Sociology – Chapter 2 - Culture

Miss HickeySociology

Hilliard Davidson High School

What is culture?

• culture – language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors and even material objects passed from one generation to the next– penetrates deep into thinking; “taken for granted”– provides implicit instructions for what to do in

different situations– fundamental basis to make decisions– moral imperatives (right way of doing things)– can’t exist without culture—we all have it

Material Culture

• material culture – material objects that distinguish a group of people– nothing natural about it• Example: different fashions around the world

– easier to change than non-material culture

Non-Material Culture

• non-material culture – group’s way of thinking and doing– nothing natural • Example: ability to stand in

a line or to push and shove way to the front of group

– harder to change non-material culture than material culture

Culture Shock• culture shock –

disorientation people experience when coming in contact with a fundamentally different culture– coming into contact with

radically different culture challenge our basic assumptions about life

When have you experienced culture

shock? What happened? How did you feel?

Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural Relativism

• ethnocentrism – use of one’s own culture to judge others in their society– all people are ethnocentric• both positive and negative consequences

– “One’s group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with it.”

– William Sumner• cultural relativism – not judging a culture but

trying to understand it on its own terms– putting self in their (other culture’s) shoes/eyes

A SHORT Review: Vocabulary

• culture• material culture• non-material culture• culture shock • ethnocentrism• cultural relativism

Components of Symbolic Culture

• non-material culture• gestures• language• values• norms• sanctions• folkways• mores• taboos

Communication

• gesture – communicating through the body• language– allows human experience to be communicative– provides a social or shared past– provides a social or shared future– allows shared perspective– allows complex, shared, goal-directed behavior– Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - Language creates ways

of thinking (Edward Sapir and Ben Whorf)

Italian Gestures

Gestures… not the same in

every country…

Values, Norms and Sanctions

• norm – rules of behavior• sanction – approval or disapproval for violation of

norms• positive sanctions – a reward or positive reaction for

following norms– Examples: material success, prize, trophy, money, hugs,

smiles, thumbs up!• negative sanction – negative expression of disproval

for breaking a norm– Examples: harsh words or gesture, frowning, staring,

violence, prison

Values in U.S. Society

• achievement• success• individualism• activity• work• science and technology• progress• material comfort• humanitarianism

• freedom• democracy• equality• education• religiosity• romantic love• racism/group superiority

(contradiction)

Emerging U.S. Values

• leisure• self-fulfillment• physical fitness• youthfulness• concern for the environment

Folkway, More, Taboo

• folkway – norms that are not strictly enforced– Example: breaking speed limit

• more (pronounced MORE-EH)– strictly enforced norms– Example: murder

• taboo – extremely strong norm; a norm so strong that it often brings revulsion if violated– Example: incest, cannibalism

Pluralistic Society

• pluralistic society – a society made up of many different groups– “A society comprised of people from numerous

different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Although some integration and acculturation is only natural, a pluralistic society is one that acknowledges and allows for the cultural diversity of its citizens.” –education.com

A SHORT Time to Ponder

• Who might not like pluralistic society? • Is pluralistic society always a good thing?

A SHORT Time to Ponder

• Does pluralistic society and politics lead to a decline in religion?

Subculture v. Counterculture

• subculture – the values and related behaviors of a group that distinguishes its members from the larger culture: world within a world– ethnic subculture – values, norms, food, religion,

language and clothing set them apart– professional subcultures – doctors, engineers, teacher,

police officers, etc. all have own vocabulary, values, etc.• counterculture – a group whose values, beliefs and

elated behaviors place its members in opposition to the broader culture

Values

• value cluster – values that fit together to form a larger whole

• value contradiction – values that contradict one another; to follow the one means to come into conflict with the other– Example: pro-life and pro-death penalty

• ideal culture – the ideal values and norms of a people; the goals held out for them

• real culture – the norms and values that people actually follow

Cultural Universals

• cultural universals – values, norms, or other cultural trains that are found everywhere– George Murdock

• The specific customs differ from one group to another• Customs found were courtship, marriage, funerals, games,

laws, music, myths, incest taboos and toilet training.

• sociobiology – a framework of thought that views human behavior as the result of natural selection and considers biological factors to be the fundamental cause

Technology in the Global Village

• technology – narrow sense: tools – broader sense: skills or procedures necessary to

make and use those tools• new technology – the emerging technology of

an era that have a significant impact on social life– technology sets the framework for a groups non-

material culture

William Ogburn

• cultural lag – human lagging behind technological innovations– a groups material

culture usually changes first, with the non-material culture lagging behind

Diffusion and Leveling• cultural diffusion –

the spread of cultural characteristics from one group to another

• cultural leveling – the cultures become similar to one another– Example: U.S. culture

being exported and diffused into other nations

A SHORT Time to Ponder

• Why is culture not universal?• How has technology changed in your lifetime

in ways that impact culture? – How do you think technology will change in the

future, and how will those changes impact society?

• What are some examples of cultural lag?