Module 1 Flashcards
Ethnograpy
Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study.
Ethnocentric Bias
Ethnocentric Bias (also known as ethnocentrism) occurs when perceptions of others are influenced by the culture of one’s own ethnic group. It is looking at outgroups and judging them based on the norms and standards of one particular culture. A bias is a form of mental deception that alters our perceptions of the environment and other people. Ethnocentric bias influences how people perceive other cultures and individuals within that culture. One’s perception of the world is greatly influenced by their particular ethnic or cultural group and an ethnocentric bias can occur when this influence alters perceptions of another group.
Culture
Culture is a word that suggests social patterns of shared meaning. In essence, it is a collective understanding of the way the world works, shared by members of a group and passed down from one generation to the next.
Situated Identity Theory
the theory that individuals take on different roles in different social and cultural settings, so that a person’s behavior pattern may shift radically according to the situation and the others with whom he or she is interacting.
Ex: Someone from the state of Orissa, in India, for example, may have multiple identities. She might see herself as Oriya when at home and speaking her native language. At other times, such as during the national cricket match against Pakistan, she might consider herself Indian.
Cultural Intelligence
The ability to understand why members of other cultures act in the ways they do. Rather than dismissing foreign behaviors as weird, inferior, or immoral, people high in cultural intelligence can appreciate differences even if they do not necessarily share another culture’s views or adopt its ways of doing things.
Progressive Cultivation
This refers to a relatively small subset of activities that are intentional and aimed at “being refined.”
Ways of Life
This refers to distinct patterns of beliefs and behaviors widely shared among members of a culture. The “ways of life” understanding of culture shifts the emphasis to patterns of belief and behavior that persist over many generations.
Enculturation
Enculturation is the process by which people learn the dynamics of their surrounding culture and acquire values and norms appropriate or necessary to that culture and its worldviews. As part of this process, the influences that limit, direct, or shape the individual include parents, other adults, and peers.
Individualism
Individualists, such as most people born and raised in Australia or the United States, define themselves as individuals. They seek personal freedom and prefer to voice their own opinions and make their own decisions.
Collectivists
collectivists—such as most people born and raised in Korea or in Taiwan— are more likely to emphasize their connectedness to others. They are more likely to sacrifice their personal preferences if those preferences come in conflict with the preferences of the larger group
Vertical Societies
People in vertical societies differ in status, with some people being more highly respected or having more privileges
Horizontal Societies
in horizontal societies people are relatively equal in status and privileges.
Self-Construal
The way that people understand themselves. Known as self-construal, this is the way people define the way they “fit” in relation to others.
Value-Free Research
Research that has been produced by a completely impartial and dispassionate researcher. The proposition is that if a researcher can conduct a study shorn of his or her own particular beliefs, values, prejudices and opinions, this impartiality will presumably be reflected in the end product of the research.
Cultural Relativism
the principle of regarding and valuing the practices of a culture from the point of view of that culture. It is a considerate and practical way to avoid hasty judgments.
