Nature of Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science

Flashcards covering the foundational concepts, perspectives, and elements of Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science, as well as the nature and evolution of Society and Culture.

Anthropology

The scientific study of man or human beings, which describes human behavior and societies around the world as a comparative science.

Linguistic anthropology

A branch of cultural anthropology that focuses on language in a certain society.

Sociology

The study of human social relationships and institutions, focusing on how human action and consciousness shape and are shaped by surrounding structures.

Political Science

A social science that deals with humans and their interactions, essentially dealing with power relationships, the state, and government.

Functionalist perspective

A theoretical perspective where societies are thought to function like organisms, with social institutions working together like organs to maintain and reproduce societies.

Conflict perspective

A perspective that sees social life as a competition and focuses on the distribution of resources, power, and inequality.

Symbolic interaction perspective

One of the three major theoretical perspectives in sociology along with the functionalist and conflict perspectives.

Society

Defined by Arcinas (2016) as a group of people who share a common territory and culture, living together and being mutually interdependent.

Socius

The Latin term meaning companion or associate, which is the root of the word society.

Functional definition of society

Defined as a complex of groups in reciprocal relationships interacting to help each person fulfill wishes and accomplish interests.

Structural definition of society

Defined as the total social heritage of folkways, mores, institutions, habits, sentiments, and ideals.

Feeling of gregariousness

The desire of people to be with others, especially of their own culture, for emotional warmth and belongingness.

Social system

A characteristic of society consisting of individuals interacting with each other where change in one part affects other parts.

Pre-class Societies

Societies characterized by communal ownership of property and division of labor, such as early clans and tribes.

Asiatic Societies

Societies where people are economically self-sufficient but the leaders are despotic and powerful.

Ancient Societies

Societies characterized by private land ownership where the rich owned properties and the poor worked as laborers.

Feudal Societies

Societies where aristocrats (feudal lords) owned the wealth due to ownership of big tracts of land while peasants worked them.

Capitalist Societies

Societies with two classes: the bourgeoise (property owners) and the proletariat (laborers).

Militant Societies

Societies where military organization exists and individual lives and possessions are at the disposal of the State.

Industrial Societies

Societies characterized by the use of machines as means of food production and a well-coordinated labor force.

Post-Industrial Societies

Also known as Information Societies, these are characterized by the spread of computer technology and information and communication technology.

Culture (E.B. Taylor)

A complex whole consisting of knowledge, beliefs, ideas, habits, attitudes, skills, and other capabilities acquired and socially transmitted by man.

Enculturation

The process of being born into a particular society and acquiring culture through language and teaching as one grows up.

Symbols

Anything that is used to stand for something else and gives meaning to a culture, such as the cross for Christians.

Language

Known as the storehouse of culture, it is a system of words and symbols used to communicate and transmit culture.

Technology

The application of knowledge and equipment used to ease the task of living and maintaining the environment.

Values

Culturally defined standards for what is good or desirable that serve as a benchmark for evaluating the actions of others.

Norms

Specific rules or standards that guide appropriate behavior and mandate specific behaviors in specific situations.

Folkways

Also known as customs, these are norms for everyday behavior followed for tradition or convenience without serious consequences if broken.

Mores

Strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior, based on definitions of right and wrong and often having moral undertones.

Laws

Institutionalized norms and mores that are morally agreed upon, written down, and enforced by official law enforcement agencies.

Material culture

The tangible and physical objects, resources, and spaces, such as homes and tools, that people use to define their culture.

Non-material culture

The intangible things like beliefs, values, rules, and language that people have about their culture.

Parallelism

A mode of culture adaptation where the same culture may take place in two or more different places.

Diffusion

The transfer or spread of culture traits from one society to another through change agents like people or media.

Convergence

Occurs when two or more cultures are fused or merged into one new culture different from the original.

Fission

When people break away from their original culture and start developing a different culture of their own.

Acculturation

The process wherein individuals incorporate behavioral patterns of other cultures into their own voluntarily or by force.

Assimilation

Occurs when the culture of a larger society is adopted by a smaller society, resulting in a blending of the two.

Accommodation

Occurs when a larger society and smaller society respect and tolerate each other's culture despite prolonged contact.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own culture is better than the rest, evaluating other cultures in terms of one's own race or nation.

Xenocentrism

The belief that one's culture is inferior compared to others, often giving preference to foreign ideas and products.

Cultural relativism

The principle that an individual's beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of their own culture rather than being judged by others.

Cultural diversity

The differentiation of culture all over the world where there is no right or wrong culture, only appropriate ones for specific needs.

Counterculture

Cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society.

Culture lag

When some parts of a society do not change as fast as other parts, causing them to be left behind.

Culture shock

The inability to read meaning in one's surroundings and feelings of isolation when outside the familiar symbolic web of one's culture.

Ideal culture

The social patterns mandated by cultural values and norms.

Real culture

The actual patterns of behavior that only approximate cultural expectations.

High culture

Cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite members.

Popular culture

Cultural patterns that are widespread among a society’s general population.