MCAT Psychological Social Foundations Flashcards: 9a Cultural Processes Diffusion

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This deck focuses on 9a Cultural Processes Diffusion, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for MCAT Psychological Social Foundations.

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Flashcard 1: What is cultural assimilation in the context of immigration and minority–majority relations?

Answer: Adopting the dominant culture and reducing distinct minority practices. Process where minorities abandon their culture for the majority's.

Flashcard 2: What is the relationship between ethnocentrism and assimilation pressures?

Answer: Ethnocentrism often increases expectations that minorities assimilate. Ethnocentrism fosters a belief in cultural superiority, which heightens societal pressures on minority groups to conform to the dominant culture through assimilation.

Flashcard 3: What is acculturation (as distinct from assimilation)?

Answer: Cultural change from contact; can occur without full identity loss. Acculturation involves mutual cultural changes through sustained contact between groups, allowing for adaptation without necessarily erasing the original cultural identity.

Flashcard 4: What is syncretism in cultural diffusion?

Answer: Blending elements of different cultures into a new, hybrid form. Syncretism results from cultural diffusion where elements from multiple cultures merge, forming innovative hybrid practices or beliefs unique to the blending context.

Flashcard 5: Identify the acculturation strategy: a person rejects heritage culture and fully adopts host culture.

Answer: Assimilation. Complete adoption of new culture, abandoning old.

Flashcard 6: What is cultural separation as an acculturation strategy?

Answer: Maintaining heritage culture while avoiding the dominant culture. Rejects dominant culture to preserve original identity.

Flashcard 7: What type of diffusion occurs when a cultural trait spreads outward from a central source region?

Answer: Expansion diffusion. Traits radiate from origin while source remains active.

Flashcard 8: What is forced assimilation?

Answer: Assimilation imposed by policy or coercion rather than choice. Often targets indigenous or minority populations.

Flashcard 9: What is acculturation in cultural psychology and sociology?

Answer: Cultural change from sustained contact between groups. Occurs when different cultural groups interact over time.

Flashcard 10: What is the difference between cultural diffusion and assimilation?

Answer: Diffusion spreads traits; assimilation changes group identity toward dominant. While diffusion involves the exchange of cultural elements without altering group identity, assimilation entails a group's shift toward the dominant culture's identity.

Flashcard 11: Identify the acculturation strategy: a person feels disconnected from both heritage and host cultures.

Answer: Marginalization. Loses connection to both cultural identities.

Flashcard 12: What is stimulus diffusion in cultural diffusion theory?

Answer: Adoption of an underlying idea without adopting the exact original form. Core concept inspires local variations, not exact copies.

Flashcard 13: What is integration as an acculturation strategy for an individual in a new culture?

Answer: Maintaining heritage culture while participating in the dominant culture. Balances heritage preservation with mainstream engagement.

Flashcard 14: What is the "salad bowl" model of cultural diversity?

Answer: Groups coexist while retaining distinct cultural identities and practices. The salad bowl model emphasizes cultural pluralism, where diverse groups maintain their unique identities while contributing to a cohesive society.

Flashcard 15: What is cultural marginalization as an acculturation strategy?

Answer: Low identification with both heritage and dominant cultures. Results in cultural isolation and identity confusion.

Flashcard 16: What is the "salad bowl" model of cultural diversity?

Answer: Groups coexist while retaining distinct cultural identities. Maintains diversity like ingredients in a salad.

Flashcard 17: What is cultural separation as an acculturation strategy?

Answer: Maintaining heritage culture while minimizing contact with host culture. Separation strategy in acculturation involves preserving one's heritage culture by limiting interactions and influences from the dominant host culture to avoid assimilation.

Flashcard 18: What is cultural diffusion?

Answer: Spread of cultural traits (ideas, norms, practices) between groups. Occurs through migration, trade, media, and contact.

Flashcard 19: What is multiculturalism as an approach to cultural diversity within a society?

Answer: Coexistence of multiple cultures with maintenance of distinct identities. Promotes cultural diversity while ensuring equal participation.

Flashcard 20: What is enculturation in cultural learning and development?

Answer: Learning one's native culture through socialization. Process of acquiring one's own culture from birth.

Flashcard 21: What is the distinction between cultural diffusion and cultural appropriation?

Answer: Diffusion is neutral spread; appropriation is adoption with power imbalance. Appropriation exploits marginalized cultures.

Flashcard 22: What is cultural integration as an outcome of acculturation?

Answer: Maintaining heritage culture while participating in the larger society. Integration, as per Berry's model, allows individuals to retain their original cultural identity while actively engaging with and adopting elements of the host society's culture.

Flashcard 23: What is multiculturalism as a societal model of cultural diversity?

Answer: Coexistence of multiple cultures with institutional support for difference. Multiculturalism promotes a society where diverse cultural groups coexist harmoniously, with policies supporting cultural preservation and equal participation.

Flashcard 24: What is separation as an acculturation strategy for an individual in a new culture?

Answer: Maintaining heritage culture while avoiding the dominant culture. Preserves original culture by limiting mainstream contact.

Flashcard 25: What is the "melting pot" model of cultural diversity?

Answer: Groups blend into a shared culture; distinctiveness decreases. Creates homogeneous culture through blending.

Flashcard 26: Identify the term: immigrants keep heritage traditions while fully participating in host institutions.

Answer: Integration. Integration enables immigrants to balance preservation of their cultural heritage with active involvement in the host society's economic and social structures.

Flashcard 27: What is the difference between assimilation and integration?

Answer: Assimilation reduces difference; integration preserves heritage and inclusion. Assimilation aims for cultural uniformity by diminishing differences, while integration supports maintaining cultural heritage alongside societal participation.

Flashcard 28: Identify the term: cultural traits spread through trade and media without group identity replacement.

Answer: Cultural diffusion. Cultural diffusion allows for the exchange of specific traits via channels like trade and media, without necessitating changes in overall group cultural identity.

Flashcard 29: Identify the acculturation strategy: a person avoids host culture and emphasizes heritage culture.

Answer: Separation. Maintains heritage while rejecting mainstream.

Flashcard 30: What is the difference between assimilation and acculturation?

Answer: Assimilation implies loss of heritage culture; acculturation is broader. Acculturation includes all adaptation strategies.

Flashcard 31: Identify the term: a community avoids host culture contact and maintains its own practices.

Answer: Separation. Separation strategy prioritizes cultural preservation by deliberately avoiding integration with the host culture to maintain distinct community practices and identity.

Flashcard 32: Identify the acculturation strategy: a person keeps heritage customs and adopts host norms.

Answer: Integration (biculturalism). Maintains both cultural identities equally.

Flashcard 33: What is glocalization?

Answer: Global cultural products adapted to local norms, meanings, or preferences. Glocalization describes how global ideas or products are modified to align with local cultural contexts, creating a fusion that respects regional differences.

Flashcard 34: What is cultural diffusion in sociology and anthropology?

Answer: Spread of cultural traits from one group or society to another. Cultural elements transfer through contact, trade, or migration.

Flashcard 35: What is marginalization as an acculturation outcome for a minority group member?

Answer: Low involvement in both heritage culture and dominant culture. Results from rejection by both cultural groups.

Flashcard 36: What is the "melting pot" model of cultural incorporation most closely associated with?

Answer: Assimilation into a shared, blended mainstream culture. Metaphor for cultures blending into one homogeneous mix.

Flashcard 37: What is cultural imperialism?

Answer: Dominant culture imposes its values and practices on other cultures. Cultural imperialism occurs when a powerful culture exerts influence to dominate and reshape subordinate cultures, often through media, economics, or politics.

Flashcard 38: What is cultural marginalization in acculturation theory?

Answer: Low identification with both heritage culture and host culture. Marginalization results from disengagement from both one's heritage culture and the host culture, often due to exclusion or personal choice, leading to cultural alienation.

Flashcard 39: What type of diffusion occurs when a cultural trait spreads because people move to a new location?

Answer: Relocation diffusion. Migrants carry their culture to new destinations.

Flashcard 40: What is cultural diffusion?

Answer: Spread of cultural traits, ideas, or practices between groups. Cultural diffusion facilitates the transmission of specific cultural elements across societies through mechanisms like migration, trade, or media, enriching cultural diversity.

Flashcard 41: Identify the term: a minority group adopts the dominant language and norms over generations.

Answer: Assimilation. This process reflects assimilation as the minority group progressively conforms to the dominant culture's language and norms, diminishing their original cultural identity over time.

Flashcard 42: What is the key distinction between assimilation and acculturation?

Answer: Assimilation implies loss of distinct culture; acculturation implies exchange/adaptation. Assimilation replaces culture; acculturation adds to it.

Flashcard 43: What is enculturation, and how does it differ from acculturation?

Answer: Learning one's native culture; not change from intercultural contact. Happens during childhood within one's own cultural group.

Flashcard 44: What is the "salad bowl" model of cultural incorporation most closely associated with?

Answer: Multiculturalism with distinct cultural identities maintained. Metaphor for cultures coexisting while keeping unique traits.

Flashcard 45: Which term best fits: a society supports multiple cultural traditions without requiring blending?

Answer: Multiculturalism ("salad bowl" model). Preserves distinct cultures without forced blending.

Flashcard 46: What is multiculturalism as a societal approach to cultural diversity?

Answer: Coexistence and valuing of multiple cultures within one society. Promotes cultural diversity as societal strength.

Flashcard 47: Which concept best matches: evaluating another society's rituals as "backward" by one's own norms?

Answer: Ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism drives the perception of other cultures' practices as inferior when measured against one's own cultural standards, promoting bias and prejudice.

Flashcard 48: What is cultural assimilation in the context of immigration and minority groups?

Answer: Adoption of dominant culture with reduced distinct original culture. Process where minorities lose original identity to fit mainstream society.

Flashcard 49: What is cultural integration (biculturalism) as an acculturation strategy?

Answer: Maintaining heritage culture while participating in the dominant culture. Balances both cultures without losing either identity.