Chapter 2: Culture and Gender Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards defining primary terms and concepts related to culture and gender communication from Chapter 2.

Culture

The system of learned and shared symbols, language, values, and norms that distinguish one group of people from another.

In-groups

The groups of people with whom we identify.

Out-groups

Groups we see as different from ourselves.

Symbol

Anything that represents an idea.

Values

The standards a culture uses to judge how good, desirable, or beautiful something is.

Norms

Rules or expectations that guide people's behavior in a culture.

Co-cultures

Groups of people who share values, customs, and norms related to mutual interests or characteristics besides their national citizenship.

Similarity Assumption

The presumption that most people think the same way we do.

Individualistic Cultures

Cultures whose members believe their responsibility is to themselves.

Collectivistic Cultures

Cultures whose members believe their responsibility is to their communities.

Low-context Cultures

Cultures in which people are taught to communicate directly and to say what they mean.

High-context Cultures

Cultures in which people are taught to convey meaning through subtle behaviors and contextual cues rather than through verbal directness.

Low-power-distance Cultures

Cultures in which people believe that no one person or group should have excessive power.

High-power-distance Cultures

Cultures in which certain groups have great power while average citizens have much less.

Masculine Cultures

Cultures whose members cherish traditionally masculine values and believe in sex-differentiated roles.

Feminine Cultures

Cultures whose members cherish traditionally feminine values and tend not to believe in sex-differentiated roles.

Monochronic Cultures

Cultures whose members view time as a finite commodity.

Polychronic Cultures

Cultures whose members view time as more holistic and fluid and less structured.

Uncertainty-avoiding Cultures

Cultures whose members are drawn to the familiar and are relatively unlikely to take risks.

Uncertainty-accepting Cultures

Cultures whose members are open to novel situations and are accepting of people and ideas that are different from their own.

Idioms

Phrases whose meaning is purely figurative.

Jargon

Language whose technical meaning is understood by people within a co-culture.

Gestures

Movements that express ideas.

Agender

A gender identity meaning without gender.

Cis

Describing people whose gender identity reflects the sex they were assigned at birth.

Gender Fluid

Describing a gender identity that can vary over time.

Pangender

Identifying with multiple or all genders.

Gender Roles

Culturally constructed norms for how men and women are expected to act.

Biological Sex

A status affected by psychology (the sex a person believes they should rightly be), genetics (combination of X and Y chromosomes), and anatomy (internal and external sex organs).

Sexual Orientation

The sex or sexes to whom we are attracted.

Expressive Talk

Communication style normally associated with women where communication is seen as a primary way to establish closeness.

Instrumental Talk

Communication style normally associated with men where communication is seen as a means to solve problems and accomplish tasks.

Masculine Linguistic Style

A style characterized by shorter sentences, more sentence fragments, more references to I and me, and more references to quantity.

Feminine Linguistic Style

A style characterized by longer sentences, more qualifiers, and more references to we and they.