Transcript Chapter 3, Culture

Chapter 2, 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.

cultural relativism
The perspective that allows people to
understand and judge cultural practices in
context.

language
A set of symbols and rules, which, put together
in a meaningful way, provides a complex
communication system.

norms
Specific cultural expectations for how to
behave in a given situation.

folkways
General standards of behavior adhered to by a
group.

mores
Strict norms that control moral and ethical
behavior often upheld through rules or laws.

laws
Written 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.

beliefs
Shared ideas held collectively by people within
a given culture.

values
Abstract 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.
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subcultures
The cultures of groups whose values and
norms of behavior differ from those of the
dominant culture.

countercultures
Subcultures created as a reaction against the
values of the dominant culture.

ethnocentrism
Seeing things only from the point of view of
one’s own group.

global culture
The diffusion of a single culture throughout the
world.

popular culture
Beliefs, practices, and objects that are part of
everyday traditions.

nonmaterial culture
The norms, laws, customs, ideas, and beliefs
of a group of people.

material culture
Objects created in a society: buildings, art,
tools, toys, print and broadcast media, and
other artifacts.

reflection hypothesis
Contends that the mass media reflect the
values of the general population.

cultural hegemony
The pervasive and excessive influence of one
culture throughout society.

cultural capital
The 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 diffusion
The transmission of cultural elements from one
society or cultural group to another.