assignment10
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11.docxSocial Science 316. Race and Racism
Winter, 2019
Exam #1
Directions: This is a multiple-choice exam. Please mark the letter of the choice you believe to be most correct in the appropriate space on the Scantron form. You must answer all questions. (2 points each; 100 points total)
Correct answers are shown in red and marked with an asterisk (*).
1 Human skin tone is determined primarily by
A) the color of the outermost layer of skin.
* B) melanocytes that reside near the base of the skin and produce melanin.
C) the hypsochondrial gland that resides at the base of the brain and distributes melanin through the lymphatic system.
D) pixies that bewitch everybody that looks at us.
2 Two identical twins have identical DNA. They are separated at birth and raised in radically different environments. They will share
A) both instinct and learned experience.
* B) instinct but not learned experience.
C) learned experience but not instinct.
D) neither instinct nor learned experience.
3 If two groups of the same species are kept separate from one another for a very long time, you can expect
A) they will follow their common genetic trajectory and remain biologically similar.
* B) they will diverge from one another genetically, potentially eventually becoming different species.
C) either of the above is equally likely.
4 According to your readings and class discussion, the social construction of race refers to the idea that
A) race is a natural concept that science can discover through craniometry.
* B) race is a cultural concept that divides people into discrete categories, even though – biologically
speaking – there are no clear dividing lines.
C) races developed because of reproductive isolation.
D) races developed because of differing selective pressures.
5 Which of the two racial classification systems discussed in class (Blumenbach and Weidenreich) is scientifically more accurate?
A) Weidenreich’s, because it realigned Melanesians with Australians instead of Africans
B) Weidenreich’s, because it used more biological characteristics then Blumenbach’s
C) Blumenbach’s, because he omitted biological characteristics that were irrelevant
* D) neither, because each is arbitrary
6 A scholar considers herself a sociobiologist and is interested in explaining why the Yanamamo Indians of Venezuela have such a high homicide rate. Which of the following explanations is in keeping with her sociobiological approach?
A) The environment restricts the amount of land for planting crops, so different villages are in competition for that scarce resource, resulting in violent conflict and frequent homicide.
B) The methods by which homicide rates are calculated are really devised for urban areas and produce inflated figures in the jungle setting where the Yanamamo live.
* C) The Yanamamo commonly have a gene that inclines them toward violent behavior, so minor disputes can escalate and end in homicide.
D) The Yanamamo philosophy encourages men to bully one another, and men gain prestige by dominating one another, even through homicide.
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For questions 7–9, please use the following information. In 1825, a group of European people colonized Squark Island, a remote island in the Indian Ocean that was previously uninhabited; since then, there has been no reproductive contact with the outside world. The original population included 60% red hair, 30% black hair, and 10% blond hair; there were no instances of polydactyly among the original settlers, and none of their ancestors had this trait or carried genes for it. Squark Island has large swamps that breed the insect that can infect human beings with the germ that causes Dongo fever, an often-fatal infection. In the years immediately following 1825, almost 30% of the colonists died of this disease, but the numbers of deaths have dropped markedly and constantly, so that today less than 1% of the population dies from Dongo fever annually. There is no known innoculation or medical treatment for Dongo fever.
7 Today, the inhabitants of Squark Island have about 58% red hair, 34% black hair, and 8% blond hair. The high incidence of red hair is probably because of
A) a mutation that spread through the population.
B) genetic drift.
C) natural selection.
* D) founders’ effect.
8 How did polydactyly come to occur within the inhabitants of Squark Island?
* A) a mutation that spread through the population
B) genetic drift
C) natural selection
D) founders’ effect
9 Why did deaths from Dongo fever become so much less frequent over time? (Assume that the prevalence of the germ and its insect carrier has not changed over time.)
A) a mutation that spread through the population
B) genetic drift
* C) natural selection
D) founders’ effect
10 Which of the following is a major criticism of sociobiology?
A) If it were correct, it would mean that nutrition has no role in human development.
B) It contradicts evolutionary theory.
* C) It assumes that existence of genes that cannot be documented.
D) It fails to explain why races developed in the first place.
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11 Instincts are passed on through
* A) DNA
B) mutation.
C) culture.
D) imitation of one’s parents and other adults.
12 Melanin
A) concentration is fixed at the time of birth and cannot be altered in any way.
B) is not found in Causcasoid people.
* C) inhibits the development of vitamin D.
D) causes skin cancer.
13 Eugenics is defined as
A) the study of biological inheritance.
B) the modern synthesis of evolutionary and genetic theory.
* C) selective breeding of human beings to improve their genetic quality.
D) a one-celled freshwater organism with characteristics of both plants and animals.
14 The pharoahs and their families in ancient Egypt constituted a royal class separate from other Egyptians. To keep this royal class from being defiled, royalty married one another and usually refrained from sexual activity with people outside their class. Assuming people followed these rules, this is an example of
A) panphobic regression.
B) degeneration from inbreeding.
C) ethnocentrism.
* D) reproductive isolation.
15 A scholar argues that industrial waste has fouled a river that serves as a water supply for a downriver community, killing substantial numbers of persons but leaving those who survive with a higher genetic tolerance for that toxic pollutant. According to this argument, this is an example of
* A) natural selection.
B) genetic drift.
C) reproductive isolation.
D) sociobiology.
16 According to your readings, the 2000 US census for the first time
A) included no questions on race.
B) permitted individuals to opt out of identifying themselves racially.
C) forced individuals to choose from five categories to identify themselves racially.
* D) permitted individuals to identify themselves as belonging to more than one racial group.
17 Steatopygea
A) occurs only in Mongoloids.
* B) is more common in some human populations because it served as a hedge against seasonal famine.
C) is equally common in all human populations.
D) was eradicated by widespread vaccinations in Africa during the 1960s.
18 A scholar argues that the high homicide rates among the Inuit of the Arctic are a result of fierce competition for scarce resources, coupled with child training that emphasizes rough play and confrontation. This argument is an example of what kind of thinking?
A) Darwinian evolution
B) sociobiology
* C) cultural possibilism
D) social Darwinism
19 Pronounced epicanthic folds are very common among East Asians (90+%) and very uncommon among northern Europeans (less than 2%). What is the most likely explanation?
* A) This is a neutral trait and genetic drift led to different frequencies in different populations.
B) This is an adaptive trait in some environments and natural selection led to different frequencies in populations in different environments.
C) This is an environmental trait produce by differing amounts of meat in traditional diets.
D) This is a maladaptive trait that has persisted through panphobic regression.
20 “The system of racial classification . . . is a natural system, describing natural units of mankind. The fundamental categories are self-evident . . .”
– Joseph Gobineau
According to the discussion in class and readings, this quotation is
A) true, because the standard classification of races has stood the test of time.
B) true, because gene mapping has confirmed the genetic homogeneity of races.
C) false, because the standard classification of races focuses on the wrong traits.
* D) false, because all racial classification systems are more-or-less arbitrary.
21 If the assumptions of sociobiology as applied to human beings are correct, which of the following potentially could be true?
* A) Different groups of people, including races, could have different instincts.
B) Instinct has virtually no influence on human behavior.
C) both A and B
D) neither A nor B
22 All the early phases of human evolution took place in tropical Africa. What skin color did these early human ancestors probably have?
A) light, because this would provide the greatest protection from skin cancer
B) light, because this would provide the greatest production of vitamin D
* C) dark, because this would provide the greatest protection from skin cancer
D) dark, because this would provide the greatest production of vitamin D
23 Essentialism refers to
A) the philosophical viewpoint that free will is an essential component of human behavior.
B) the philosophical viewpoint that categories, including race, are constructed by human thought.
* C) the philosophical viewpoint that categories, including race, are natural and are discovered by people.
D) the philosophical viewpoint that arguments should be reduced to their simplest form.
24 Evidence from IQ testing of identical twins suggests that IQ scores
A are determined by heredity (genes) alone.
B are determined by culture, environment, and personal experience alone.
* C are shaped by both heredity and culture-environment-experience.
25 Which of the following statements is true?
* A) Virtually all genes occur in virtually all human populations.
B) Some genes occur in all human populations, but many occur only in limited populations (“races”).
C) The majority of genes are racial genes, occurring only in particular races.
D) There is a small set of racial genes that produce the classic characteristics used to identify races.
26 Sickle-cell anemia is
* A) a genetic condition.
B) an infectious disease.
C) a dietary deficiency disease.
D) a condition caused by drug abuse.
27 According to your readings, which of the following messages was not contained in the UNESCO Declaration of Athens?
A) Race is not a valid biological concept; the human species is far more genetically unified than previously had been thought.
B) Racism often is used by ruling groups to reinforce and maintain their political and economic power.
C) Scientists bear a special responsibility to maintain objectivity in their research relating to race.
* D) All of these messages are part of the Declaration of Athens.
28 Sickle-cell trait
A) causes major circulatory problems that usually leads to premature death.
* B) provides considerable protection against malaria.
C) probably will be weeded out by natural selection.
D) cannot be recognized by modern medicine.
29 According to Allen’s and Bergman’s rules, people who live in a cold environment probably will have
A) slender builds, tall height, and long arms.
B) slender builds, short height, and short arms.
C) stocky builds, tall height, and long arms.
* D) stocky builds, short height, and short arms.
30 Are all people on earth today of the same species?
* A) yes
B) no
31 Of the various kinds of reproductive isolation, which has been most important in human evolution?
A) niche separation
B) selective breeding
* C) geographical isolation
D) selective pressure
32 I am thirsty, so I go to the sink, draw a glass of water, and drink it. This behavior reflects
A) instinct only.
B) learning only.
* C) both instinct and learning.
D) neither instinct nor learning.
33 In nineteenth-century Great Britain, industrial pollution darkened birch trees, and the frequency of dark colored moths increased as a result, since they were better camouflaged to protect them from predators. This is an example of
A) a mutation that destroyed most of the light-colored moths.
* B) natural selection.
C) genetic drift.
D) founders’ effect.
34 Which of the following is not an effect of exposure of human skin to ultraviolet light?
A) The risk of skin cancer increases.
B) The production of melanin increases.
C) The production of vitamin D increases.
* D) The likelihood of contracting malaria is decreased.
35 Is it possible to carry a gene for a trait but not exhibit that trait yourself?
* A) yes
B) no
36 Which of the following is most in keeping with the constructivist philosophy?
* A) Racial categories are arbitrary, not natural.
B) Instincts are very significant in determining human behavior.
C) Free will is a fiction, because human behavior is more programmed than we usually realize.
D) If you can’t say something nice, say nothing at all.
37 Which of the following is a major criticism of intelligence testing?
A) It systematically produces lower scores in minorities because of culture-bound questions.
B) Most researchers are trying to assess intellectual potential, while testing measures intellectual achievement.
C) It tests only some aspects of intelligence, particularly memory and reasoning.
* D) All of the above.
38 Experiments have shown that grouse decoying behavior is
* A) instinctual.
B) learned.
C) a combination of instinctual and learned.
D) ineffective at protecting nestlings.
39 Paul Broca’s intelligence studies argued that
* A) the size of a human brain reflects that person’s intelligence accurately.
B) all human brains are essentially the same size, and size has no bearing on intelligence.
C) only intelligence testing can measure intelligence.
D) intelligence tests are severely flawed.
40 How did Broca assess the intelligence of the groups he studied?
A) He used Stanford-Binet IQ tests.
B) He devised and used simple tests using pictures.
* C) He considered the relative intelligence of these groups to be self-obvious.
41 All or nearly all scholars today believe that Broca’s studies
A) formed a sound basis for all modern theories of intelligence.
* B) were a dead end that distracted scholars from the proper path of inquiry.
C) led to all the right conclusions about racial differences in intelligence, but through faulty logic.
42 When Alfred Binet devised the first IQ tests, he wanted them
A) to measure intellectual potential in order to rank the intelligence of different races.
* B) to measure intellectual achievement in order to place children in appropriate grades in school.
C) to measure creativity, unlike most other intelligence tests.
D) to measure intelligence without reference to language.
43 The standard way to measure cranial capacity is
A inserting a craniometer through the foramen magnum of a skull and reading off a dial.
* B pouring seed into a skull and then measuring the volume of seed in a graduated vessel.
C X-ray mensuration.
D measuring the circumference of the outer surface of the head by wrapping a cloth tape around it and using that figure in a standard formula.
44 Federal public policy in the US has been modified in light of the results of IQ testing as it relates to
A equal pay for equal work.
* B immigration.
C voting rights.
D all of the above.
45 According to your readings, African and Native American communities in the first few centuries of colonies in the Americas
A) had very little reproductive activity together, because colonial powers opposed it.
B) had a great deal of reproductive activity together, because this benefited colonial powers in terms of producing new generations of slaves.
D) All of the above.
46 What is the primary conclusion of the Roster of Geniuses study?
A) Intelligence is equally distributed among all races and both sexes.
* B) Intelligence and brain size are not correlated.
C) Intelligence and IQ scores are not correlated.
D) There is an imperfect correlation between intelligence and IQ scores.
47 IQ tests of today differ from IQ tests of the 1910s and 1920s in
A the modern attempts to limit culture-bound questions.
B the modern attempts to reduce dependence on the English language.
C modern attempts to standardize conditions of testing.
* D all of the above.
48 Which of the following, according to almost all modern scholars, has the greatest intellectual potential?
A Caucasoid
B Negroid
C Mongoloid
* D none – they all have equal intellectual potential
49 Which of the following, according to almost all modern scholars, has the largest average cranial capacity?
* A) Caucasoid
B) Negroid
C) Mongoloid
D) none – they all have equal average cranial capacity
50 Which of the following statements best reflects the hisory of scholarly thought on the relationship between race and intelligence?
A) Early scholars believed there were no great racial differences in intelligence, but later scholars discovered increasing support for the idea that there are such racial differences.
* B) Early scholars believed there were profound racial differences in intelligence, but later scholars predominantly believe no such differences exist.
C) Early scholars believed there were no great racial differences in intelligence, and later scholars have continued in that belief.
D) Early scholars believed there were profound racial differences in intelligence, and later scholars have continued in that belief.
