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Culture Documents
Module 07
The Study of Culture
1. The totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and
behavior is known as
A. culture.
B. society.
C. socialization.
D. social structure.
2. A society is
A. the totality of learned, socially transmitted behavior.
B. a fairly large number of people who live in the same territory, are relatively independent of
people outside it, and participate in a common culture.
C. the norms, values, and beliefs of a large group of people.
D. All these answers are correct.
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Module 07 - The Study of Culture
3. A society
A. is a dependent group that owes allegiance to a larger group.
B. is the largest form of human group.
C. contains several different cultures.
D. contains one subculture and many cultures.
4. Which of the following individuals is associated with the concept of the culture industry?
A. Karl Marx
B. Theodor Adorno
C. Robert Merton
D. W. E. B. DuBois
5. General customs and practices that are found in every culture are called
A. cultural integration.
B. cultural diffusion.
C. cultural universals.
D. cultural relativism.
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Module 07 - The Study of Culture
8. The tendency to assume that one's own culture and way of life represent the norm or are
superior to all others is called
A. culture shock.
B. cultural relativism.
C. ethnocentrism.
D. value stability.
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Module 07 - The Study of Culture
10. An American traveling abroad observes locals eating chocolate covered crickets. She
expresses disgust to her traveling companions. She is exhibiting
A. xenocentrism.
B. ethnocentrism.
C. cultural relativism.
D. monophobicism.
11. An American traveling abroad observes locals eating chocolate covered crickets. While
she does not partake herself, she does not judge the practice. She is exhibiting
A. xenocentrism.
B. ethnocentrism.
C. cultural relativism.
D. monophobicism.
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Module 07 - The Study of Culture
12. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to assume that one's own culture and way of life represent
the norm or are superior to all others. Therefore, ethnocentrism fosters cohesion in a group.
This observation would best reflect which sociological perspective?
A. functionalist perspective
B. conflict perspective
C. interactionist perspective
D. feminist perspective
13. A U.S. sociologist receives a grant to study racial and religious prejudice among the
people of southeast Asia. The sociologist makes a serious and unbiased effort to evaluate the
norms, values, and customs of these groups in light of the distinctive cultures of which they
are a part. This is an example of
A. xenocentrism.
B. ethnocentrism.
C. cultural relativism.
D. cultural deconstruction.
14. Which of the following concepts employs the kind of value neutrality in scientific study
that Max Weber saw as being so important?
A. xenocentrism
B. cultural integration
C. cultural relativism
D. ethnocentrism
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McGraw-Hill Education
Module 07 - The Study of Culture
16. A primitive tribe that cultivates the soil by hand has much more culture than a modern,
computerized society.
FALSE
18. Funerals are found in every culture and thus are a cultural universal.
TRUE
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McGraw-Hill Education
Module 07 - The Study of Culture
19. Viewing people's behavior from the perspective of their own culture is known as cultural
relativism.
TRUE
Essay Questions
21. Define the term culture and describe how members of society seek to preserve it. Identify
the various cultural universals as suggested by George Murdock's list of cultural universals.
Bloom's: Analyze
Learning Objective: Explain the sociological meaning of culture and society.
Topic: Culture
22. Define the term ethnocentrism and discuss why functionalists and conflict theorists
disagree over the utility of ethnocentrism.
Bloom's: Analyze
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
Topic: Ethnocentrism
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McGraw-Hill Education