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Chapter 3, Culture. Key Terms. Culture The complex system of meaning and behavior that defines the way of life for a given group or society. Symbols Things or behaviors to which people give meaning.
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Chapter 3, Culture Key Terms
CultureThe complex system of meaning and behavior that defines the way of life for a given group or society. SymbolsThings or behaviors to which people give meaning.
Cultural relativismThe perspective that allows people to understand and judge cultural practices in context. LanguageA set of symbols and rules, which, put together in a meaningful way, provides a complex communication system.
NormsSpecific cultural expectations for how to behave in a given situation. FolkwaysGeneral standards of behavior adhered to by a group.
MoresStrict norms that control moral and ethical behavior often upheld through rules or laws. LawsWritten set of guidelines that define right and wrong in society.
Social sanctions Mechanisms of social control that enforce norms. Ethnomethodology A technique for studying human interaction by deliberately disrupting social norms and observing how individuals respond.
BeliefsShared ideas held collectively by people within a given culture. ValuesAbstract standards in a society or group that define ideal principles.
Dominant culture The culture of the most powerful group in society, the cultural form that receives the most support from major institutions and that constitutes the major belief system. SubculturesThe cultures of groups whose values and norms of behavior differ from those of the dominant culture.
CounterculturesSubcultures created as a reaction against the values of the dominant culture. • EthnocentrismSeeing things only from the point of view of one’s own group.
AndrocentrismModes of thinking centered only in men’s experiences. Global cultureThe diffusion of a single culture throughout the world.
Popular cultureBeliefs, practices, and objects that are part of everyday traditions. Nonmaterial cultureThe norms, laws, customs, ideas, and beliefs of a group of people.
Material cultureObjects created in a society: buildings, art, tools, toys, print and broadcast media, and other artifacts. Reflection hypothesisContends that the mass media reflect the values of the general population.
Cultural hegemonyThe pervasive and excessive influence of one culture throughout society. Cultural capitalThe cultural resources that are socially designated as being worthy and that give advantages to groups possessing such capital.
Culture lag The delay in cultural adjustments to changing social conditions. Cultural diffusionThe transmission of cultural elements from one society or cultural group to another.
