soc chapter 3
Value
All people should have the chance to advance by "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps."
Which pair of concepts consists of two direct opposites?
Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism
Most large retailers such as Target, H&M, and Old Navy carry similar clothing styles, and thus there is not extreme variation in what most Americans wear. Which sociological concept best explains this phenomenon?
Hegemony
Sociologist Allison Pugh
Pugh found that affluent and lower income parents alike place high value on their kids being socially accepted, but differences in means lead to differences in how that priority is expressed
Norm
Race-based job discrimination is illegal.
What cultural concept correctly classifies the idea of equality in the United States?
ideal culture
According to the textbook, which counterculture group does the FBI consider as one of the greatest threats to law enforcement in the United States?
the "militia movement"
In 1963, images of white police officers attacking black civil rights activists were broadcast on American television to a national audience.
- The TV images stirred up sympathy for the activists and support for the civil rights movement - this is a counterexample to reflection theory, which holds that mass media only reflect, and do not influence, social relationships
Sociological explanation for the fact that African American parents, more often than parents of other ethnicities, give their children unique and often made-up names
- The civil rights movement stirred up a sense of wanting to break away from the dominant (white) culture - signified a rejection of accommodation in favor of self -assertion
Ethnocentrism
- encapsulates the idea of a culture reflexively believing that it is naturally superior to other cultures by its own values - in its more extreme forms, ethnocentrism includes the idea that other cultures are less than fully human
Neither
An American believes that he should learn Spanish because it could be of value to him.
Culture = Man - Machine
Culture is craft and intellectual refinement, not commerce and industry
Culture = Human - Nature
Culture is what human beings have created by mastering their environment
Culture = (Superior) Man - (Inferior) Man
Culture is what separates advanced civilizations from savages
The controversy surrounding North Carolina's 2016 HB2 law is an example of which of the following concepts?
Culture wars
Value
Example: - All people should have the chance to advance by "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps" - values are broad and nonspecific
Identify the subculture and counterculture groups.
Subculture's:comic book fans marathon runners Counterculture's:political activists hackers
Ideal culture
What cultural concept correctly classifies the idea of equality in the United States
Values and norms are social constructions that may vary over time and in different contexts; meaning is created, maintained, and changed through ongoing social interaction.
symbolic interactionism
Use of cultural relativism
- in sociology, cultural relativism is not a philosophical doctrine, but a methodology of remaining nonjudgmental
Material Culture
Examples: - social media services (technology) - smartphone (physical artifact)
For a group of people with distinctive values and behaviors to be considered a subculture, there must be general agreement within the group about which values are embraced and the extent to which shared meaning can be agreed upon by its members.
True
For a sociologist, the goal in examining things such as language, media, and stereotypes is to take what we see as natural and view it as the product of culture
- Thinking like a sociologist means making the familiar strange - we tend to see things as natural in our own culture that outsiders find unnatural, even odd - sociology teaches us to see things from the outsider's perspective - sociologists seek to uncover cause -and -effect relationships
Examples of someone following a cultural script
- a vegetarian avoids meat for religious and ethical reasons - person's vegetarian practice is a deliberate mode of behavior and understanding that the person could choose not to follow - a woman diets in order to look good in her swimsuit when summer comes - the idea of wanting to be slim to look good in a swimsuit is culture-based - some cultures value slimness much less or not at all
Defining characteristics of subcultures
- special vocabulary understood within the group is a way they identify themselves and share values and meanings - typically recognizable to outsiders, even if those outsiders see them as deviant - share a common set of symbols (such as clothing) that mark them as members of that group
Defining parts of an ideology
- system of concepts of relationships - understanding of cause and effect - may, but need not, include a doctrine of social control
Ethnocentrism vs cultural relativism
- to be ethnocentrist is to judge other cultures by the standards of one's own - to be a cultural relativist is to reject that kind of thinking
Culture Jamming
- turns media against itself - views advertising as propaganda, even advertising that attempts to promote a counter message Examples: - using comedy to draw out the contradictions and ill effects of advertising - use humor to draw attention to the subliminal messages in advertisements - providing content for free that is usually sold by companies
Place each ritual in order according to its appearance in Horace Miner's article "Body Ritual among the Nacirema."
1. An individual enters a shrine room 2. An individual bows her head before the charm box 3. An individual mingles different sorts of holy water in the font. 4. An individual proceeds with a brief rite of ablution
Which of the following statements accurately describes the ways that sociologists focus on culture?
Accurate Descriptions:Sociologists often focus on culture within their own society.Sociologists may engage in the process of "othering" by studying the unusual, extraordinary, or deviant in cultural groups. Inaccurate Descriptions:Sociologists study the cultures of the past, digging for artifacts that document the historical realities of peoples long dead.Sociologists often investigate societies outside the United States, traveling around the world engaging in empirical fieldwork.
Similarities and differences exist in how affluent and lower -income parents handle their children's requests for games and gadgets
Affluent families: - parents practice symbolic deprivation - children argue that they need this or that item to be socially accepted - A child's plea based on social acceptance sways the parents Lower-income Families: - children argue that they need this or that item to be socially accepted - A child's plea based on social acceptance sways the parents - parents practice symbolic indulgence
Horace Miner's article "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" is about what group of people?
Americans
Ethnocentrism
An American believes that learning a foreign language is not worth the time because English is the superior language.
Cultural Relavitism
An American believes that other languages should be respected and valued equally to English.
Which of the following is an example of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
An indigenous people have no equivalent words for planet, Earth, or world. They do not view a macro picture of multiple planets.
Values and norms are often contested by various groups in society. Dominant culture tends to represent and protect the values, norms, and interests of the most powerful groups in society.
Conflict Theory
Which of the following are examples of cultural diffusion?
Cultural Diffusion- the spread of hip-hop music among white youth, the spread of anime programs like Dragon Ball airing in the United States during the last two decadesNot cultural diffusion- the growing number of Starbucks locations in the United States, the dominance of Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut shops in Canada
Which of the following are examples of cultural diffusion?
Cultural Diffusion:the spread of anime programs like Dragon Ball airing in the United States during the last two decades the spread of hip-hop music among white youth Not Cultural Diffusion:the dominance of Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut shops in Canada the growing number of Starbucks locations in the United States
Norm
Example: - race - based job discrimination is illegal - norms apply values to specific cases, to approve or disallow something, and this put the value into play
Nonmaterial culture
Examples: - texting (behavior) - norms, like behaviors, are part of nonmaterial culture, although of course they are applied in a physical and technological context
Although American culture is highly visible worldwide via the media, the moral and political values of the country are not highly visible.
False
Neither
Families in the working class are less likely to have health insurance than those in the middle class.
What is one of the main points of Horace Miner's article "Body Ritual among the Nacirema"?
It is easy to take one's own culture for granted
an emoji for sadness
Sign
Relative to American culture today, which of the following could be considered a subculture?
Subculture- Hunting enthusiasts, SkateboardersNot Subculture- incompetent doctors, litterbugs
Interaction of social norms and mass media
social norms and mass media are like two mirrors, each reflecting the other
Values and norms are widely shared and agreed upon; they contribute to social stability by reinforcing common bonds and constraining individual behavior.
structural functionalism
Identify some of the shared and differing values of Americans, according to the textbook.
Shared Values: Freedom Democracy Differing Values: Individualism Humanitarianism
What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
the idea that language structures thought and that ways of looking at the world are embedded in language
Ruth Benedict
- studied under Boas - coined the phrase cultural relativism
Which of the following statements accurately describes culture?
Accurate Answers:Culture includes both symbolic and material elements. Culture acts as a lens through which individuals view the world. Culture is handed down from generation to generation. Inaccurate Answers:Culture is second nature.
The increased use of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media by terrorist organizations in other countries to recruit new members is an example of what cultural phenomenon?
Cultural Diffusion
True
Culture is the human equivalent of instinct in animals.
frowning at someone
Gesture
crying
Neither
Founded in 1949, Servas International was the precursor to what cultural phenomenon?
The sharing economy
Any physical object that has social meaning can be considered a part of material culture.
True