Chapter 3 Flashcards
anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture
symbol
a system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another
language
the process by which one generation passes culture to the next
cultural transmission
the idea that people see and understand the world through the cultural lens of language
Sapir-Whorf thesis
culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful and that serve as broad guidelines for social living
values
specific thoughts or ideas that people hold to be true
beliefs
rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members
norms
norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance
mores
norms for routing or casual interaction
folkways
attempts by society to regulate people’s thoughts and behavior
social control
cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite
high culture
cultural patterns that are widespread among a society’s population
popular culture
cultural patterns that set apart some segment of a society’s population
subculture
a perspective recognizing the cultural diversity of the United States and promoting equal standing for all cultural traditions
multiculturalism
the dominance of European (especially English) patterns
Eurocentrism
cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society
counterculture
the close relationships among various elements of a cultural system
cultural integration
the fact that some cultural elements change more quickly than others, disrupting a cultural system
cultural lag
the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture
ethnocentrism
the practice of judging a culture by its own standards
cultural relativism
knowledge that people use to make a way of life in their surroundings
technology
emphasizing and promoting African cultural patterns
Afrocentrism
