Answer to Question 1
Culture means different things to different people. Most anthropologists define culture broadly, as ways of perceiving, believing, evaluating, and behaving. Think of culture as a series of norms or tendencies that are shared, interpreted, and adapted by a group of people. The characteristics of a given culture may be described as specific behaviors or life patterns; however, keep in mind that every person is an individual, and groups of individuals within a culture represent a range of characteristics. Culture, therefore, may guide the way you think, feel, behave, dress, and eat but it does not ensure that every member of a culture will do things in the same way. The word culture can also be used to describe many of the shared behaviors we experience in a number of different parts of our lives. For example, the shared language, dress, communication patterns, and food preferences of our ethnic background, as well as the behavioral, ethical, social, and dietary guidelines of our religion, reflect two aspects of culture.
Student answers should reflect their reading of the text, but be individual. The second part of the answer should reflect their own experiences.
Answer to Question 2
Textbook definitions are:
familytwo or more people who live together and are related by blood or marriage.
householdone or more people, members of a family and others, who live under the same roof.
extended familyrelatives across generations who may or may not live together.
Figure 7.1 shows the rapid decline in the trust of Americans in government since the 1960s. This de
One of the cultural privileges of being white in the United States is less suspicion of wrongdoing.
Cultural Diversity
European Culture in a Global Context
Region’s Culture in International Context
Main Theoretical Traditions in Sociology