ANT 300 Final Exam V3 | ANT 300 Cultural
Anthropology | Q&A with Rationale
(ANT300 Final Exam) | Nightingale College
1. Which of the following research methods is considered the hallmark of cultural
anthropology, involving long-term immersion in a community?
A. Quantitative Surveying
B. Participant Observation
C. Archival Research
D. Laboratory Experimentation
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Participant observation is a foundational method where the researcher lives
among the people being studied to observe and participate in daily life. This method allows
for a deep understanding of the internal logic of a culture through firsthand experience. It
distinguishes cultural anthropology from other social sciences that may rely more heavily
on indirect data collection.
2. What term describes the tendency to view one’s own culture as superior and use its values
to judge others?
A. Cultural Relativism
B. Xenocentrism
,C. Holism
D. Ethnocentrism
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Ethnocentrism is the practice of evaluating another culture according to the
standards of one’s own culture. This perspective often leads to the belief that one’s own
cultural group is the center of everything. Anthropologists work to overcome this bias by
practicing cultural relativism to understand behaviors in their own context.
3. In the context of kinship, which system traces descent through the female line only?
A. Patrilineal Descent
B. Bilateral Descent
C. Ambilineal Descent
D. Matrilineal Descent
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Matrilineal descent systems establish kinship and inheritance through the
mother’s family line. In these societies, individuals belong to their mother’s clan, and
authority often resides with the mother’s brother rather than the father. This is a form of
unilineal descent used to organize social and economic responsibilities.
, 4. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, what is the relationship between language and
thought?
A. Language has no effect on how people perceive reality.
B. Language is merely a tool for communicating thoughts that exist independently.
C. Thought processes are identical across all cultures regardless of language.
D. The structure of a language shapes the way its speakers think and perceive the world.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that the language we speak influences our
cognitive processes and worldviews. For instance, different ways of categorizing time or
space in a language can lead speakers to conceptualize those ideas differently. While the
strong version of linguistic determinism is debated, the weaker version of linguistic
relativity remains influential in anthropology.
5. A marriage pattern in which one woman is married to multiple men simultaneously is
known as:
A. Polyandry
B. Polygyny
C. Monogamy
D. Serial Monogamy
Correct Answer: A
Anthropology | Q&A with Rationale
(ANT300 Final Exam) | Nightingale College
1. Which of the following research methods is considered the hallmark of cultural
anthropology, involving long-term immersion in a community?
A. Quantitative Surveying
B. Participant Observation
C. Archival Research
D. Laboratory Experimentation
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Participant observation is a foundational method where the researcher lives
among the people being studied to observe and participate in daily life. This method allows
for a deep understanding of the internal logic of a culture through firsthand experience. It
distinguishes cultural anthropology from other social sciences that may rely more heavily
on indirect data collection.
2. What term describes the tendency to view one’s own culture as superior and use its values
to judge others?
A. Cultural Relativism
B. Xenocentrism
,C. Holism
D. Ethnocentrism
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Ethnocentrism is the practice of evaluating another culture according to the
standards of one’s own culture. This perspective often leads to the belief that one’s own
cultural group is the center of everything. Anthropologists work to overcome this bias by
practicing cultural relativism to understand behaviors in their own context.
3. In the context of kinship, which system traces descent through the female line only?
A. Patrilineal Descent
B. Bilateral Descent
C. Ambilineal Descent
D. Matrilineal Descent
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Matrilineal descent systems establish kinship and inheritance through the
mother’s family line. In these societies, individuals belong to their mother’s clan, and
authority often resides with the mother’s brother rather than the father. This is a form of
unilineal descent used to organize social and economic responsibilities.
, 4. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, what is the relationship between language and
thought?
A. Language has no effect on how people perceive reality.
B. Language is merely a tool for communicating thoughts that exist independently.
C. Thought processes are identical across all cultures regardless of language.
D. The structure of a language shapes the way its speakers think and perceive the world.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that the language we speak influences our
cognitive processes and worldviews. For instance, different ways of categorizing time or
space in a language can lead speakers to conceptualize those ideas differently. While the
strong version of linguistic determinism is debated, the weaker version of linguistic
relativity remains influential in anthropology.
5. A marriage pattern in which one woman is married to multiple men simultaneously is
known as:
A. Polyandry
B. Polygyny
C. Monogamy
D. Serial Monogamy
Correct Answer: A
