Exam 2 Flashcards
balanced reciprocity
The giving of valuable goods with expectation of a return of equal value at some future time.
capitalism
Economies organized using market principles, including both national economies and the global economy.
generalized
reciprocity
The giving of goods without expectation of a return of a gift of equal value at any definite future time.
market
Exchange by means of buying and selling, using money, at prices determined by the forces of supply and demand
market globalization
The process by which capital, technology, products, and services cross national boundaries at prices largely determined by global supply and demand.
negative reciprocity
Exchange motivated by the desire to obtain products, in which the parties try to gain all the material goods they can
reciprocity
The transfer of goods for other goods between two or more individuals or groups.
redistribution
The collection of products or money by a central authority, followed by distribution to the group’s members
social distance
The degree to which cultural norms specify that two individuals or groups should be helpful to, intimate with, or emotionally attached to each other.
tribute
Goods (typically including food) rendered to an authority such as a chief.
ambilocal residence
A residence form in which a couple chooses to live with either the wife’s or the husband’s family.
bilateral descent
A kinship system in which individuals trace their kinship relationships equally through both parents.
brideservice
The custom in which a man spends a period of time working for the family of his wife.
bridewealth
The custom in which a prospective groom and his relatives are required to transfer goods to the relatives of the bride to validate the marriage.
clan
A named unilineal descent group, some of whose members are unable to trace how they are related but still believe themselves to be kinfolk.
cognatic descent
A kinship system in which individuals trace their kinship relationships through both females and males.
dowry
The custom in which the family of a woman transfers property or wealth to her upon her marriage.
group marriage
Several women and several men married to one another simultaneously
endogamous rules
Marriage rules that require individuals to marry some member of their own social group or category.
exogamous rules
Marriage rules that prohibit individuals from marrying a member of their own social group or category
extended household
A group of related nuclear families that live together in a single household.
incest taboo
Prohibition against sexual intercourse between certain kinds of relatives.
kin group
A group of people who culturally consider themselves to be relatives, cooperate in certain activities, and share a sense of identity as kinfolk.
kindred
All the bilateral relatives of an individual.
matrilineal descent
A kinship system in which individuals trace their primary kinship relationships through their mothers.
lineage
A unilineal descent group larger than an extended family whose members can actually trace how they are related.
matrilocal residence
A residence form in which a couple lives with or near the wife’s parents.
monogamy
The practice in which each individual is allowed to have only one spouse at a time
neolocal residence
A residence form in which a couple establishes a separate household apart from both the husband’s and wife’s parents.
nuclear family
A family unit consisting of only parents and children.
patrilocal residence
A residence form in which a couple lives with or near the husband’s parents.
polyandry
The practice in which one woman is allowed to have multiple husbands.
postmarital residence pattern
Where most newly married couples go to live after they become married.
cultural construction of gender
The idea that the characteristics a people attribute to males and females are culturally, not biologically, determined.
unilineal descent
Descent through one “line”; includes both patrilineal and matrilineal descent.
gender crossing
The adoption of social roles and behaviors normatively appropriate for the opposite biological sex from one’s own.
gender stratification
The degree of inequality between males and females based on culturally defined differences between the sexes; may be based on social status (rank, prestige) or on access to resources, wealth, power, or influence.
multiple gender identities
The presence in some cultures of more than two sexes, with the third- and fourth-gender identities often called by terms such as man-woman and woman-man.
caste
A system of stratification in which membership in a stratum is in theory hereditary, strata are endogamous, and contact or relationships between members of different strata are governed by explicit laws, norms, or prohibitions
sexual division of labor
The patterned ways in which productive activities and tasks are assigned to women versus men in a culture.
civilization
The highest level of ethnic identity encompassing numerous ethnic nationalities whose cohesion is based on a shared cultural tradition, usually religion.
class
A system of stratification in which membership in a stratum can theoretically be altered and intermarriage between strata is allowed.
egalitarian society
A form of society in which there is little inequality in access to culturally valued rewards.
ethnic boundary marker
Any cultural trait that serves to distinguish members of one ethnic group from members of other ethnic groups.
ethnic group
A named grouping of people who identify themselves as members of a social distinct “people” based on shared cultural traditions and history that distinguish them from all other groups.
ethnic origin myth
The agreed-upon story of the origin and history of the group by selective reference to certain historic events and people.
ethnic nationality or primary ethnic identity
A named ethnic group with a claim to a geographic region or homeland over which they should have political autonomy
hierarchical nesting
Refers to the fact an ethnic identities are frequently subgroups of still larger ethnic identities.
income
The value of what is earned during a given period of time, usually figured on an annual basis.
inequality
The degree to which individuals, groups, and categories differ in their access to rewards.
political nationality
The political identity of an individual or group based on citizenship of a particular country.
power
The ability to make others do what you want based on coercion or legitimate authority.
prestige
The respect, esteem, and overt approval other members of the group grant to individuals they consider meritorious.
ranked society
A form of society in which there are a fixed number of statuses (e.g., titles, offices) that carry prestige, and only certain individuals are eligible to attain these statuses.
secondary ethnic identity
A named ethnic group which is a subgroup of an ethnic nationality and thus does not have a claim to a separate homeland.
stratified society
A form of society with marked and usually heritable differences in access to wealth, power, and prestige; inequality is based mainly on unequal access to productive and valued resources
wealth
1) Ownership of or access to valued material goods and to the natural and human resources needed to produce those goods, or (2) the total value of all property owned less the amount of debt owed.
authority
The recognized right of an individual to command another person to act in a particular way; legitimate power
big men
Political leaders who do not occupy formal offices and whose leadership is based on influence, not authority.
chiefdom
A centralized political system with authority vested in formal, usually hereditary, offices or titles; exchange is often organized by redistribution.
composite bands
Autonomous or independent political units consisting of several extended families that live together for most or all of the year.
court systems
Systems in which authority for settling disputes and punishing crimes is formally vested in a single individual or group.
courts of mediation
Court systems in which the sanctions imposed are designed more to restore harmonious relations between parties than to punish.
courts of regulation
Court systems that use codified laws, with formally prescribed rights, duties, and sanctions.
free trade
Free trade means that goods made be imported or exported between countries free from tax duties or quota limits
influence
The ability to convince people that they should act as you suggest.
law
A kind of social control characterized by authority, intention of universal application, obligatio, and sanction.
multinational corporations
Corporations that produce and market goods and services globally.
simple bands
Autonomous or independent political units, often consisting of little more than an extended family, with informal leadership vested in one of the older family members.
self-help systems
Informal legal systems in societies that have no centralized political systems, in which authorities who settle disputes are defined by the circumstances of the case.
social control
Mechanisms by which behavior is constrained and directed into acceptable channels, thus maintaining conformity
sodalities
Formal institutions that cross-cut communities and serve to unite geographically scattered groups; may be based on kinship groups (clans or lineages) or on nonkinship groups.
state
A political unit characterized by a bureaucracy that acts on behalf of the ruling elite.
tribe
An autonomous political unit that encompasses a number of distinct, geographically dispersed communities that are held together by sodalities.
animism
The belief in spiritual beings
ancestral rituals
Rituals performed to worship or please a kinship group’s ancestors.
communal practices
Religious practices in which the members of a group cooperate in the performance of rituals intended to benefit all.
compartmentalization
The simultaneous practice of the rituals of two competing religious traditions; one in public and the other in private
ecclesiastical practices
Highly organized religious practices in which a full-time priesthood performs rituals believed to benefit believers or the whole society; occur in complex societies.
individualistic practices
Religious practices based on personal relationships between specific individuals and specific supernatural powers.
intellectual/cognitive function of religion
The notion that religious beliefs provide explanations for puzzling things and events.
life cycle
The patterned changes in roles, rights, obligations, and social relationships that individuals experience as they move through culturally defined age categories.
priests
Religious specialists, often full-time, who officiate at rituals.
psychological function of religion
The notion that people derive comfort from religion and that religion helps people cope with misfortunes and death.
puberty (initiation) rite
A religious ceremony that symbolically transforms the individual from a child into an adult.
revitalization movement
A religious movement, usually based on the teaching of a prophet, to change the existing world.
ritual
An organized and stereotyped symbolic behavior intended to influence supernatural powers.
rite of passage
A public ceremony or ritual recognizing and marking a person’s transition from one group or status to another.
shamanistic practices
Religious practices in which special individuals (shamans) have relationships with supernatural powers that ordinary people lack.
shaman (medicine man)
A part-time religious specialist who uses his special relationship to supernatural powers for curing members of his group and harming members of other groups.
social function of religion
The notion that religion maintains the institutions of society as a whole.
sorcery
The performance of rites and spells for the purpose of causing harm to others by supernatural means.
syncretism
The integration of the religious beliefs and practices of two or more religious traditions to create a new and distinct religious tradition.
totemistic rituals
Rituals during which members of a kinship group focus on their totem, a natural object with which they are associated.
vision quest
An individualistic practice in which a person attempts to enlist the aid of supernatural powers by intentionally seeking a dream or vision.
witchcraft
The use of psychic power to cause harm to others by supernatural means.
indigenous minorities
Ethnically distinct groups of foragers, horticulturalists, and pastoralists who occupy their historic homelands and who are politically subordinate to larger national governments.
global economy
A worldwide integrated system of buying and selling goods, materials,
labor, and services in the global market.
global knowledge
Cultural knowledge that is widely disseminated by means of a written language.
local knowledge
Cultural knowledge that is disseminated orally and is thus known only by members of a local group.
