Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Test Bank
Chapter 3: The Microcultural Context
Multiple Choice
1. In many cultures, microcultural group status is often determined by one’s membership
in ______.
a. sex and racial groups
b. educational classes
c. political organizations
d. family clans
2. Microcultural group membership is typically ______.
a. temporary
b. involuntary
c. linked to education
d. gradual
3. Which of the following statements is generally true of microcultures?
a. They possess some distinctive physical or cultural trait.
b. They are typically uneducated.
c. They are not naturalized citizens of the United States.
d. They typically live in isolated parts of the country.
4. Microcultural group members generally practice ______.
a. exogamy
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
b. polygamy
c. polygyny
d. endogamy
5. Which of the following statements best summarizes the Muted Group Theory?
a. Because microcultural groups contribute little to the formulation of the dominant code,
and are forced to communicate within the dominant mode of expression, they become
muted.
b. Groups become muted because they lack the intellectual and phonological structures
for language.
c. Muted groups possess a style of communication that is innately substandard and
inferior.
d. Because microcultural groups contribute to the formulation of the dominant code, but
are unable to use it, they become muted.
6. According to the Muted Group Theory, interaction between dominant and subordinate
groups is difficult because ______.
a. subordinate groups cannot speak English
b. subordinate groups have to express themselves using the dominated group’s code
c. dominant groups refuse to interact with subordinate groups
d. dominant groups have to express themselves in the subordinate group’s code
7. The largest microcultural group in the United States is ______.
a. Hispanics/Latinos
b. Asian Americans
c. Arab Americans
d. African Americans
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
8. The Hispanic/Latino population in the United States is largely of ______ origin.
a. Mexican
b. Puerto Rico
c. Cuban
d. Central American
9. In combination, Black Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics/Latinos constitute
about what percentage of the U.S. population?
a. 52%
b. 45%
c. 28%
d. 37%
10. A key communicative component of Native American interaction is ______.
a. the use of silence
b. collectivism
c. proxemics
d. all of these
11. Which of the following U.S. cities has the largest percentage of LGBTQ inhabitants?
a. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
b. Atlanta, Georgia
c. Phoenix, Arizona
d. Miami, Florida
12. A group with the most power is considered the dominant group in a culture while the
less powerful groups have been known as ______ groups.
a. Subdominant
b. Minority
c. Marginalized
d. Alternative
13. Commitment to the family is a dominant cultural value among virtually all
Hispanics/Latinos. Which of the following examples illustrates this value of familia?
a. Children are brought home from the hospital and put into their own separate nursery.
b. Children are given their own toys to keep so they can learn responsibility.
c. Children learn the more they misbehave, the more attention they receive.
d. Children and their families congregate in one large room.
14. Which statement best summarizes the research on the construct of male gender
identity called machismo?
a. Macho males are exclusively from Hispanic/Latino societies
b. Men from any culture who are aggressiveness, violent, and dominant over women
are macho.
c. Macho men can be aggressive, courageous, or protective. There is no consensus.
d. Macho men share many different characteristics; but, the only consistent trait is
infidelity.
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
15. One of the primary ways members of cultural groups define themselves is through
conversation. Ebonics is a grammatically complex speech pattern used by many Black
Americans. It is characterized by ______.
a. adherence to traditional grammar constructs
b. a modest, emotionally restrained conversation style
c. an emotionally intense, dynamic, and demonstrative style
d. a language derived from changing the definitions of modern English words
16. The microcultural group with the highest median household income is ______.
a. Hispanics/Latinos
b. Black Americans
c. Asian Americans
d. Arab Americans
17. Research has consistently shown that some microcultural groups have been seen
as less competent than others. The group that has been labeled a “model minority” is
______.
a. Hispanic/Latinos
b. Black Americans
c. Asian Americans
d. Arab Americans
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
18. Of all the microcultural groups discussed in the text, the most ethnically, racially,
and religiously diverse group in the country are the ______.
a. Hispanic/Latinos
b. Black Americans
c. Asian Americans
d. Arab Americans
19. When you are engaged in a conversation with someone from the Arab American
culture, it is nearly impossible to understand the conversation unless you understand
the ______ expressions that are used.
a. religious
b. political
c. popular culture
Multiple Select
1. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. A micro culture refers to those identifiable groups of
people who share the same set of values, beliefs and behaviors of the microculture, and
______.
a. possess a common history
b. use a common verbal and nonverbal symbol system
c. share the same religious convictions
d. hold the same political beliefs
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
True/False
1. Microcultures can be different from the larger culture in a variety of ways, often
because of race or ethnicity.
2. Though not always, microcultural groups generally have more power than the
majority or “macro” culture.
3. Other traits that can distinguish a microcultural group include language or distinctive
dress habits.
4. Microcultural group members are often unaware of their subordinate status.
5. In many cultures, the subordinate microcultural groups do not contribute to the
construction of the language of the dominant group.
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
6. Like other microcultural groups, Hispanics/Latinos are concentrated in certain
geographical areas in the United States.
7. The U.S. government coined the term Native American during the civil rights
movement of the 1960s.
8. A person in the United States with ancestry originating from an Arabic-speaking
country is classified as White by The U.S. Census Bureau.
9. Arab Americans are now the fastest growing microcultural group in the United States.
10. As a culture, Asian Americans traditionally place more importance on the group than
on the individual.
Instructor Resource
Neuliep, Intercultural Communication, 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Essay/Short Answer
1. Outline and discuss the fundamental assumptions of the Muted Group Theory.
2. List and discuss the five characteristics that distinguish microcultural groups from the
dominant group.
3. Choose one of the six microcultural groups profiled in the chapter and discuss how
they meet the characteristics that distinguish them as microcultural.