Chapter 2 Flashcards
The language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and even material objects that characterize a group and are passed from one generation to the next.
Culture
the material objects that distinguish a group of people, such as their art, buildings, weapons, utensils, machines, hairstyles, clothing, jewelry
Material Cultures
a group’s way of thinking and doing (including beliefs, values, and other assumptions about the world) along with the common patterns of behavior including language and other forms of interactions; also called symbolic culture.
Nonmaterial Culture
the disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their taken-for-granted assumptions about life
Culture Shock
the use of one’s own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of other individuals or societies, generally leading to a negative evaluation of their values, norms, and beliefs.
Ethnocentrism
not judging a culture but trying to understand it own its own terms.
Cultural Relativism
another term for nonmaterial culture
Symbolic Culture
something to which people attach meaning and then use to communicate with one another.
Symbol
the ways in which people use their bodies to communicate with one another.
Gestures
a system of symbols that can be combined in an infinite number of ways and can represent not only objects but also abstract thought
Language
Edward Sapir and Whorf’s hypothesis that language creates ways of thinking and perceiving
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly.
Values
expectations of “right” behavior
Norms
either expressions of approval given to people for upholding norms or expressions of disapproval for violating them
Sanctions
a reward or positive reaction for following norms, ranging from a smile to a material reward.
Positive Sanction
an expression of disapproval for breaking a norm, ranging from a mild, informal reaction such as a frown to a formal reaction such as a prize or a prison sentence.
Negative Sanction
norms that are not strictly enforced
Folkways
norms that are strictly enforced because they are thought essential to core values or the well-being of the group
Mores
a norm so strong that it brings extreme sanctions, even revulsion, if violated.
Taboo
the values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture; a world within a world.
Subculture
a group whose values, beliefs, norms, and related behaviors place its members in opposition to the broader culture
Counterculture
a society made up of many different groups
Pluralistic Society
the values that are central to a group, those around which it builds a common identity
Core Value
values that together form a larger whole
Value Cluster
values that contradict one another; to follow the one means to come into conflict with the other
Value Contradiction
people’s ideal values and norms; the goals held out for them.
Ideal Culture
the norms and values that people actually follow; as opposed to ideal culture
Real Culture
a value, norm, or other cultural trait that is found in every group.
Cultural Universal
a framework of thought in which human behavior is considered to be the result of natural selection and biological factors a fundamental cause of human behavior.
Sociobiology
in its narrow sense, tools; its broader sense includes the skills or procedures necessary to make and use those tools
Technology
the emerging technologies of an era that have a significant impact on social life
New Technology
Ogburn’s term for human behavior lagging behind technological innovation
Cultural Lag
the spread of cultural traits from one group to another includes both material and nonmaterial cultural traits
Cultural diffusion
the process by which cultures become similar to one another; refers especially to the process by which Western Culture is being exported and diffused into other nations.
Cultural Leveling
