SOC Chapter 2: Culture Flashcards
Define: Culture
the language, belief, values, norms, behaviors, and even material objects that characterize a group and are passed from one generation to the next
Chapter 2, Page 40
Define: Material Culture
the material objects that distinguish a group of people, such as their art, buildings, weapons, utensils, machines, hairstyles, clothing, and jewelry
Chapter 2, Page 40
Define: Nonmaterial Culture
a group’s way of thinking (including its beliefs, values, and other assumptions about the world) and doing (its common patterns of behavior, including language and other forms of interactions);
also called symbolic culture
Chapter 2, Page 40
Define: Culture Shock
the disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their taken-for-granted assumptions about life
Chapter 2, Page 41
Define: Ethnocentrism
the use of one’s own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of other individuals or societies, generally leading to a negative evaluation of their values, norms, and behaviors
Chapter 2, Page 41
Define: Cultural Relativism
not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own
Chapter 2, Page 42
Define: Symbolic Culture
another terms for nonmaterial culture
Chapter 2, Page 46
Define: Symbol
something to which people attach meaning and then use to communicate with one another
Chapter 2, Page 46
Define: Gestures
the ways in which people use their bodies to communicate with one another
Chapter 2, Page 46
Define: Laguage
a system of symbols that can be combined in an infinite number of ways and can represent not only objects but also abstract through
Chapter 2, Page 46
Define: Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf’s hypothesis that language creates ways of thinking and perceiving
Chapter 2, Page 50
Define: Values
the standard by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, superior or inferior, good or bad, beautiful or ugly, ect
Chapter 2, Page 50
Define: Norms
expectations of “right” behavior
Chapter 2, Page 50
Define: Sanctions
either expressions of approval given to people for following norms or expressions of disapproval for violating them
Chapter 2, Page 50
Define: Positive Sanction
a reward or positive reaction for following norms, ranging from a smile to a material reward
Chapter 2, Page 50
Define: Negative Sanction
an expression of disapproval for breaking a norm, ranging from a mild, informal reaction such as a frown to a formal reaction such as a prize or a prison sentence
Chapter 2, Page 50
Define: Folkways
norms that are not strictly enforced
Chapter 2, Page 52
Define: Mores (MORE-rays)
norms that are strictly enforced because they are thought essential to core values or the well-being of the group
Chapter 2, Page 52
Define: Taboo
a norm so strong that it brings extreme sanctions, even revulsion, if violated
Chapter 2, Page 53
Define: Subculture
the values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture;
a world within a world
Chapter 2, Page 53
Define: Counterculture
a group whose values, beliefs, norms, and related behaviors place its members in opposition to the broader culture
Chapter 2, Page 56
Define: Pluralistic Society
a society made up of many different groups
Chapter 2, Page 56
Define: Core Values
the values that are central to a group, those around which a group builds a common identity
Chapter 2, Page 56
Define: Value Cluster
values that together form a larger whole
Chapter 2, Page 57
Define: Value Contradiction
values that contradict one another;
to follow the one means to come into conflict with the other
Chapter 2, Page 58
Define: Ideal Culture
a people’s ideal values and norms;
the goals held out for them
Chapter 2, Page 58
Define: Real Culture
the norms and values that people actually follow;
as opposed to ideal culture
Chapter 2, Page 60
Define: Cultural Universal
a value, norm, or other cultural trait that is found in every group
Chapter 2, Page 60
Define: Sociobiology
a framework of thought in which human behavior is considered to be the result of natural selection and biological factor;
a fundamental cause of human behavior
Chapter 2, Page 61
Define: Technology
in its narrow sense, tools;
its broader sense includes the skills or procedures necessary to make and use those tools
Chapter 2, Page 62
Define: New Technology
the emerging technologies of an era that have a significant impact on social life
Chapter 2, Page 62
Define: Cultural Lag
Ogburn’s term for human behavior lagging behind technological innovations
Chapter 2, Page 62
Define: Cultural Diffusion
the spread of cultural traits from one group to another;
includes both material and nonmaterial cultural traits
Chapter 2, Page 64
Define: Cultural Leveling
the process by which cultures become similar to one another;
refers especially to the process by which Western culture is being exported and diffused into other nation
Chapter 2, Page 65
