Chapter 3Chapter 3

CULTURECULTURE

Culture2

Chapter OverviewChapter Overview

What is Culture?

Components of

Symbolic Culture

Many Cultural Worlds:

Subcultures and

Countercultures

What is Culture?

Components of

Symbolic Culture

Many Cultural Worlds:

Subcultures and

Countercultures

Values in U.S.

Society

Technology in the

Global Village

Cultural Lag,

Diffusion, and

Labeling

Values in U.S.

Society

Technology in the

Global Village

Cultural Lag,

Diffusion, and

Labeling

Culture

C

ulture is: The language, beliefs, values, norms, and behaviors

passed on from one generation to the next

H

ow is this accomplished?

T

wo components Nonmaterial culture

Material culture

3

What is Culture?What is Culture?

Culture

What is Culture?What is Culture?

Belief system, values, behavior, social interactions, language, gestures, and assumptions about the world

Cultural artifacts and objects people create and assign meanings to.

NonmaterialNonmaterial MaterialMaterial

Culture

Culture Within Us

Our speech, gestures, beliefs, customs are usually taken for granted

We assume that they are normal and natural

Cultural lens

Perception of reality

Guides our behavior and helps us make decisions

Culture

Cultural ConsequencesS

ometimes our assumptions are challengedC

ulture ShockE

thnocentrismP

racticing Cultural Relativism

Culture

W

hat is Normal, Natural, or Usual?

W

e believe our ways are “Normal”

C

ulture Shock- coming into contact with a culture that is different from what

we know Cultures are in conflict

E

thnocentrism-the belief that our culture is the “best” or superior to all others• Tendency to evaluate other groups according to one’s own standards

Negative consequences

Positive consequences 7

Ethnocentrism and Ethnocentrism and Culture ShockCulture Shock

Culture

A

ttempt to understand another culture’s perspective and not based on

one’s own perspective

R

efocus our lens so we can appreciate other ways of life instead of

asserting “our way is right and the only way”

E

xamples Hindu diet and US diet

Bull fighting

Values

8

Cultural Cultural RelativismRelativism

Leisure activity is part of a good life

Physical exercise is good for you Develop your mind

Culture

When Cultural Relativism Does Not Apply

Cultural values result in exploitation

Involuntary Inhumane Oppressive

Examples

Honor Killing Female Circumcision

Culture

S

ymbols

Something people attach meaning and then use to

communicate with others.

Nonmaterial culture

Material culture

10

Components of Components of Symbolic CultureSymbolic Culture

Culture

Components of Symbolic Components of Symbolic CultureCulture

Gestures

Using the body to communicate with others to send messages without using words

Universal, but meaning changes completely from one culture to another

Can lead to misunderstandings, embarrassment, or conflict Some universal gestures

Culture

Components of Symbolic Components of Symbolic CultureCulture

Language

System of symbols that can be put together in infinite number of ways to communicate abstract thought.

Five Purposes of Languages

Allows Human Experience to Be Cumulative Provides a Social or Shared Past Provides a Social or Shared Future Allows Shared Perspectives Allows Complex, Shared, Goal-Directed Behavior

Culture

Components of Symbolic CultureComponents of Symbolic CultureL

anguage & Perceptions Language has embedded within it ways of looking at the world Part of language is not only to learn it, but also ways of thinking and

perceiving. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

The language of each culture does not merely influence how people understand the world it shapes ways of thinking and perceiving

Meaning beyond words EXAMPLES

Welfare Stupid

Labeling or Stereotyping EXAMPLES

Racial profiling Resumes

Culture

Components of Symbolic CultureComponents of Symbolic Culture

Values

Standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly.

Guide our choices or preferences in life

In modern pluralistic societies, such as the U.S., value orientations are complex.

Culture

Values in U.S. SocietyValues in U.S. Society

15

Romantic LoveDemocracyScience and Technology

ReligiosityFreedomEfficiency and

Practicality

EducationHumanitarianismActivity and

Work

Racism and Group Superiority

Material ComfortIndividualism

EqualityProgressAchievement and

Success

Culture

Value ClusterV

alues together form a larger wholeV

alues do not exist aloneE

xamplesValue Clash

When core values change causing conflict between social groups

Change is viewed as a threat to their life, an undermining of both their present and their future.

Ideal CultureV

alues that society views as important and worth aspiring up to What people "should do“

Real Culture

The values and norms and people actually follow

What people "actually do"

Values in U.S. SocietyValues in U.S. Society

Culture

Emerging Values

A value cluster of 4 interrelated core values

Leisure

self fulfillment

Physical fitness

Youthfulness

Environmental consciousness

Values in U.S. SocietyValues in U.S. Society

Culture

Norms - Expectations or rules for behavior Informal and Formal Norms Norms will change as cultures change Sanctions - Reaction to following or breaking

norms Positive Sanctions Negative Sanctions

Moral holidays

18

Components of Symbolic CultureComponents of Symbolic Culture

NormsNorms

Culture

F

olkways - Norms that are not strictly enforced Weak social norms

Not a threat to society

Examples

M

ores - Norms, when broken, go against a society’s basic core values Strictly enforced norms

Norms are viewed as essential and everyone must follow

Examples

T

aboos - Norms, when broken, are considered repulsive People who violate these norms are viewed as unfit for society

Examples 19

Components of Symbolic CultureComponents of Symbolic Culture

Types of NormsTypes of Norms

Components of Symbolic CultureComponents of Symbolic Culture

Types of NormsTypes of Norms

Culture

Subculture: A world within the dominant culture

Groups that share many elements of mainstream culture

but maintain their own distinctive customs, values,

norms, and lifestyles.

The norms and values do not clash with those of the

dominant culture

Countercultures: A world within the dominant culture

Groups whose values, lifestyles, norms, attitudes, and

other behaviors are in opposition to the broader society

The norms and values clash with those of the dominant

culture20

Many Cultural WorldsMany Cultural Worlds

Culture

C

ultural Diffusion: The spreading of cultural characteristics from one

culture to another

W

hy is this happening so rapidly?

C

ultural Leveling: When cultures start to become similar to each other

21

Cultural Diffusion and Cultural Cultural Diffusion and Cultural LevelingLeveling

Culture

Perspectives on CultureFunct

ionalist PerspectiveA

ll cultures are in part practical responses to environmental conditionsC

ultural ecological approach Examines the relationship between a culture and its total environment Example: Hindu culture

Prevents ethnocentrism

Cultural integration approach

Show how the cultural practices of groups tend to “fit together” Changes in one element may have broad repercussions for the culture of any group. Example: Technological changes

Culture

Perspectives on CultureC

onflict PerspectiveT

he values, beliefs, and traditions of a nation or society are not necessarily a product of consensus and “social need”

Culture is highly complex with many strains and contradictions between conflicting group interests and needs.

Groups with power and wealth have the resources to control and influence national culture

Examples: slave era, corporate capitalism

Cultural hegemony

The domination of cultural industries by elite groups

Culture

Perspectives on CultureS

ymbolic Interaction PerspectiveF

ocuses on how individuals and groups use symbols to define and interpret reality.

People everywhere live in “symbolic worlds” that are created and reproduced by diverse social groups

Our daily lives are structured by the symbols and meanings of many groups

If groups define something as real, whether or not they truly exist, “they are real in their consequences”