Ch 2 - Culture Flashcards
culture
practices, languages, symbols, beliefs, values, ideologies, and material objects that is socially constructed and transmitted by people to deal with real-life problems
society
a group of people who interact (usually within a defined territory geographically) and share a culture
abstraction
the human capacity to create general ideas or ways of thinking that are not linked to particular instances
symbols
things that carry particular meanings ex. language, math signs. Symbols allow us to classify experiences and generalize from it.
cooperation
the human capacity to createa complex social life by sharing resources and working together
norms
generally accepted ways of doing things
values
ideas about what is right and wrong, good and bad, beautiful and ugly
folkway
the least important type of norm-a norm that evokes the least severe punishment when violated
more
a core norm that most people believe is essential for the survivial of their group or their society (moderately severe punishment when violated; requires there to be both a social PREFERENCE and social REQUIREMENT)
taboo
the strongest type of norm. when someone violates a taboo, it causes revulsion in the community, and pushment is severe
production
the human capacity to make and use tools. It improves our ability to take what we want from nature.
material culture
the tools and techniques that enable people to accomplish tasks
high culture
culture consumed mainly by upper classes
popular culture (or mass culture)
culture consumed by all classes
dominant culture
helps rich and powerful categories of people exercise control over others