Chapter 2 Review

subculture

a group that has a distinctive way of looking at life, but at the same time their values and norms relfect the dominant culture of their society

What is a counter-culture

a group, which has values in opposition to the dominant culture

negative sanction

a punishment or the threat of punishment used to enforce conformity

positive sanction

a reward or positive reaction for following norms, ranging from a smile to a material reward

value cluster

a series of interrelated values that together form a larger whole

pluralistic society

a society made up of many different groups

sociobiology

a theoretical approach that explores ways in which human biology affects how we create culture

cultural universals

a value, norm, or other cultural characteristics form one group to another

cultural universal

a value, norm, or other cultural trait that is found in every group

norms

rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members

formal sanctions

sanctions that are officially recognized and enforced

Why is language so significant to culture?

Language allows human experience to be goal-directed, cooperative, and cumulative. It also lets humans move beyond the present and share a past, future, and other common perspectives. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, language even shapes our thoughts and perceptions.

What are cultural relativism and ethnocentrism?

People are ethnocentric; that is, they use their own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of others. In contrast, those who embrace cultural relativism try to understand other cultures on those cultures' own terms.

cultural lag

William Ogburn developed the term cultural lag, not all parts of a culture change at the same pace, goes along with cultural change

real culture

actual behavior patterns of members of a group

Teaching your child that lying is wrong, then lying to your boss is an example of:

real culture

informal sanctions

rewards or punishments that can be applied by most members of a group

social values

standards by which people define good and bad, beautiful and ugly

the components of culture

symbols, gestures, language, values and beliefs, social nroms

material culture

the art, housing, clothing, sports, dances, foods, and other similar items constructed or created by a group of people

cultural relativism

understand a people from the framework of its own culture

Two examples of _____ are incest taboos and courtship customs

universal human activities

gestures

using one's body to communicate/culture specific

subculture

A group of people with shared value systems based on common life experiences and situations

What are some core U.S. values?

Although the United States is a pluralistic society, made up of many groups, each with its own set of values, certain values dominate. These are called its core values. Core values do not change without opposition. Some values cluster together to form a larger whole called value clusters. Values contradictions indicate areas of tension, which are likely points of social change. Leisure, self-tension, which are likely points of social change. Leisure, self-fulfillment, physical fitness, youthful ness, and concern for the environment form an emerging value cluster. Core values do not change without opposition.

ideal culture

cultural guidelines that group members claim to accept

An example of _____ is the custom of maintaining a nine-month school year in the U.S. even though this custom no longer matches the current technology

cultural lag

When we practice _____, we try to understand a culture on its own terms

cultural relativism

The tendency to use our own group's ways of doing things as the yardstick for judging others is called

ethnocentrism

ethnocentrism

evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture.

Serving turkey for Thanksgiving dinner is an example of a:

folkway

A form of non-material culture, _____ allow(s) one generation to pass significant experiences along to the next generation

language

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

language determines our consciousness and our perceptions of life around us

The Sapir-Wharf hypothesis is based on the belief that:

language is the basis of culture

pluralistic society

made up of many different groups

A person who rapes or steals has violated a:

more

three types of norms

mores, folkways and taboos

folkways

norms that are not strictly enforced

taboos

norms that are strongly prohibited because they bring about revulsion if violated

mores

norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance

cultural relativism

not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms

mores

of great significance. The norms that are strictly enforced

folkways

of little moral significance. The norms that are not strictly enforced

language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

culture shock

personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life

cultural shock

the personal disorientation people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can go longer depending on their taken for granted assumptions about life

core values

the primary or dominant values that are accepted throughout the organization

cultural leveling

the process by which cultures become more similar to each other as a reslut of travel and communication

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 nations

cultural diffusion

the spread of cultural characteristics from one group to another

gestures

the ways in which people use their bodies to communicate with one another

cultural diffusion

The spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one people to another

_____ are ways that we can use our bodies to communicate without words

gestures

counterculture

groups whose values and norms are in opposition to mainstream culture

counterculture

A culture with lifestyles and values opposed to those of the established culture.

taboo

A restriction on behavior imposed by social custom.

How do subcultures and countercultures differ?

A subculture is a group whose values and related behaviors distinguish its members from the general culture. A counterculture holds some values that stand in opposition to those of the dominant culture.

symbol

A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

How do values, norms, sanctions, folkways and mores reflect culture?

All groups have values, standards by which they define what is desirable or undesirable, and norms, rules or expectations about behavior. Groups use positive sanctions to show approval of those who follow their norms and negative sanctions to show disapproval of those who violate them. Norms that are not strictly enforced are called folkways, while mores are norms to which groups demand conformity because they reflect core values.

How do sociologists understand culture?

All human groups possess culture-language, beliefs, values, norms, and material objects that are passed from one generation to the next. Material culture consists of objects. Nonmaterial culture is a group's ways of thinking and its patterns of behavior. Ideal culture is a group's ideal values, norms, and goals. Real culture is people's actual behavior, which often falls short of their cultural ideals.

values

Beliefs of a person or social group in which they have an emotional investment (either for or against something).

culture

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

Do cultural universals exist?

Cultural universals are values, norms, or other cultural traits that are found in all cultures. Although all human groups have customs concerning cooking, childbirth, funerals and so one, because these customs differ from one culture to another, there a no cultural universals.

technology

The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes

nonmaterial culture

The beliefs, practices, aesthetics, and values of a group of people.

What are the components of nonmaterial culture?

The central component of nonmaterial culture is symbols, anything to which people attach meaning and that they use to communicate with others. Universally, the symbols of nonmaterial culture are gestures, language, values, norms, sanctions, folkways, and mores.

How is technology changing culture?

William Ogburn coined the term cultural lag to describe how a group's nonmaterial culture lags behind its changing technology. With today's technological advances in travel and communications, cultural leveling, groups becoming similar as they adopt items from other cultures. Much of the richness of the world's diverse cultures is being lost in the process.

What is a cultural universal?

a cultural trait that occurs in all cultures

Which of the following best describes cultural diffusion? a. the spread of culture over a specific geographic area. b. the spread of one group's political power from one geographic area to another c. the process of two or more cultures becoming similar d. the discovery of a new technology

a. the spread of culture over a specific geographic area

nonmaterial culture

all intangible products of a society, laws, ideas, values, beliefs ,norms, etc.

material culture

allall tangible products of a society, cars, clothing, housings, TVs, planes, etc.

People in one group adapt some part of another group

material and/or nonmaterial culture

Jewelry, art and buildings are all examples of:

material culture

sanctions

something that forces obedience with a law or rule

People in all societies have fundamental orientations toward life that they take for granted; these essentially determine the type of people they are. Sociologists call these orientations:

the culture within us

new technology

the emerging technologies of an era that have a significant impact on social life

social norms

the expected behaviors that develop out of a society

cultural lag

the fact that some cultural elements change more quickly than others, disrupting a cultural system

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

the idea that language structures thought and that ways of looking at the world are embedded in language

ideal culture

the ideal vales and norms of a people, the goals held out from them

symbolic culture

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

real culture

the norms and values that people actually follow

ethnocentrism

using one's own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of individual or society

value contradiction

values that contradict one another; to follow the one means to come into conflict with the other