Culture, Conformity & Deviance – Lecture Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and theories on culture, conformity, and deviance from the lecture notes.

Culture

The shared values, beliefs, behaviors, customs, traditions, arts, and institutions of a group passed from one generation to the next.

Enculturation

The lifelong process by which individuals learn their group’s culture through experience, observation, and instruction.

Acculturation

Cultural change that occurs when people from different cultures have continuous first-hand contact, adopting some elements of each while retaining their own.

Culture is Learned

Cultural knowledge is acquired, not inherited; people absorb it by participating in a cultural environment.

Culture is Relative (Cultural Relativism)

Each culture should be understood on its own terms rather than judged by the standards of another culture.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (Linguistic Relativity)

Theory that language shapes how people think and perceive reality, influencing cultural worldview.

Cultural Universalism

Elements, patterns, or institutions found in every human society, though expressed differently across cultures.

Culture Shock

Disorientation or discomfort felt when suddenly exposed to an unfamiliar culture or way of life.

Culture is Shared

Members collectively hold common meanings for materials, ideas, and behaviors, making life predictable.

Culture is Symbolic

Humans use symbols to create and communicate meanings; symbolism is a hallmark of culture.

Culture is Adaptive

Cultural practices change to meet social or environmental needs, often easing human life.

Culture is Maladaptive

Some cultural adaptations harm the environment or society, e.g., large carbon footprints.

Cultures Change

Culture is not static; it evolves via innovation, cultural contact, social movements, and environmental shifts.

Subculture

A smaller group within a larger society that has distinct values, norms, and lifestyle while remaining part of the whole.

Counterculture

A group that actively rejects and opposes dominant societal values and norms.

Material Culture

Physical, tangible objects a society creates and assigns meaning to, such as tools, buildings, and clothing.

Non-material Culture

Intangible ideas, beliefs, values, norms, and symbols that guide thought and behavior.

Unilineal Evolutionism

Early anthropological theory proposing all societies progress along one line from ‘primitive’ to ‘civilized.’

Cultural Diffusionism

View that similar cultural traits spread through contact and borrowing rather than independent invention.

Historical Particularism

Boas’s theory that each culture is a unique product of its specific history, environment, and events.

Anthropological Functionalism

Perspective that every custom, belief, or institution serves a function for individual needs or social order.

Ethnocentrism

Belief that one’s own culture is superior, leading to judgments of others by one’s own standards.

Xenocentrism

Belief that other cultures are superior to one’s own, favoring foreign customs or products.

Conformity

Following the roles and goals of one’s society, usually rewarded with acceptance.

Deviance

Violation of prescribed social norms; may carry stigma or be legally defined as crime.

Social Control Theory

Posits that weak social bonds increase the likelihood of deviance.

Rational Choice Theory

Holds that individuals weigh costs and benefits before deciding to follow or violate norms.

Differential Association Theory

Suggests deviance or conformity is learned from the people with whom one associates.

Labeling Theory

Actions are not deviant until society labels them so; the label can push individuals toward further deviance.

Primary Deviance

Initial norm violation that does not result in the individual being labeled deviant.

Secondary Deviance

Deviant behavior that results from and is reinforced by the societal label of deviance.

Conflict Theory (Deviance)

Maintains that those with power define deviance to protect their interests in an unequal society.

Structural-Functionalist Theory (Deviance)

Macro: deviance arises from breakdown of norms (anomie); Micro: from role strain due to limited resources.

Internalization

Process by which social norms become part of an individual’s personality, leading to automatic conformity.

Sanction

Reward or punishment aimed at encouraging conformity to social norms.

Formal Sanction

Official reward or punishment administered by an institution (e.g., fines, diplomas).

Informal Sanction

Spontaneous approval or disapproval from individuals or groups (e.g., praise, ridicule).

Positive Sanction

Action or statement that rewards behavior, reinforcing its repetition.