ANTH 210 Study Guide for Test 1
Four subfields of Anthropology
- Linguistics: the exploration of the nature, development, and evolution of human language, as
well as cataloging and documenting of the thousands of languages spoken around the world
- Cultural anthropology: exploration of CULTURAL VARIATION and how culture
influences meaning, perception, politics, history, and all other things human.
- Archeology: investigation of culture, demography, and history of past populations through
their MATERIAL and BIOLOGICAL remains
- Biological (physical) anthropology: Investigation of the EVOLUTION, ADAPTATIONS,
GENETICS, and BIOLOGICAL VARITATION of humans and primates.
Anthropology as a holistic science
- Focuses on cultural diversity, historically on non-western and pre-industrial populations (but
this has changed)
Omitted variables: A variable that was omitted in research that can affect both the independent and
dependent variables.
- Example: while researching what the SAT score of a student is, they measure the weight, but
don’t collect what grade they are in. (omitted variable: the grade (7th, 8th, 9th grade, etc.))
Reverse causation: a phenomenon where the outcome of an event or condition actually causes the
event or condition itself.
- Example: Do violent video games lead to more violence, or does violence lead to more
violent video games?
Confirmation bias: the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that
confirms or supports one’s PRIOR beliefs or values
- Example: choosing sources of information from your side of politics. (like CNN or FOX)
- Listen to people who are CREDIBLE, RESPECTED IN THEIR FIELD, HAS NO
PERSONAL STAKES, REPORTS WITH NUANCE (DOESN’T TAKE A SIDE)
Participant Observation: observation conducted during social involvement in the subject
population
- Major anthropological method
Thick vs Thin descriptions (Emic vs. Etic)
- Thick/Emic: explanation accompanied by a comprehensive description of cultural context
that makes the phenomenon meaningful to the reader (EX: winking)
- Thin/ Etic: description of the studied culture from the perspective of an observer or an
outsider
Qualitative methods: collecting and analyzing non-numerical data to understand subjective
experiences
- Presence/ Absence
- Description
- Such as anecdotes, open interviews, informant reports, observations, participation, etc.
Quantitative methods: gathers numerical data to measure and analyze objective patterns and trends
- Frequency
- Central tendency (mean, median, mode)
- Physical measures, structured interviews, standardized observations
Experiments vs Comparative Methods
- In an experiment, researchers actively manipulate variables to establish cause-and-effect
relationships, whereas comparative methods analyze existing data from different groups to
identify patterns and similarities without directly manipulating variables
Difficulty in using comparative method
, - Difficult to isolate variables, so leads to many inferences in causation, and problems with
self-selection
Mixed methods*
- Integration of qualitative and quantitative evidence to provide a more comprehensive
analysis
- Example: combining ethnographic data with questionnaires, statistical data, and media
analysis
Ethical Considerations of Anthropological Methods*
- The American Anthropological Association has developed a CODE OF ETHICS that all
anthropologists should follow
o Examples: do no harm or embarrass informants, obtain informed consent, maintain
anonymity and privacy, make results accessible
Defining elements of culture / other aspects of culture
- Information is SHARED among a population
- Information is SOCIALLY TRANSMITTED (LEARNED)
- Establishes shared SYMBOLIC system
- Provides EXTRA-GENETIC BEHAVIORAL SOLUTIONS to common challenges
- INTERNALIZED; perceived as “natural”
Ideal vs. real culture
- Ideal culture is how WE think our culture is vs. how it ACTUALLY is
Cultural relativism / Moral relativism / Epistemological relativism
- Cultural relativism: the consideration of behavior, beliefs, and customs within the context
of the particular culture from which they are derived.
- Moral Relativism: judgment of moral values based on the particular cultural, historical, and
social context in which they are formed. There exists no higher universal moral truth.
o Cultural relativism does NOT EQUAL to moral relativism
- Epistemological relativism: all means of learning involve subjective biases. The objective
‘truth’ is unobtainable. No way of “knowing” is better than another
Ethnocentrism: the belief that one’s own culture is superior or more advanced than another’s
culture.
Be able to characterize the two MAJOR intellectual categories of cultural theories (the
pendulum)
- Scientific Determination:
o Material culture
o Evolution
o Genetics
o Ecology
- Human interpretation:
o Interpretation
o Culture
o History
o Symbolism
Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, and Historical Particularism
- Boas developed HISTORICAL PARTICULARISM as a reaction to EVOLUTIONISTS
(who believed that people would go from savage to civilized)
o Franz Boas is known as the “Father of American Anthropology”
- Historical Particularism was an idea that said that cross-cultural comparison was
meaningless and emphasized particular histories
- Margaret Mead was a student of Boas who went to Samoa and wrote the book “coming of
age in Samoa”
Four subfields of Anthropology
- Linguistics: the exploration of the nature, development, and evolution of human language, as
well as cataloging and documenting of the thousands of languages spoken around the world
- Cultural anthropology: exploration of CULTURAL VARIATION and how culture
influences meaning, perception, politics, history, and all other things human.
- Archeology: investigation of culture, demography, and history of past populations through
their MATERIAL and BIOLOGICAL remains
- Biological (physical) anthropology: Investigation of the EVOLUTION, ADAPTATIONS,
GENETICS, and BIOLOGICAL VARITATION of humans and primates.
Anthropology as a holistic science
- Focuses on cultural diversity, historically on non-western and pre-industrial populations (but
this has changed)
Omitted variables: A variable that was omitted in research that can affect both the independent and
dependent variables.
- Example: while researching what the SAT score of a student is, they measure the weight, but
don’t collect what grade they are in. (omitted variable: the grade (7th, 8th, 9th grade, etc.))
Reverse causation: a phenomenon where the outcome of an event or condition actually causes the
event or condition itself.
- Example: Do violent video games lead to more violence, or does violence lead to more
violent video games?
Confirmation bias: the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that
confirms or supports one’s PRIOR beliefs or values
- Example: choosing sources of information from your side of politics. (like CNN or FOX)
- Listen to people who are CREDIBLE, RESPECTED IN THEIR FIELD, HAS NO
PERSONAL STAKES, REPORTS WITH NUANCE (DOESN’T TAKE A SIDE)
Participant Observation: observation conducted during social involvement in the subject
population
- Major anthropological method
Thick vs Thin descriptions (Emic vs. Etic)
- Thick/Emic: explanation accompanied by a comprehensive description of cultural context
that makes the phenomenon meaningful to the reader (EX: winking)
- Thin/ Etic: description of the studied culture from the perspective of an observer or an
outsider
Qualitative methods: collecting and analyzing non-numerical data to understand subjective
experiences
- Presence/ Absence
- Description
- Such as anecdotes, open interviews, informant reports, observations, participation, etc.
Quantitative methods: gathers numerical data to measure and analyze objective patterns and trends
- Frequency
- Central tendency (mean, median, mode)
- Physical measures, structured interviews, standardized observations
Experiments vs Comparative Methods
- In an experiment, researchers actively manipulate variables to establish cause-and-effect
relationships, whereas comparative methods analyze existing data from different groups to
identify patterns and similarities without directly manipulating variables
Difficulty in using comparative method
, - Difficult to isolate variables, so leads to many inferences in causation, and problems with
self-selection
Mixed methods*
- Integration of qualitative and quantitative evidence to provide a more comprehensive
analysis
- Example: combining ethnographic data with questionnaires, statistical data, and media
analysis
Ethical Considerations of Anthropological Methods*
- The American Anthropological Association has developed a CODE OF ETHICS that all
anthropologists should follow
o Examples: do no harm or embarrass informants, obtain informed consent, maintain
anonymity and privacy, make results accessible
Defining elements of culture / other aspects of culture
- Information is SHARED among a population
- Information is SOCIALLY TRANSMITTED (LEARNED)
- Establishes shared SYMBOLIC system
- Provides EXTRA-GENETIC BEHAVIORAL SOLUTIONS to common challenges
- INTERNALIZED; perceived as “natural”
Ideal vs. real culture
- Ideal culture is how WE think our culture is vs. how it ACTUALLY is
Cultural relativism / Moral relativism / Epistemological relativism
- Cultural relativism: the consideration of behavior, beliefs, and customs within the context
of the particular culture from which they are derived.
- Moral Relativism: judgment of moral values based on the particular cultural, historical, and
social context in which they are formed. There exists no higher universal moral truth.
o Cultural relativism does NOT EQUAL to moral relativism
- Epistemological relativism: all means of learning involve subjective biases. The objective
‘truth’ is unobtainable. No way of “knowing” is better than another
Ethnocentrism: the belief that one’s own culture is superior or more advanced than another’s
culture.
Be able to characterize the two MAJOR intellectual categories of cultural theories (the
pendulum)
- Scientific Determination:
o Material culture
o Evolution
o Genetics
o Ecology
- Human interpretation:
o Interpretation
o Culture
o History
o Symbolism
Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, and Historical Particularism
- Boas developed HISTORICAL PARTICULARISM as a reaction to EVOLUTIONISTS
(who believed that people would go from savage to civilized)
o Franz Boas is known as the “Father of American Anthropology”
- Historical Particularism was an idea that said that cross-cultural comparison was
meaningless and emphasized particular histories
- Margaret Mead was a student of Boas who went to Samoa and wrote the book “coming of
age in Samoa”
