Module 4 (Chapter 3): Understanding Culture Flashcards
01/10-03/10
What is culture?
Culture consists of shared practices, values, religion, and traditions.
What are the key elements included in culture?
Languages, customs, values, norms, rules, tools, technologies, products, organizations, and institutions.
How is culture defined?
A system of behaviours, beliefs, practices, values, and concrete materials passed down across generations.
What is material culture? Give examples.
Material culture refers to physical objects surrounding people, like art, jewellery, buildings, and machines.
What is non-material culture?
It includes ways of thinking (beliefs, values) and doing (patterns of behaviour, language, gestures).
What does the Whorfian effect refer to?
Differences in languages cause differences in cognitive processes.
What are examples of non-verbal communication?
Peace sign, thumbs up, nodding, clapping, facial expressions, and body language.
What are norms?
Established standards of behaviour maintained by society.
What are mores and folkways?
Mores: Social norms for acceptable behavior (e.g., chewing with mouth closed).
Folkways: Informal customs of daily life (e.g., cultural greetings).
What happens when people violate mores or folkways?
They may face sanctions, which can be either rewards or penalties.
What are values?
Collective perceptions of what is good, desirable, and proper.
Define subculture and counterculture.
Subculture: A smaller group with distinct norms different from the dominant culture (e.g., youth gangs).
Counterculture: A subculture opposing the larger culture (e.g., hippie movement).
What are cultural universals?
Practices and beliefs common across all cultures.
What is cultural relativism?
Understanding other cultures on their own terms, rather than through one’s own cultural lens.
What is ethnocentrism?
Judging other cultures based on one’s own cultural beliefs and considering them superior.
