Sociology 101 Chapter 2 Quiz Questions

The United States is multicultural because

A. everyone holds the same values and beliefs.
B. each individual holds many different and conflicting values and beliefs.
C. there are many widely shared values and beliefs.
D. in this country we find many different languages and ways of life.

D. in this country we find many different languages and ways of life.

Harley Davidson motorcycle riders, computer programmers, and jazz musicians all display _____ patterns.

A. high cultural
B. popular cultural
C. virtual cultural
D. subcultural

D. subcultural

When immigrants bring new cultural patterns to the United States, the result may be

A. changes to the dominant culture.
B. cultural conflict between dominant and subcultural patterns.
C. changes to the immigrant culture.
D. All of these are correct.

D. All of these are correct.

Which of the following MOST closely conveys the point of the Sapir-Whorf thesis?

A. Language involves attaching labels to the real world.
B. People see the world through the cultural lens of their language.
C. Most words have the same meaning if spoken in different languages.
D. Every word exists in all known languages.

B. People see the world through the cultural lens of their language.

About how many adults in the United States speak a language other than English at home?

A. 6 million
B. 16 million
C. 26 million
D. 60 million

D. 60 million

Standards by which people who share culture define what is desirable, good, and beautiful are called

A. folkways.
B. norms.
C. mores.
D. values.

D. values.

Multiculturalism is defined as

A. efforts to encourage immigration to the United States.
B. efforts to establish English as the official language of the United States.
C. a perspective recognizing the cultural diversity of the United States and promoting equality of all cultural traditions.
D. the idea that the United States should have a single, dominant culture.

C. a perspective recognizing the cultural diversity of the United States and promoting equality of all cultural traditions.

The chapter’s opening story of the diversity initiative at Charles Schwab & Co. shows us that

A. various minorities respond to the same advertising in exactly the same way.
B. Asian American immigrants prefer English to their native language when they are doing business.
C. learning more about cultural diversity can help a company boost sales.
D. All of these are correct.

C. learning more about cultural diversity can help a company boost sales.

Ethnocentrism refers to

A. people taking pride in their ethnicity.
B. claiming that another culture is better than your own.
C. judging another culture using the standards of your own culture.
D. understanding another culture using its own standards and values.

C. judging another culture using the standards of your own culture.

George Murdock pointed to many cultural universals. Which of the following is NOT an example of a cultural universal?

A. belief in a heavenly afterlife
B. funeral rites
C. the family
D. telling jokes

A. belief in a heavenly afterlife

As a part of human culture, religion is an example of

A. material culture.
B. nonmaterial culture.
C. culture shock.
D. human nature.

B. nonmaterial culture.

The fact that instant messaging is based on a new set of symbols shows us that

A. today’s young people are creating new symbols.
B. there are many ways to use symbols to communicate.
C. culture changes over time.
D. All of these are correct.

D. All of these are correct.

Which of the following adds to the creation of a global culture?

A. the flow of goods from country to country
B. the flow of information around the world
C. the flow of people from country to country
D. All of these are correct.

D. All of these are correct.

According to scientists, Homo sapiens first appeared on Earth about how long ago?

A. 2,500 years
B. 25,000 years
C. 250,000 years
D. 250 million years

C. 250,000 years

Experts have documented almost _______ languages around the world.

A. 70
B. 700
C. 7,000
D. 7 million

C. 7,000

The early U.S. sociologist who described the difference between folkways and mores was

A. Emile Durkheim.
B. William Graham Sumner.
C. Harriett Martineau.
D. George Herbert Mead.

B. William Graham Sumner.

Cultural universals are elements of culture that

A. have always been part of U.S. culture.
B. have diffused from the United States to other countries.
C. have come to the United States from elsewhere.
D. are part of every known culture.

D. are part of every known culture.

Subculture refers to

A. a part of the population lacking culture.
B. people who embrace popular culture.
C. cultural patterns that set off a part of a society’s population.
D. people who embrace high culture.

C. cultural patterns that set off a part of a society’s population.

Compared to college students of the late 1960s, more of today’s college students are concerned with

A. developing a philosophy of life.
B. making money.
C. seeking justice in the world.
D. being involved in political affairs.

B. making money.

As our society has entered a postindustrial, computer-based phase, which of the following has become more important?

A. learning to work with symbols by speaking, writing, and computing
B. gaining mechanical skills using industrial machinery
C. knowing more about the past
D. All of these are correct.

A. learning to work with symbols by speaking, writing, and computing

The United States and Canada are both _______; however, Canadian culture is more _______ than U.S. culture.

A. monocultural; individualistic
B. multicultural; collectivist
C. ethnocentric; individualistic
D. monocultural; collectivist

B. multicultural; collectivist

The term "cultural lag" refers to the fact that

A. the rate of cultural change has been slowing.
B. some societies advance faster than others do.
C. some people are more cultured than others.
D. some cultural elements change more quickly than others.

D. some cultural elements change more quickly than others.

Cultural transmission refers to the process of

A. cultural patterns moving from one society to another.
B. using the oral tradition.
C. passing cultural patterns from one generation to another.
D. using writing to enshrine cultural patterns.

C. passing cultural patterns from one generation to another.

Sociologists refer to tangible or physical human creations as

A. nonmaterial culture.
B. artifacts.
C. technology.
D. values.

B. artifacts.

The United States is the most _______ of all countries.

A. multicultural
B. culturally uniform
C. slowly changing
D. nonmaterial

A. multicultural

The dominant values of U.S. culture include which of the following?

A. a deep respect for the traditions of the past
B. a belief in equality of condition for all
C. a belief in individualism
D. All of these are correct.

C. a belief in individualism

If you were to attend a New York Ballet performance, you would be experiencing

A. high culture.
B. popular culture.
C. popular culture.
D. virtual culture.

A. high culture.

Culture acts as a constraint, limiting human freedom because

A. much culture is habit that drives members of a society to repeat troubling patterns
B. humans cannot create new culture for themselves.
C. culture always discourages change.
D. All of these are correct.

A. much culture is habit that drives members of a society to repeat troubling patterns

What is the term for the ways of thinking, ways of acting, and material objects that together form a people’s way of life?

A. social structure
B. social system
C. culture
D. society

C. culture

Which theoretical approach states that the stability of U.S. society rests on core values shared by most people?

A. the structural-functional approach
B. the social-conflict approach
C. the symbolic-interaction approach
D. the sociobiology approach

A. the structural-functional approach

The distinction between high culture and popular culture is based mostly on

A. how advanced the cultural pattern is.
B. how long the cultural pattern has existed.
C. the social standing of the people who display the cultural pattern.
D. All of these are correct.

C. the social standing of the people who display the cultural pattern.

A theory that understands culture as a reflection of male domination is the

A. feminist approach.
B. social-conflict approach.
C. symbolic-interaction approach.
D. sociobiology approach.

A. feminist approach.

Cars, computers, and iPhones are all examples of which of the following?

A. high culture
B. material culture
C. norms
D. nonmaterial culture

B. material culture

Counterculture refers to

A. people who differ in some small way.
B. popular culture.
C. high culture.
D. cultural patterns that oppose those that are widely held.

D. cultural patterns that oppose those that are widely held.

Wrongdoing, such as an adult forcing a child to engage in sexual activity, is an example of violating cultural

A. mores.
B. symbols.
C. folkways
D. control.

A. mores.

The intangible world of ideas created by members of a society is referred to as

A. high culture.
B. material culture.
C. norms.
D. nonmaterial culture.

D. nonmaterial culture.

Looking all around the world, what we find everywhere are

A. the same ideas about what is right.
B. people enjoying the same sports.
C. people creating diverse cultural systems.
D. the same standards that define what is beautiful and ugly.

C. people creating diverse cultural systems.

The practice of understanding another culture on its own terms and using its own standards is called

A. ethnocentrism.
B. cultural relativism.
C. cultural diffusion.
D. cultural integration.

B. cultural relativism.

Low-income countries have cultures that value which of the following?

A. survival
B. equal standing for women and men
C. self-expression
D. All of these are correct.

A. survival

Which of the following statements about technology is true?

A. Nations with more advanced technology are always superior to nations with less advanced technology.
B. Advanced technology improves life in some ways, but it also threatens life in other ways.
C. Access to technology is evenly distributed across any society’s population.
D. All of these are correct.

B. Advanced technology improves life in some ways, but it also threatens life in other ways.

The theoretical approach that highlights the link between culture and social inequality is the

A. structural-functional approach.
B. social-conflict approach.
C. symbolic-interaction approach.
D. sociobiology approach.

B. social-conflict approach.

A person who criticizes the Amish farmer as being "backward" for tilling his fields with horses and a plow instead of using a tractor is displaying

A. ethnocentrism.
B. cultural relativism.
C. cultural diffusion.
D. cultural integration.

A. ethnocentrism.

Cultural change is set in motion in three general ways. What are they?

A. invention, discovery, and diffusion
B. invasion, invention, and experiment
C. immigration, imagination, and innovation
D. adaptation, integration, and immigration

A. invention, discovery, and diffusion

The emergence of rock-and-roll in the United States demonstrates

A. the emergence of a youth culture.
B. that musical tastes are linked to people’s social standing.
C. that cultural patterns are subject to change.
D. All of these are correct.

D. All of these are correct.

Elements of social control in everyday life include

A. shame.
B. guilt.
C. sanctions, including the response of other people.
D. All of these are correct.

D. All of these are correct.

This language, which is the native tongue or official language in several world regions, has become the preferred second language in most of the world.

A. Spanish
B. Chinese
C. English
D. Hindi

C. English