CHAPTER 2: Culture and Society
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Why was France reluctant to use the Internet?
a. France is a postindustrial society that has gone beyond the Internet.
b. Many French are sensitive about the threat of American culture.
c. The French could not read the Internet because most Web sites are in English.
d. France was defending itself against Americans who were anti-French.
Answer: B
2. How does reggae music illustrate the effects of globalization on culture?
a. Rastafarians migrated from Brazil to Tibet and brought their music with them.
b. Reggae combines African, Rastafarian, and American jazz rhythms.
c. Until Bob Marley’s records sold worldwide, reggae was limited to a small group of liberalthinking college students.
d. Before reggae was popularized by MTV and VH1, no one outside of Ethiopia was familiar
with its sounds.
Answer: B
3. The scientific study of culture began with ________ in the nineteenth century.
a. Karl Marx
b. Émile Durkheim
c. Max Weber
d. C. Wright Mills
Answer: B
4. Culture consists of:
a. values
b. stereotypes
c. generalizations
d. instincts
Answer: A
5. Values are:
a. abstract ideals
b. good manners
c. rules of conduct
d. material goods
Answer: A
6. Accepted rules of behavior that people are expected to observe are called:
a. culture
b. values
c. norms
d. instincts
Answer: C
7. The physical objects that influence the ways in which people live are called:
a. values
b. culture
c. norms
d. material goods
Answer: D
8. Culture may be thought of as a:
a. fixed pattern of behavior
b. religion
c. tool kit of practices, knowledge, and symbols
d. global movement
Answer: C
9. The sociological perspective of culture includes:
a. Internet usage
b. modern technology
c. the differences and similarities among people
d. the fine arts
Answer: D
10. Which of the following most accurately describes the dominant American value system?
a. Americans believe that all people are not created equal.
b. Americans believe that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
c. Americans believe that people are good and trustworthy.
d. Americans believe in the merits of individual achievement.
Answer: D
11. What do sociologists call sets of shared beliefs about what is worthwhile and desirable?
a. norms
b. material goods
c. values
d. culture
Answer: C
12. The idea that you should not cheat during this exam is an example of:
a. values
b. egalitarianism
c. instinct
d. material goods
Answer: A
13. The fact that in most cases you will applaud a boring guest speaker in your introductory
sociology class, but almost never applaud your interesting professor is an example of:
a. sociobiology
b. instinct
c. ideology
d. norms
Answer: D
14. Society is a:
a. set of abstract ideals
b. set of concrete rules of behavior
c. system of interrelationships that connects individuals
d. sense of self-consciousness
Answer: C
15. A woman scolds her friend for talking while chewing his food. This is an example of:
a. informal social control
b. formal social control
c. sociobiology
d. conformity
Answer: A
16. Archaeological evidence suggests the first human culture began about ________ years
ago.
a. 100,000
b. 500,000
c. 2 million
d. 4 million
Answer: C
17. Which of the following best explains why different groups of people have developed
different cultures?
a. People are born with distinctive DNA patterns that vary by culture.
b. Some groups of people are genetically less intelligent than other groups.
c. People learned to adapt to their physical surroundings.
d. Western people were more technologically and culturally advanced than others.
Answer: C
18. According to sociobiologists, ________ has led to female chastity and male promiscuity.
a. demoralization
b. cultural relativism
c. ethnocentrism
d. reproductive strategy
Answer: D
19. Sociobiologists believe that:
a. men and women share the same reproductive strategy
b. genes influence behavior
c. men and women typically possess equal authority
d. life experiences determine behavior
Answer: B
20. Which of the following most accurately describes the relationship between nature and
nurture?
a. Both the hormonal changes of pregnancy and the cultural norms of motherhood influence a
woman’s care of her newborn baby.
b. A man’s interest in having sexual relations with multiple partners is biologically
programmed into his DNA.
c. Women are more interested in low-carbohydrate diets and men are more interested in lowfat diets because of the different metabolic rates of the two groups.
d. Men are genetically programmed to never ask anyone for directions, but the DNA of
women leads them to ask for directions rather than be lost.
Answer: A
21. In the debate of nature versus nurture, sociologists believe that:
a. biology determines behavior
b. culture determines behavior
c. both biology and culture influence human behavior
d. environmental challenges drive inventiveness
Answer: C
22. Human behavior and cultural beliefs:
a. are generally the same everywhere
b. vary widely from culture to culture
c. are based on instinct
d. vary only slightly from one culture to another
Answer: B
23. Reggae music, which is based on ________, illustrates the cultural effects of
globalization.
a. African politics and religion
b. commercialism
c. hip-hop
d. European slave owners
Answer: A
24. ________ society is culturally diverse and involves numerous ________.
a. Hunting and gathering; societies
b. Industrial; subcultures
c. Industrial; subsocieties
d. Hunting and gathering; subsocieties
Answer: B
25. Which of the following groups is a subculture in the United States?
a. parents involved with a parent-teacher association
b. players in a community soccer league
c. participants in a neighborhood book club
d. men who have more than one wife
Answer: D
26. A cultural group that exists within a larger, dominant culture is called a(n):
a. counterculture
b. subculture
c. assimilated group
d. cultural relative
Answer: B
27. Rather than describing American society as a melting pot in which different cultures are
absorbed into a single mainstream culture, a more appropriate metaphor would be:
a. goulash, a thick stew made of meat, vegetables, and spices
b. a salad bowl in which all ingredients retain some of their original flavor
c. a pizza with several toppings
d. fruit and vegetables, the essentials of a healthy diet
Answer: B
28. Which term describes a viewpoint that respects diverse racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic,
and national backgrounds?
a. ethnocentrism
b. assimilation
c. semiotics
d. multiculturalism
Answer: D
29. Judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own is called:
a. ethnocentrism
b. assimilation
c. multiculturalism
d. cultural relativism
Answer: A
30. Many Americans were upset to learn that a shop in Aspen, Colorado, was selling ski boots
trimmed with dog fur imported from China, where dogs are eaten. The repulsion Americans
felt is an example of:
a. a universal distaste for harming man’s best friend
b. the biological imperative for survival being threatened
c. the ethnocentrism of American culture
d. the internalization of worldwide standards of behavior
Answer: C
31. In many cultures the “squat toilet,” where one squats rather than sits, is still the most
common type of bathroom facility. Americans are often shocked when they encounter these
toilets, seeing them as hopelessly disgusting. This attitude is an example of:
a. ethnocentrism
b. multiculturalism
c. cultural relativism
d. social control
Answer: A
32. Judging a society by its own cultural standards is called:
a. ethnocentrism
b. assimilation
c. multiculturalism
d. cultural relativism
Answer: D
33. Values that are shared by all human cultures are called:
a. cultural universals
b. norms
c. cultural beliefs
d. customs
Answer: A
34. All cultures possess:
a. the same ideas about love and marriage
b. some form of family system
c. an appreciation for diversity
d. an understanding of technology
Answer: B
35. Which of the following human behaviors is universal?
a. smiling while entering an elevator
b. prohibition of incest
c. allowing a classmate to copy exam answers
d. personal space between two people
Answer: B
36. The linguistic relativity hypothesis was developed by:
a. Max Weber
b. W.E.B. Du Bois
c. Jean Baudrillard
d. Edward Sapir
Answer: D
37. In an article titled “Sex, Syntax, and Semantics,” Lera Borodinsky argues that mental
representations of inanimate objects like forks and frying pans are heavily dependent on the
object’s grammatical gender in your native language. To which theory or concept is her
argument related?
a. cultural universals
b. cultural relativism
c. semiotics
d. linguistic relativity hypothesis
Answer: D
38. ________ is limited to a particular context; ________ permits transmission of ideas and
experiences through generations.
a. Language; culture
b. Culture; language
c. Speech; writing
d. Writing; speech
Answer: C
39. The way a person dresses and holds a knife and fork are examples of:
a. chromosomes
b. signifiers
c. tools
d. cultures
Answer: B
40. Which of the following is NOT a signifier?
a. the marks made on paper in writing
b. the sounds made in speech
c. the Internet
d. style of dress
Answer: C
41. Semiotics is:
a. the study of premodern societies
b. the analysis of nonverbal cultural meanings
c. the theory of natural selection
d. the use of standardized questionnaires
Answer: B
42. In ancient cities, the religious temple was placed in the highest or central location; in
modern cities, skyscrapers occupy that position. What method of analysis allows us to
compare symbolic cultural meanings of such physical structures?
a. semiotics
b. sociobiology
c. signifiers
d. assimilation
Answer: A
43. For most of their existence as a species, humans have lived in ________ societies.
a. hunting and gathering
b. pastoral
c. traditional
d. modern
Answer: A
44. Egalitarianism, participatory decision making, and an elaborate ceremonial life
characterized what type of society?
a. hunting and gathering
b. agrarian
c. traditional
d. modern
Answer: A
45. Hunting and gathering societies were primarily egalitarian with differences in rank
limited to the:
a. number of animals a person killed during hunting season
b. wealth of the community members
c. kinds of utensils used in the hunting and gathering process
d. gender and age of the society members
Answer: D
46. Which type of society demonstrated that human beings are not competitive by nature?
a. industrial
b. hunting and gathering
c. pastoral
d. modern
Answer: B
47. ________ societies relied mainly on domesticated animals, while ________ societies
grew crops for their livelihood.
a. Hunting; gathering
b. Pastoral; agrarian
c. Agrarian; pastoral
d. Gathering; hunting
Answer: B
48. Which type of society was more settled and tends to have more material possessions?
a. hunting and gathering
b. pastoral
c. agrarian
d. premodern
Answer: C
49. In which of the following societies did most people live and work on the land in
agricultural production?
a. industrialized
b. nation-state
c. agrarian
d. modern
Answer: C
50. Pronounced inequalities, rule by kings and emperors, and larger cities characterized what
type of society?
a. pastoral
b. agrarian
c. premodern
d. modern
Answer: C
51. Most traditional civilizations were ________, developed through conquest and
incorporation of other societies.
a. civilizations
b. multicultural
c. industrialized
d. empires
Answer: D
52. ________ is the emergence of machine production, based on the use of inanimate power
resources.
a. Civilization
b. Horticulture
c. Colonialism
d. Industrialization
Answer: D
53. Rapid technological innovation, impersonal social life, and influential large-scale
organizations characterized what type of society?
a. pastoral
b. agrarian
c. traditional
d. modern
Answer: D
54. Which type of society saw the advent of the nation-state?
a. hunting and gathering
b. agrarian
c. premodern
d. industrialized
Answer: D
55. Political communities with clearly defined borders in which the governments have
extensive power over citizens’ lives are called:
a. civilizations
b. nation-states
c. colonies
d. economies
Answer: B
56. ________ was central to shaping the social geography of the modern world.
a. Colonialism
b. Industrialization
c. Hunting and gathering
d. Agrarianism
Answer: A
57. Conditions in the developing world today are largely a result of:
a. the failure of those countries to advance technologically
b. the colonial rule of Western industrialized societies
c. communism
d. the refusal of those countries to adopt the nation-state as their political system
Answer: B
58. Why should you be concerned about global poverty?
a. because you may be poor in the future
b. because most of the places where you will vacation are in close proximity to impoverished
areas
c. because most of the new immigrants to the United States are from developing societies
d. because the U.S. economic recession may cause America to become impoverished
Answer: C
59. Developing countries that have begun to successfully embark on a process of
industrialization are called:
a. newly industrializing economies (NIEs)
b. newly First World countries (NFWCs)
c. the Second World (SW)
d. the Second First World (SFW)
Answer: A
60. Of the developing societies undergoing industrialization, which have had the most
economic success?
a. those in South America
b. those in Africa
c. those in Asia
d. those in Antarctica
Answer: C
61. Industrialized and developing societies have developed:
a. in isolation from one another
b. in interconnection with one another
c. at the same rate
d. in different but equal ways
Answer: B
62. In what way can nationalism contradict globalization?
a. Americans may become increasingly isolationist, refusing to be involved in the activities of
other countries.
b. Internet usage may be limited to accessing sites in your home country.
c. Local identities may take precedence over worldwide concerns.
d. Recent American citizens may vehemently reject assimilation in favor of their native ethnic
identity.
Answer: C
TRUE/FALSE
1. It is possible to have a society without a culture.
Answer: False
2. The term “culture,” as used by sociologists, refers only to things like classical music and
art.
Answer: False
3. Culture is the total way of life for a group of people.
Answer: True
4. The material goods in a culture influence the way of life of its people in significant ways.
Answer: True
5. The level of material culture in a society completely determines other aspects of cultural
development.
Answer: False
6. Assimilation is the process by which different cultures are absorbed into a single
mainstream culture.
Answer: True
7. Subcultures are groups that are not part of the society.
Answer: False
8. Multiculturalism acknowledges shared central cultural values while respecting the
diversity and equality of different cultures.
Answer: True
9. Cultural relativism and ethnocentrism are extremely similar concepts.
Answer: False
10. When we try to understand a culture on its own terms, we are practicing cultural
relativism.
Answer: True
11. Pastoral and agrarian societies were able to support larger communities than hunting and
gathering societies were able to support.
Answer: True
12. Industrialization was an overwhelmingly peaceful process of development.
Answer: False
13. Events in the developing world have little effect on Americans because they are so far
away.
Answer: False
Test Bank for Essentials of Sociology
Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P Appelbaum, Deborah Carr
9780393932379, 9780393674088, 9780393937459, 9780393918830
