Bachelor of Social Science Anthropology Flashcards
7 cards from real BSocSc Bachelor of Social Science practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Bachelor of Social Science Anthropology flashcards as text
Which theoretical approach in anthropology argues that cultural practices exist to fulfill basic biological and psychological human needs?
Answer: Malinowski's functionalism
Malinowski's functionalism held that every cultural institution serves to meet fundamental needs such as nutrition, reproduction, safety, and social integration.
The 'emic' perspective in anthropological research refers to:
Answer: The insider's perspective—how members of a culture understand their own practices
The emic perspective captures meanings and categories as defined by cultural insiders, contrasting with the etic perspective that uses external analytical categories.
What does 'cultural capital' mean in the anthropological/sociological sense, following Pierre Bourdieu?
Answer: Non-financial social assets such as education, knowledge, and tastes that confer social advantage
Bourdieu's cultural capital refers to accumulated knowledge, skills, and dispositions that provide social advantages and reproduce class inequalities.
Which of the following best describes 'transhumance' as studied by ecological anthropologists?
Answer: The seasonal movement of pastoralists and their herds between different ecological zones
Transhumance is a seasonal migration strategy in which pastoralists move livestock between highland summer pastures and lowland winter pastures.
In evolutionary anthropology, what does the 'out of Africa' hypothesis propose?
Answer: Modern humans originated in Africa and dispersed from there to populate the rest of the world
The out of Africa model, supported by genetic and fossil evidence, holds that anatomically modern Homo sapiens evolved in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago and then spread globally.
What is the primary focus of 'medical anthropology'?
Answer: Examining how cultural, social, and political factors shape health, illness, and healing
Medical anthropology studies the cultural and social dimensions of health and disease, including how illness is defined, experienced, and treated across cultures.
What distinguishes 'achieved status' from 'ascribed status' in social anthropology?
Answer: Achieved status is earned through individual effort; ascribed status is assigned at birth regardless of effort
Ascribed statuses (such as sex, caste, or race) are assigned at birth, while achieved statuses (such as occupation or educational level) are attained through individual action.