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Introduction to Sociology 3e

Key Terms

Introduction to Sociology 3eKey Terms
beliefs
tenets or convictions that people hold to be true
countercultures
groups that reject and oppose society’s widely accepted cultural patterns
cultural universals
patterns or traits that are globally common to all societies
culture
shared beliefs, values, and practices
culture lag
the gap of time between the introduction of material culture and nonmaterial culture’s acceptance of it
diffusion
the spread of material and nonmaterial culture from one culture to another
discoveries
things and ideas found from what already exists
ethnocentrism
the evaluation and judgment of another culture based on one’s own cultural norms
folkways
direct, appropriate behavior in the day-to-day practices and expressions of a culture
formal norms
established, written rules
globalization
the integration of international trade and finance markets
high culture
the cultural patterns of a society’s elite
ideal culture
the standards a society would like to embrace and live up to
informal norms
casual behaviors that are generally and widely conformed to
innovations
new objects or ideas introduced to culture for the first time
inventions
a combination of pieces of existing reality into new forms
language
a symbolic system of communication
mores
the moral views and principles of a group
norms
the visible and invisible rules of conduct through which societies are structured
popular culture
mainstream, widespread patterns among a society’s population
real culture
the way society really is based on what actually occurs and exists
sanctions
a way to authorize or formally disapprove of certain behaviors
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
the way that people understand the world based on their form of language
social control
a way to encourage conformity to cultural norms
society
people who live in a definable community and who share a culture
subcultures
groups that share a specific identification, apart from a society’s majority, even as the members exist within a larger society
symbols
gestures or objects that have meanings associated with them that are recognized by people who share a culture
values
a culture’s standard for discerning what is good and just in society
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