3.8: Section Quiz

3.1 What Is Culture?

1.

The terms _______ and ______ are often used interchangeably, but have nuances that differentiate them.

1. imperialism and relativism
2. culture and society
3. society and ethnocentrism
4. ethnocentrism and Xenocentrism

2.

The American flag is a material object that denotes the U.S. However, many associate ideas with the flag, like bravery and freedom. In this example, what are bravery and freedom?

1. Symbols
2. Language
3. Material culture
4. Nonmaterial culture

3.

The belief that one’s culture is inferior to another culture is called:

1. ethnocentrism
2. nationalism
3. xenocentrism
4. imperialism

4.

The irrational fear or hatred of another culture is called:

1. ethnocentrism
2. xenophobia
3. xenophile
4. ethnophobia

5.

Rodney and Elise are U.S. students studying abroad in Italy. When they are introduced to their host families, the families kiss them on both cheeks. When Rodney’s host brother introduces himself and kisses Rodney on both cheeks, Rodney pulls back in surprise. Where he is from, unless they are romantically involved, men do not kiss one another. This is an example of:

1. culture shock
2. imperialism
3. ethnocentrism
4. xenocentrism

6.

Most cultures have been found to identify laughter as a sign of humor, joy, or pleasure. Laughter is an examples of:

1. relativism
2. ethnocentrism
3. xenocentrism
4. universalism

3.2 Elements of Culture

7.

A nation’s flag is:

1. A symbol
2. A value
3. A culture
4. A folkway

8.

The existence of social norms, both formal and informal, is one of the main things that inform ___________, otherwise known as encouraging social conformity.

1. values
2. sanctions
3. social control
4. mores

9.

The biggest difference between mores and folkways is that

1. mores are linked to morality, whereas folkways are tied to commonplace behaviors
2. mores are absolute, whereas folkways are temporary
3. mores refer to material culture, whereas folkways refer to nonmaterial culture
4. mores refer to nonmaterial culture, whereas folkways refer to material culture

10.

The notion that people cannot feel or experience something that they do not have a word for can be explained by:

1. linguistics
2. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
3. Ethnographic imagery
4. bilingualism

11.

Cultural sanctions can also be viewed as ways that society:

1. Establishes leaders
2. Determines language
3. Regulates behavior
4. Determines laws

3.3 High, Low, Pop, Sub, Counter-culture and Cultural Change

12.

An example of high culture is _________, whereas an example of popular culture would be ____________.

1. Dostoevsky style in film; “American Idol” winners
2. medical marijuana; film noir
3. country music; pop music
4. political theory; sociological theory

13.

The Ku Klux Klan is an example of what part of culture?

1. Counterculture
2. Subculture
3. Multiculturalism
4. pop culture

14.

Modern-day hipsters are an example of:

1. ethnocentricity
2. counterculture
3. subculture
4. high culture

15.

Your eighty-three-year-old grandmother has been using a computer for some time now. As a way to keep in touch, you frequently send emails of a few lines to let her know about your day. She calls after every email to respond point by point, but she has never emailed a response back. This can be viewed as an example of:

1. cultural lag
2. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
3. Ethnographic imagery
4. bilingualism

16.

Some jobs today advertise in multinational markets and permit telecommuting in lieu of working from a primary location. This broadening of the job market and the way that jobs are performed can be attributed to:

1. cultural lag
2. diffusion
3. discovery
4. globalization

17.

The major difference between invention and discovery is:

1. Invention is based on technology, whereas discovery is usually based on culture
2. Discovery involves finding items that already exists, but invention puts things together in a new way
3. Invention refers to material culture, whereas discovery can be material or theoretic, like laws of physics
4. Invention is typically used to refer to prehistoric objects, whereas discovery refers to local culture

18.

McDonald’s restaurants are found in almost every country around the world. What is this an example of?

1. globalization
2. diffusion
3. culture lag
4. xenocentrism

3.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Culture

19.

A sociologist conducts research into the ways that Hispanic American students are historically underprivileged in the U.S. education system. What theoretical approach is the sociologist Using?

1. Symbolic interactionism
2. Functionalism
3. Conflict theory
4. Ethnocentrism

20.

Members of a counterculture movement believed that the economic disparity between the highest and the mid to lower economic classes is growing at an exponentially alarming rate. A sociologist who studies that movement by examining the interactions between its members would most likely use what theoretical approach?

1. Symbolic interactionism
2. Functionalism
3. Conflict theory
4. Ethnocentrism

21.

What theoretical perspective views society as having a system of interdependent inherently connected parts?

1. Sociobiology
2. Functionalism
3. Conflict theory
4. Ethnocentrism

22.

The “American Dream”—the notion that anybody can be successful and rich if they work hard enough—is most commonly associated with which sociological theory?

1. Sociobiology
2. Functionalism
3. Conflict theory
4. Ethnocentrism

Short Answer

24.

23.

Consider a current social trend that you have witnessed, perhaps situated around family, education, transportation, or finances. For example, many veterans of the Armed Forces, after completing tours of duty in the Middle East, are returning to college rather than entering jobs as previous generations did. Choose a sociological approach—functionalism, conflict theory, or symbolic interactionism—to describe, explain, and analyze the social issue you choose. Afterward, determine why you chose the approach you did. Does it suit your own way of thinking? Or does it offer the most relevant method of illuminating the social issue?