Sociology – Real World – Ch 3 – Flashcards

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counterculture
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A group within society that openly rejects and/or actively opposes society's values and norms (page 83)
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cultural diffusion
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The dissemination of beliefs and practices from one group to another (page 88)
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cultural imperialism
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The imposition of one culture's beliefs and practices on another culture through mass media and consumer products rather than by military force (page 92)
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cultural leveling
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The process by which cultures that were once unique and distinct become increasingly similar (page 91)
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cultural relativism
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The principle of understanding other cultures on their own terms, rather than judging or evaluating according to one's own culture (page 74)
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culture
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The entire way of life of a group of people (including both material and symbolic elements) that acts as a lens through which one views the world and is passed from one generation to the next (page 72)
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culture wars
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Clashes within mainstream society over the values and norms that should be upheld (page 86)
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dominant culture
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The values, norms, and practices of the group within society that is most powerful (in terms of wealth, prestige, status, influence, etc.) (page 82)
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ethnocentrism
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The principle of using one's own culture as a means or standard by which to evaluate another group or individual, leading to the view that cultures other than one's own are abnormal or inferior (page 74)
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folkway
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A loosely enforced norm involving common customs, practices, or procedures that ensure smooth social interaction and acceptance (page 80)
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gestures
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The ways in which people use their bodies to communicate without words; actions that have symbolic meaning (page 78)
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hegemony
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Term developed by Antonio Gramsci to describe the cultural aspects of social control, whereby the ideas of the dominant social group are accepted by all of society (page 82)
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ideal culture
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The norms, values, and patterns of behavior that members of a society believe should be observed in principle (page 86)
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language
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A system of communication using vocal sounds, gestures, or written symbols; the basis of symbolic culture and the primary means through which we communicate with one another and perpetuate our culture (page 78)
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law
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A common type of formally defined norm providing an explicit statement about what is permissible and what is illegal in a given society (page 79)
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material culture
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The objects associated with a cultural group, such as tools, machines, utensils, buildings, and artwork; any physical object to which we give social meaning (page 76)
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more
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A norm that carries great moral significance, is closely related to the core values of a cultural group, and often involves severe repercussions for violators (page 80)
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multiculturalism
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A policy that values diverse racial, ethnic, national, and linguistic backgrounds and so encourages the retention of cultural differences within society rather than assimilation (page 82)
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norm
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A rule or guideline regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable and appropriate within a culture (page 79)
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real culture
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The norms, values, and patterns of behavior that actually exist within a society (which may or may not correspond to the society's ideals) (page 86)
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sanction
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Positive or negative reactions to the ways that people follow or disobey norms, including rewards for conformity and punishments for violations (page 80)
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Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
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The idea that language structures thought and that ways of looking at the world are embedded in language (page 78)
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sign
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A symbol that stands for or conveys an idea (page 77)
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social control
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The formal and informal mechanisms used to elicit conformity to values and norms and thus increase social cohesion (page 80)
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subculture
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A group within society that is differentiated by its distinctive values, norms, and lifestyle (page 82)
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symbolic culture
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The ideas associated with a cultural group, including ways of thinking (beliefs, values, and assumptions) and ways of behaving (norms, interactions, and communication) (page 77)
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taboo
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A norm ingrained so deeply that even thinking about violating it evokes strong feelings of disgust, horror, or revulsion (page 80)
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technological determinism
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The notion that developments in technology provide the primary driving force behind social change (page 88)
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technology
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Material artifacts and the knowledge and techniques required to use them (page 87)
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values
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Ideas about what is desirable or contemptible and right or wrong in a particular group. They articulate the essence of everything that a cultural group cherishes and honors. (page 79)
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technological determinism
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The view that technology is the single greatest influence on society today is a concept known as:
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incest
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______ is clearly an example of a taboo in American society.
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medium
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Although more and more people are reading newspapers on portable electronic devices (such as Kindles, iPhones, and laptops) there are many ways in which reading on an electronic device is not the same as reading on newsprint. For instance, a sheet of newsprint allows the editors to use space to indicate the relative importance of a story in a way that a small electronic screen does not, which has led many commentators to conclude that the __________ is the message.
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taboo
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Many Americans become very concerned when a restaurant tries to serve them a piece of undercooked beef. Despite the fact that many people in Europe regularly eat raw beef, many Americans express disgust at the idea, which suggests that eating raw beef is a ________.
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multiculturalism
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_______ describes a policy of honoring diverse racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, and national backgrounds.
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meaning of 'gestures' is no universal
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In many Middle Eastern countries, showing someone the bottom of your foot or shoe is considered to be very rude, so American military personnel stationed in the Middle East had to be instructed to keep their feet inside helicopters when flying low. Why was this instruction needed?
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hegemony
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When the dominant culture succeeds in imposing its values and ideas on all of society, it is known as _________
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ideal culture
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Sociologists refer to the norms and values that people aspire to as the __________
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the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
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In an article titled "Sex, Syntax, and Semantics," Lera Borodinsky argues that your mental representations of inanimate objects like forks and frying pans are heavily dependent on the objects' grammatical gender in your native language. To which theory or concept is her argument related?
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culture wars
answer
Clashes over values in the United States, especially as represented by liberals and conservatives in the mass media, have been termed __________
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Counter Culture vs. Subculture
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Both are distinct from mainstream culture, but a counterculture actively opposes important aspects of the mainstream.
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taboo
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What kind of norm is so deeply ingrained that the very thought of breaking it brings feelings of disgust or horror?
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We learn values slowly and incrementally
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Why is it hard to recognize that the values and beliefs of one's own culture are learned rather than innate?
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Cultural Imperialism
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Because of their economic strength, western media companies are powerful enough to impose their products on markets worldwide, a phenomenon known as:
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Adopting cultural relativism
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Which of the following is a way to suspend one's own ethnocentrism, at least temporarily?
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Symbolic Culture
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The widespread use of plastic in American culture is no accident; plastic offers consumers convenience, disposability, and choice. These advantages of plastic are all elements of:
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deviant
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Coca-Cola was first marketed in the 1860s as a patent medicine, designed to offer the virtues of cocaine without the vices of alcohol. The new beverage was invigorating and popular, but today cocaine is not just banned, but widely demonized. This is an example of: formerly mainstream practices becoming ______.
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standard
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Ethnocentric people tend to view other cultures as abnormal because they use their own culture as a _______ of judgment.
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sanctions
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How are informal norms enforced in everyday settings?
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material culture
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Designer labels on purses and athletic logos on shirts are both examples of ___________.
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ritual practices
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The article "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" by Horace Miner suggests that daily routines of personal hygiene can be equated with exotic ____________.
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material culture
answer
Recently curators at museums have experienced problems with plastic objects, almost all of which disintegrate over time. The Smithsonian collection contains the first-ever plastic toothbrush, which soon will be nothing more than a pile of crumbs, leading many historians to worry that we will lose the history of our __________
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hegemony
answer
Antonio Gramsci argued that when the ruling class, without the use of force, persuades the rest of society that its beliefs and values are the only or best values, they have achieved _______
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deviant
answer
Coca-Cola was first marketed in the 1860s as a patent medicine, designed to offer the virtues of cocaine without the vices of alcohol. The new beverage was invigorating and popular, but today cocaine is not just banned, but widely demonized. This is an example of: formerly mainstream practices becoming ___.
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the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
answer
In an article titled "Sex, Syntax, and Semantics," Lera Borodinsky argues that your mental representations of inanimate objects like forks and frying pans are heavily dependent on the objects' grammatical gender in your native language. To which theory or concept is her argument related? ___________
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Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf
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Who were the two anthropologists that studied the Hopi of the southwestern United States and concluded that language not only expresses our thoughts, but also shapes the way that we think?
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taboos, mores, folkways
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Which of the following lists norms in order from the most severely enforced to the least?
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hegemony
answer
When the dominant culture succeeds in imposing its values and ideas on all of society, it is known as ______
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real culture
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What do sociologists call the norms and values that people actually follow?
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taboo
answer
Many Americans become very concerned when a restaurant tries to serve them a piece of undercooked beef. Despite the fact that many people in Europe regularly eat raw beef, many Americans express disgust at the idea, which suggests that eating raw beef is a ______
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core values of a group
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Unlike a folkway, a more is closely related to ______
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language
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The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (also called the principle of linguistic relativity) suggests that ________ can structure our perception of reality.
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multiculturalism
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Many colleges and universities require students to take classes on non-western cultures because colleges value__________.
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medium is the message
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When Marshall McLuhan said that "the ________". In other words, the medium through which we deliver our cultural content has the greatest power to change our cultural framework.
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the Ku Klux Klan
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_________ is NOT a subculture.
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hegemony
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The art historian and social critic John Berger has argued that the suit is the first "uniform of the powerful" designed for stationary life. Suits make manual laborers look ridiculous, yet we all still want to wear them. Our very acceptance of this fashion standard condemns most people to seeming clumsy, uncouth, and second-rate. This is why the suit is the classic example of ________.
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counter culture
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Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was an activist organization in the 1960s that protested the Vietnam War, racial injustice, and economic exploitation. For the most part, the organization favored direct action and protest, but a small faction attempted to realize change through conventional politics. This faction was never very popular within the group, most of which opposed traditional organizing and politics and sought a radically new form of social organization. Based on this information, you could say that members of SDS were part of a ___________
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technological determinism
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Although the steam engine is best known as the primary technology of the Industrial Revolution, a steam engine was invented by Hero of Alexandria, a Greek in ancient Rome. However, the engine was only used to open a temple door and not for industrial applications. This shows that there are some circumstances where _________ does not apply.
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ethnocentrism
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What is the tendency to use your own group's way of doing things as the yardstick for judging others called?
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ideal culture and real culture
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When an employee is promoted instead of more deserving coworkers because she has a special relationship with her boss, it is an example of the distinction between _________
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culture wars
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Clashes over values in the United States, especially as represented by liberals and conservatives in the mass media, have been termed ________
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hegemony
answer
Antonio Gramsci argued that when the ruling class, without the use of force, persuades the rest of society that its beliefs and values are the only or best values, they have achieved _______
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Countercultural
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__________groups like the hippies of the 1960s rejected the norms of the dominant culture.
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dominant culture
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The values, norms, and practices of the most powerful group within a society are called the __________
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more', law
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In America, a married man who has several mistresses is violating a ____________, but if he is married to more than one woman at the same time he is violating a ____________.
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material culture
answer
Recently curators at museums have experienced problems with plastic objects, almost all of which disintegrate over time. The Smithsonian collection contains the first-ever plastic toothbrush, which soon will be nothing more than a pile of crumbs, leading many historians to worry that we will lose the history of our __________
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negative sanctions
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It's all too common to see someone driving a car on a busy freeway while cursing and gesturing at another motorist whose poor driving has offended them. Cursing and gesturing are not very nice, but are also _____
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counter culture
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Sociologists use which of the following terms to describe a group whose values and norms oppose the dominant culture?
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othering
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Ruth Behar, in her book The Vulnerable Observer, argued that you could learn about other cultures from her book only "insofar as you are willing to view them from the perspective of an anthropologist who has come to know others by knowing herself and who has come to know herself by knowing others." Behar is trying to avoid the process of "________," in which only the unusual is studied.
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real culture
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What do sociologists call the norms and values that people actually follow?
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ethnocentrism
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In many cultures the "squat toilet," where one squats rather than sits, is still the most common type of bathroom facility. Americans are often shocked when they encounter these toilets, seeing them as hopelessly disgusting. This attitude is an example of ____
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dominant culture
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The values, norms, and practices of the most powerful group within a society are called the:
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counterculture
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A subculture different from a counterculture in that both are distinct from mainstream culture, but a _______ actively opposes important aspects of the mainstream.
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sociologists
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The study of culture is different for sociologists than for anthropologists in that ___________ usually study a culture they belong to.
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ethnocentrism
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What is the tendency to use your own group's way of doing things as the yardstick for judging others called?
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adopting cultural relativism
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What is a way to suspend one's own ethnocentrism, at least temporarily?
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more' ; law
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In America, a married man who has several mistresses is violating a ____________, but if he is married to more than one woman at the same time he is violating a ____________.
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a folkway
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In 2005 the Northwestern University women's lacrosse team won an NCAA championship and was invited to the White House to receive congratulations from the president. Controversy erupted after their visit, when the official photograph revealed that several team members were wearing flip-flops. Despite the outcry, the athletes took the criticism in stride, talking about it on the Today Show and auctioning the offending footwear for charity. Given the reaction and the team's response, what sort of norm did the athletes break by wearing flip-flops to the White House?
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incest
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What is clearly an example of a taboo in American society?
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norm
answer
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, some people placed signs with crudely painted skeletons holding cell phones near roadways, usually facing freeway ramps. These signs indicated disapproval of using cell phones while driving, a practice that some states have now made illegal. As a result of these laws an informal _______ has become a law.
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communicate
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Allowing people to _______ is one of the functions of symbolic culture.
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dominant culture
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The values, norms, and practices of the most powerful group within a society are called the ________
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ethnocentrism
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The famous anthropologist Margaret Mead has said that America is the best place to raise a female child. While many would agree with her, she might also be accused of ________
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the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
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The South Korean linguist Heesook Kim has suggested that the use of titles and honorifics in the Korean language significantly affects people's perception of one another. By forcing speakers to use honorifics, Korean draws attention to social status. He believes that honorifics make everyone who speaks Korean more likely to interpret issues in terms of social status. To which concept is Kim's hypothesis related?
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ideal culture and real culture
answer
When an employee is promoted instead of more deserving coworkers because she has a special relationship with her boss, it is an example of the distinction between ___________.
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innate
answer
Although many people feel that expectations for personal space (usually about 18 inches for Americans) are innate, members of many cultures are used to noticeably less personal space than we are, which helps to demonstrate that our expectations for personal space are a part of our culture and as such are learned, rather than ________.
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hegemony
answer
When the dominant culture succeeds in imposing its values and ideas on all of society, it is known as _______
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Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
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In the article "Turning the Tables: Language and Spatial Reasoning," Peggy Li and Lila Gleitman claim to have debunked the theory that speakers of the Mayan language have a different understanding of space and spatial relations than speakers of other languages. What theory is this article attacking?
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subculture
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A cultural group that exists harmoniously within a larger, dominant culture is called a
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language
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What does Chapter 3 claim is the most significant component of culture?
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It allows people to communicate
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Which of the following is one of the functions of symbolic culture?
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cultural imperialism
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In the article "Jihad vs. McWorld," Benjamin R. Barber points out that "in November of 1991 Switzerland's once insular culture boasted best-seller lists featuring Terminator 2 as the No. 1 movie, Scarlett as the No. 1 book, and Prince's Diamonds and Pearls as the No. 1 record album." Many people worry that the prominence of American culture goes beyond the media and represents the wholesale imposition of American values on other cultures, a process called ______
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Othering
answer
Ruth Behar, in her book The Vulnerable Observer, argued that you could learn about other cultures from her book only "insofar as you are willing to view them from the perspective of an anthropologist who has come to know others by knowing herself and who has come to know herself by knowing others." Behar is trying to avoid the process of "_______," in which only the unusual is studied.
question
cultural imperialism
answer
Because of their economic strength, western media companies are powerful enough to impose their products on markets worldwide, a phenomenon known as _________
question
adopting cultural relativism
answer
Which of the following is a way to suspend one's own ethnocentrism, at least temporarily?
question
Sapir-Whorf Hypthesis
answer
The South Korean linguist Heesook Kim has suggested that the use of titles and honorifics in the Korean language significantly affects people's perception of one another. By forcing speakers to use honorifics, Korean draws attention to social status. He believes that honorifics make everyone who speaks Korean more likely to interpret issues in terms of social status. To which concept is Kim's hypothesis related?
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signs
answer
According to sociologists, _____ are anything designed to meaningfully represent something else.
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inability
answer
The article "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" is useful to sociologists because it challenges people's _______to observe their own cultures.
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multiculturalism
answer
Which term describes a policy of honoring diverse racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, and national backgrounds?
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symbolic culture
answer
The widespread use of plastic in American culture is no accident; plastic offers consumers convenience, disposability, and choice. These advantages of plastic are all elements of ________
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Sapir-Whorf Hypthosis
answer
In the movie Mean Girls, students identified each other using categories like "jock," "cheerleader," "skater," and "nerd." Which theory would argue that such classification systems influence the way that you see people?
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sanctions
answer
How are informal norms enforced in everyday settings?
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cultural relativism
answer
The ability to understand another culture in terms of its own norms and values, without reference to any other cultural standards is called __________
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more / law
answer
In America, a married man who has several mistresses is violating a ____________, but if he is married to more than one woman at the same time he is violating a ____________.
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subculture
answer
A cultural group that exists harmoniously within a larger, dominant culture is called a _______
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negative sanctions
answer
Marginalized groups in American society, like street punks, the homeless, and skateboarders, often engage in activities that offend or annoy most people. One of the reasons people get so annoyed is that members of these groups don't seem to care that they're the subject of disapproval, which is to say they don't seem to care about ______________.
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dominant
answer
Countercultural groups like the hippies of the 1960s rejected the norms of the ________ culture.
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culture war
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A __________ is best illustrated by antiabortion advocates demonstrating in front of a family-planning clinic.
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folkway
answer
In 2005 the Northwestern University women's lacrosse team won an NCAA championship and was invited to the White House to receive congratulations from the president. Controversy erupted after their visit, when the official photograph revealed that several team members were wearing flip-flops. Despite the outcry, the athletes took the criticism in stride, talking about it on the Today Show and auctioning the offending footwear for charity. Given the reaction and the team's response, what sort of norm did the athletes break by wearing flip-flops to the White House?
question
the distinction between ideal culture and real culture
answer
When an employee is promoted instead of more deserving coworkers because she has a special relationship with her boss, it is an example of:
question
innate
answer
Although many people feel that expectations for personal space (usually about 18 inches for Americans) are innate, members of many cultures are used to noticeably less personal space than we are, which helps to demonstrate that our expectations for personal space are a part of our culture and as such are learned, rather than _________.
question
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
answer
In an article titled "Sex, Syntax, and Semantics," Lera Borodinsky argues that your mental representations of inanimate objects like forks and frying pans are heavily dependent on the objects' grammatical gender in your native language. To which theory or concept is her argument related?
question
technological determinism
answer
The view that technology is the single greatest influence on society today is a concept known as
question
culture wars
answer
Clashes over values in the United States, especially as represented by liberals and conservatives in the mass media, have been termed ___________
question
belonging to a political party
answer
What is an example of something that would be part of a person's symbolic culture?
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ethnocentrism
answer
What is the tendency to use your own group's way of doing things as the yardstick for judging others called?
question
cultural diffusion
answer
During the American occupation of Japan following World War II, the Japanese observed soldiers playing baseball and later adopted it as one of their favorite pastimes. This is an example of:
question
negative sanctions
answer
A monetary fine, harsh words, and a raised fist are examples of
question
folkway
answer
In 2005 the Northwestern University women's lacrosse team won an NCAA championship and was invited to the White House to receive congratulations from the president. Controversy erupted after their visit, when the official photograph revealed that several team members were wearing flip-flops. Despite the outcry, the athletes took the criticism in stride, talking about it on the Today Show and auctioning the offending footwear for charity. Given the reaction and the team's response, what sort of norm did the athletes break by wearing flip-flops to the White House?
question
material culture
answer
Recently curators at museums have experienced problems with plastic objects, almost all of which disintegrate over time. The Smithsonian collection contains the first-ever plastic toothbrush, which soon will be nothing more than a pile of crumbs, leading many historians to worry that we will lose the history of our:
question
taboo
answer
Many Americans become very concerned when a restaurant tries to serve them a piece of undercooked beef. Despite the fact that many people in Europe regularly eat raw beef, many Americans express disgust at the idea, which suggests that eating raw beef is a ________
question
more / law
answer
In America, a married man who has several mistresses is violating a ____________, but if he is married to more than one woman at the same time he is violating a ____________.
question
cultural diffusion
answer
During the American occupation of Japan following World War II, the Japanese observed soldiers playing baseball and later adopted it as one of their favorite pastimes. This is an example of
question
technological determinism
answer
Although the steam engine is best known as the primary technology of the Industrial Revolution, a steam engine was invented by Hero of Alexandria, a Greek in ancient Rome. However, the engine was only used to open a temple door and not for industrial applications. What does this suggest about technological determinism? It shows that there are some circumstances where _________ does not apply.
question
counterculture
answer
How is a subculture different from a counterculture? Both are distinct from mainstream culture, but a _________ actively opposes important aspects of the mainstream.
question
real culture
answer
What do sociologists call the norms and values that people actually follow?
question
cultural diffusion
answer
The French social theorist Jean Francois Lyotard described contemporary culture in this way: "One listens to reggae, watches a Western, eats McDonald's food for lunch and local cuisine for dinner, wears Paris perfume in Tokyo and 'retro' clothes in Hong Kong." He was writing about postmodernism, but what concept can help explain this mishmash of activities?
question
negative sanctions
answer
A monetary fine, harsh words, and a raised fist are examples of:
question
culture war
answer
In 2008 voters in California approved Proposition 8, which made marriage available exclusively to opposite sex couples. This was one of many battles in the war over gay marriage, which continues to divide the nation as it plays out in the media. The dispute over same-sex marriage is an example of a:
question
the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
answer
In an article titled "Sex, Syntax, and Semantics," Lera Borodinsky argues that your mental representations of inanimate objects like forks and frying pans are heavily dependent on the objects' grammatical gender in your native language. To which theory or concept is her argument related?
question
ideal culture
answer
In the 2008 election, Barack Obama took 53 percent of the vote, while John McCain took 46 percent. However in the early months of 2009, when his approval ratings were still very high, polls conducted found a significantly larger number of people claimed to have voted for Obama. Historians report that the percentage of people who remember voting for any president rises and falls with approval ratings. More people seemed to believe that they "should" have voted for Obama, making this belief a part of our:
question
material culture
answer
Designer labels on purses and athletic logos on shirts are both examples of:
question
taboos, mores, folkways
answer
Which of the following lists norms in order from the most severely enforced to the least?
question
ritual practices
answer
The article "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" by Horace Miner suggests that daily routines of personal hygiene can be equated with exotic __________.
question
gestures
answer
What is the sociological term for signs that people make with their bodies?
question
material culture
answer
Recently curators at museums have experienced problems with plastic objects, almost all of which disintegrate over time. The Smithsonian collection contains the first-ever plastic toothbrush, which soon will be nothing more than a pile of crumbs, leading many historians to worry that we will lose the history of our:
question
ethnocentrism
answer
In many cultures the "squat toilet," where one squats rather than sits, is still the most common type of bathroom facility. Americans are often shocked when they encounter these toilets, seeing them as hopelessly disgusting. This attitude is an example of
question
Sapir and Whorf
answer
Who were the two anthropologists that studied the Hopi of the southwestern United States and concluded that language not only expresses our thoughts, but also shapes the way that we think?
question
cultural leveling
answer
When Patti Sue took her world tour, she had lunch at McDonald's in Tokyo, ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe in Hong Kong, purchased clothes at Macy's in London, and was entertained at a Disney show featuring Mickey Mouse and Pluto in Paris. This homogenization of cultures around the world is called _______
question
culture wars
answer
Clashes over values in the United States, especially as represented by liberals and conservatives in the mass media, have been termed:
question
language
answer
What does Chapter 3 claim is the most significant component of culture?
question
cultural leveling
answer
What do sociologists call it when cultures that were once distinct become increasingly similar?
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