Question 140·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Craft and Structure
In her description of ritual greetings, the anthropologist calls the exchange "performative"—not to suggest the participants are insincere, but to emphasize that the act is _____ the norms that stabilize the group.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For words-in-context questions, first use signal words and structure (like dashes, “not…but”) to understand the author’s contrast or emphasis. Then restate the blank in your own words based on that meaning before looking at the choices. Test each option by plugging it back into the sentence, checking (1) whether it fits the grammar, (2) whether its meaning matches the author’s intended idea, and (3) whether its connotation (positive/negative/neutral, active/passive) matches the tone. Use process of elimination on choices that are logically off, too weak, or carry the wrong attitude, then select the remaining option that best captures the precise relationship described.
Hints
Use the contrast signaled by the dash
Look at the part after the dash: the writer says the anthropologist calls the exchange “performative” not to imply fakery, but to emphasize something else. What is that “something else” supposed to be?
Focus on what the act does to the norms
The blank comes before “the norms that stabilize the group.” Is the sentence saying the act depends on the norms, opposes them, just describes them, or plays a key role in them?
Check connotations: positive, negative, or neutral?
“Stabilize the group” sounds positive. Eliminate any choices whose meanings would make the greeting undermine or ignore stabilizing norms.
Think beyond simple description
“Performative” in anthropology often suggests the act itself has power or effect, not that it merely reflects something. Which option captures an active role of the greeting in relation to group norms, rather than a passive one?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence’s contrast
Focus on the contrast set up by the dash: “performative—not to suggest the participants are insincere, but to emphasize that…”
So the author is saying:
- “Performative” does not mean fake or acted.
- Instead, it means something positive or neutral about the role of the greeting in relation to group norms.
We are looking for a phrase that shows the greeting does something important with the norms that stabilize the group.
Clarify what “performative” implies here
In anthropology and linguistics, calling an action “performative” often means the act does or enacts something (for example, saying “I promise” actually makes a promise).
Applied here, a “ritual greeting” called “performative” suggests:
- The greeting is not merely a show.
- The act itself plays a role in maintaining or shaping the group’s stabilizing norms.
So the blank should express that the act is actively related to the norms, not passively or negatively.
Use grammar and logic to test options
Look at the structure: “the act is _____ the norms that stabilize the group.” The phrase must fit both grammatically and logically.
Check each:
- “contingent upon the norms” means the act depends on the norms; the focus would be on the greeting relying on existing norms, not on shaping them.
- “dismissive of the norms” means the act ignores or rejects the norms, which clashes with the idea of “stabilize the group.”
- “descriptive of the norms” means the act describes the norms, suggesting the greeting reflects them but doesn’t necessarily help create or uphold them.
These three do not match the idea that the greeting, as a performative act, is actively involved in establishing or maintaining the norms.
Match the remaining option to the intended meaning
The remaining option is “constitutive of the norms that stabilize the group.”
“Constitutive of” means forming a necessary part of or helping to create something. If the greeting is “constitutive of the norms,” that means the act of greeting is one of the things that makes up and reinforces the norms that keep the group stable.
This perfectly matches the idea of a “performative” ritual greeting that helps create and uphold group norms.
Correct answer: A) constitutive of.