Anthropology Multiple Choice Questions
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1. Which of the following is characteristic of the anthropological approach?
a. an emphasis on biological explanations of cultural variation
b. ethnocentrism
c. an emphasis on shared customs and institutions
d. an emphasis on the individual
e. all of the above
2. Anthropologists generally consider cultural elements to be __________ in nature.
a. technological
b. artistic
c. material
d. symbolic
e. innate
3. The attempt to evaluate and understand a custom in the context of the meaning system and morality of the culture in which it is present is called:
a. ethnocentrism
b. ethnography
c. cultural ecology
d. cultural relativism
e. the etic approach
4. The practice of understanding and evaluating a custom in the context of one's own culture is called:
a. ethnocentrism
b. ethnography
c. cultural ecology
d. cultural relativism
e. the etic approach
5. Which statement about the relationship between environment and human behaviour best summarizes the anthropological approach
a. Human behaviour can be understood as a biological conditioned response to environmental stimulate
b. Human behaviour can be understood as a direct response to environmental conditions and stimulae.
c. Human behaviour can be understood as a culturally conditioned response to environmental stimulae.
d. Human behaviour can be understood without any reference to environmental conditions at all.
6. Which statement about human races best summarizes anthropological findings?
a. Popular racial categories are biologically significant units of anthropological analysis
b. Popular racial categories need to be further refined to formulate biologically significant units
c. Popular racial categories are socio-cultural constructs of no potential biological significance.
d. Popular racial categories have no biological or socio-cultural significance.
7. Which statement about the evolution of culture and the human brain is the most accurate
a. Evidence of cultural behaviour does not appear until human brain size attained its current dimensions
b. Evidence of cultural behaviour appears soon after an initial spurt in brain size growth.
c. Evidence of cultural behaviour appears immediately before an initial spurt in brain size growth
d. Human brain sizes can be expected to increase dramatically in the wake of the recent "information revolution."
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1. Which of the following is characteristic of the anthropological approach?
a. an emphasis on biological explanations of cultural variation
b. ethnocentrism
c. an emphasis on shared customs and institutions
d. an emphasis on the individual
e. all of the above
A cultural anthropologist studies human societies and cultures. They do not study human biology (a physical or biological anthropologist does). There is an emphasis on the group or community, rather than on the individual.
Ethnocentrism is the belief that one society (usually one's own) is superior to another, a belief that cultural anthropologists do not hold.
The answer is c.
2. Anthropologists generally consider cultural elements to be __________ in nature.
a. technological
b. artistic
c. material
d. symbolic
e. innate
Cultural elements include social structure, traditions, religion, art, norms, morals, ideas, knowledge, and technology, among other things. They do not have to be material or technological. While the motivations for using and creating cultural elements may be innate, anthropologists consider the elements ...
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