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Culture
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
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Ethnocentrism
the principle of using ones own culture as a means or standard by which to evaluate another group or individual, leading to the view that cultures other than ones own are abnormal or inferior
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Cultural Relativism
the principle of understanding other cultures on their own terms, rather than judging or evaluating according to ones own culture.
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Material Culture
the objects associated with a cultural group, such as tools, machines, utensils, buildings, and artwork; any physical object to which we give social meaning
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Symbolic Culture
the ideas associated with a cultural group, including ways of thinking (beliefs, values, and assumptions) and ways of behaving (norms interactions and communication)
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Sign
a symbol that stands for or conveys an idea
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Gestures
The ways in which people use their bodies to communicate without words; actions that have a symbolic meaning
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Language
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
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Sapir-whorf Hypothesis
the idea that language thought and that ways of looking at the world are embedded in language
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Values
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
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Norm
a rule or guideline regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable and appropriate within a culture
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Law
a common type of formally defined norm providing an explicit statement about what is permissible and what is illegal in a given society
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