BV

Culture and culture change

Study Guide Flashcards: Culture I-IV

Enculturation and Socialization

  • Enculturation: Lifelong process of learning one’s culture.

  • Socialization: Integration into a society or group.

Agents of Enculturation

  • Family and Kin Group

  • Neighborhood

  • Peer Group

  • School

  • Religion and Place of Worship

  • Government

  • Science

  • Technology

  • Media

  • Entertainment

  • Sports

  • Leisure Activities

  • Workplace

Cultural Learning Content

  • Social Axioms

  • Basic Assumptions

  • Facts and Information

  • Doctrines and Dogmas

  • Customs and Traditions

  • Values, Attitudes, and Beliefs

  • Behaviors, Actions, and Reactions

  • Myths and Stories of the Supernatural

  • Untruths: Lies, Hoaxes, Urban Legends, and Conspiracy Theories

Cultural Relativism

  • Definition: Analyzing cultures with reference to their own histories and values, not by another culture's standards.

  • Key Point: There is truth, but we cannot know it with 100% certainty.

Ethnocentrism

  • Definition: Judging other cultures based on one’s own culture, often viewing one’s culture as superior.

Society

  • Definition: A people who:

    1. Depend on one another for survival, well-being, or interaction.

    2. Have obligations, privileges, rights, and customs.

    3. View themselves as distinct.

    4. Share a territory, history, language, and culture.

Bases for Belonging and Differentiation

  • Sex

  • Age

  • Race

  • Language

  • Tribal or Ethnic Group

  • Ability/Disability

  • Sexual Orientation

  • Nationality or Citizenship

  • Socio-economic Status

  • Education

  • Religion

  • Political Orientation

  • Gender Expression

  • Marital Status

  • Region of Residence

  • Recurrent Social Situations

  • Hobbies

  • Voluntary Associations

Culture

  • Definition: The way of life of a society.

Basic Functions of Culture

  • Feed, clothe, and shelter themselves.

  • Determine rights and responsibilities.

  • Give meaning and significance to life.

  • Live peaceably with each other.

  • Relate to those who live differently.

Elements of Culture

  1. Material culture or artifacts

  2. Values, attitudes, and beliefs (ideofacts)

  3. Patterned behaviors

Characteristics of Culture

  1. Learned

    • Through observation, participation, and inquiry.

  2. Shared

    • Dominant culture

    • Subculture

    • Counterculture

  3. Adaptive

    • To physical environment, other societies, and history.

  4. Always changing but integrated.

Social Institutions and Cultural Lag

  • Weapons technology: Fastest changing.

  • Religion: Slowest changing.

Key Terms

  • Race: A social category based on physical or cultural traits. Biologically-based races do not exist.

  • Tribal or Ethnic Group: A social category based on shared cultural characteristics, ancestry, and heritage.