AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
Name: ______Xander_____________________________ Date: ____________
Period: _______
Unit 3 Test Study Guide – Cultural Patterns & Processes
1. In the United States, where is the largest concentration of Amish found? Baptist?
Lutherans? Catholics? (look at the map in the notes)
Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Southeastern. Upper mid-west, West Coast
2. Complete the following analogy: folk culture is to relocation diffusion as pop culture is to
____Hierarchical diffusion____.
3. What is culture? What three elements make up culture?
Culture refers to shared beliefs, values, and norms. The three elements are
artifacts, sociofacts, and mentifacts.
4. What are the world’s three major monotheistic religions? From what region(s) of the
world did these three religions originate?
Judaism, Christianity, Islam. They originated in the middle east.
5. What is an ethnic religion? What are some examples of ethnic religions found
around the world today?
A religion that is closely related to a specific ethnic group, culture, or geographic
area. Hinduism and Judaism.
AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
6. How does popular culture diffuse? What are some examples of clothes commonly
associated with the diffusion of popular culture?
Hierarchical diffusion
Jeans, Nike athletic wear, designer handbags, brand t-shirts
7. _______Indo-European__________ is the world’s most widely used language family,
including English.
_______Sino Tibetan__________ is the language family used by most people in China.
8. Romance branch languages have achieved worldwide importance because of the
_______Colonial__________ activities of their European speakers.
9. How has technology affected culture around the world?
It helps to exchange ideas, information and practices quickly with people who
otherwise would not be able to access this information because of their location.
10. Define and give an example of syncretism, acculturation, and assimilation.
Syncretism: The process of innovation combining different cultural features into
something new. Ex. Halloween, Bluegrass music
Acculturation: Where people within one culture adopt some of the traits of
another while still retaining their own distinct culture. Ex. Muslim immigrants to
US still wearing hijab
Assimilation: Interaction of 2 cultures resulting in one culture adopting almost all
the customs and traits of the other. Ex. Native Americans forced to give up their
culture and speak English, attend American schools, and adopt US customs.
11. Define and give an example of centrifugal and centripetal forces.
Centrifugal: forces that tend to pull a state apart, creating division and weakening
national unity. a large geographic barrier like a mountain range dividing different
regions within a country, creating a sense of separation
Centripetal: an attitude that unifies people and enhances support for a state. a
shared religion, external threats, a stable government, and a common language
12. What are the types of diffusion we’ve studied this unit? Give a real-world example about
each of them.
Relocation diffusion: When a cultural trait moves with a migrating population,
bringing their customs to a new location, like immigrants introducing their cuisine
to a new country.
Contagious diffusion: Spreading of a cultural trait through direct contact between
people, like how a disease spreads, where it rapidly moves from person to person
within a population. Ex. A picture goes viral on the internet
Hierarchical diffusion: The spread of a cultural trait from a point of power or
authority to smaller, less influential areas, like a fashion trend starting in a major
city and then spreading to smaller towns.
Stimulus diffusion: When a basic idea or concept is adopted from another culture,
but is significantly modified to fit the new context, like adapting a foreign
technology to suit local needs.
AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
13. A pilgrim to Varanasi (Benares) in India is most likely to be a follower of what religion?
Hinduism
14. _______Hinduism__________ is an ethnic religion with the largest number of
followers and, as of 2015 has 1.1 billion adherents, is the third-largest religion in the
world.
15. What is a lingua franca? What makes Swahili in East Africa and English in global
commerce examples of a lingua franca?
a language used as a common means of communication between people who speak different
native languages. They act as common languages used for communication between people
speaking different native languages, facilitating trade, and fostering understanding across diverse
ethnic groups in their respective regions
16. What does the term monolingual mean? What are some examples of monolingual
countries found in the world today?
Being able to speak or understand only one language. Iceland, Japan, South Korea
17. Who are the Flemish and Walloons? Where, as in what country, do these two groups of
people live? Why have Flemish and Walloons frequently argued over political and
economic issues in their home country?
Two main cultural and linguistic groups in Belgium. Primarily due to a long-standing linguistic divide.
18. The Gullah language is spoken in African-American communities of the coastal
southeastern US, particularly in South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida. It is a
combination of Elizabethan English and African dialects. One can describe Gullah as a
________Creole Language_________.
AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
19. A(n) ________Dead language_________ is a language that was once used by people in
daily activities but is no longer in use.
20. The urban linguistic landscape shown in the photograph above is most likely found
in a region where which of the following languages is spoken?
Hindi or arabic
AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
21. Match the religions listed below with its appropriate place of origin.
a. Islam…________Mecca_________
b. Judaism…_______The ancient Middle Eastern region of canaan__________
c. Hinduism…________The Indus River Valley_________
d. Buddhism…_______Northeastern region of India__________
e. Christianity…_______Roman province of Judaea__________
22. A(n) ______Language family___________is a collection of languages related
through a common ancestor that existed long before recorded history.
23. Compare and contrast pop and folk culture. How are these two similar and how are
they different in terms of:
1. Change over place and/or time Folk culture being more stable over time and varying more
across space, while popular culture is rapidly changing and widely distributed
geographically.
2. Scale Pop culture operates on a much larger scale than folk culture, meaning it is widely
distributed across diverse populations and geographic areas, while folk culture is typically
confined to smaller, localized communities with unique customs often tied to a specific
environment or region
3. Impact on members of society (heterogenous vs. homogenous) Pop culture has a
widespread impact on society, often shaping mainstream trends and behaviors across large
populations, while folk culture tends to have a more localized impact, reinforcing the
identity and traditions of specific communities, with a stronger emphasis on preserving
cultural heritage rather than following fleeting trends
4. Global force vs. local diversity Pop culture is a global force, while folk culture is
characterized by local diversity
5. Diffusion Pop culture primarily diffuses through hierarchical diffusion, spreading rapidly
from major centers of innovation via technology and mass media, while folk culture
diffuses primarily through relocation diffusion, spreading slowly as people migrate and
carry their cultural practices with them, often remaining localized to specific regions
6. Housing folk housing being deeply rooted in local environmental factors and traditions,
while pop culture housing tends to be more standardized and influenced by mass media
trends, often disregarding local climate and materials in favor of aesthetics and wider
appeal
