culture: key cultural group categories

Question 1

seven Key Cultural Group Categories:

Answer 1

race, 
ethnicity, 
socioeconomic status, 
gender, 
sexual orientation, 
spirituality, 
disability.

Question 2

race

Answer 2

A social and political classification that identifies individuals by distinguishing physical characteristics such as skin color, facial features, hair texture, or eye shape

Question 3

color blindness

Answer 3

Involves the equal treatment of individuals by ignoring racial differences. Professional counselors who endorse this assumption are likely to adopt the attitude that race no longer matters, and in doing so perpetuate a continuing distrust of White counselors for clients of color, diminish the importance that the client’s cultural background has on the client’s worldview, and fail to create therapeutic goals that are met with culturally appropriate treatments.

Question 4

color consciousness

Answer 4

A process by which Whites experience guilt for their role in perpetuating racial discrimination for racial minorities and, as a result, begin to focus solely on racial differences.

Question 5

colorism

Answer 5

A form of discrimination in which individuals receive differential treatment based on skin color. Traditionally, individuals whose skin color approximates that of Whites receive preferential treatment

Question 6

biracial individuals

Answer 6

Individuals who are the biological children of parents from two different racial backgrounds.

Question 7

mulatto

Answer 7

A person with both White and African lineages

Question 8

mestizo

Answer 8

A person who is born of Native American and Caucasian parents.

Question 9

eugenics movement

Answer 9

A social movement that attempted to preserve the purity of the Caucasian race by monitoring a person’s innate characteristics and dictating who could marry and reproduce.

Question 10

multiracial

Answer 10

Individuals who are from multiple racial lineages.

Question 11

Ethnicity

Answer 11

An individual’s identification with a group of people who have common social ties due to geographic origins, cultural heritage, language, values, or religious belief.

Question 12

ethnic identity

Answer 12

Self-perceived sense of membership in an ethnic group, including feelings and attitudes associated with that membership.

Question 13

ethnocentrism

Answer 13

The belief that one’s cultural group is right or superior to all other cultures. Ethnocentrism represents a lack of flexibility and openness to other perspectives and worldviews.

Question 14

Socioeconomic Class or Status (SES):

Answer 14

The hierarchical distinctions between cultural groups in society. Individuals in each SES can have a different worldview, conceptions of problems, perceptions of themselves, and needs to be met. The distinctions between classes are often determined by income, occupation, and education. Individuals in the same social class often share a variety of common assumptions, norms, and values.

Question 15

Four class statuses in the US:

Answer 15

upper-class,
middle-class,
working-class, underclass

Question 16

Upper-class status:

Answer 16

The wealthy, who have made or inherited large sums of money.

Question 17

Wealth:

Answer 17

refers to a surplus of social, educational, and economic resources.

Question 18

Middle-class status:

Answer 18

Able to meet immediate needs plus those that arise in the future. Employed in technical or professional occupations.

Question 19

Working-class status:

Answer 19

Live paycheck to paycheck, working to get immediate needs and bills met. Often work in service or labor industries and are put under extreme pressure to make ends meet.

Question 20

Underclass status:

Answer 20

Generally have an underpaying job or are not employed. Struggle greatly to maintain basic needs, such as food, housing, health care, and even access to transportation.

Question 21

poverty

Answer 21

The struggle to meet and maintain basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. May also include a lack of access to educational and employment opportunities

Question 22

generational poverty

Answer 22

Occurs when poverty has been a factor in several generations

Question 23

situational poverty

Answer 23

Occurs when lack of resources is due to an extenuating circumstance, such as a divorce, unexpected unemployment, or a death

Question 24

classism

Answer 24

A form of oppression based on a person’s social status. Classism can take two forms: structural and internalized.

Question 25

modern classism

Answer 25

A theory of classism that proposes those of lower status may exhibit classism as well as those of upper status.

Question 26

structural classism

Answer 26

A form of classism that maintains the current status quo or arrangement of classes.

Question 27

internalized classism

Answer 27

A form of classism in which individuals come to believe the negative attributes associated with their social class.

Question 28

sex

Answer 28

An individual is biologically a male or female as determined by hormones, genetics, and physical makeup

Question 29

gender

Answer 29

The psychological and social characteristics often associated with an individual’s biological sex but usually derived from cultural rules and norms

Question 30

sex roles

Answer 30

Abilities derived from an individual’s biological makeup and physiological functioning (e.g., a woman’s sex role would include her ability to conceive and birth a child).

Question 31

gender roles

Answer 31

The expectations put on individuals by society regarding how they should behave, think, and be treated because of their biological sex

Question 32

gender expression

Answer 32

The ways in which individuals portray their gender, ways that may or may not be aligned with gender role expectations

Question 33

cisgender

Answer 33

A term used to refer to individuals who perceive that their assigned sex at birth is aligned with their identified gender.

Question 34

transgender and gender-nonconforming

Answer 34

A term used to refer to individuals whose identified gender or gender expression does not fit into the binary social categories of masculinity and femininity traditionally assigned with the male and female assigned sex at birth, respectively.

Question 35

male gender-role conflict

Answer 35

Refers to how traditional gender role socialization negatively impacts men’s wellbeing.

Question 36

transgender

Answer 36

A term used to describe a broad continuum of individuals whose gender identity and roles, to varying degrees, do not conform to cultural norms and expectations associated with their biological sex

Question 37

• Transsexuals:

Answer 37

Persons who choose to alter their biology to be more in line with their identified gender.

Question 38

• Cross-dressers:

Answer 38

Persons who dress in clothing traditionally worn by the opposite sex. Most commonly seen as men in women’s clothes and may provide sexual pleasure. About 1 person in every 50 is estimated to be a cross-dresser.

Question 39

• Transgenderist.

Answer 39

Persons who live the life of the opposite sex without biological intervention.

Question 40

• Intersexed.

Answer 40

Formerly known as hermaphrodites, these individuals possess both male and female genitalia and hormones.

Question 41

• Genderqueer.

Answer 41

Persons who do not conform to traditional ideas of gender roles and sexual orientation.

Question 42

• Two-spirited.

Answer 42

A Native American term that identifies a person with the spirit of both a male and a female. It is important to note, however, that individuals from the dominant culture would be disrespectful if they used this term to describe a Native American.

Question 43

• Gender dysphoria.

Answer 43

Experienced by persons who were born one gender, identify with another, and feel conflicted about it. This occurs in an estimated 3% to 10% of the population.

Question 44

transphobia

Answer 44

Discrimination against transsexual or transgendered individuals, based on their nonalignment with cultural expectations regarding gender and sexuality.

Question 45

trans-affirmative approach

Answer 45

Involves the counselor taking on the role of an advocate by being involved politically, teaching the client how to advocate, and rallying for equal community resources

Question 46

sexual orientation

Answer 46

An individual’s consistent attachment and sexual attraction to members of the same, opposite, or both gender(s). Sexual orientation can be thought of as a continuum that has four orientations: homosexual (individual is attracted to members of the same sex), bisexual (individual is attracted to members of the same and of the opposite sex), heterosexual (individual is attracted to members of the opposite sex), and questioning individual is questioning his or her sexual orientation).

Question 47

sexual identity

Answer 47

Encompasses physical identity (biological makeup of an individual), gender identity (belief about one’s gender), social sex role identity (sex roles individuals adopt due to culture), and sexual orientation identity (sexual and emotional attraction to individuals of the same or opposite sex).

Question 48

• Homosexual:

Answer 48

A person of the same sex is usually the object of sexual attraction and fantasizing. Persons with this orientation can be referred to as being “gay” or “lesbian,” and they do not prefer to be called “homosexual.”

Question 49

• Heterosexual:

Answer 49

A person of the opposite sex is usually the object of sexual attraction and fantasizing. This orientation, also known as being “straight,” is the most socially accepted.

Question 50

• Bisexual:

Answer 50

A person is attracted to and fantasizes about both the opposite and the same sex. A bisexual may encounter discrimination similar to that experienced by the gay community but also may encounter resistance from the gay community.

Question 51

• Heteroflexible:

Answer 51

This term can describe individuals who may primarily identity as heterosexual yet engage in limited same-sex sexual behavior but do not identify as bisexual.

Question 52

• Questioning:

Answer 52

This is a relatively new term that refers to an individual who is questioning his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. The letter Q is used to represent this concept, although for many young people Q represents queer

Question 53

• Pansexual:

Answer 53

This term refers to individuals whose sexual or affectional attractions are not limited to what might be typical of a particular gender identity or biological sex.

Question 54

• Affectional orientation:

Answer 54

a recent term suggested by researchers to describe sexual minorities because it broadens discussion beyond simple sexual attraction. Relationships also involve attraction based on intelligence, emotional stability, communication style, and other interpersonal factors and feelings.

Question 55

• Heteronormativity:

Answer 55

refers to societal expectations that individuals, on the basis of their biological sex, adhere to gender roles that complement those of the opposite biological sex. It involves an assumption that there is a binary gender system and that heterosexuality is the normal orientation.

Question 56

• Heterosexism:

Answer 56

the discriminatory practice toward those who do not fall within the “mainstream” category of heterosexual. It involves imposing heterosexually based social norms and positively regarding those who abide by such norms.

Question 57

• Homophobia:

Answer 57

refers to fear and hatred of sexual minorities, often resulting in hate crimes. Internalized homophobia: the process by which sexual minorities accept heterosexist messages; this can hinder their sexual identity development.

Question 58

Homoprejudice:

Answer 58

a term that has recently emerged in research as scholars suggest that prejudice is more the cause of discrimination than an actual phobia per se.

Question 59

Spirituality

Answer 59

A process that involves the continual search for meaning and deepens one’s connection to the inner self, others, and the world. Spirituality also encompasses a sense of well-being and fulfilment.

Question 60

soul

Answer 60

The quintessential nature of a person.

Question 61

religion

Answer 61

The institutionalized expression of an organized set of beliefs and ritualized practices that guide a person or group’s understanding of reality

Question 62

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA):

Answer 62

Provision of nondiscriminatory education process for children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment.

Question 63

spiritual bypass

Answer 63

The misuse of spiritual beliefs and practices to avoid addressing problematic psychological, physical, emotional, cognitive, relational, or behavioral issues.

Question 64

Disability

Answer 64

A physical, mental, or behavioral challenge that limits an individual’s ability to function in the activities associated with daily living.

Question 65

ableism

Answer 65

The belief that individuals with disabilities are limited in what they can do and undervalues their abilities.