Culture and Personality Makeup Final, Spring 2008, page 1
Anthropology 4616 Culture and Personality
Final Exam (Makeup)
Spring 2008
14 May 2008
Answer SIX (only 6) of the following questions. Keep in mind that there is more than one approach you can take in answering these questions. Each question is worth 100.
Follow these guidelines:
G Organize your answer before you begin.
G Be sure to state:
1. What or who something is
2. Where it occurred or is located (if appropriate)
3. How something works or functions
4. Why it is important
5. When it occurred
G State YOUR position or approach clearly.
G Cite specific examples or references to support your statements.
G Mention problem areas or other relevant materials which you would like to consider further in a more thorough statement. That is, when you're finished with your answer, what major questions are still left unanswered?
G Summarize your argument or discussion.
G Wherever appropriate use materials from more than one region of the world.
G Remember that each of your responses should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Note: Do not discuss any topic at length in more than one question.
1. Chapter 6, AEveryday Cognition,@ talks about AWeaving in Various Cultural Contexts.@ What does weaving have to do with Culture and Personality studies?
2. The first subheading in Chapter 7 (AMotives, Beliefs, and Values@) reads, "Why Study Values Cross-Culturally?"
Why?
3. Some suggest that men and women (worldwide) have different personality structures, and different ways of thinking. Argue for or against this proposition, from a cross-cultural perspective, indicating the causes for the differences or lack of differences. Compare your observations with Chapter 8, "Males and Females and Relations Between Them."
(NOTE: This is essentially a Ahologeistic-type@ question about causes, not a question about your opinion of whether or not you think men and women in our society are different.)
Be sure to use relevant materials from Chapter 8 (AMales and Females and the Relations between Them@) in your answer.
4. In Chapter 9, ACulture and Aggression" the authors maintain, APunishment of aggression, as most psychologists have long been aware, does not usually have its intended effect. Thus, beliefs about aggression in any society influence the level of aggression itself@ (p. 255). They continue, AThe story is even more complex because the real antecedents of aggressive behavior are numerous. They are both ecological and structural@ (p. 255). The authors then go on to provide a AConceptual Framework for Aggression Research@ (Figure 9.1., on p. 256).
Take any one major incidence of aggression occurring today and analyze it in terms of the above quotes, using the conceptual framework provided by the authors (on p. 256).
5. Chapter 10, AIntercultural Relations in a Shrinking World@ the authors say the following:
AThe nation-state is a relatively new form of political organization. . . . During much of the twentieth century, and at an accelerating pace following the end of World War II, many new nations were created out of former colonial possessions of major European and Asian powers. This led to a process known as nation-building,= which is described in Box 10.1. . . . Less obvious perhaps than the political and economic aspects of nation-building, its psychological components are nevertheless fundamental. A nation is not merely a geopolitical fact; it is also a state of mind@ (pp. 278-279).
Discuss the authors= assertions, arguing for or against the proposition that Al-Qaeda terrorists are a Anation state.@
6. Chapter 11 discusses AAcculturation,@ and the authors propose an AAcculturation Framework@ (Fig. 11.1, p. 302), ATypes of Acculturating Groups@ (Fig. 11.2, p. 304), AAcculturation Strategies@ (Fig. 11.3, p. 306), AA Framework for Acculturation Research@ (Fig. 11.4, p. 310), and AFactors Affecting Acculturation@ (Table 11.1, p. 312).
A. Compare and contrast the Yanomamö and the Amish in terms of their use/non-use of boundary maintaining mechanisms in their acculturation situations. Use the materials from Chapter 11 where appropriate.
B. Over the time span of two generations, what do you expect the result of these divergent approaches will be on the respective modal personalities of the two groups? Use the materials from Chapter 11 where appropriate.
7. Chapter 12 discusses AConclusions@ to Human Behavior in Global Perspective. What are the five major conclusions you personally draw from your studies of Culture and Personality so far. Be sure to explain why.
8. On 5 May 2006 Zacarias Moussaoui was “ordered to spend his life in jail without the possibility of parole for his role in the 11 September attacks.” Zacarias Moussaoui (Arabic: زكريا موسوي) was born May 30, 1968, and is a French citizen of Moroccan descent <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacarias_Moussaoui Thus, “Zacarias Moussaoui looks set to live out the rest of his days in a super-maximum security Colorado prison, dubbed ‘the Alcatraz of the Rockies’ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4972526.stm.” British "shoe bomber" Richard Reid is also held there, as is “the unabomber” Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski.
From what you have learned in Culture and Personality argue for or against the proposition that a life sentence at “Supermax”, where most prisoners are held in solitary confinement, is or is not a harsher punishment than the death penality.
Be sure to backup your arguments with sound reasons and explanations.
9. Compare and contrast any two (only 2) of the following individuals in the context of what you learned in this class, but do not choose any which you may have discussed in another question:
Alejandro Mamani (from the Faces of Culture series)
N!ai (from "Arranged Marriages")
Paul Buffalo or Jimmy Jackson
Arigo (the Brazilian healer)
John, the English man (from Stranger in the Mirror: An Examination of Visual Agnosia)
Joseph Mcmoneagle (from the "ESP" segment of Science Frontiers: Put to the Test)
George W. Bush
H. Pope John-Paul II
I. Yourself
10. Some have suggested that mental illness at least occasionally has an adaptive function. Argue for or against this proposition.
11. Compare and contrast your in-class presentation with that of any other Culture and Personality in-class student presentation.
12. In Week 10 the following question was raised: “On the other hand, how do different practices in different cultures produce ‘Culture-Bound Syndromes,’ which are unique psychological correlates?”
Discuss these questions.
13. If you do not like these questions, make up and answer a question of your own choice relating to a topic which you have not considered in your other answers. Answers should contain specific information supporting your position. Both your question and your answer will be evaluated. If you like these questions but simply prefer to make one of your own, go ahead.
If you elect to make up and answer a question, you may prepare your question and answer in advance and bring them with you to the exam. If you prepare your question and answer in advance you only need to answer five (5) midterm exam questions in class.
Good Luck!
14.
15. xxx
16. xxx
17. xxx
18. Chapter 6 covers AEveryday Cognition.@ What is AEveryday Cognition,@ and why is that important to Culture and Personality studies?
19. Identify four (only 4) of the following ideas in three or four sentences each:
assimilation
ecocultural framework
adaptation
achievement motivation
@primordial@ groups
psychological concomitants of nationalism
the “sociocultural paradigm@
equivalence sorting
20. Discuss what problems you would have inventing a personality for a space creature in a novel you are writing if this creature had human (and only human) capabilities, but had no shared cultural experiences with any known earthbound culture.
21. It is common to explain the psychological trait of as the result of a single cause.
A. Fill in the blank and explain why you think can or can not be adequately explained by a single causative factor.
B. How would you research this problem cross-culturally?
Note the quality of analysis in this question will be considered when evaluating your response.
22. Compare the "national character" of two cultures (or subcultures) with which you have had personal firsthand contact. (Do not answer this question if you have not had personal experience with other cultures or sub-cultures.) “Personal firsthand contact” can include study abroad, extended travel, your family hosting an exchange student, someone from your close family marrying an individual from another culture or sub-culture. . . .)
23. Take any one major topic in Culture and Personality studies and relate that to each of the twelve chapters of the text (this can be at any level of analysis). Your answer should have at least twelve parts (i.e., paragraphs) to it. The chapters included:
1. The Socio-Cultural Nature of Human Beings
2. Cross-Cultural Research: Scope and Methods
3. Human Development and Informal Education
4. Perceptual and Cognitive Processes
5. Alternative Views on Human Competence: General Intelligence and Genetic Epistemology
6. Everyday Cognition and Cognitive Anthropology
7. Motives, Beliefs, and Values
8. Males and Females and the Relations between Them
9. Culture and Aggression
10. Intercultural Relations in a Shrinking World
11. Acculturation
12. Conclusions
24. In Week 09 the following questions were raised: “Do similar practices in different cultures produce similar psychological correlates? And do these include birth order practices and their effects on personality?” Then we looked at “freelisting” exercise results re birth order practices and their effects on personality, and the possibility of “clustering” those results.
25.
26. How would you design a research project to test whether people who know more than one language differ from monolinguals in psychological characteristics? (Cf., Psychology Today, March 1981, Vol. 15., No. 3, pp. 9 12.) Include in your answer how you would determine whether this was a linguistic, a cultural, or a physical phenomenon or how it is a combination of these three.
27. How is the process of complementing influenced by culture? How is it influenced by biology?
28. Chapter 11 discusses AAcculturation,@ and the authors propose an AAcculturation Framework@ (Fig. 11.1, p. 302), ATypes of Acculturating Groups@ (Fig. 11.2, p. 304), AAcculturation Strategies@ (Fig. 11.3, p. 306), AA Framework for Acculturation Research@ (Fig. 11.4, p. 310), and AFactors Affecting Acculturation@ (Table 11.1, p. 312). The authors also point out that there is consensus that acculturation operates both at the individual and on the group levels. Using the framework and approach provided by the figures and table mentioned in this question, (a) analyze one case study of Apsychological acculturation@ relating to an individual, and (b) one case study relating to group-level acculturation. The individual can be part of the group you analyze.
29. Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine and Miracles, wrote:
AMaurice Kouguell has published a book, DAPTH: Accessing the Unconscious in the Practice of Hypnosis and Counseling, which takes a big step in [encouraging the growth of knowledge and discovery of techniques which may be used in conjunction with hypnosis]. He has presented clearly and effectively a guidebook on the use of a procedure known as 'Draw a Person, Tree, House'. It shows what I choose to term a discovery channel which offers incredible advantages in the evaluation of clients, analysis of their personalities, revelation of factors which have helped create attitudes and belief systems which effect (for better or worse) their lifestyles, behaviors, strengths and weaknesses. . . . DAPTH, an acronym for Draw a Person, Tree, House, can be used both in the initial assessment of the client, and as a means of measuring progress in future sessions. It uncovers problems which may be beyond the awareness of the client and can reveal the appropriateness or contraindication of hypnosis in specific cases.@ <http://www.brooksidecenter.com/book_reviews.htm>
How does your DAPTH picture offer Aincredible advantages in the evaluation of [you], analysis of [your personality], revelation of factors which have helped create attitudes and belief systems which effect (for better or worse) [your lifestyle], behaviors, strengths and weaknesses?@
30. A. An article in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that people who are kind to and considerate of others have fewer physical ailments, and, live longer. It has also been pointed out many times that people who have holdable pets (i.e., dogs, cats, etc., rather than goldfish) get sick less often, and when ill, get better faster. A host of studies in recent years have also shown that people who believe in a higher power (i.e., a Agod@ of some sort) also get sick less often, and when ill, get better faster. How would such findings in medicine relate to anthropological studies of culture and personality?
OR answer 14.B.
B. A nationally televised program on a major news network covered a story indicating that, in the United States, people who were prayed for by others recover from illness faster. The program noted that you can now Ahire@ a nun to pray for a speedy recovery for a loved one. We are assured that none of the sisters personally get any of the money contributed for their prayers, and that none of them know how much was actually contributed to the convent in return for their prayer services. The good sisters maintain that this is a legitimate practice. How would such findings in medicine relate to anthropological studies of culture and personality?
31. The Thursday, May 13th, 1999 edition of the UMD Statesman reports AJFK seminar features UMD Prof@ (Program Chair, James Fetzer, Philosophy), and the prof says the May 14-16 conference A. . . is going to be the most comprehensive, contemporary, up-to-date presentation of what we know about the assassination that has ever been presented to the American people@ (p. 22). Part of the program will feature Aconspiracy theories.@ Psychologically, people throughout the world have beliefs, values and attitudes that explain events and phenomena. Conspiracy theories, in one form or another are popular throughout the world as ways to explain things. Using the AConceptual Framework for Cross-Cultural Psychology@ underlying Human Behavior in Global Perspective, diagramed in Fig. 2.1 on p. 26, explain the adaptive value of conspiracy theories in human societies.
32. Big headlines in today's Duluth News-Tribune (19 February 1996) read, "Voter anxieties heard clearly by candidates." The article continues on to talk about the current high anxiety level of the American public. Indeed, there seems to have developed in recent years a genuine high anxiety level throughout much of America. In today's article the author even talks about a belief in the "collapse of America" before the end of the millennium. [By the way, millennium beliefs/cults are themselves a most interesting culture and personality topic that we didn't get to this quarter. You will likely see many more of these develop in America in the next two-three years.]