Human Nature & Cultural Diversity
                                    Gender, Genes, & Culture

Note: These questions are part of a larger data base of questions on modules 12 & 13. 
The questions are selected to represent the type of question you should expect on unit exam two. You 
can, in fact, expect to see many of these very same questions on that exam. Exam questions, however, 
may deal with topics not covered in the self tests or in lectures but are discussed in your textbook. You 
are responsible for the content of your text book plus the content of lectures, interactive activities, 
& material on the web site.

---- Use these sample questions to test yourself & to practice for the test. ----

1. The study of how natural selection predisposes adaptive traits & behavior is called

 genetic psychology.
 behavioral genetics.
 biological behaviorism.
 evolutionary psychology.

2 . Historian Arthur Schlesinger calls __________ “the explosive problem of our times.” 

 anarchy 
 diversity 
 totalitarianism 
 mindless conformity 

3. Darwin proposed that nature selects traits that best equip organisms to survive & reproduce in their 
environment. This process is called 

 devolution. 
 natural selection. 
 adaptation syndrome. 
 selection of only the fittest. 

4. Enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, & traditions shared by a large group of people & transmitted 
from one generation to the next defines 

 culture. 
 social heritage. 
 evolutionary heritage. 
 the collective unconscious. 

5. A cultural perspective 

 defines society. 
 spotlights human adaptability. 
 highlights universals in human nature. 
 highlights the role of our evolved genes in determining cultural patterns. 

6. Human kinship is to the ___________ perspective as social diversity is to the 
______________ perspective. 

 humanistic; cultural 
 evolutionary; cultural 
 biological; humanistic 
 cognitive; psychoanalytic 

7. Cultural diversity is best illustrated in which of the following? 

 norms regarding incest 
 norms regarding etiquette 
 norms regarding status & authority 
 all of these factors illustrate cultural diversity. 

8. According to Roger Brown, a “universal norm” governs the tendency for people to 

 feel indebted to friends or relatives. 
 avoid eye contact with people they do not know. 
 talk to higher-status people & strangers in the same respectful way. 
 excuse themselves when they accidentally make physical contact with strangers. 

9. In languages that distinguish between the two forms of “you,” the familiar form is used 
with _____ and the respectful form is used with _____. 

 children; adults 
 inferiors; superiors 
 intimates; strangers 
 all of the above! 

10. The incest taboo is 

 a universal norm. 
 is only of interest to sociologists. 
 violated less often than psychologists once believed. 
 explained by the theory of psychodynamic relativism. 

11. The characteristics people associate with male & female define 

 gender. 
 sexuality. 
 sex roles. 
 sex differences. 

12. In general, women more than men give priority to 

 creativity 
 skill mastery. 
 independence. 
 close relationships. 

13. In groups, men talk more ______________, whereas women talk more _____________. 

 about people; about issues 
 to show support; to criticize 
 about others; about themselves 
 to give information; to show support 


14. Men are more likely than women to gravitate toward jobs that 

 reduce inequalities. 
 enhance inequalities. 
 require empathy skills. 
 enhance independence. 

15. In essentially every society, men, relative to women, 

 are socially dominant. 
 have higher self-esteem 
 are more communitarian. 
 have poorer vocabularies. 

16. Across cultures, men 

 are more likely to initiate sexual activity. 
 prefer women with physical features that suggest fertility. 
 strive to offer women external resources & physical protection. 
 do all of the things noted above. 

17. Evolutionary psychologists respond to their critics by saying 

 the criticisms are “flat-out wrong.” 
 cultural explanations are guilty of hindsight explanations. 
 their field is an empirical science that tests its predictions with a variety of data. 
 all of the above 

18. A set of behavior expectations for males or females defines gender 

 roles. 
 types. 
 positions. 
 identities. 

19. Which of the following terms best describes the relationship between 
biology & culture? 
 
 interaction 
 competition 
 interpolation 
 reciprocation 

20. A very strong cultural norm dictates that males should be taller than their female 
mates. This height norm is evidence that 

 what is biologically “fit” may be culturally disastrous. 
 biology and culture interact to develop gender-role norms. 
 relationship behavior is influenced more by biology than culture. 
 gender roles are essentially cultural and thus completely arbitrary. 


                        --------------------------------------
                             Social Psychology
                               Robert C. Gates