Cultural Anthropology Definition Cultural anthropology is the study of human patterns of thought and behavior, and how and why these patterns differ, in contemporary societies. Cultural anthropology is sometimes called social anthropology, sociocultural anthropology, or ethnology. Cultural anthropology also includes pursuits such as ethnography, ethnohistory, and cross-cultural research. Cultural anthropology is one of the four
Cultural adaptation is a relatively new concept used to define the specific capacity of human beings and human societies to overcome changes of their natural and social environment by modifications to their culture. The scale of culture changes depends on the extent of habitat changes and could vary from slight modifications in livelihood systems (productive
Sport and exercise psychology has traditionally been understood to consist of a set of skills and theoretical underpinnings distanced from culture. These skills have been taught in postsecondary educational settings and presented in authoritative textbooks. Although readers might not at first recognize what rests beneath the surface of these writings, a closer look suggests that
Over the course of the past 10 years, there has been considerable discussion devoted to multicultural competence within the counseling professions. These discussions are only now beginning to surface within sport and exercise psychology certification. The intent through multicultural training is to provide the intended clients with health services that more closely align with their
Cultural Animal Definition Cultural animal is a term used to refer to human beings. The core idea is that human beings differ from other animals in the extent to which they create, sustain, and participate in culture. There are hundreds of definitions of culture. Howev er, there are several main themes in understanding what culture
Cultural Differences Definition Cultural groups can differ widely in their beliefs about what is true, good, and efficient. The study of cultural differences combines perspectives in psychology and anthropology to understand a society’s signature pattern of beliefs, behavior, and social institutions and how these patterns compare and contrast to those of other cultural groups. Cultural
The term culture has been variously defined, but there is general agreement that, whatever the concept entails, it serves as (1) the “glue” which keeps groups of individuals together as distinct entities, and (2) the means by which individuals adapt to the group and maintain a sense of identity and psychological stability. Cultural disintegration, then
Cultural diversity is a central feature of community psychology. It derives from a general psychological focus on the naturally occurring diversity among people within a context and between groups of people who are a part of different contexts. Implicitly, most theories and practices of psychology have inferred ordinal distinctions among people in a context and
Marshall McLuhan is quoted as saying that ‘‘It’s a cinch fish didn’t discover water.” Just as clearly, psychologists didn‘t discover culture. Any context for human behavior that is so all-encompassing as culture is for the developing individual is likely to be ignored, or if noticed, to be taken for granted. And just as quickly as
Cultural pluralism is a form of cultural diversity in certain countries where cultures can still maintain their unique qualities and combine to form a larger richer whole. In many countries, including the United States, the term multiculturalism is used synonymously or in place of cultural pluralism. According to Newman (1973, p. 29), societies can range