Ch. 2 Culture Flashcards
(32 cards)
The language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and even material objects that characterize a group and are passed from one generation to the next
Culture
The material objects that distinguish a group of people, such as their art, buildings, weapons, utensils, machines, hairstyles, clothing, and jewelry
Material culture
A group’s way of thinking (including its beliefs, values, and other assumptions about the world) and doing (its common patterns of behavior, including language and other forms of interaction)
Nonmaterial culture/symbolic culture
The disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their taken-for-granted assumptions about life
Culture shock
The use of one’s own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of other individuals or societies, generally leading to a negative evaluation of their values, norms, and behaviors
Ethnocentrism
Not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms
Cultural relativism
Something to which people attach meaning and then use to communicate with one another
Symbol
The ways in which people use their bodies to communicate with one another
Gestures
A system of symbols that can be combined in an infinite number of ways and can represent not only objects but also abstract though
Language
Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf’s hypothesis that language creates ways of thinking and perceiving
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
Expectations of “right” behavior
Norms
Either expressions of approval given to people for following norms or expressions of disapproval for violating them
Sanctions
A reward or positive reaction for following norms, ranging from a smile to a material reward
Positive sanction
An expression of disapproval for breaking a norm, ranging from a mild, informal reaction such as a frown to a formal reaction such as a prize or prison sentence
Negative sanction
Norms that are not strictly enforced
Folkways
Norms that are strictly enforced because they are thought essential to core values or the wellbeing of the group
Mores
A norm so strong that it brings extreme sanctions, even revulsion, if violated
Taboo
The values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture; a world within a world
Subculture
A group whose values, beliefs, norms, and related behaviors place its members in opposition to the broader culture
Counter culture
A society made up of many different groups
Pluralistic society
The values that are central to a group, those around which a group builds a common identity
Core values
Values that together form a larger whole
Value cluster
Values that contradict one another; to follow the one means to come into conflict with the other
Value contradiction
A people’s ideal values and norms; the goals held out for them
Ideal culture
