Sociology Chapter 3 Review

Value

A collective conception of what is considered good, desirable, and proper—or bad, undesirable, and improper—in a culture.

Cultural universal

A common practice or belief shared by all societies.

Formal norm

A norm that generally has been written down and that specifies strict punishments for violators.

Informal norm

A norm that is generally understood but not precisely recorded.

Sanction

A penalty or reward for conduct concerning a social norm.

Subculture

A segment of society that shares a distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and values that differs from the pattern of the larger society.

Counterculture

A subculture that deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture.

Norm

An established standard of behavior maintained by a society.

Culture

Everything humans create in establishing our relationships to nature and with each other.

Laws

Formal norms enforced by the state.

Mores

Norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society.

Folkways

Norms governing everyday social behavior, whose violation raises comparatively little concern.

Material culture

Our physical modification of the natural environment to suit our purposes.

Culture shock

The feelings of disorientation, uncertainty, and even fear that people experience when they encounter unfamiliar cultural practices.

Diffusion

The process by which a cultural item spreads from group to group or society to society.

Discovery

The process of making known or sharing the existence of an aspect of reality.

Society

The structure of relationships within which culture is created and shared through regularized patterns of social interaction.

Ethnocentrism

The tendency to assume that one's own culture and way of life represent what is normal or are superior to all others.

Nonverbal communication

The use of gestures, facial expressions, and other visual images to communicate.