Ch 2

Question 1

culture

Answer 1

knowledge, language, values, customs and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next

Question 2

beliefs

Answer 2

central component of nonmaterial culture is the mental acceptance or conviction that certain things are true or real

Question 3

Cultural Universals

Answer 3

customs and practices that occur across all societies

Question 4

Who used cultural universals in their study?

Answer 4

George Murdock
- anthropologist, used 70 universals in his study

Question 5

How do symbols relate to culture?

Answer 5

symbols make culture possible because they allow for shared meaning
- express shared meanings; allow groups to communicate cultural ideas and abstract concepts

Question 6

Why are values important in understanding people?

Answer 6

values are a source of criteria for evaluating people, events and objects

Question 7

folkways

Answer 7

informal norms and everyday customs that may be violated without serious consequences and are not often enforced

Question 8

cultural lag

Answer 8

the gap between the technical development of a society and the development of its moral and legal institutions
- created by William Ogburn

Question 9

What is an example of positive ethnocentrism?

Answer 9

Olympics and competition
- combine nationalism and patriotism

Question 10

symbolic interactionist perspective

Answer 10

states that people create, maintain and modify culture as they go about their everyday activities, continually negotiating their social realities

Question 11

functionalist perspective

Answer 11

states that a common language and shared values help produce consensus and harmony

Question 12

Pros and Cons of the functionalist perspective?

Answer 12

strength: focuses on the needs of society and that stability is essential for society’s continued survival

weakness: overemphasis on harmony and cooperation

Question 13

postmodern perspective

Answer 13

states that there are many cultures within the U.S alone
and we need a new way of conceptualising culture and society to grasp a better understanding of how popular culture may simulate rather

Question 14

conflict perspective

Answer 14

believe that certain groups may use culture to maintain their privilege and exclude others from society’s benefits

Question 15

material culture

Answer 15

consists of physical and tangible creations that members of society make, use and share
- changes in technology help shape material culture

Question 16

nonmaterial culture

Answer 16

symbols, language, values and norms

Question 17

language

Answer 17

set of symbols through which groups communicate
- important human attributes is the ability to use language to share our experiences, feelings and knowledge with others

Question 18

mores

Answer 18

norms with strong moral and ethical connotations and are essential to the stability of a culture

Question 19

laws

Answer 19

formal, standardized norms that are enforced by formal sanctions

Question 20

culture shock

Answer 20

anxiety people experience when they encounter cultures radically different from their own

Question 21

ethnocentrism

Answer 21

the assumption that one’s own culture is superior to other cultures

Question 22

cultural relativism

Answer 22

views and analyzes another culture in terms of that culture’s own values and standards

Question 23

counterculture

Answer 23

a group that strongly rejects dominant societal values and norms and seeks alternative lifestyles

Question 24

cultural imperialism

Answer 24

the extensive infusion of one nation’s culture into other nations

Question 25

high culture

Answer 25

classical music, opera, ballet, live theater and other activities usually patronized by elite audiences

Question 26

nonmaterial culture

Answer 26

the abstract or intangible human creations of society that influence people’s behavior

Question 27

norms

Answer 27

established rules of behavior or standards of conduct

Question 28

popular culture

Answer 28

activites, products and services that are assumed to appeal primarily to members of the middle and working class

Question 29

sanctions

Answer 29

rewards for appropriate behavior or penalties for inappropriate behavior

Question 30

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Answer 30

the proposition that language shapes the view of reality of its speakers

Question 31

subculture

Answer 31

a category of people who share distinguishing attributes, beliefs, values and/or norms that set them apart in some manner from the dominant culture

Question 32

taboos

Answer 32

mores so strong that their violation is considered to be extremely offensive and even unmentionable

Question 33

technology

Answer 33

the knowledge, techniques, and tools that allow people to transform resources into usable forms and the knowledge and skills required to use them after they are developed

Question 34

value contradictions

Answer 34

values that conflict with one another or are mutually exclusive