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Why does culture feel stable and natural when it is something that is artificial?

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Culture often feels stable and natural because it is deeply ingrained in our daily lives and identity from a very young age. Here are several reasons why this perception persists: 1. Early Socialization: Individuals are born into a cultural context and from the earliest moments of life, they are socialized into the norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors of their culture. This process is so pervasive and continuous that cultural practices are internalized, making them seem like a natural part of who we are. 2. Tradition and Continuity: Cultures are built on traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. This sense of historical continuity contributes to the feeling of stability. Traditions provide a link to the past, creating a narrative of cultural persistence that reinforces the idea that culture is an unchanging, natural aspect of human society. 3. Shared Experience: Culture is a collective phenomenon. It is shared by members of a community or society, creating a sense of belonging and identity. When everyone around us is engaging in the same practices and upholding the same norms, it reinforces the idea that these cultural elements are the natural way of life. 4. Institutional Reinforcement: Cultural norms and values are often embedded in and reinforced by social institutions such as education, religion, law, and media. These institutions play a significant role in perpetuating cultural norms, making them seem fixed and natural. 5. Resistance to Change: While cultures are constantly evolving, there is often resistance to change, especially when it comes to deeply held beliefs and values. This resistance can make culture appear more static and unchanging than it actually is. 6. Human Need for Stability: Humans have a psychological need for predictability and stability in their lives. Culture provides a framework for understanding the world and our place in it. This framework helps to reduce uncertainty and provides a sense of security, which can make cultural practices feel natural and unassailable. 7. Cognitive Schemas: Our brains are wired to recognize patterns and create cognitive schemas—mental frameworks that help us organize and interpret information. Once cultural patterns are learned, they become part of these schemas, making them seem like the natural order of things. In reality, culture is an artificial construct in the sense that it is created and maintained by humans. It is not a biological imperative but a social one. However, because of its deep-rooted presence in our lives and the psychological and social mechanisms that reinforce it, culture can feel stable and natural, even though it is subject to change and reinterpretation over time.

How would you use the culture concept to help you analyze the social relationships involved in Facebook and other social media?

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The culture concept can be used to analy...

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The defining feature of historical particularism is


A) all societies pass through stages from primitive to complex
B) individual societies develop particular cultural traits and undergo a unique process of change
C) cultural differences are the result of different evolutionary stages
D) the material world shapes people's customs and beliefs

E) A) and B)
F) B) and C)

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B

Anthropologists overcome ethnocentrism by


A) developing theories to explain human action
B) studying a culture's customs
C) defending whatever another culture does
D) seeing matters from the point of view of another culture

E) B) and D)
F) None of the above

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The American anthropologist responsible for the concept of historical particularism was named


A) E. B. Tylor
B) L .H. Morgan
C) Mary Douglas
D) Franz Boas

E) C) and D)
F) B) and C)

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If you wanted to understand the norms of a society, you would most likely focus on


A) ceremonialized aspects of a society
B) everyday interactions
C) the symbolic use of the body
D) the principles and values people hold dear

E) A) and B)
F) None of the above

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Culture is


A) learned and shared
B) easily defined
C) static and unchanging
D) a product of individual psychology

E) All of the above
F) A) and D)

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An __________ approach to culture, such as that promoted by Clifford Geertz, Victor Turner, and Mary Douglas, emphasizes that culture is a shared system of meanings.

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A focus on __________ helps anthropologists understand intrinsically desirable principles held by a group of people.

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When Kay Warren presented her anthropological research, a group of Maya intellectuals, activists, and political leaders


A) were there to support her work
B) challenged her right, as a foreign anthropologist, to study the Maya culture
C) collaborated with Warren
D) co-published the paper

E) C) and D)
F) A) and C)

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The main idea behind the holistic perspective is to study culture


A) by its individual parts
B) through systematic connections of different parts
C) as a system of binary oppositions
D) all of the above

E) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

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B

Norms are stable because


A) culture doesn't change
B) people learn them as they grow older
C) people learn them when they are young
D) they are the same in every culture

E) None of the above
F) A) and D)

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Explain how a focus on values can help us understand why people around the world love their countries.

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A focus on values can help us understand...

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If a functionalist were to explain why the teacher lectures from the front of the classroom to students organized in neatly arranged chairs, she or he would emphasize that


A) learning happens best when students are being talked at
B) this way of teaching organizes people to promote shared cultural goals
C) this mode of teaching evolved over time
D) the teacher is the symbolic head of the class

E) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

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The theory that posits that cultural practices and beliefs serve purposes for society is called __________.

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How would a critical relativist explain Native American criticisms of cultural appropriation?


A) their criticism is unjustified primarily because cultural appropriation is as old as humanity itself
B) cultural appropriation is a positive process of change for any society
C) it is important to understand Native American claims from their point of view though it doesn't necessarily mean we should accept them as the only way to view the issue
D) it is inherent in their culture to criticize dominant settler society

E) None of the above
F) All of the above

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Cultural appropriation involves relationships of power.

A) True
B) False

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Michael Ames developed exhibits with native Canadian communities at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia because he believed in __________.

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A cross-cultural perspective on eating insect larvae would reveal


A) the artificiality of taste
B) the cultural constructions of insects as food
C) that eating insects can be adaptive
D) all of the above

E) A) and D)
F) A) and C)

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The application of a holistic perspective to understand changes in everyday practices, such as eating breakfast cereals, reveals


A) the interconnections between different domains of a society
B) the processes of cultural appropriation
C) the relativity of culture
D) the creation of cultural constructions

E) None of the above
F) B) and D)

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