Enculturation
the process by which members of a culture learn and internalize shared ideas, values, and beliefs
Cognitive Dissonance
the theory that people try to avoid conflict between what they think (attitude) and what they do (behaviour)
Operant Conditioning
A learning process in which one repeats an action or stops an action because of a punishment or reward that follows the action; an association between a behaviour and a consequence.
Patriarchy
A social system in which power and authority are in the place of men and women are withheld from it.
Directed Change
Acculturation through dominance of one culture over another, forcing the defeated to change aspects of its culture or its entire culture.
Self-Actualization
A complete realization of one’s full potential, at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Psychosis
Loosing touch with the real world and may be suffering from delusions and hallucinations.
Neurosis
Experiencing high levels of anxiety or tension in managing daily life.
Diffusion
The spread of ideas, methods, symbols and tools from one culture to another.
Acculturation
Prolonged contact between two cultures, during which time they interchange symbols beliefs, and customs.
Interaction
Contact with other cultures.
Behaviour Modification
Theories of psychologists attempting to determine the methods that can successfully change or modify problem human behaviour.
Tension and Adaptation
The belief that social change results from a process of tension between one aspect of society and the rest.
Incorporation
Acculturation through free borrowing of ideas and symbols from one culture to another.
Cultural Evolution
The belief that cultures evolve in common patterns, moving from hunter-gathering cultures to industrialized states in predictable stages.
Social Change
Changes in the way society is organized, and the beliefs and practices of the people who live in it.
Reductionist
The cause of change will be reduced to a specific factor.
Determinist
A specific factor will determine the nature of a social change.