Chapter 16 Cultural Change and Globalization Key Terms

acculturation A specific form of cultural diffusion in which a subordinate culture adopts many of the cultural traits of a more powerful culture. circulation of labor As compared to the unidirectional flow of people from rural to urban areas, the circulation of labor involves the continuous movement of people from rural to urban and back again.

cultural boundary maintenance The practice of cultural groups keeping themselves separate from other cultural groups. culture of poverty An interpretation of poverty that suggests that poor people pass certain cultural features on to their children that tend to reinforce and perpetuate poverty.

cultural diffusion The spreading of a cultural trait (that is, material object, idea, or behavior pattern) from one society to another. indigenous populations The original inhabitants of a region who collectively wield little political power, and whose cultures and ways of life are threatened by the forces of economic development.

invention New combinations of existing cultural features. less developed countries (LDCs) Countries that have a relatively low gross national product (GNP) and low annual family income.

linked changes Changes in one part of a culture brought about by changes in other parts of the culture. marginal people Nonmainstream people who are at the fringes of their own culture.

modernization theory The theory that explains economic development in terms of the inherent sociocultural differences between the rich and the poor. multinational corporations Large corporations that have economic operations in a number of different countries throughout the world.

neocolonialism The economic, political, and military influence that developed nations continue to exert over less developed countries, even though the official period of colonization ended in the 1960s.

occupational duality A practice found in many traditionally agricultural parts of the world in which an individual will spend part of the year working on the farm and another segment of the year working as a wage earner, most likely in an urban area. urbanization The process by which an increasing number of people live in cities.

voluntary association A political, occupational, religious, or recreational group, usually found in an urban area, that people join freely and that often helps in the adjustment to urban life. world systems theory An attempt to explain levels of economic development in terms of the exploitation of the poor by the rich nations of the world, rather than in terms of innate socioeconomic characteristics of each.