Cultural Patterns & Processes
What this unit covers
The topics below follow the published Human Geo course framework for Unit 3. This unit is worth 12–17% of the exam, so budget your time against that rather than against how long the unit takes to teach.
Lessons in this unit
- Cultural Diffusion13 min · 3 objectivesDistinguish relocation diffusion from the forms of expansion diffusion · Differentiate contagious, hierarchical, and stimulus diffusion with examples · Explain how cultural traits spread and adapt across space
- Language & Religion15 min · 3 objectivesExplain how language families branch and how languages evolve and blend · Distinguish universalizing from ethnic religions and describe their diffusion · Analyze how language and religion mark cultural landscapes and boundaries
- Cultural Landscapes & Globalization14 min · 3 objectivesInterpret cultural landscapes as expressions of values and identity · Distinguish folk culture from popular culture and their spatial patterns · Evaluate how globalization spreads and threatens local cultures
Every term in Unit 3
All 16 terms we publish for Cultural Patterns & Processes, with definitions. Reading them through is the fastest way to find the ones you cannot define — then drill those in cram mode until you can produce them without the prompt.
- Culture, cultural trait and cultural complex
- Culture is shared belief and practice; a trait is a single element; a complex is a related set of traits.
- Folk vs popular culture
- Folk culture is localized, slow-changing and diffused by relocation; popular culture is widespread, fast-changing and diffused hierarchically through media.
- Cultural landscape
- The visible imprint of human activity on the land — architecture, field patterns, signage. Reading it reveals values and history.
- Sequent occupance
- The layering of successive cultures on one landscape, so the built environment records more than one era at once.
- Placelessness
- The loss of local distinctiveness as global chains and standardized architecture spread. A criticism of globalization's cultural effects.
- Cultural relativism vs ethnocentrism
- Relativism judges a culture on its own terms; ethnocentrism judges others by one's own standards.
- Acculturation, assimilation, syncretism
- Acculturation adopts some traits while keeping identity; assimilation replaces the original culture; syncretism blends both into something new.
- Multiculturalism
- A policy of maintaining distinct cultural identities within one state, as opposed to a melting-pot model of assimilation.
- Language family, branch and group
- Indo-European is a family; Germanic a branch; West Germanic a group. Relationship is established by shared linguistic ancestry.
- Lingua franca and pidgin
- A lingua franca is a common language for trade or administration; a pidgin is a simplified contact language that becomes a creole when children learn it natively.
- Language extinction and revival
- Languages die as speakers shift to dominant languages; Hebrew and Welsh show deliberate revival is possible with state support.
- Universalizing vs ethnic religions
- Universalizing religions seek converts and diffuse widely — Christianity, Islam, Buddhism; ethnic religions tie to a people and place — Hinduism, Judaism.
- Religious diffusion patterns
- Christianity and Islam spread by expansion and relocation including conquest; Buddhism by missionary activity; ethnic religions mostly by migration.
- Sacred space and pilgrimage
- Sites of religious significance that shape movement and landscape — Mecca, Jerusalem, the Ganges.
- Toponym
- A place name, which records who named it and often reveals colonial history or the identity claims of the namers.
- Cultural hearth
- A region where a cultural trait originated before diffusing outward — Mesopotamia, the Nile valley, Mesoamerica.
What examiners penalize here
- On the exam, first decide **relocation vs. expansion**: did people *move* and carry the trait (relocation), or did it spread while staying strong at the source (expansion)? Only then choose the expansion sub-type — contagious, hierarchical, or stimulus.
Practice Human Geo
Our practice bank is drawn from across the whole course rather than filtered to one unit, which is closer to how the exam asks anyway — it will not tell you which unit a question is testing.
Questions about this unit
How much of the AP Human Geography exam is Unit 3?
Unit 3, Cultural Patterns & Processes, is worth 12–17% of the Human Geo multiple-choice section according to the published course framework. Across all 7 units that makes it a substantial share — heavier than an even split would give it.
What topics are covered in Human Geo Unit 3?
Cultural Patterns & Processes covers Diffusion, Language & religion, Cultural landscapes and Globalization. We publish 16 terms with definitions for this unit, all of them on this page.
How should I study Human Geo Unit 3?
Read the 3 lessons below first — about 40 minutes — then drill the 16 terms in cram mode until you can produce each definition from memory rather than just recognize it. Recognition is what makes a unit feel finished when it is not. Finish with practice questions and read the explanation for every one you get right by elimination as well as the ones you miss.
All 7 units of AP Human Geography
Unit names, topics and exam weights follow the published College Board course framework for AP Human Geography. AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which does not endorse this site.