Sociology Chapter 3

society

A fairly large number of people that live in the same territory, are relatively independent of people out side of their area, and participate in a common culture.

culture shock

A person who feels disoriented ,uncertain, out of place, or even fearful when immersed in an unfamiliar culture.

invention

A result of taking existing cultural items and combining into a form that did not exist before.

subculture

A segment of society that shares a distinctive pattern of customs, rules, and traditions that differs from the pattern of the larger society. A culture existing in a larger dominant culture.

argot

A specialized language, that distinguishes it from the wider society.

cultural universals

Certain common practices and beliefs such as need for food, shelter, and clothing.

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Describes the role of language in shaping our interpretation of reality. Because people can only conceptualize the world through language, language precedes thought. Thus, the word symbols and grammer of a language organize the world for us. Language is not a given, rather a culturally determined and encourages a distinctive interpretation of reality by focusing our attention on certain phenomena.

Charles Darwin

Naturalist that founded "sociobiology" in his theory of "Evolution".

Mores

Norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society, often because they embody the most cherished principles of a people.

folkways

Norms governing everyday behavior of the members of a culture.

informal norms

Norms that are general understood but not precisely recorded.

formal norms

Norms that have been written down and specific strict punishment for violators (law).

William F. Ogburn

Sociologist who made a distinction between the elements of "material" and "nonmaterial culture" and "cultural lag". Generally the nonmaterial culture is more resistant to change than the material culture.

William Graham Sumner

Sociologist who coined "ethnocentrism".

Gerhard Lenski

Sociologist who defined TECHNOLOGY as "cultural information about the ways in which the material resources of the environment may be used to satisfy human needs and desires.

language

An abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture including speech, written characters, numerals, symbols, and nonverbal gestures and expressions.

George Murdock

Anthropologist that compiled a list of cultural universals including athletic sports, cooking, dancing, visiting, personal names, marriages, medicine, religious rituals, funeral ceremonies, sexual restrictions, and trade.

George Ritzer

Coined "Mcdonaldizartion of Society" in which fast-food restaurants in the U.S. have come to dominate more and more sectors of society in throughout the world. Including walk-ins, menus, and marketing tools. The melding of cultural similarities.

values

Collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, and proper-or bad, undesirable, and improper- in a culture. Indicate what people prefer as well as what they find important and morally right (wrong). They influence people's behavior and serve as a criteria for evaluating the actions of others. The value, norms, and sanctions of a culture are often directly related.

Theodor Adorno

German philosopher who coined "culture industry" and contends that globally, the primary effect of popular culture is to limit people's choices.

symbols

Gestures, objects, and words that form the basis of human communication.

law

Governmental social control, laws are formal norms enforced by the state

discovery

Making known or sharing the existence of an aspect of reality and sharing that newfound knowledge with others.

Robin Williams

Sociologist who has offered a list of basic values which include achievement, efficiency, material comfort, nationalism, equality, and the supremacy of science and reason over faith.

sanctions

Penalties and rewards for conduct concerning a social norm

Shalom Schwartz

Psychologist who measured values in more than 60 countries of values that are widely shared: benevolence, forgiveness, loyalty and power, control and dominance over people and resources is a value that is endorsed much less.

Reflecting Absence

Than name of the World Trade Center Memorial designed by Michael Arad.

ESEA

The Elementary and Secondary Educational Act (1965) the Federal Government took an active role in establishing the proper form for bilingual programs.

Nuestro Himmo

The Spanish-language version of the "Star-Spangled Banner"

norms

The established standards of behavior maintained by a society.

cultural lag

The period of maladjustment when the nonmaterial culture is still struggling to adapt to new material conditions.

material culture

The physical or technological aspects of our daily lives, including food, houses, factories, and raw materials.

diffusion

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

natural selection

The process of adapting to the environment through random genetic variations.

innovation

The process of introducing a new idea or object into a culture.

counterculture

When a subculture conspicuously and deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture.

dominant ideology

The set of cultural beliefs and practices that help maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests. The most powerful groups and institutions control wealth and property; even more important, they control the means of producing beliefs about reality through religions, and education.

culture industry

The standardize the goods and services demanded by consumers.

sociobiology

The systematic study of how biology affects human social behavior. Asserting that many of the cultural traits humans display , such as the almost universal expectation that women will be nurturing and men will be protective, are not learned but are rooted in our genetic makeup.

ethnocentrism

The tendency to assume that one's own cultural and way of life represents the norm or are superior to all others. Sees their group as the center or defining point of culture and views all other cultures as deviations from what is "normal".

culture

The totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. It includes the ideas, values, and artifacts of groups of people.

nonverbal communication

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

bilingualism

The use of two languages in a particular setting, such as the workplace or schoolroom, treating each language as equally legitimate.

cultural relativism

The viewing people's behavior from the perspective of their own culture and placing a priority on understanding other cultures, rather than dismissing them as "strange" or "exotic" (value neutrality) Stresses that different social contexts give raise to different norms and values. A series and unbiased effort to evaluate norms, values, and customs in light of their distinctive culture.

nonmaterial cultural

The ways of using material objects, as well as to customs, beliefs, philosophies, governments, and patterns of communication. (values and laws)

clash of civilizations

When culture and religion identities, rather than national and political loyalties, are becoming the prime source of international conflict.