misunderstanding.
Ethnocentrism is the belief and feeling that one's own culture is best.
PART 1 QUESTIONS
True or False?
F 1. Culture is the patterned behavior characteristic of a group of people.
T 2. Detached observation is a research approach in which investigators observe human
behavior and create their own categories and theories to describe and explain it.
F 3. A microculture is the patterned behavior characteristic of a subgroup within a larger
society.
,T 4. An informant is what anthropologists call the individuals from whom they learn a culture.
F 5. Culture shock is the process of discovering and describing a particular culture.
Multiple Choice
1. Sir Edward Burnett Tylor is known for his early definition of
a. ethnography.
b. culture.
c. naive realism.
d. culture shock.
Correct Answer: b
2. When they do ethnographic fieldwork, anthropologists interview
a. objects.
b. subjects.
c. informants.
d. participants.
Correct Answer: c
3. The process of discovering and describing a particular culture is called
a. interviewing.
b. ethnocentrism.
c. participant observation.
, d. ethnography.
Correct Answer: d
