Sociology: Chapters 3 & 4 Quiz 2

Vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, concepts, and theories of Culture and Socialization based on introductory sociology lecture notes.

Culture

A shared set of influences passed on from generation to generation used to make sense of the world around us, encapsulating knowledge, practices, values, beliefs, rules, behaviours, media, language, and material objects.

Society

A group of people within a geographic territory representing the social structures, processes, and organization of the people who share common beliefs and practices.

Norms

The written and unwritten rules or standards that guide behaviour expected of a group, society, or culture.

Folkways

Norms or etiquette that govern day-to-day matters; they are standards we should not violate and are weakly sanctioned (e.g., double-dipping chips).

Mores

Serious, often formalized norms that individuals must not violate, where violations are met with severe sanctions (e.g., stealing, rape).

Taboos

Norms deeply ingrained in the social consciousness such that the mere thought or mention of them arouses disgust or revulsion (e.g., incest, child pornography).

Values

The standards used by a culture to describe abstract qualities such as goodness, beauty, and justice.

Ideal Culture

The cultural standards and values that people believe in or aspire to (e.g., environmentalism).

Actual Culture

The real cultural practices and behaviours that exist in practice (e.g., driving large SUVs).

Sanctions

Rewards and punishments administered in response to a particular behaviour.

Positive Sanctions

Rewards given for good behaviour or 'doing the right thing.'

Negative Sanctions

Punishments for unacceptable behaviour designed to indicate that a norm has been violated.

Material Culture

The physical objects that members of a culture create and use.

Non-Material Culture

Aspects of culture that are not physical objects, such as ideas, values, beliefs, and language; also referred to as symbolic culture.

Sociolinguistics

The study of language as part of culture, examining how language relates to sociological factors such as 'race,' ethnicity, age, gender, and region.

Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis

A hypothesis describing the relationship between language and culture

Linguistic Determinism

The concept suggesting that the way we view and understand the world is shaped by the language we speak.

Dialect

A variety of a language that differs from others in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.

Cultural Universals

Practices that are found in every known human culture (e.g., playing sports), though their specific content varies.

Innovation

The process of manipulating or modifying existing cultural items to produce something new and socially valuable.

Cultural Diffusion

The spread or transfer of material and nonmaterial cultural items and practices from one group or area to another.

Cultural Globalization

The worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and financial markets.

Dominant Culture

The culture that can impose its values, language, and ways of behaving on a given society through political and economic power.

Counterculture

A minority culture opposed to the dominant culture that rejects conventional norms/values and adopts alternative lifestyles.

Subculture

A minority culture that differs in some way from the dominant culture but does not directly oppose it.

High Culture

The culture of the elite minority, usually associated with the arts such as theatre, opera, ballet, and classical music.

Cultural Capital

A term coined by Pierre Bourdieu describing the set of skills and knowledge needed to acquire the sophisticated tastes associated with high culture.

Popular Culture

The culture of the majority, especially those without elite power, such as the working class, less educated, women, and racialized minorities.

Xenophobia

The fear or distrust of people or traits that are perceived as foreign.

Culture Shock

The feeling of uncertainty and disorientation experienced when encountering new or different cultural practices.

Cultural Relativism

An approach to studying and understanding an aspect of another culture or historical period within its proper context, rather than judging it by current standards.

Presentism

The inability to judge historical figures within their own time, evaluating them by today's standards instead.

Ethnocentrism

The tendency to evaluate other cultures using one's own culture as the standard, viewing one's own culture as superior.

Eurocentrism

The stance of addressing others from a European position and assuming the audience shares or desires that position.

Xenocentrism

The belief or assumption that everything about another culture is superior to one's own.

Socialization

A lifelong learning process through social interaction by which an individual develops a sense of self and learns how to be a capable member of society.

Determinism

The degree to which an individual's behaviour, attitudes, and personal characteristics are caused by a specific factor.

Biological Determinism

The view that an individual's characteristics and behaviours are primarily determined by genetic makeup (nature).

Social/Cultural Determinism

The view that human behaviour is the product of learning, social environment, and social interactions (nurture).

Primary Socialization

The socialization that occurs during childhood, usually in family settings, where basic language, norms, values, and skills are learned.

Secondary Socialization

The socialization that occurs past childhood and throughout adulthood where individuals learn specific roles and attitudes for new social situations.

The 'I'

In George Herbert Mead's theory, the creative, impulsive, and unsocialized part of the self.

The 'Me'

In George Herbert Mead's theory, the socialized self that reflects the values and attitudes of society acquired through interaction.

Preparatory Stage

The first stage in Mead's developmental sequence where a child imitates actions without understanding their meaning.

Play Stage

The second stage in Mead's sequence where a child begins role-taking by pretending to take on social roles.

Game Stage

The third stage in Mead's sequence where a child understands their position in a group and considers multiple roles and viewpoints simultaneously.

Significant Others

Key individuals, such as parents, siblings, and friends, whom young children imitate and model themselves after.

Generalized Others

The overall attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of the society into which a child is socialized.

Looking-Glass Self

Charles Horton Cooley's concept that an individual's self-image is formed through imagining how they appear to others and how others judge them.

Id

In Sigmund Freud's psychological model, the component of personality containing unconscious, instinctive drives.

Superego

In Freud's model, the conscience that polices the id using internalized moral messages provided by socializing agents.

Ego

In Freud's model, the mediating agent of personality driven by the id but restrained by the superego.

Agents of Socialization

Individuals, groups, and social institutions (such as family, school, peers, and mass media) that influence daily life and socialization.

Hidden Curriculum

Informal rules and unwritten concepts taught in schools regarding social roles, gender, and societal expectations.

Peer Group

A social group linked by shared characteristics such as age, social position, and common interests.

Peer Pressure

The social force exerted on individuals by peers to conform in behaviour, appearance, or values.

Observational Learning Theory

Rowell Huesmann's theory proposing that children acquire aggressive scripts for solving social problems by watching television violence.

Desensitization Theory

Rowell Huesmann's theory proposing that increased exposure to media violence numbs an individual's natural negative reaction to violence.

Resocialization

The process of unlearning old behaviours, attitudes, and values and acquiring new ones when entering a different social environment.

Voluntary Re-Socialization

Resocialization that occurs willingly, such as starting a new job, retiring, or undergoing a religious conversion.

Rite of Passage

Ritual ceremonies that signal a change in social status, such as confirmation or a bar mitzvah.

Involuntary Re-Socialization

Resocialization forced upon an individual, often taking place within total institutions.

Total Institutions

Settings that regulate all aspects of an individual's life 24/7 (e.g., prisons, military, residential schools) to fundamentally enforce conformity.

Degradation Ceremony

A process that strips individuals of their former identities and depersonalizes them to construct a compliant persona.