Chpt. 3 Sect. 2 Flashcards
(25 cards)
What is nonmaterial culture?
The values, beliefs, symbols, and language that define a society
What is material culture?
Includes all the society’s physical objects such as its tools and technology, clothing, eating utensils, and means of transportation
What are symbols?
Things that stand for something else and that often evoke various reactions and emotions
What are gestures?
Movements of the hands, arms, or other parts of the body that are meant to convey certain ideas or emotions
What problems underscore the significance of symbols for social interaction and meaning?
Shared symbols (nonverbal communication and tangible objects) can lead to misunderstandings and even hostility
Describe dominant ideology.
- the legitimate norms and values within a society: any norms and values besides these are typically illegitimate or not accepted
- the norms and values of the more powerful social groups are the norms and values that are legitimized
- changes over time but one always exists
What is an example of dominant ideology?
A dramatic fluctuation of the Spanish-speaking population would influence the dominant ideology of that society
What did the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argue?
- That people cannot easily understand concepts and objects unless their language contains words for these items
- language thus influences how we understand the world around us
What are examples of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
- Sexist language (like in children’s books such as words like fireman, mail man, policeman) send a message to children that these are male jobs, not female jobs
- racist language (using racial slurs)
What are norms?
Standards and expectations for behaving
How are norms divided?
- formal norms
- informal norms
What are formal norms (mores) and laws?
The standards of behavior considered the most important in any society
What are examples of formal norms and laws?
- traffic laws
- criminal codes
- student behavior codes (cheating & hate speech)
What are informal norms (folkways) and customs?
Standards of behavior that are considered less important but still influence how we behave
What are examples of informal norms and customs?
- table manners
- how we act with a cashier
- how we ride in an elevator
“Sometimes people within a culture describe their norms differently than how they practice them”
What do anthropologists call these differences in perception?
Ideal culture and real culture
What are the common patterns of social change?
//cultural lag (an adjustment period where people’s behaviors don’t reflect the regular usage of the latest technologies)
Example:
-birth control pills
//cultural diffusion
Example:
-the process of cultural leveling ideas, norms and values moving across cultural borders
//cultural leveling
Example:
-people from one society regularly communicating and exchanging ideas with people of another society, then culture that were previously distinct are becoming less
What are values?
An important element of culture and involve judgements of what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable
What are the differences David Maybury-Lewis was talking about?
The Japanese value system placed emphasis on group harmony and community which is more usually though of as a value found in traditional societies.
While the US emphasis on individuality is more usually thought of as a value found in industrial cultures
How did Maybury-Lewis describe the differences between value systems?
“The heart of the difference between the modern world and the traditional one is that in traditional societies people are a valuable resource and the interactions between them are carefully tended; in modern society things are the valuables and people are all too often treated as disposable
How did Maybury-Lewis describe the differences between value systems?
CONTINUED
In industrial societies individualism and the rights of the individual are celebrated and any one person’s obligations to the larger community are weakened.
Individual achievement becomes more important than values (kindness, compassion, generosity)
What are other scholars view of industrial society?
A less bleak view where they say the spirit of community still lives even as individualism is extolled
What belief is closely related to the work ethic?
If people work hard enough, they will be successful
What are artifacts?
Material objects that constitute a society’s material culture
