Culture
the knowledge language values customs and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next in a human group or society
society vs culture
- society is made up of people a culture is made up of ideas behaviour and material possessions
- society and culture are interdependent; neither could exist without the other
nature vs nurture
- assumption on behaviour can be determined as a result of nature (our biological and genetic makeup) or nurture (our social environment)
instinct
biologically determined behaviour pattern common to all numbers of a species that predictably occurs whenever certain environmental conditions exist (ex) spiders dont learn to build webs, they build webs because of instincts that are triggered by basic bi
reflex
a biologically determined involuntary response to some physical stimulus (a sneeze after breathing in pepper)
drives
biologically determined impulses common to all members of a species that satisfy needs such as sleep food water or sexual gratification
behaviour and culture
- culture and social learning not nature account for virtually all of our behaviour patterns
- culture is a "tool kit" for survival in humans because we cannot rely on instincts
material culture
consists of the physical or tangible creations that members of a society make use and share.(ex) food
technology
knowledge techniques and tools that make it possible for people to transform resources into usable forms and the knowledge and skills required to use them after they are developed
- is both concrete and abstract
nonmaterial culture
consists of the abstract or intangible human creations of society that influence peoples behaviour
beliefs
- mental acceptance or conviction that certain things are true or real
- may be based on tradition, faith, experience, scientific research, or some combination of these
(ex) faith in supreme being; students believe computers key to technological advanceme
culture universals
- because all humans face same basic needs (food clothing shelter) we engage in similar activities to contribute to our survival
- george murdock compiled list of more than 70 cultural universals: customs and practices that occur across all societies
- im
4 common non material components of culture
1. symbols
2. language
3. values
4. norms
symbol
- anything that meaningfully represents something else
- culture could not exist without symbols because there would be no shared meanings among people
- communicate ideas
language
- set of symbols that express ideas and enable people to think and communicate with one another
- language in animals has fixed meanings for immediate present situations, they cannot express past or future
sapir-whorf hypothesis
- language shapes the view of reality of its speakers.
- some aspects of the world are viewed as important and other are virtually ignored if our perception relies on our own language
language and behaviour
may influence our behaviour and interpretation of social reality but it does not determine it
language and gender
- english ignores women by using "he" to refer to human beings in general (ex) chairman, mankind
- using "she" and "he" affects our thinking, pronouns show gender of person we expect to be in an occupation
(ex) nurses, secretaries referred to as she, doct
language race and ethnicity
- language may reinforce our perceptions about race and ethnicity by inferring preconceived ideas
- words with more than one meaning can create and reinforce negative images (ex) black market, blackmail, black magic, black sheep vs white lie. "black" nega
values
- collective ideas about what is right or wrong, good or bad, and desirable or undesirable in a particular culture
- do not dictate which behaviours are appropriate or not; provide a criteria for evaluating people, objects, and events
- come in pairs (ex)
value contradiction
- within all societies
- are values that conflict with one another or are mutually exclusive
- achieving one makes it difficult or impossible to achieve another
ideal culture
refers to the values and standards of behaviour that people in a society profess to hold
real culture
refers to the values and standards of behaviour that people actually follow
norms
are established rules of behaviour or standards of conduct
prescriptive norms
state what behaviour is appropriate or acceptable
proscriptive norms
state what behaviour is inappropriate or unacceptable
formal norms
are written down and involve specific punishments for violators. most crucial and enforced by law or by sanctions
sanctions
- are rewards for appropriate behaviour or penalties for inappropriate behaviour
- negative sanctions can range from mild disapproval to life imprisonment
- positive sanctions include praise, honours, or medals for conformity to specific norms
informal norms
- unwritten standards of behaviour understood by people who share a common identity
- if an informal norm is violated other people might apply informal sanctions
informal sanctions
are not clearly defined and can be applied by any member of a group (frowning at someone or making negative comment)
folkways
are informal norms or everyday customs that may be violated without serious consequences within a particular culture (not vital for society's survival) (ex) brushing teeth, dressing appropriately
Mores (MOR-ays)
-are strongly held norms with moral and ethical connotations that may not be violated without serious consequences in a particular culture
- considered crucial for the well being of the group
- violators are subject to severe negative sanctions (ridicule,
taboos
- strongest mores
- are mores so strong that their violation is considered to be extremely offensive and even unmentionable
- can be punishable by anyone even a supernatural force (ex) incest
laws
are formal standardized norms that have been enacted by legislatures and are enforced by formal sanctions
civil law
- disputes among persons or groups
- those who lose civil suits encounter negative sanctions (ex) pay compensations
criminal law
- deals with public safety and well being
- fines and prison sentences are negative sanctions
ethnocentrism
- practice of judging all other cultures by ones own culture
- based on assumption that ones own way of life is superior to all others
- positive ethnocentrism : pledge to the flag, national anthem
- negative ethnocentrism : constant emphasis on superiori
cultural relativism
- the belief that the behaviours and customs of any culture must be viewed and analysed by the cultures own standards (ex) cows sacred and not eaten in india however there is widespread hunger; ethnocentrics conclude this is making problem worse; in reali
new technologies
refers to changes that make a significant different in many peoples lives
cultural lag
- a gap between the technical development of a society and its moral and legal institutions
- occurs when material culture changes faster than non material culture; creating a lag between two cultural components
discovery
process of learning about something previously unknown or unrecognized (ex) polio vaccine
invention
the process of reshaping existing cultural items into a new form (ex) guns, charter of rights, and freedoms
diffusion
- transmission of cultural items or social practices from one group or society to another
- occurs through exploration, military endeavours, media, tourism, and immigration
cultural imperialism
extensive infusion of ones nations culture into other nations
cultural diversity
- refers to wide range of cultural differences found between and within nations
- occurs due to natural circumstances (climate and geography) or social circumstances (technology and population)
homogenous societies
(sweden) meaning they include people who share a common culture and are typically from similar social, religious, political, and economic backrounds
heterogenous societies
(canada) meaning they include people who are dissimilar in regard to social characteristics such as nationality, race, ethnicity, class, occupation, or education
subculture
- is a group or people who share a distinctive set of cultural beliefs and behaviours that differ in some significant way from that of the larger society
- "deviant" or marginalized from society
(ex) hutterites; very distinct beliefs, dress, and tradition
countercultures
- a group that strongly rejects dominant societal values and norms and seeks alternative lifestyles
- youth more likely to make up this group
culture shock
is the disorientation that people feel when they encounter cultures radically different from their own and believe they cannot depend on their own taken for granted assumptions about life
functionalist perspective on culture
- culture helps people meet their biological needs (food and procreation), instrumental needs (law and education) and integrative needs (religion and art)
- stability essential for society;s survival
- over emphasis on harmony and cooperation doesn't ackn
conflict perspective on culture
- based on assumption that social life is a continuous struggle in which members of powerful groups seek to control scarce resources
- values and norms help create and sustain the powerful in society not the "regular" people
- Marx; cultural ideas are cre
symbolic interactionist perspective on culture
- microlevel analysis that views society as the sum of peoples interactions
- people create, maintain, and modify culture as they go about their everyday activities and interact with each other
- people continually negotiate their social realities
- value
postmodern perspective on culture
- ideas of other cultures are 'eurocentric' : based on uncritical assumption that european culture is the universal culture that people should follow
- baudrillard believes that world of culture is based on simulation not reality
- social life is a simula
integration
occurs when there is a widespread acceptance of ideas and items among cultures
fragmentation
occurs when people in one culture disdain the beliefs and actions of other cultures
socialization
lifelong process of social interaction through which individuals acquire a self identity and the physical mental and social skills needed for survival in society
isolation and nonhuman primates
- infants instinctively seek warmth affection and physical comfort over sustenance
- deprivation of social contact lead to fear and hostility
isolated children
- difficulty understanding speech and gestures; apathetic; difficulty moving and feeding themselves; difficulty swallowing; stunted growth; cant recognize objects or people
child abuse / child maltreatment
- refer to violence, mistreatment, or neglect that a child may experience while in the care of someone he or she trusts or depends on, , such as parent, other relative, caregiver, or guardian
- can be physical / sexual / neglect / emotional / exploitation
factors of child abuse
- any child is vulnerable to it
- sociologists link to inequalities in society as a contributing factor
- power imbalance between adults and children
- child dependant on abuser has little control over their situation
- racism, sexism, homophobia, poverty
agents of socialization
- are the persons, groups, or institutions that teach us what we need to know to participate in society
- family, school, peer group, and mass media
the family
- most important agent of socialization in all societies
- love and nurturance essential to normal cognitive, emotional, and physical development
- acquire beliefs and values and learn dominant and primary subcultures that our parents belong to (language,
the school
- profoundly effects children's self image, beliefs, and values
- children are evaluated and systematically compared with one another by the teacher
- functionalist : schools responsible for
1. socialization; teaching students to be productive members of
Peer groups
- group of people who are linked by common interests, equal social position and casually similar age
- teach and reinforce cultural norms and provide info on "acceptable" behaviour
- children carry the pressure to be accepted and conform to groups norms a
mass media
- comprise large-scale organizations that use print or electronic means to communicate with large numbers of people
- socializing agent by
1. informing us about events
2. introduce us to a wide variety of people
3. provide an array of viewpoints on curren
self
represents the sum total of perceptions and feelings that an individual has of being a distinct unique person (sense of who and what one is)
self-concept
- the totality of our beliefs and feelings about ourselves
- 4 parts
1. physical self (i am short)
2. active self (i am good at soccer)
3. social self (i am nice to others
4. psychological self (i believe in equality)
self identity
- perception about that kind of person we are
- socially isolated children dont have typical self identities because they have had no experience of humanness
-symbolic interactionist : we do not know who we are until see ourselves as we believe others see
social constructionism
term that is applied to theories that emphasize social created nature of social life
looking-glass self
- refers to the way in which a persons sense of self is derived from the perceptions of others
- not who we actually are or what people actually think about us
- cooley asserted that we base our perceptions of who we are on how we think of other people se
3 step process of the looking glass self
1. we imagine how our personality and appearance will look to other people
2. we imagine how other people judge the appearance and personality that we think we present may be correct or incorrect
3. we develop a self concept if we think other have a favor
role taking
the process by which a person mentally assumes the role of another person to understand the world from the other persons point of view
significant other
are those persons whose care, affection and approval are especially desired and who are most important in the development of self
the 'i' vs the 'me'
- 'I' according to Mead is subjective element of self that represents spontaneous and unique traits of each person
- 'Me' according to Mead is objective element of self comprises internalized attitudes and demands of other members of society and the indiv
3 stages of self development
1. preparatory stage: up to age of 3 interactions lack meaning, children imitate people around them, preparing for role taking
2. play stage: from ages 3 to 5 children learn to use language and other symbols enabling them to pretend to take roles of speci
Meads concept of 'generalized others'
refers to childs awareness of the demands and expectations of society as a whole or of the childs subculture
I.D.
the component of personality that includes all the individuals basic biological drives and needs that demand immediate gratification
ego
- rational reality oriented component of personality that imposes restrictions on the innate pleasure seeking drives of the ID
- channels desires of ID for immediate gratification into most advantageous opportunities for individual
superego
- a conscience consists of the moral and ethical aspects of personality
- matures as child learns parental control is a reflection of values and morals demands of larger society
cognitive theorists
interested in how people obtain, process and use information (how we think)
cognitive development
relates to changes over time in how we think
piagets stages of development
1. sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2)
- understand world through senses
2. preoperational stage (age 2-7)
- understand words as mental images
- dont understand logic or physical state of their surroundings
3. concrete operational stage (age 7-11)
-childr
kohlberg stages of moral development
1. preconventional (age 7-10)
- punishment and obedience oriented moral compass
2. conventional stage ( age 10 - adulthood)
- societal rules and opinion of peers / conformity to rules guides moral compass
3. post conventional (few adults reach this stage)
gilligans view on moral development
- kohlbergs data was biased towards men as he only interviewed males
- men concerned with law and order. women concerned with social relationships and consequences
(ex) stealing meds for dying spouse. men apply abstract ideas of right and wrong (what is f
gilligans 3 stages of female moral development
1. selfish (this is what i want and what i need)
2. responsibility to others (this person needs that person wants)
3. greater good (best for them then best for me)
gender socialization
- aspect of socialization that contains specific messages and practices concerning the nature of being female or male in a specific group or society
- parents schools peer groups and media reward 'gender appropriate' behaviour and discourage out of the bo
anticipatory socialization
process by which knowledge and skills are learning for future roles
infancy and childhood
- childs sense of self is formed at a very early age; difficult to change later on in life
- symbolic interactionists : emphasize family support and guidance for development of childs self concept
- childhood carefree, safe, free of economic, political an
adolescence
- anticipatory socialization is huge during this time as young people prepare for future roles.
- others (like young mothers) may be plunged into adult roles
adulthood
- financial freedom allows adolescents to make more choices for themselves
- early adulthood (till 40) create meaningful relationships
- adults learn fashion, music, and language from their children
workplace / occupational socialization - 4 phases
1. career choice
2. anticipatory socialization (learning occupation before entering it
3. conditioning and commitment (learning ups and downs of occupation and remaining committed to the job)
4. continuous commitment (remaining committed to work even when
social devaluation
- wherein a person or group is considered to have less social value than other individuals or groups
- especially occurs in older adults and when people leave a role that has defined their social identity
resocialization
process of learning a set of attitudes values and behaviours that is now and different from those in ones previous backround and experience (ex) new parents, process of resocialization involved in parenting most dramatic in their lifetime
voluntary resocialization
- when we assume a new status (student, employee) of our own free will.
- sometimes medical / psychological treatment or religious conversion
- existing attitudes beliefs and behaviours undergo huge modifications to a new regime and new way of life
involuntary resocialization
- against a person wishes and generally occurs within a 'total institution' a place where people are isolated from the rest of society for a set period of time and come under the control of officials who run the institutions (ex) military boot camps, pris
degredation ceremony
- in total institutions people are stripped of their former selves or depersonalized by for example stripping, showering and wearing assigned institutional clothing
- searched weighed photographed and given no privacy, name taken away and replaced with a
most influential institution for personal values and self identity
family