Unit 3 Study Guide: Cultural Patterns & Processes

Flashcards for reviewing cultural patterns and processes, covering topics from the introduction to culture to the effects of diffusion.

Material Culture

Tangible objects or artifacts created and used by a culture.

Non-Material Culture

Non-physical ideas, beliefs, values, and traditions that shape a culture.

Subculture

A smaller group within a larger culture that shares distinct values, beliefs, or behaviors.

Modern Culture

Culture that is primarily urban-based and influenced by mass media and technology.

Folk Culture

Culture traditionally practiced by small, homogeneous groups living in isolated rural areas.

Indigenous Culture

A culture originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native.

Ethnocentrism

The practice of judging another culture based on the standards of one's own culture.

Cultural Relativism

The practice of understanding a culture on its own terms, without applying one's own cultural standards.

Cultural Landscape

The visible imprint of human activity and culture on the environment.

Traditional Architecture

Architectural style that uses traditional building materials and methods.

Modern Architecture

Architectural style that embraces new technologies and materials.

Postmodern Architecture

Architectural style that combines modern and traditional elements, often with playful or ironic design.

Sequent Occupance

How different people, organizations, or cultures have left their mark on a geographic location over time

Built Environment

The human-created space that reflects cultural values, traditions, and beliefs.

Physical Characteristics

The physical environment, including landforms, climate, vegetation, and water bodies.

Sense of Place

The unique properties and attributes associated with a specific location that create emotional attachment and meaning.

Placelessness

when a place doesn't invoke any strong feelings or reactions due to a place lacking unique characteristics.

Placemaking

when a community comes together and transforms a public place for different activities or events. This promotes social interaction, providing a sense of place.

Centripetal Forces

Forces that draw people together and promote unity within a society.

Centrifugal Forces

Forces that divide people and create conflict within a society.

Diffusion

The spread of a cultural trait or idea from its origin to other places.

Relocation Diffusion

The spread of a cultural trait or idea through the physical movement of people.

Expansion Diffusion

The spread of a cultural trait or idea from one place to another without the physical movement of people.

Contagious Diffusion

The widespread diffusion of a cultural trait or idea to nearly everyone in a population.

Hierarchical Diffusion

The spread of a cultural trait or idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places.

Reverse Hierarchical Diffusion

The process in which a cultural trait diffuses from a lower class to a higher class.

Stimulus Diffusion

when an idea, trait, or innovation spreads from culture or place to

another, but the original idea or trait is adapted to better fit the local

culture.

Hearth

the location of which an idea, culture, item, or belief originated.

Lingua Franca

A language mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages.

Creolization

the process of two cultures/languages coming together to create a new third culture/language. (typically due to colonization)

Columbian Exchange

The global exchange of goods, ideas, plants, animals, and diseases between the Americas, Europe, and Africa following Columbus's voyage.

Diaspora

The dispersion of any people from their original homeland.

Time-Space Convergence

The reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place.

Globalization

The increasing interconnectedness of the world through the sharing of ideas, goods, and cultures.

Cultural Divergence

The tendency for cultures to become dissimilar over time.

Cultural Convergence

when individuals become separated from different aspects of their culture (may lead people to abandon certain culture traits

Universalizing Religions

Religions that attempt to appeal to all people, regardless of location or culture.

Ethnic Religions

A religion closely tied to a particular ethnic group, often concentrated in a specific geographic region.

Protolanguage

A hypothetical ancestral language from which several languages all evolved.

Language Family

A collection of languages related through a common ancestor.

Language Branch

A group of languages that share a common origin but have evolved into distinct languages.

Dialect

A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.

Assimilation

The process by which a minority group gradually adopts the customs and attitudes of the dominant culture. (may lead to loss of culture)

Acculturation

The process of adopting certain cultural traits from another culture. (culture is modified, not lost)

Syncretism

when two or more cultures evolve over time in

a similar manner, but remain culturally distinct.

Cultural Resistance

when an individual or society rejects a certain

cultural trait, group of people, or ideas.

Multiculturalism

The coexistence of different cultures in a society.