Chapter 7 - Understanding Human Diversity in Context

Question 1

Race

Answer 1

A group or population of humans categorized on the basis of various sets of heritable characteristics (such as color of skin, eyes, and hair).

Question 2

Ethnicity

Answer 2

the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition.

Question 3

Gender

Answer 3

the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and femininity. Depending on the context, these characteristics may include biological sex (i.e. the state of being male, female or intersex), sex-based social structures (including gender roles and other social roles), or gender identity.

Question 4

Cultural Pluralism

Answer 4

when smaller groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities, and their values and practices are accepted by the wider culture provided they are consistent with the laws and values of the wider society. Cultural pluralism is often confused with Multiculturalism. Multiculturalism lacks the requirement of a dominant culture.

Question 5

Individualistic Cultures

Answer 5

a society which is characterized by individualism, not collectivism. The individualism-collectivism dimension is one of the most important of the value dimensions, which occur when “varying degrees of importance on those deeply felt views of what is right, good, and worthwhile,” that distinguish cultures from one another.

Question 6

Collectivist Cultures

Answer 6

emphasize the needs and goals of the group as a whole over the needs and wishes of each individual. In such cultures, relationships with other members of the group and the interconnectedness between people play a central role in each person’s identity. Cultures in Asia, Central America, South America, and Africa tend to be more collectivistic.

Question 7

Intersectionality

Answer 7

the study of intersections between forms or systems of oppression, domination or discrimination. An example is black feminism, which argues that the experience of being a black female cannot be understood in terms of being black, and of being female, considered independently, but must include the interactions, which frequently reinforce each other.

Question 8

Gender Identity

Answer 8

one’s own perception or sense of being male or female. Please do not confuse this with sexual orientation (as heterosexual or homosexual) or the strength of one’s gender-typing; it is just a person’s own knowledge and feelings of being a male or female.

Question 9

Concerns of socioeconomic class

Answer 9

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Question 10

Sexual Orientation

Answer 10

is your sexual preference for members of the same sex or opposite sex. If you like members of the same sex you would be classified as having a homosexual orientation. If you like members of the opposite sex you would be classified as having a heterosexual orientation.

Question 11

Issues of Ability/Disability

Answer 11

Most people will experience either physical or mental disability at some time in life. Social experiences of disability: Stigma; Self-stigma and societal stigma Exclusion; Lack of opportunities; Physical and psychological barriers

Question 12

Limitations of individualism/collectivism concept

Answer 12

Variation within cultures. Cultures change over time. It is an overly simplistic way to understand culture in a detailed way or to compare cultures.

Question 13

Identity Development Models

Answer 13

Social identities are particularly salient for oppressed groups as they explore the realities of oppression and seek strengths in their own heritages. Model limitations: A person may not go through all the stages, or may not go through them in order, or may repeat stages. Stages may be better viewed as states. Difficult to apply to multiethnic individuals.

Question 14

Acculturation

Answer 14

There are actually a couple of different meanings to this word (given in no particular order). The first definition here relates to the effects of groups or societies on people…”The modification of the culture of a group or individual as a result of contact with a different culture” or” The process by which the culture of a particular society is instilled in a human from infancy onward.” Acculturation may also refer to a cognitive process that is similar to Piaget’s “assimilation”, as can be seen in this definition of acculturation: “the process of assimilating new ideas into an existing cognitive structure.”

Question 15

Bi-culturality

Answer 15

Of or relating to two distinct cultures in one nation or geographic region

Question 16

Separation

Answer 16

the action or state of moving or being moved apart/ the division of something into constituent or distinct elements.

Question 17

Assimilation

Answer 17

This term stemmed from the work of Jean Piaget and his work on cognitive development of children. Assimilation is the cognitive process of fitting new information into existing cognitive schemas, perceptions, and understanding. This means that when you are faced with new information, you make sense of this information by referring to information you already have (information processed and learned previously) and try to fit the new information into the information you already have. A similar process is accommodation (another one of Piaget’s processes), but with accommodation the information you already have has to be adjusted to incorporate the new information.

Question 18

Characteristics of Oppressive Systems

Answer 18

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Question 19

Resources that maintain power

Answer 19

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Question 20

Unearned Privilege

Answer 20

White privilege is unearned; Patriarchy.

Question 21

Institutional Oppression

Answer 21

Workplaces, Schools.

Question 22

Studies of workplace leaders

Answer 22

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Question 23

Limitations of Liberation Perspective

Answer 23

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Question 24

Deep Structure

Answer 24

is an abstract representation that identifies the ways a sentence can be analyzed and interpreted. Transformational Grammar.

Question 25

Surface Structure

Answer 25

theoretical approach invented by the Noam Chomsky which states that spoken or written sentence is opposite to intrinsic frame. The apparent structure of the grammatical sentence without considering its deep structure.

Question 26

Cultural Competence

Answer 26

ownership of the abilities and insight which are recommended for and particular to a chosen culture. And the ability to operate efficiently in cultural environments aside from one’s own.

Question 27

Diversity

Answer 27

A goal of staffing whereby demographic differences in society are reflected in the workforce.

Question 28

Sense of Community

Answer 28

tends to emphasize group member similarity, not diversity.