what term refers to cultural rather than biological difference course hero

Is human behavior more of a result of culture than biology?

May 30, 2018 · Question 6 1 / 1 pts What term refers to cultural rather than biological difference ? Question 7 1 / 1 pts Which theoretical perspective suggests that racial inequalities serve a purpose in social structure and political life ?

Why don't all cultures have the same behavior?

Apr 04, 2016 · This preview shows page 9 - 11 out of 20 pages. Culture is distinguished from society Culture & Biology Culture is distinguished from biology Supra-Organic Culture is supraorganic o Culture is at level above the individual o Culture transcends individuals o Exercise initiative, make a decision o Agency and subjectivity Subjectivity ...

What is the difference between sociobiology and biology?

Apr 11, 2016 · A ) person - to- person differences within cultural groups are larger than differences between groups . B ) differences among cultural groups largely reflect genetic differences among racial groups . C ) gender differences in behavior result from differences in biology rather than from differences in life experiences .

What is the concept of Culture in sociology?

Nov 08, 2015 · View full document. See Page 1. Question 1 (1 point) Scholars use the term ________ to refer to biological differences between men and women. Question 1 options: a. sex b. biosex c. gender d. biogender. Save Question 2 (1 point) Which of the followings statements about gender is accurate? Question 2 options: a.

What is culture in sociology?

Culture refers to the symbols, language, beliefs, values, and artifacts that are part of any society. Because culture influences people’s beliefs and behaviors, culture is a key concept to the sociological perspective. Many sociologists are wary of biological explanations of behavior, in part because these explanations implicitly support ...

Why is culture important to sociology?

Because culture influences people’s beliefs and behaviors, culture is a key concept to the sociological perspective. Many sociologists are wary of biological explanations of behavior, in part because these explanations implicitly support the status quo and may be used to justify claims of biological inferiority.

How does culture affect language?

Culture influences not only language but the gestures we use when we interact, how far apart we stand from each other when we talk, and the values we consider most important for our children to learn, to name just a few. Without culture, we could not have a society.

Does alcohol affect behavior?

This explanation of alcohol’s effect is OK as far as it goes, but it turns out that how alcohol affects our behavior depends on our culture. In some small, traditional societies, people drink alcohol until they pass out, but they never get loud or boisterous; they might not even appear to be enjoying themselves.

Why do dogs chase squirrels?

A dog chases any squirrel it sees because of instinct, and a cat chases a mouse for the same reason. Different breeds of dogs do have different personalities, but even these stem from the biological differences among breeds passed down from one generation to another.

Is sex a biological trait?

The terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ may seem to be interchangeable, especially in western cultures, but in reality they refer to two completely different things. Sex is purely biological.

How does culture affect gender?

Cultural Implications. Culture shapes the ideas of what behaviors are acceptable for men and women as well as what behaviors are appropriate between men and women. Gender identity and culture share a strong connection as they affect daily life not only in the home and family but also in the workplace and community.

What is the difference between sexual identity and sexual orientation?

Whereas sexual identity refers to an individual’s comfort level with his or her own biological sex, sexual orientation focuses on the biological sex of the person who an individual is sexually attracted to. There are three options that fall under the classification of sexual orientation.

What are the three types of sexual orientation?

There are three options that fall under the classification of sexual orientation. They are heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual. Heterosexuals are attracted to people of the opposite biological sex, homosexuals are attracted to those of the same biological sex, and bisexuals report being equally attracted to both (Campo-Arias, 2010).

Is sexual orientation discriminated against?

There are many references to sexual orientation throughout history, but even with that being the case those are involved in same-sex relationships are not always accepted as equals by different cultures, and in many case, are discriminated against or punished.

What is gender identity?

According to Campo-Arias (2010) gender identity is “the degree of acceptance or discomfort which an adult manifests in terms of behavioral and emotional characteristics expected for a person, according to biological sex, to show within the interaction with other people” (p.g. 180, para 4).

What is the socialization process?

Through the socialization process, children are taught what is expected, and accepted, of them as a boy or girl virtually from birth. By the age of three most children display behaviors and select activities typical of his or her sex, but that is not always the case.

What is gender in culture?

Gender as a cultural identity has implications for many aspects of our lives, including real-world contexts like education and work. Schools are primary grounds for socialization, and the educational experience for males and females is different in many ways from preschool through college.

Is race a biological construct?

This finding by the Human Genome Project asserts that race is a social construct, not a biological one. The American Anthropological Association agrees, stating that race is the product of “historical and contemporary social, economic, educational, and political circumstances” (Allen, 2011).

What is the metaphor of melting pot?

The metaphor of the melting pot has been used to describe the immigration history of the United States but doesn’t capture the experiences of many immigrant groups (Allen, 2011). Generally, immigrant groups who were white, or light skinned, and spoke English were better able to assimilate, or melt into the melting pot.

What is dominant group?

Dominant groups tend to define what is correct or incorrect usage of a language, and since language is so closely tied to identity, labeling a group’s use of a language as incorrect or deviant challenges or negates part of their identity (Yancy, 2011).

When we first meet a newborn baby, we ask whether it's a boy or a girl.?

This question illustrates the importance of gender in organizing our social lives and our interpersonal relationships. A Canadian family became aware of the deep emotions people feel about gender and the great discomfort people feel when they can’t determine gender when they announced to the world that they were not going to tell anyone the gender of their baby, aside from the baby’s siblings. Their desire for their child, named Storm, to be able to experience early life without the boundaries and categories of gender brought criticism from many (Davis & James, 2011). Conversely, many parents consciously or unconsciously “code” their newborns in gendered ways based on our society’s associations of pink clothing and accessories with girls and blue with boys. While it’s obvious to most people that colors aren’t gendered, they take on new meaning when we assign gendered characteristics of masculinity and femininity to them. Just like race, gender is a socially constructed category. While it is true that there are biological differences between who we label male and female, the meaning our society places on those differences is what actually matters in our day-to-day lives. And the biological differences are interpreted differently around the world, which further shows that although we think gender is a natural, normal, stable way of classifying things, it is actually not. There is a long history of appreciation for people who cross gender lines in Native American and South Central Asian cultures, to name just two.

Is ability a cultural identity?

There is resistance to class ifying ability as a cultural identity, because we follow a medical model of disability that places disability as an individual and medical rather than social and cultural issue. While much of what distinguishes able-bodied and cognitively able from disabled is rooted in science, biology, and physiology, there are important sociocultural dimensions. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines an individual with a disability as “a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment” (Allen, 2011). An impairment is defined as “any temporary or permanent loss or abnormality of a body structure or function, whether physiological or psychological” (Allen, 2011). This definition is important because it notes the social aspect of disability in that people’s life activities are limited and the relational aspect of disability in that the perception of a disability by others can lead someone to be classified as such. Ascribing an identity of disabled to a person can be problematic. If there is a mental or physical impairment, it should be diagnosed by a credentialed expert. If there isn’t an impairment, then the label of disabled can have negative impacts, as this label carries social and cultural significance. People are tracked into various educational programs based on their physical and cognitive abilities, and there are many cases of people being mistakenly labeled disabled who were treated differently despite their protest of the ascribed label. Students who did not speak English as a first language, for example, were—and perhaps still are—sometimes put into special education classes.

What was the eugenics movement?

During the early part of the 1900s, the eugenics movement was the epitome of the move to rehabilitate or reject people with disabilities (Allen, 2005). This was a brand of social engineering that was indicative of a strong public support in the rationality of science to cure society’s problems (Allen, 2011).

What is race in biology?

Let’s start first with race, which refers to a category of people who share certain inherited physical characteristics, such as skin color, facial features, and stature. A key question about race is whether it is more of a biological category or a social category. Most people think of race in biological terms, and for more than 300 years, or ever since white Europeans began colonizing populations of color elsewhere in the world, race has indeed served as the “premier source of human identity” (Smedley, 1998, p. 690).

Where did the human race originate?

According to evolutionary theory, the human race began thousands and thousands of years ago in sub-Saharan Africa. As people migrated around the world over ...

What is the definition of race?

Let’s start first with race, which refers to a category of people who share certain inherited physical characteristics, such as skin color, facial features, and stature. A key question about race is whether it is more of a biological category or a social category.

How many African Americans are white?

In fact it is estimated that about 80% of African Americans have some white (i.e., European) ancestry; 50% of Mexican Americans have European or Native American ancestry; and 20% of whites have African or Native American ancestry.

Why do people have dark skin?

It favored dark skin for people living in hot, sunny climates (i.e., near the equator), because the heavy amounts of melanin that produce dark skin protect against severe sunburn, cancer, and other problems.

Is race a social construction?

Another way to say this is that race is a social construction, a concept that has no objective reality but rather is what people decide it is (Berger & Luckmann, 1963). In this view race has no real existence other than what and how people think of it.

What is ethnicity?

In this context, ethnicity refers to the shared social, cultural, and historical experiences, stemming from common national or regional backgrounds, that make subgroups of a population different from one another. Similarly, an ethnic group is a subgroup of a population with a set of shared social, cultural, and historical experiences ;

What is biological approach?

As is obvious from the name, the biological approach focuses its efforts on explaining what biological differences between men and women result in their differing behaviours. Of course, the biological approach is not necessarily the only approach to wield a convincing argument for how gender differences arise. The following: Cognitive Psychology.

What are the causes of gender differences?

Hormones - The Biological Cause of Gender Differences. Hormones are chemicals in the body that regulate changes in our cells. This includes growth and is as a result very important in explaining our gender differences. You may have heard of the largely male hormone: testosterone and the largely female hormone: oestrogen - and know ...

How do hormones affect gender?

Hormones play a huge role in gender differences and it is our DNA that dictates our behaviour as men and women. Men and women have different brain structures. Women have evolved to be the carers of children whilst men have evolved to be the providers for their families.

What are the differences between men and women?

Scientists suggest that these differences cause the difference in the abilities of men and women: Women excel in: Language skills. Fine motor skills (using smaller muscles) Emotional control. Men excel in: Spatial skills. Logical reasoning.

Why are testicles important?

The formation of testicles and ovaries are very important because, as you may already know, they are the key producers for the sex hormones androgens (including testosterone) and oestrogens which, as mentioned in the above section, result in many gender differences.

How many chromosomes are there in a human body?

Humans typically have 23 pairs of chromosomes (totaling 46) and on the two 23rd chromosomes the DNA that decides whether a newly fertilised ovum (egg) becomes a male or female is found.