Sociology Chapter 2 study guide

Value Clusters

a series of interrelated values that together form a larger whole. ex peace love and understanding

Moral Holiday

a time when people are allowed to break norms without penalty

Most American high schools routinely schedule ceremonies to recognize the most talented student athletes and scholars. Such activities illustrate the importance that Americans place on the value of

achievement and success

Symbolic Culture

another term for nonmaterial culture

Ethnocentrism

belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group

Pigs, spiders, elephants and other animals that rely solely on instinct act as they do because they lack a

cerebral cortex

In recent years, cultures have become more similar to each other as a result of travel and communication. Sociologists use the term what to describe this process?

globalization

Subcultures

groups whose values and behaviors are so distinct that they set their members off from the dominant culture, still remains compatible with dominant culture.

The two ways culture changes

internally through invention and externally through borrowing.

Symbols can be strung together in an infinite number of ways for the purpose of communicating abstract thoughts. This is referred to as

language

Good nutrition, medical care, comfortable housing and owning a late model car are a classification of values in American society Robin Williams would call

material comfort

Jewelry, art, hairstyles and clothing each represent examples of

material culture

Because America is made up of many different groups it is classified as being

pluralistic society

Receiving the Medal of Honor and making the Dean's List are both examples of

positive sanctions

Sociologists use the concept "norms" to describe

rules of behavior/ expectations

Value Conflicts

Differing values that stem from different frames of reference.

Resistant to Change

Change is seen as a threat to an established way of life. Something that will undermine people's present and future.

Values in US Society

Created by Sociologist Robin Williams 1. Achievement and success 2. Individualism 3. Hard Work 4. Efficiency and practicality 5. Science and technology 6. Material comfort 7. Freedom 8. Democracy 9. Equality 10. Group superiority 11. Education 12 Religiosity 13. Romantic Love

What is Culture?

Culture is the beliefs, values behaviors and material objects shared by a particular people. Culture is our complete social heritage.

What makes up symbolic culture?

Gestures Language Values Norms Folkways Mores Sanctions Preferences/Taboos

Countercultures

Groups whose values set their members in opposition to the dominant culture. Often perceived as a threat by the dominant culture, but not always a threat. Eg, Mormons

Causes of Culture

Human biology and nurture

The two kinds of culture

Material (Examples: books, buildings, clothing) Non material (beliefs, ideas, rules, language)

Cultural Connections

Minimal connection throughout most of history! Recently, some awareness as a result of Cultural Diffusion. Technology has changed diffusion process. Globalization has resulted in an almost total connection.

Emerging Value Clusters

New core values in response to fundamental changes in US society: Leisure Self-fulfillment Physical fitness Environment Holding on to youthfulness

The sociologist who identified twelve underlying core vales of American society was

Robin Williams

ideal and real culture

Society meets all the expectations of its value v. the real level to which society meets expectations.

Do symbols have universal meanings?

Symbols do not necessarily have universal meanings. Different symbols have different meanings in different cultures.

Values

The standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, pretty of ugly. Our values define who we are.

Claire raises champion sheep; Spencer is a cab driver in New York and Jamil is a member of the RAW family of professional wrestling. What do Claire, Spencer and Jamil have in common?

They all are members of subcultures

Culture is

Universal Cumulative Learned Shared

Language, beliefs, values norms, behaviors, material objects and technology passed from one generation to the next by members of a society describe what?

culture

The author's experience on Morocco that included the absence of women from public positions, intense stares at him by the Moroccans, pushing and shoving at the train station, and the total disregard for sanitation by food vendors left the author with a profound sense of

culture shock

The spread of cultural characteristics from one group to another is called

diffusion

When on a what norms are expected to be broken.

moral holiday

When a group has a distinct way of looking at life, but at the same time their values and norms reflect the dominant culture of their society, the group would be considered a

subculture

The automobile, and the skills needed to drive it, would be an example of

technology

what sets a framework for the non-material culture?

technology

A person who believes in freedom and equality but is also sexist and racist is involved in a

value conflict

Cultural Universals

values or modes of behavior shared by all human cultures, however there is no activity that is performed the same way everywhere. ex. courtship marriage cooking music disposing of the dead