Chapter 2 Flashcards
What is Culture?
complex & elaborate system of meaning and behavior that defines the way of life for a group
What do you need to remember about culture?
it is …
- shared
- learned
- taken for granted
- symbolic
- varies form one group to another
How do sociologists define norms?
rules of social behavior that guid every situation and may be formal or informal
How do sociologists define beliefs?
strongly shared ideas about the nature of social reality
What happens when norms are violated?
social sanctions are applied
What are values?
abstract concepts in a society that define the worth of different things and ideas
what is the significance of diversity in human cultures
societies develop and get more complex = cultural diversity,
the dominant culture holds the power and the subcultures dont
What is the sociological significance of popular culture
have effect on beliefs, practice, and everyday traditions
What does Functionalist theory reveal about culture?
emphasizes the influence of values, norms and beliefs ion the whole society
how do conflict theorists see culture?
influenced by economic interests and power relations within society
What does Symbolic interaction emphasize about culture?
that it is socially constructed
How do cultures change?
sources of cultural change
- societal conditions
- cultural diffusion
- innovation
- imposition of change by dominant culture
Beliefs
shared ideas held collectively by people within a culture
Countercultures
subcultures created as a reaction against values of dominant culture
Cultural capital
aka social capital
cultural resources that are designated as being worthy socially and given advantages
Cultural Diffusion
transmission of cultural elements form one society/group to another
Cultural Hegemony
pervasive and excessive of influence of one culture throughout society
Cultural Relativism
idea that something can be understood and judged only in relationship to the cultural context in which it appears
culture
complex system of meaning and behavior that defines the way of life for a given group
Cultural lag
the delay in cultural adjustments to changing social conditions
Culture shock
feeling disoriented when encountering a new or rapidly changing cultural situation
dominant culture
most powerful
ethnocentrism
belief that one group is superior to all other groups
ethnomethodology
technique for studying human interaction by disrupting social norms and observing how people try to restore normalcy
Folkways
general standards of behavior adhered to by a group
Global Culture
diffusion of a single culture throughout the world
Laws
written set of guidelines that define what is right and wrong within a society
mass media
channels of communication that are available most of the population
material culture
objects created in a given society
mores
strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior
non material culture
the norms, laws, customs, ideas, and beliefs
reflection hypothesis
idea that mass media reflect the values of the general pop
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
theory that language determines other aspects of culture bc language provides categories through which social reality is defined and perceived
social sanctions
mechanism of social control that enforces norms
taboos
behavior that bring the most serious sanctions
