culture all that human beings learn to do to use to produce to know and to believe as they grow to maturity and live out their lives in the social groups to which they belong culture shock the difficulty people have adjusting to a new culture that differs markedly from their own ethocentrism a practice where people often make judgments about other cultures according to the customs and values of their own cultural relativism the recognition that social groups and cultures must be studied and understood on their own terms before valid comparisons can be made nonmaterial culture the totality of knowledge beliefs values and rules for appropriate behavior norms the rules of behavior that are agreed upon and shared within a culture and that prescribe limits of acceptable behavior mores strongly held norms that usually have a moral connotation and are based on the central values of the culture folkways norms that permit a wide degree of individual interpretation as long as certain limits are not overstepped ideal norms expectations of what people should do under perfect conditions real norms norms that are expressed with qualifications and allowances for differences in individual behavior selectivity a process by which some aspects of the world are viewed as important while others are virtually neglected Sapir Whorf hypothesis argues that the language a person uses determines his or her perception of reality symbol anything that represents something else and carries a particular meaning recognized by members of a culture adaptation the process by which human beings adjust to changes in their environment innovations any new practice or tool that becomes widely accepted in a society diffusion the movement of cultural traits from one culture to another reformulation in which a trait is modified in some way so that it fits better in its new context cultural lag the phenomenon through which new patterns of behavior may emerge even though they conflict with traditional values subculture the distinctive lifestyles values norms and beliefs of certain segments of the population within a society cultural universals certain models or patterns that have developed in all cultures to resolve common problems incest sexual relations between family members taboo the prohibition of a specific action rites of passage standardized rituals marking major life transitions ideologies strongly held beliefs and values caste system a rigid form of stratification based on ascribed characteristics such as skin color or family identity that determines a person s prestige occupation residence and social relationships estate system a closed system of stratification in which a person s social position is defined by law and membership is determined primarily by inheritance modernization theory assumes that the economic differences among countries are due to technological and cultural differences dependency theory proposes that the economic positions of rich and poor nations are linked and cannot be understood in isolation from each other HIV the virus that causes AIDS acute respiratory illness one of the most prevalent child killers in developing nations religion a system of beliefs practices and philosophical values shared by a group of people it defines the sacred helps explain life and offers salvation from the problems of human existence profane all empirically observable things i e things that are knowable through common every day experiences sacred things that are awe inspiring and knowable only through extraordinary experiences rituals patterns of behavior or practices that are related to the sacred prayer a means for individuals to address or communicate with supernatural beings or forces magic an active attempt to coerce spirits or to control supernatural forces supernaturalism postulates the existence of non personalized supernatural forces that can and often do influence human events mana a diffuse non personalized force that acts through anything that lives or moves religious taboo a sacred prohibition against touching mentioning or looking at certain objects acts or people animism the belief in inanimate personalized spirits or ghosts of ancestors that take an interest in and actively work to influence human affairs theism the belief in divine beings gods and goddesses who shape human affairs polytheism the belief in a number of gods monotheism the belief in one god abstract ideals focus on the achievement of personal awareness and a higher state of consciousness through correct ways of thinking and behaving rather than by manipulating spirits or worshipping gods totem an ordinary object such as a plant or animal that has become a sacred symbol to and of a particular group or clan who not only revere the totem but also identify with it revitalization movement powerful religious movements that stress a return to the traditional religious values of the past alienation the process by which people lose control over the social institutions they themselves invented universal church includes all the members of a society within one united moral community ecclesia a church that shares the same ethical system as the secular society and has come to represent and promote the interest of the society at large denomination tends to limit its membership to a particular class ethnic group or religious group or at least to have its leadership positions dominated by members of such a group sect a small group that adheres strictly to religious doctrine and often claims that they are the authentic version of the faith from which they split millenarian movements typically prophesy the end of the world the destruction of all evil people and their works and by the saving of the just secularized less influenced by religion ecumenism the trend among many religious communities to draw together and project a sense of unity and common direction cultural transmission in which major portions of society s knowledge are passed from one generation to the next hidden curriculum the social attitudes and values taught in school that prepare children to accept the requirements of adult life and to fit into the social political and economic statuses the society provides de jure segregation laws prohibiting one racial group from attending school with another de facto segregation segregation resulting from residential patterns preindustrial cities cities established prior to the Industrial Revolution industrial cities cities established during