Chapter 3 Sociology

Culture

the collection of values, beliefs, knowledge, norms, language, behaviors, and material objects shared by a people and socially transmitted from generation to generation.

Material Culture

Physical Objects in Culture that humans make and use

Non Material Culture

Non Material Culture like Ideas values and beliefs

Value

a deeply held principle or standard that people use to make judgments about the world, especially in deciding what is desirable or worthwhile.

Knowledge (Culture)

the range of information, awareness, and understanding that helps us navigate our world.

Culture Shock

Disorientation from New Culture (due to lack of knowledge)

Norms

a culture’s rules and expectations for “appropriate” behavior.

Cultural Lag

the ways that new technological developments often outpace the norms that govern our collective experiences with these new technologies.

Folkways

Everyday Customs (group habits or customs that are common in a given culture.)

Symbol

anything—a sound, a gesture, an image, an object—that represents something else.

Language

an elaborate system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another in complex ways.

Behaviors

the actions associated with a group that help reproduce a distinct way of life.

Ideal Culture

what the members of a culture report to be their values, beliefs, and norms.

Real culture

what members of a culture actually do, which may or may not reflect the ideal.

Cultural object

a physical item that is created by and associated with people who share a culture.

Ideology

a system of meaning that helps define and explain the world and that makes value judgments about that world.

Dominant ideology

a widely held and regularly reinforced set of assumptions that generally support the current social system and serve the interests of authorities.

Dominant culture

a culture that permeates a society and that represents the ideas and practices of those in positions of power.

Subculture

a culture associated with smaller groups in society that has distinct norms, values, and lifestyles setting it apart from the dominant culture.

Multiculturalism

the recognition, valuing, and protection of the distinct cultures that make up a society.

Ethnocentrism

the judging another culture by own standards (superiority)

Cultural Relativism

understanding a culture by its own terms.