GEE CULTURAL CHAPTER 1

Vocabulary flashcards generated from Chapter 1 notes on Transcultural Nursing, covering cultural characteristics, adaptation, theories, manifestations, elements, and levels.

Culture

Values, norms, and traditions that affect how individuals of a particular group perceive, think, interact, behave, and make judgments about their world; also defined as the totality of socially transmitted behavioural patterns.

Learned and Acquired (Characteristic of Culture)

A characteristic of culture indicating it is gained through experiences and the surrounding environment.

Shared and Transmitted (Characteristic of Culture)

A characteristic of culture indicating it is passed down and shared by a group of people.

Social (Characteristic of Culture)

A characteristic of culture indicating it is shaped through interactions between individuals in a group or society.

Ideational (Characteristic of Culture)

A characteristic of culture pertaining to shared beliefs, ideologies, knowledge, and values.

Gratifies Human Needs (Characteristic of Culture)

A characteristic of culture reflected in different medical beliefs, practices, and treatments.

Adaptive (Characteristic of Culture)

A characteristic of culture enabling healthcare providers to adapt or tailor services to the diverse cultures of patients.

Cumulative (Characteristic of Culture)

A characteristic of culture showing that medical knowledge has been passed down, accumulated, and built over time.

Imitation

A mode of cultural acquisition where socialization plays a key role as a growing child copies the things around them.

Indoctrination

A mode of cultural acquisition consisting of formal teaching or training.

Conditioning

A mode of cultural acquisition operating as a system of rewards and punishments found in a cultural system.

Parallelism

A principal way of cultural adaptation involving the independent development of a culture's characteristics in two widely separated cultures.

Diffusion

A principal way of cultural adaptation involving the common process of patterns and traits passing back and forth from one culture to another.

Cultural Determinism

A theory of culture stating that one's culture dictates one's behaviour, actions, and decisions.

Cultural Relativism

The view that ethical and social standards reflect the cultural context from which they are derived, asserting there is no universal standard and each culture must be respected.

Cultural Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's culture is superior and the tendency to judge another culture based on our own cultural perspective.

Measuring Cultural Differences

An attempt to quantify differences in attitudes between cultures.

Power Distance Index

A metric that measures the degree to which members of a group or society accept the hierarchy of power and authority.

Uncertainty Avoidance Index

A metric dealing with how comfortable or uncomfortable individuals in a society are with the unknown.

Subculture

A group having social, economic, ethnic, or other traits distinctive enough to distinguish it from others within the same culture or society.

Culture Shock

The experience of individuals who believe their own way is the only right way, only to find that not all cultures are the same.

Culture Lag

The inability of a given society to adapt to a culture immediately.

Cultural Dualism

Possessing a dual culture influenced by other cultures one identifies with, embodying aspects of two or more cultural backgrounds in beliefs, behaviours, and practices.

National Culture

A level of culture associated with the nation as a whole.

Regional Culture

A level of culture associated with ethnic differences within a nation.

Generation Culture

A level of culture associated with differences between parents and children.

Social Class Culture

A level of culture associated with educational opportunities and differences in occupation.

Corporate Culture

A level of culture associated with the particular culture of an organization.

Symbols

Words, gestures, pictures, or objects that carry a particular meaning, or anything that has been given representational meaning.

Heroes

Persons, past or present, real or fictitious, who possess characteristics that are highly prized in a culture.

Rituals

Collective activities that are socially essential, such as ways of greeting, religious ceremonies, and social ceremonies.

Values

Cultural standards or judgements of what is right, good, or desirable, which guide how people act under circumstances (such as honesty, bravery, loyalty).

Language

A system of patterned sounds that is used to communicate thoughts.

Norms

Rules of culture that tell the members of a culture how they are expected to behave.

Technology

The body of knowledge that members of society apply to their physical environment to meet their survival needs.

Artifacts

Physical things that the members of a society make when they apply their technology to the physical environment.

Diversity

Having a diverse workforce that more closely represents the population the organization serves.

Culturally Competent Staff and Organization

Essential ingredients in increasing clients' satisfaction with health care and reducing multifactor reasons.

Tertiary Level of Culture

The level of culture visible to outsiders, which can be seen, worn, or otherwise observed.

Secondary Level of Culture

The level of culture where only members know the rules of behaviour and can articulate them.

Primary Level of Culture

The deepest level of culture where rules are known by all, observed by all, implicit, and taken for granted.

Attitude

A state of mind or feeling about some matter.

Belief

Something that is accepted as true.