Sociology Chapter 3 - Fall 2022

Norms can be:

Formal (laws) or informal

Is cultural change always slow to occur?

No

Shared beliefs about what a group considers worthwhile or desirable.

Values

Which norm has the greatest moral significance? a. folkways b. pathways c. mores d. symbolic culture

c. mores

Culture is _______.

A guide to living our lives.

A group within society whose values and norms are incompatible or in conflict with dominant values and norms.

Counterculture

In the recent past, hip-hop was a distinctly American form of music, emanating from major urban centers in the United States. Now, you can find hip-hop artists almost anywhere in the world, from Beijing, China to Santiago, Chile. This an example of _____.

Cultural diffusion

When different groups share their material and nonmaterial culture with each other.

Cultural diffusion

Talia is from a working-class family, and she pays for her own college tuition by working nights as a waitress. On television, she sees a commercial that says, "You deserve a luxury car." She starts thinking that she wants the car despite knowing she cannot afford it. This is an example of what?

Cultural hegemony

The government of Iran officially censors all non-Islamic media content. The government likely considers the spread of Western media such as pop music and television programs an example of _____.

Cultural imperialism

The imposition of one culture's beliefs, practices, and artifacts on another culture through mass media and consumer products.

Cultural imperialism

When cultures that were once distinct become increasingly similar to one another.

Cultural leveling

The principle of understanding other cultures on their own terms, rather than judging them according to one's own culture.

Cultural relativism

The entire way of life for a group of people (including both material and symbolic elements).

Culture

While on vacation in Montreal, Canada, Candice wants to go to a restaurant where the locals go, hoping for something different than what she can get back home in Jacksonville, Florida. However, while looking for a place to eat, all she sees are the same chain restaurants she has near her home. This is an example of _____.

Culture leveling

While driving to work one day, a sociologist noticed a bumper sticker on a large pickup truck that stated: "Gun control means using both hands!" Later, he saw a small electric vehicle with a bumper sticker that stated: "Protect children, not guns!" The sociologist would most likely describe this debate over guns as an example of a(n) _____.

Culture war

Clashes within mainstream society over the values and norms that should be upheld.

Culture wars

In contrast to cultural anthropologists, sociologists usually focus on what kind of cultures?

Cultures close to home.

The values, norms, and practices of the group within society that is most powerful in terms of wealth, prestige, status, and influence.

Dominant culture

The principle of using one's own culture as a standard by which to evaluate another group or individual

Ethnocentrism

When she arrived at her host family's home on her study abroad in Cambodia, Jamie was treated to a welcome dinner consisting of local delicacies, including fried spiders. Jamie refused to eat any of it because it sounded gross, and asked her hosts if they had any "normal" food, such as hamburgers. What behavior is she exhibiting?

Ethnocentrism

Culture is more innate than learned. True or false?

False

It is easy for us to perceive our own culture and see how it shapes and defines who we are. True or false?

False

A loosely enforced norm that involves common customs, practices, or procedures that ensure smooth social interaction and acceptance

Folkway

Alanna was annoyed because several guests at her dinner party showed up without letting her know they would be attending, and she had to adjust her plans. These guests violated a ____.

Folkway

The cultural aspects of social control, whereby the ideas of the dominant social group are accepted by all of society.

Hegemony

The norms, values, and patterns of behavior that members of a society believe should be observed in principle.

Ideal culture

The value placed on ______________in American life can antagonize cultures that place a higher value on familial involvement and moral and social restraint, and may result in anti-American sentiment.

Individualism, sexual freedom, and material satisfaction

In the United States, forgetting to pay back your friend for a meal would violate a(n) ______, whereas purposefully leaving a restaurant without paying the bill would violate a(n) _______.

Informal norm, formal norm

Horace Miner illustrates what point in his famous article, "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" (1956)?

It is very easy to fail to see one's own culture, precisely because it is taken for granted.

A sociologist who studies the use of architectural elements, building materials, paint, and lighting in a historic district is studying _____.

Material culture

Any physical object to which we give social meaning.

Material culture

A norm that carries greater moral significance, is closely related to the core values of a group, and often involves severe repercussions for violators

More

Values diverse racial, ethnic, national, and linguistic backgrounds and so encourages the retention of cultural differences within society, rather than assimilation.

Multiculturalism

Josie wore a pair of short shorts to school. This was against the rules and violated school norms. Because this was the third time that she had broken the same rule, the principal gave her a detention. The principal's action was a means of enforcing norms through _____.

Negative sanction

In the 1950s smoking cigarettes was a widely accepted behavior both in public and private. In recent years cigarette smoking has been banned in many public places and strongly discouraged in private spaces, especially when children are present. This historical shift demonstrates that what aspect of culture can change over time?

Norms

The formal and informal rules regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable and appropriate within a culture.

Norms

Eliza works for a company that sees itself as an environmentally friendly business with a social conscience. However, in the day to day operations of the organization Eliza observes countless examples of resource waste, worker exploitation, and a single-minded focus on profits above all else. In contrast to the way the company sees itself, the way it actually operates is indicative of its _____.

Real culture

The norms, values, and patterns of behavior that actually exist within a society (which may or may not correspond to the society's ideals).

Real culture

Positive or negative reactions to the ways that people follow or disobey norms, including rewards for conformity and punishments for norm violators.

Sanctions

Anthropologists claimed to have discovered that the Hopi tribe of the American Southwest had no words to distinguish past, present, or future. They concluded that the Hopi did not "see" or experience time in the same way as those whose language provided such words. This illustrates the concept known as the _________.

Sapir-whorf hypothesis

One function of symbolic culture is it allows us to communicate through:

Signs (symbols), gestures, and language

The formal and informal mechanisms used to increase conformity to values and norms and thus increase social cohesion.

Social control

A group within society that is differentiated by its distinctive values, norms, and lifestyle.

Subculture

Would skateboarders be an example of a subculture or a counterculture?

Subculture

Connor is very active in the "cosplay" scene. He designs costumes that embody his favorite sci-fi film characters and wears them to comic conventions (comic-cons). Jordan has a mohawk and wears a leather jacket. He is a member of an anarchist collective that seeks to destroy the current political and economic system, and replace it with a fairer and more just society. The difference between Connor and Jordan is that Connor is a member of a(n) ______, whereas Jordan is a member of a ______.

Subculture, counterculture

The ideas associated with a cultural group, including ways of thinking (beliefs, values, and assumptions) and ways of behaving (norms, interactions, and communication).

Symbolic culture

A norm engrained so deeply that even thinking about violating it evokes strong feelings of disgust, horror, or revulsion for most people.

Taboo

Those who believe technology is the most important influence on cultural change

Technological determinists

One of the key ways that material culture can change is through:

Technology

Changes in marijuana laws over the course of U.S. history illustrate _____.

That norms change over time and across contexts, and that changes in such norms are not always predictable

Among a group of military veterans who meet up regularly, the characteristic of others that they most often speak about is loyalty, which they see as the most desirable quality one can have. For this group, loyalty is a _____.

Value

When William goes on vacation to Germany, he sees older children having a small glass of wine with their parents while at dinner. William, who is from the United States, believes this is wrong. This is an example of a. ethnocentrism. b. multiculturalism. c. cultural relativism. d. normlessness.

a. ethnocentrism

Which perspective explores the ways in which components of culture such as norms and values contribute to the organization and stability of society? a. structural functionalism b. conflict theory c. symbolic interactionism d. postmodernism

a. structural functionalism

Which of the following are examples of material culture? Include all that apply. a. a high school's dress code b. a smartphone c. the "five-second rule" for dropped food d. a house

b. a smartphone and d. a house

Cultural __________ is the dissemination of beliefs and practices from one group to another. a. relativism b. diffusion c. sharing d. leveling

b. diffusion

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is the idea that language structures: a. actions b. thoughts c. technology

b. thoughts

Norms can be categorized from least serious to most serious. Rank the following types of norms accordingly. a. mores b. taboos c. folkways

c -> a -> b

Which of the following groups within society openly rejects, and may actively oppose, society's values and norms? a. the dominant culture b. a subculture c. a counterculture d. a materialistic culture

c. a counterculture

When a person uses his or her own culture as a standard to evaluate another group or individual, this is called a. egotism b. egocentrism c. ethnocentrism d. material culture

c. ethnocentrism

In Pennsylvania, there is a large neighborhood primarily consisting of Amish people, who live harmoniously with their non-Amish neighbors. They are distinctive because of the clothes they wear and the horses and buggies they opt to drive in the neighborhood. The Amish are an example of a a. counterculture b. dominant culture c. subculture d. cultural dichotomy

c. subculture

Ways of thinking and acting reflect a society's a. dominant culture b. material culture c. symbolic culture d. counterculture

c. symbolic culture

Cultural diffusion, cultural leveling, and cultural imperialism are all processes of a. ideal culture b. real culture c. social control d. cultural change

d. cultural change

Which of the following is a component of culture? a. material culture b. signs c. language d. symbolic culture e. all of the above

e. all of the above