Chapter 10: Human Diversity

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions regarding human diversity, cultural competency, and care delivery in medical imaging.

Human Diversity

Also called cultural diversity; addresses the variety of human societies and cultures and examines their similarities and differences.

Assimilation

Process by which people of diverse backgrounds slowly give up their original cultural language and identity and melt into another, usually larger, group.

Bias

Prejudice; thinking negatively of others without any or significant justification; generally a combination of stereotyped beliefs and negative attitudes.

Biculturalism

Being able to negotiate two or more different cultures competently, individual and mainstream.

Cultural

Of or relating to culture.

Cultures

All of the socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thoughts by particular classes, communities, or populations.

Discrimination

Actions involved in the unequal or prejudicial treatment of people because they belong to a certain category, group, or race. May also include disability, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

Diverse

Differing from one another; made up of distinct characteristics, qualities, or elements.

Diversity

Fact or quality of being diverse, different (all of the ways in which human beings are both similar and different).

Ethnic

Designating any of the basic groups or divisions of humankind or of a heterogeneous population, as distinguished by customs, characteristics, language, and common history; national origin.

Ethnicity

Ethnic affiliation or classification.

Ethnocentrism

Tendency toward viewing the norms and values of the individual's own culture as absolute and using them as a standard against which all other cultures are measured.

Gender

Chromosomal designation of female or male being.

Homophobia

Irrational fear of and hostility toward homosexuality.

LGBTQ+

An acronym used to describe individuals who identify as other than heterosexual, i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, queer and/or questioning, intersex, and asexual and/or ally, plus others.

Mental and Physical Abilities

Capacity to perform cognitive and psychomotor tasks.

Race

Population that differs from others in the relative frequency of some gene or genes; any of the different varieties of humankind, distinguished by type of hair, color of eyes and skin, stature, bodily proportions, or other characteristics.

Racism

Belief in racial superiority, leading to discrimination and prejudice toward races considered inferior.

Religion

Belief in a divine or superhuman power or powers, to be obeyed and worshipped as the creator(s) and ruler(s) of the universe.

Globalization

The process where people cross borders into other countries to work, go to school, receive medical care, visit, and live, making societies and businesses multicultural.

Cultural Competency

Possessing a set of attitudes, congruent behaviors, and policies that come together in an agency, in a system, or among professionals that enable effective interactions in a cross-cultural or multicultural environment.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act

A statute (29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634) passed with the intent of preventing employers from exhibiting discrimination based solely on age in hiring, promotion, job assignment, compensation, and termination.

Glass Ceiling

An obstacle wherein individuals (such as women in professional fields) are precluded from being promoted or elected to high-level positions because of their gender.

Gender Role Stereotyping

The expectation of how people should behave based solely on whether they are male or female beings.

Heterosexual

Persons who are mentally, physically, and/or sexually attracted to individuals of the opposite gender.

Homosexual

Persons who are mentally, physically, and/or sexually attracted to persons of their same gender.

Bisexual

Persons who are mentally, physically, and/or sexually attracted to members of both genders.

Kinsey Scale (KSix)

A scale developed by Dr. Alfred Kinsey containing six parameters of sexual tendencies within the population, ranging from 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual).

Linguistic Competency

Providing readily available, culturally appropriate oral and written language services to individuals with limited English proficiency.

Royce Osborne Minority Student Scholarship

A scholarship fund established by the ASRT and endowed by the ARRT that provides scholarships to minority imaging and therapy students in educational programs throughout the country.

Six Areas of Human Cultural Diversity Related to Healthcare

The six cultural areas impacting healthcare delivery: Communication, Space, Time, Environmental control, Biologic variations, and Social organizations.

Four Core Values of Human Rights Law (Relating to Disability)

Essential values consisting of Autonomy (respect for self-directed actions), Dignity (inherent self-worth), Equality (fair and equal treatment), and Solidarity (society maintaining freedoms through social mechanisms).

MeToo Movement

A movement that began in late 2017 to empower women through empathy, revealing the extent of problems with sexual harassment and assault.