Culture Worksheet

A cultural lag occurs when...

A period of maladjustments when non-material culture is behind the developments of material culture.

Define cultural universals

Cultural universals are things that exist everywhere. They include the basic human needs such as sleeping, eating, drinking, and breathing. They are the common practices and beliefs shared throughout the world such as families, religions, and languages although they might be different.

If you are experiencing culture shock, this means you are...

Culture shock is something you experience when you are immersed in an unknown culture that you are not familiar with. For example, you might be in another country that is very different from your own, you might feels uncomfortable and out of place.

Give 3 examples of diffusion

Diffusion is the process by which a cultural item spreads from group-to-group and from society to society. Three examples of diffusion would be smoking, paper, and McDonald's.

What is dominant ideology?

Dominant ideology is the dominant ideas, values, and morals in a culture. They are the cultural beliefs and practices that help their powerful social, economic, and political interest. The most powerful group controls the wealth and property. They also produce beliefs about reality through religion, education, and the media.

Define innovation and list and define the two types

Innovation is the process of introducing an idea, object, or something that is new to a culture. The two types of innovation are • Discovery - is the process of finding something new and sharing new knowledge with others. • Invention - is when existing cultural items are combined into forms that did not exist before.

What is the differences between material culture and non-material culture?

Material culture is the physical or technological aspects of our daily lives. These are the objects or belongings of human beings. These include things like technology, artwork, photographs, tools, and products. Non-material culture refers to the things that cannot be physically touched in a culture for example, customs, beliefs, philosophies, norms, language, and values. Non-material culture is not easy to change.

What is the difference between a subculture and a counter culture? Give at least two examples

Subculture is segments of society that share distinctive patterns of morés, folkways, and values within a society but differ from the larger society. Members of the subculture society participate in the dominant culture but also participate in their own culture as well. Examples of subculture would be college students or a religious group. Counter culture is a group of people within a society that have completely opposite behavior, beliefs, values and norms that go directly against the moral beliefs of the dominant society. Examples of counter culture would be the KKK and Skinheads.

What is the difference between culture and society?

The difference between culture and society is that culture exists within a society. Culture is learned social transmitted behavior and society is a large number of people that live in the same territory. Society is large groups and within each group are their own cultures.

List and define the four elements of culture

The four elements of culture are: • Language - is the abstract system of word meanings, symbols, gestures and speech (verbal and non-verbal). Language influences the way we think about people and objects in a culture. • Norms- are established standards of behavior maintained by society. They are widely shared and understood. They are what is normal in a given social circumstance. • Values are collective conceptions of what is considered good, bad, desirable, undesirable, proper or improper in a culture. Value influence people's behavior and serve as criteria for the actions of evaluating others. • Sanctions are not only penalties but also rewards for conduct associating social norms.

List and define the four types of norms. Give an example of each

The four types of norms are: • Formal norms are written rules or laws. Examples would be that in the US it is illegal to rob a bank or have more than one spouse. • Informal Norms are rules that are not written down but they are understood, for examples of informal norms they would be cutting lines or picking your nose in public. • Morés are norms that embody the moral views and principles of a society. Society demands obedience to its morés. Strict punishment is enforced if broken. Examples of morés are that in the US it is illegal for an adult to have a sexual relationship with someone younger than eighteen. • Folkways are traditional or customary norms that govern on everyday behaviors. Depending on different cultures, these will vary. For examples of morés in the US giving a hand-shake would be a common proper thing to do when meeting someone, but in Japan bowing would be the proper thing to do when meeting someone.

List and define the two attitudes of cultural variation. Which are you?

The two attitudes of cultural variation are: • Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge another culture's way of life based on our own experiences. That kind of perspective thinks that their culture is better than others. • Cultural relativism is when you view people's behavior from the perspective of their own culture. That kind of perspective tires to understand the culture rather than criticize or demean it. I would say I am a cultural relativist. I like to look at things from someone else's perspective and understand them and their culture better.