Chapter 2: Culture and Construction

Question 1

Social Construct

Answer 1

An influential and shared interpretation of reality that will vary across time and space.

Question 2

Social Construction

Answer 2

The process by which we layer objects with ideas, fold concepts into one another, and build connections between them.

Question 3

Signifiers

Answer 3

Something that stands for something else (a symbol.) Emojis, thumbs up, middle finger, diamond rings, etc.

Question 4

Categories

Answer 4

Subsets of things that we believe are sufficiently similar to one another to be considered the same.

Question 5

Examples of Categories

Answer 5

Pets- a subset of animals
Blue- a subset of the color spectrum
Blouses- a subset of shirts

Question 6

Binaries

Answer 6

Categories we see as opposites or in opposition

Question 7

Examples of Binaries

Answer 7

Love vs Hate
Good vs Evil
Friends vs Enemies
Legal vs Illegal

Question 8

Associations

Answer 8

Ideas that have nothing special in common except for the fact that they’re connected by a third idea

Question 9

Examples of Associations

Answer 9

Rainbows and Flags (LGBTQ+ pride)
Roses and diamonds (love)
Red and green (Christmas)

Question 10

Sequences

Answer 10

Ideas arranged into a specific chronological order

Question 11

Examples of Sequences

Answer 11

outline, draft, edit
hug, kiss, fondle
marry, buy house, have kids

Question 12

Hierarchies

Answer 12

Ideas placed into ranked relationships

Question 13

Examples of Hierarchies

Answer 13

Nordstrom is higher-end than Kohls
Mammals are more important than insects
Better to be young than to be old

Question 14

Symbolic Structure

Answer 14

A constellation of social constructs connected and opposed to one another in overlapping networks of meaning. Example: ideas fall into categories, which connect them to other ideas, which are ranked into hierarchies

Question 15

Culture

Question 16

Cultural Objects

Answer 16

Natural items given symbolic meaning, or natural resources extracted and molded to serve cultural purposes. Example: The stop sign.

Question 17

Cultural Cognitions

Answer 17

Culturally shared thoughts, ideas and values. Example: Red means stop.

Question 18

Cultural Practices

Answer 18

Habits, routines or rituals that people frequently perform. Example: Stopping at a stop sign or red light.

Question 19

Cultural Bodies

Answer 19

Culturally influenced shapes and sizes, capacities, and physiological processes. Example: Our foot moving to the break because it is culturally conditioned to when we see the stop sign.