Chapter 8 Kinship and Domestic Life
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Neolocal residence for married couples is associated with __________.
A) the foraging mode of livelihood
B) agricultural societies
C) unilineal kinship systems
D) extended households
2. The research tool showing the relatives known by an individual or “ego” is a(n) __________.
A) genealogy
B) life history
C) kinship diagram
D) descent system
3. Which of the following is a common characteristic of the “Eskimo” kinship terminology system?
A) It always operates in unilineal descent systems.
B) The terminology for aunts and uncles on the mother’s side differs from the father’s.
C) Different terms distinguish between parents and the parents’ siblings.
D) The term for “aunt” and “mother” are often the same.
4. Unilineal descent systems __________.
A) include all biological relatives in the lineage group
B) are found in about 60 percent of the world’s cultures
C) are on the decline due to globalization
D) place a high value on female roles and inheritance
5. Bilineal descent systems are __________.
A) always found in pastoralist societies
B) less common than unilineal descent systems
C) the most common descent system known
D) most frequently linked with tropical horticulture
6. According to the textbook, kinship is based on which three factors?
A) genetics, language, and learning
B) descent, divorce, and feeling
C) descent, sharing, and marriage
D) sharing, adoption, and marriage
7. The system of descent in which kinship is traced through the female line is called __________.
A) matriarchal
B) fostering
C) bilineal
D) matrilineal
8. Which of the following is an example of kinship created through ritual?
A) godparenthood among Christians
B) closed adoption in the United States
C) rice sharing in Malaysia
D) adoption among the Maasai pastoralists
9. In a patrilineal kinship system, a married couple is most likely to reside __________.
A) with or near the parents of the groom
B) with or near the parents of the bride
C) with or near the bride’s mother’s brother
D) alternating between the bride’s family and the groom’s family
10. Three heterosexual couples are being married. Both the bride and groom of couple A are well-educated. The
groom of couple B is from a much wealthier family than the bride. The bride of couple C is much taller than the
groom. Which of the following sequences of terms is correctly applied to the three couples?
A) hypergyny (couple A), hypogyny (couple B), isogamy (couple C)
B) hypogyny (couple A), hypergyny (couple B), isogamy (couple C)
C) isogamy (couple A), hypergyny (couple B), hypogyny (couple C)
D) isogamy (couple A), hypogyny (couple B), hypergyny (couple C)
11. Which of the following statements about the Minangkabau culture is accurate?
A) It is the world’s largest matrilineal culture.
B) Fewer Minangkabau now practice the kula.
C) The traditional heartland is based in Malaysia.
D) Most Minangkabau are Christians.
12. The practice of __________ tends to maintain close ties between a bride and her family of origin.
A) polygamy
B) polyandry
C) endogamy
D) cross-cousin marriage
13. The incest taboo __________.
A) applies only to sexual intercourse, not marriage
B) leads to exogamy
C) is observed in all cultures past and present
D) prohibits marriage between cousins
14. The difference between cross-cousins and parallel cousins is defined by what factor?
A) The gender of the ego’s parents’ sibling that is the parent of the cousin.
B) The gender of the ego’s parent of whom the cousin’s parent is a sibling.
C) Whether the cousin’s parents are the ego’s parents’ siblings or the ego’s parents’ cousins.
D) Whether the families reside in the same village or immediate area.
15. Compared to states in northern India, states in southern India have __________.
A) higher population density
B) higher fertility rates
C) lower literacy rates
D) less severe gender inequality
16. Which of the following is true of “romantic love” as a basis for spouse selection?
A) Biological determinists argue it is not an evolutionary adaptation.
B) It has been found to be less of a consideration for women with strong career goals.
C) It is less prominent in cultures where women are economically dependent on men.
D) Worldwide, it is declining as a factor.
17. Brideprice refers to __________.
A) a gift to the bride’s family from the groom’s side
B) the joint contribution by the bride’s and groom’s families to the couple
C) a gift to the groom’s family from the bride’s side
D) the exchange of women between two matrilineal groups
18. Brideservice involves __________.
A) the groom working for the bride’s family
B) the bride working for the groom’s family
C) either the bride or groom working for their family of marriage
D) a payment made from the groom’s family to the bride’s
19. __________ is the term that applies specifically to marriages between one man and several women.
A) Polyamory
B) Polyandry
C) Polygamy
D) Polygyny
20. Compared to a family, a household may include __________.
A) people who do not live together
B) people who are not related by kinship
C) fewer than four people
D) children
21. Large extended households are most prevalent in the __________ mode of livelihood.
A) foraging
B) horticulture
C) agriculture
D) industrial/digital economy
22. The stem household is most commonly found in __________.
A) the United States and Canada
B) Papua New Guinea
C) East Asia (China and Japan)
D) South Asia (especially India)
23. Nuclear households are associated with which two modes of livelihood?
A) agriculture and industrial/digital economy
B) agriculture and horticulture
C) industrial/digital economy and horticulture
D) industrial/digital economy and foraging
24. A factor in high rates of wife abuse in rural Kentucky is __________.
A) men’s heavy use of marijuana
B) geographical isolation
C) lack of police staffing
D) the relatively high education level among the women
25. A household in which one or more adult children live with their parents, as is becoming increasingly common in
the United States, is referred to as a __________ household.
A) stem
B) polyandrous
C) multigenerational
D) nuclear
TRUE/FALSE
26. Bilineal kinship is more characteristic of foraging and industrial/digital societies than of the other three modes of
livelihood.
27. Adopting a child forms kinship bonds that the textbook categorizes as descent-based.
28. Most cultural anthropologists would accept “a union between two or more people” as the minimal accepted
definition of marriage.
29. A rule that says a person must find a marriage partner from outside his or her village is called exogamy.
30. In the United States, notions of romantic love are more strongly held by Euro-American women than by African
American women.
31. Brideprice is more common in foraging societies than in other modes of livelihood.
32. The stem household is common throughout Europe.
33. The study of wife abuse in rural Kentucky found that the primary challenge was that women were unwilling to
take advantage of existing social services and law enforcement.
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34. In Niger, the current marriage crisis is caused by the fact that many young men cannot raise the necessary funds
for the brideprice and additional gifts to the bride’s family.
35. The popularity of Western-style “white weddings” is growing in much of East Asia but not in India.
ESSAY
36. What is unilineal descent and with which modes of livelihood is it most associated? Discuss an ethnographic
example.
37. Describe two of the ways a mode of livelihood affects the kinship system within it.
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38. Describe the three bases of kinship discussed in the textbook.
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
39. Discuss how patrilineal descent shapes naming practices in a Chinese village in a rural area of Hong Kong.
40. Define the incest taboo and some important cross-cultural variations in it.
41. Discuss the role of romantic love in spouse/partner selection.
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42. Describe two different economic transfers involved in marriage arrangements and their implications for the
status of the bride and groom.
43. Define a nuclear household and an extended household and describe how each is associated with the modes of
livelihood.
44. What were three factors found to enable wife abuse in rural Kentucky in the ethnographic research described in
the text?
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45. List three general factors that are changing kinship and households in contemporary time and give an example of
a result of each.