Key Vocabulary: Anthropology, Sociology & Political Science (1st Quarter Review)

A set of 20 vocabulary flashcards summarizing foundational terms in anthropology, sociology, and political science for first-quarter review.

Anthropology

The holistic study of humans, their origins, biological evolution, and cultural diversity across time and space.

Physical/Biological Anthropology

A field of anthropology that examines human biological evolution, adaptation, and variability using concepts from biology and culture.

Archaeology

The study of past human cultures through material remains and artifacts to understand their relationship to present and future societies.

Ethnocentrism

Judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture, often viewing it as inferior or wrong.

Cultural Relativism

The view that all cultures are equal and should be understood based on their own values and standards.

Emic Perspective

An insider’s view of a culture gained through participation and integration in daily life.

Etic Perspective

An outsider’s analytical view of a culture that may risk influencing participant behavior (Hawthorne effect).

Society

A group of people living together in a defined territory who share customs, laws, and organizations.

Sociological Imagination

C. Wright Mills’ concept of understanding individual experiences in relation to larger social forces and contexts.

Structural Functionalism

A sociological theory that views society as an organism whose interdependent parts maintain order and stability.

Symbolic Interactionism

A micro-level theory focusing on how people create and interpret symbols during social interactions.

Conflict Theory

A perspective that analyzes how power struggles among social categories (class, gender, race) drive social change and conflict.

Law of Three Stages

Auguste Comte’s progression of societal thought: Theological, Metaphysical, and Positivist stages.

State

A political organization that wields sovereign power over a population within a defined territory through government.

Sovereignty

Absolute authority and power exercised by a state within its territorial boundaries.

Natural Selection

Charles Darwin’s principle that organisms best adapted to their environment survive and pass on advantageous genes.

Bipedalism

The evolutionary adaptation of walking on two legs, granting humans advantages like tool use and cultural development.

Socialization

The lifelong process through which individuals learn and internalize the values, norms, and roles of their society.

Looking Glass Self

Charles Horton Cooley’s idea that we form our self-image by imagining how others perceive and judge us.

Deviance

Behavior that violates established norms or practices of a group or society, not necessarily criminal or pathological.