PERSPECTIVES: AN OPEN
INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGY QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2025
Anthropology - CORRECT ANSWER-the study of humanity, including
its prehistoric origins and contemporary human diversity
Culture - CORRECT ANSWER-a set of beliefs, practices, and symbols
that are learned and shared. Together, they form an all-encompassing,
integrated whole that binds people together and shapes their
worldview and lifeways.
Cultural determinism - CORRECT ANSWER-the idea that behavioral
differences are a result of cultural, not racial or genetic causes.
Cultural evolutionism - CORRECT ANSWER-a discredited theory
popular in nineteenth century anthropology suggesting that societies
evolved through stages from simple to advanced.
,Cultural relativism - CORRECT ANSWER-the idea that we should
seek to understand another person's beliefs and behaviors from the
perspective of their own culture and not our own.
Enculturation - CORRECT ANSWER-the process of learning the
characteristics and expectations of a culture or group.
Ethnocentrism - CORRECT ANSWER-the tendency to view one's own
culture as most important and correct and as the stick by which to
measure all other cultures.
Ethnography - CORRECT ANSWER-the in-depth study of the
everyday practices and lives of a people.
Going native - CORRECT ANSWER-becoming fully integrated into a
cultural group through acts such as taking a leadership position,
assuming key roles in society, entering into marriage, or other
behaviors that incorporate an anthropologist into the society he or she
is studying.
Hominin - CORRECT ANSWER-Humans (Homo sapiens) and their close
relatives and immediate ancestors.
,Deductive - CORRECT ANSWER-reasoning from the general to the
specific; the inverse of inductive reasoning. Deductive research is
more common in the natural sciences than in anthropology. In a
deductive approach, the researcher creates a hypothesis and then
designs a study to prove or disprove the hypothesis. The results of
deductive research can be generalizable to other settings.
Inductive - CORRECT ANSWER-a type of reasoning that uses
specific information to draw general conclusions. In an inductive
approach, the researcher seeks to collect evidence without trying to
definitively prove or disprove a hypothesis. The researcher usually
first spends time in the field to become familiar with the people
before identifying a hypothesis or research question. Inductive
research usually is not generalizable to other settings.
Paleoanthropologist - CORRECT ANSWER-biological anthropologists
who study ancient human relatives.
Participant-observation - CORRECT ANSWER-a type of observation
in which the anthropologist observes while participating in the same
activities in which her informants are engaged.
Armchair anthropology - CORRECT ANSWER-an early and
discredited method of anthropological research that did not involve
direct contact with the people studied.
, Functionalism - CORRECT ANSWER-an approach to anthropology
developed in British anthropology that emphasized the way that parts
of a society work together to support the functioning of the whole.
Structural-Functionalism - CORRECT ANSWER-an approach to
anthropology that focuses on the ways in which the customs or social
institutions in a culture contribute to the organization of society and
the maintenance of social order.
Holism - CORRECT ANSWER-taking a broad view of the historical,
environmental, and cultural foundations of behavior.
Kinship - CORRECT ANSWER-blood ties, common ancestry, and social
relationships that form families within human groups.
Participant observation - CORRECT ANSWER-a type of observation
in which the anthropologist observes while participating in the same
activities in which her informants are engaged.
The Other - CORRECT ANSWER-a term used to describe people
whose customs, beliefs, or behaviors are "different" from one's own
INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGY QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2025
Anthropology - CORRECT ANSWER-the study of humanity, including
its prehistoric origins and contemporary human diversity
Culture - CORRECT ANSWER-a set of beliefs, practices, and symbols
that are learned and shared. Together, they form an all-encompassing,
integrated whole that binds people together and shapes their
worldview and lifeways.
Cultural determinism - CORRECT ANSWER-the idea that behavioral
differences are a result of cultural, not racial or genetic causes.
Cultural evolutionism - CORRECT ANSWER-a discredited theory
popular in nineteenth century anthropology suggesting that societies
evolved through stages from simple to advanced.
,Cultural relativism - CORRECT ANSWER-the idea that we should
seek to understand another person's beliefs and behaviors from the
perspective of their own culture and not our own.
Enculturation - CORRECT ANSWER-the process of learning the
characteristics and expectations of a culture or group.
Ethnocentrism - CORRECT ANSWER-the tendency to view one's own
culture as most important and correct and as the stick by which to
measure all other cultures.
Ethnography - CORRECT ANSWER-the in-depth study of the
everyday practices and lives of a people.
Going native - CORRECT ANSWER-becoming fully integrated into a
cultural group through acts such as taking a leadership position,
assuming key roles in society, entering into marriage, or other
behaviors that incorporate an anthropologist into the society he or she
is studying.
Hominin - CORRECT ANSWER-Humans (Homo sapiens) and their close
relatives and immediate ancestors.
,Deductive - CORRECT ANSWER-reasoning from the general to the
specific; the inverse of inductive reasoning. Deductive research is
more common in the natural sciences than in anthropology. In a
deductive approach, the researcher creates a hypothesis and then
designs a study to prove or disprove the hypothesis. The results of
deductive research can be generalizable to other settings.
Inductive - CORRECT ANSWER-a type of reasoning that uses
specific information to draw general conclusions. In an inductive
approach, the researcher seeks to collect evidence without trying to
definitively prove or disprove a hypothesis. The researcher usually
first spends time in the field to become familiar with the people
before identifying a hypothesis or research question. Inductive
research usually is not generalizable to other settings.
Paleoanthropologist - CORRECT ANSWER-biological anthropologists
who study ancient human relatives.
Participant-observation - CORRECT ANSWER-a type of observation
in which the anthropologist observes while participating in the same
activities in which her informants are engaged.
Armchair anthropology - CORRECT ANSWER-an early and
discredited method of anthropological research that did not involve
direct contact with the people studied.
, Functionalism - CORRECT ANSWER-an approach to anthropology
developed in British anthropology that emphasized the way that parts
of a society work together to support the functioning of the whole.
Structural-Functionalism - CORRECT ANSWER-an approach to
anthropology that focuses on the ways in which the customs or social
institutions in a culture contribute to the organization of society and
the maintenance of social order.
Holism - CORRECT ANSWER-taking a broad view of the historical,
environmental, and cultural foundations of behavior.
Kinship - CORRECT ANSWER-blood ties, common ancestry, and social
relationships that form families within human groups.
Participant observation - CORRECT ANSWER-a type of observation
in which the anthropologist observes while participating in the same
activities in which her informants are engaged.
The Other - CORRECT ANSWER-a term used to describe people
whose customs, beliefs, or behaviors are "different" from one's own
