| beliefs |
shared ideas held collectively by people within
a given culture |
| counterculture |
subculture created as a reaction against the
values of the dominant culture |
| cultural capital |
cultural resources that are socially designated
as being worthy (such as knowledge of elite culture) and that give
advantages to groups possessing such capital |
| cultural diffusion |
the transmission of cultural elements from one
society or culture to another |
| cultural hegemony |
the pervasive and excessive influence of one
culture throughout society |
| cultural relativism
|
the idea that something can be understood and
judged only in relationship to the cultural context in which it
appears |
| culture |
the complex system of meaning and behavior that
defines the way of life for a given group or society |
| culture lag |
the delay in cultural adjustments to changing
social conditions |
| culture shock |
the feeling of disorientation that can come when
one encounters a new or rapidly changed cultural situation |
| dominant culture |
the culture of the most powerful group in
society |
| ethnocentrism |
the belief that one’s ingroup is superior to all
out-groups |
| ethnomethodology |
a technique for studying human interaction by
deliberately disrupting social norms and observing how individuals
attempt to restore normalcy |
| folkways |
the general standards of behavior adhered to by
a group |
| global culture |
diffusion of a single culture throughout the
world |
| language |
a set of symbols and rules that, put together in
a meaningful way, provides a complex communication system |
| law |
the written set of guidelines that define what
is right and wrong in society |
| mass media |
channels of communication that are available to
very wide segments of the population |
| material culture |
the objects created in a given society—its
buildings, art, tools, toys, print and broadcast media, and other
tangible objects |
| mores |
strict norms that control moral and ethical
behavior |
| multiculturalism |
modes of thinking that view society through the
plural experiences of its diverse membership |
| nonmaterial culture
|
the norms, laws, customs, ideas, and beliefs of
a group of people |
| norms |
the specific cultural expectations for how to
act in a given situation |
| popular culture |
the beliefs, practices, and objects that are
part of everyday traditions |
| reflection hypothesis
|
the idea that the mass media reflect the values
of the general population |
| Sapir–Whorf hypothesis
|
a theory that language determines other aspects
of culture because language provides the categories through which
social reality is defined and perceived |
| social sanctions |
mechanisms of social control that enforce norms
|
| subculture |
the culture of groups whose values and norms of
behavior are somewhat different from those of the dominant culture
|
| symbols |
things or behavior to which people give meaning
|
| taboos |
behaviors that bring the most serious sanctions
|
| values |
the abstract standards in a society or group
that define ideal principles |