UCSP Complete Reviewer Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, definitions, and concepts from UCSP Topics 1 through 5.

Culture

A complex whole of knowledge, beliefs, ideas, habits, attitudes, skills, values, norms, art, law, morals, customs, and traditions that are acquired, learned, and socially transmitted.

Symbols

Anything that stands for something else and gives meaning.

Language

A system of words/symbols for communication that serves as the storehouse of culture.

Technology

Knowledge, artifacts, methods, and devices used to ease living.

Values

Standards of what is good, desirable, or important.

Beliefs

Ideas or faith accepted by an individual.

Norms

Rules or standards for appropriate behavior.

Proscriptive Norms

Norms that tell individuals what NOT to do.

Prescriptive Norms

Norms that tell individuals what TO do.

Folkways

Everyday customs that usually carry minor consequences when broken.

Mores

Strict moral or ethical norms regarding right versus wrong.

Laws

Written rules and controlled ethics enforced by authorities.

Material Culture

Tangible or physical objects, resources, and spaces.

Non-material Culture

Intangible ideas including beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language, organizations, and institutions.

Imitation

A mode of acquiring culture by copying values, attitudes, language, and behavior.

Indoctrination/Suggestion

A mode of acquiring culture through formal or informal teaching such as school, watching, listening, reading, training, or interaction.

Conditioning

A mode of acquiring culture where learning is reinforced through reward or punishment.

Parallelism

A social process where a similar culture develops in different places.

Diffusion

The spread or passing of cultural patterns or traits from one culture to another through contact.

Convergence

A social process where two or more cultures fuse or merge.

Fission

A social process where people separate and develop a different culture.

Acculturation

The process of incorporating patterns of another culture.

Assimilation

The process where a smaller group adopts the culture of a larger society.

Accommodation

A process where cultures respect or tolerate one another after contact.

Discovery

A cause of cultural change defined as finding something that already existed.

Invention

A cause of cultural change defined as creating something new or combining known elements.

Colonization

Establishing a colony governed by a colonizing state.

Rebellion/Revolutionary Movement

A movement that seeks to change the social order or leadership.

Cultural Variation

Differences in social behavior among cultures.

Ethnocentrism

Judging other cultures using one's own culture; the belief that one's culture is better.

Xenocentrism

The belief that one's own culture is inferior to another culture.

Cultural Relativism

Judging behavior within its cultural context, recognizing that no culture is inherently superior.

Subculture

A smaller group within a larger culture.

Counterculture

Cultural patterns that oppose widely accepted patterns.

Culture Lag

A condition where some parts of society change slower than others.

Culture Shock

Difficulty understanding meanings or behavior in an unfamiliar culture.

Ideal Culture

Cultural patterns required by values and norms.

Real Culture

Actual cultural patterns that approximate expectations.

High Culture

Cultural patterns associated with a society's elite.

Popular Culture

Cultural patterns that are widespread among the population.

Society

A group of people with common territory, interaction, and culture.

Survival (Ariola, 2012)

A reason people live together based on depending on others for care, support, and protection.

Gregariousness (Ariola, 2012)

The desire for companionship, belongingness, approval, sympathy, and understanding.

Specialization (Ariola, 2012)

Organizing around different professions/occupations to promote common interests.

Pre-Class Society

An economic/material system characterized by communal ownership, limited property/social divisions, clans, tribes, and small indigenous groups.

Asiatic Society

An economic/material system that is economically self-sufficient with powerful/despotic leaders and an agricultural economy.

Ancient Society

An economic/material system with private land ownership consisting of rich landowners vs. poor laborers.

Feudal Society

An economic/material system where nobles/aristocrats own large lands and peasants work the land.

Capitalist Society

An economic/material system driven by private ownership, competition, and profit between owners/capitalists and workers.

Democratic Society

A society where citizens enjoy rights/freedoms and participate in government.

Simple Society

An evolutionary stage of society characterized by being small, with little specialization and limited technology.

Compound Society

An evolutionary stage of society with larger groups, permanent settlements, agriculture, emerging classes, and specialization.

Doubly Compound Society

An evolutionary stage of society that is highly organized with complex political/religious systems, greater division of labor, and infrastructure.

State

An organized political community under a government and united by common laws.

Population

An element of the state consisting of the people who make up the state.

Territory

An element of the state consisting of fixed land, water, and airspace.

Government

An element of the state that makes, implements, enforces, and adjudicates laws.

Sovereignty

An element of the state referring to supreme/exclusive power over people and territory.

Authoritarian Government

A form of government where power is concentrated.

Monarchy

A form of government where supreme power is held in one individual, often for life or until abdication.

Totalitarianism

A form of government where the state seeks to regulate nearly all public and private life.

Oligarchy

A form of government where power rests with a small elite.

Theocracy

A form of government guided by divine or religious authority.

Democratic Government

A form of government where the governing right is held by the majority of citizens.

Non-State Institution

An organization participating in social or international affairs but not affiliated with a state.

Commercial Banks

Non-state financial institutions handling deposits, payment services, and loans.

Investment Banks

Non-state financial institutions serving businesses/government with securities, markets, mergers, and reorganizations.

Corporation

A separate business entity guided by a Board of Directors.

Cooperatives

Member-owned and member-controlled organizations formed to meet common economic, social, and cultural needs.

Trade/Labor Unions

Organizations formed by workers to advocate for fair pay, working conditions, hours, and benefits.

Social Stratification

The ranking or ordering of people into higher and lower social categories.

Social Differentiation

Differences among people such as race, skin/hair color, or physical/mental ability that do NOT automatically mean a higher or lower rank.

Open Stratification

A stratification system in which people can change their social rank.

Closed Stratification

A stratification system with little or no change in social position.

Ascribed Status (Arcinas, 2016)

A status assigned or given by society based on fixed categories, regardless of ability or performance.

Achieved Status (Arcinas, 2016)

A status earned through talent, skills, occupation, and perseverance.

Power (Max Weber)

An indicator of stratification defined as the ability to influence people or get what one wants despite resistance.

Wealth (Max Weber)

An indicator of stratification defined as the amount of resources a person has.

Caste System

A closed stratification system with little or no ability to change social standing, where individuals are born and die in their caste.

Estate System

A closed stratification system where standing is based on land ownership, birth, or military strength.

Ethnic Stratification

Stratification based on national origin, language, and religion.

Education

A social institution through which society provides knowledge, skills, and cultural values through instruction, training, and self-activity.

Formal Education

A structured and graded system from primary to university, including technical/vocational training.

Non-Formal Education

Organized learning outside the formal system that responds to selected learning needs.

Informal Education

Learning acquired through daily life, home, community, work, and experience.

Special Education

Modified services and materials for learners needing additional or specialized support.

Productive Citizenry

A main function of education that develops knowledge, skills, critical thinking, decision-making, and participation.

Self-Actualization

The realization of one's full potential, discovering strengths/interests, building confidence/competence, and identifying careers; also the highest level of Maslow's Hierarchy.