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
*defined as the bluepring according to which the members of a society or a group go about
society
Refers to human association to the presence of connecting link btw human beings
*large social grouping that occupies the same geographic territory (area) and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations
nature
our biological and genetic makeup
nurture
our social environment
instinct
in an unlearned, biologically determined behavior pattern common to all members of a species that predictably occurs whenever certain environmental conditions exist
EX: spiders do not learn to build webs
material culture
physical or tangible creations (such as clothing, shelter, and art) that members of a society make, use, and share
*consist of things that people attach meaning to and use
nonmaterial culture
consist of abstract or intangible human creations of society (such as attitudes, beliefs, and values) that influence people's behavior; create for purpose of defining, describing, explaining, clarifying, ordering, organizing, and communicating what they d
beliefs
the mental acceptance or conviction that certain things are true or real
cultural universals
the basic elements essential to individual and collective survival that are found to exist in all cultures
*customs and practices that occur across all societies
EX:
*appearance (bodily adornment, hairstyles)
*activities (sports, dancing, games, joking)
*
components of culture
symbols, language, values, norms
*contributes to both harmony and strife in society
symbol
*anything that meaningfully represents something else
*represents something to which a certain meaning or value is attached by the person or persons who use it
language
set of symbols that expresses ideas and enables people to think and communicate with one another
* verbal (spoken)
nonverbal (written or gestured)
Safir-Whorf hypothesis
* theory that language shapes the view of reality of its speakers
* if people are able to think only through language, then language must precede thought.
*language can create and reinforce our perceptions about gender (e.g. "men working") and race and et
values
*collective ideas about what is right or wrong, good or bad, and desirable or undesirable in a particular culture
* represents not only the things that give meaning and abut which human beings feel certain, but also the ideas that make such things so impo
Core American Values
1. individualism
2.achievement and success
3. activity and work
4. science and technology
5. progress and material comfort
6. efficiency and practicality
7. equality
8. morality and humanitarianism
9.freedom and liberty
10. ethnocentrism
value contradictions
values that conflict with one another or are mutually exclusive
(meaning that achieving one value makes it difficult, if not impossible, to achieve another)
ideal culture
values and standards of behavior that people in society profess to hold
real culture
values and standards of behavior that people actually follow
norms
* established rules of behavior or standards of conduct
*are rules or expectations that govern or to which people orient their behavior
* MAIN TYPES of norms:
-folkways (norms that express the everyday customs of a group)
-mores (norms with strong moral a
prescriptive norms
states what behavior is appropriate or acceptable
EX: persons making a certain amount of money are expected to file a tax return and pay any taxes they owe
proscriptive norms
state wht tbehavior is inappropriate or unacceptable
sanctions
are rewards for appropriate behavior or penalties for inappropriate behavior
EX:
*positive sanctions: praise honors, or medals for conformity to specific norms
*negative sanctions: range from mild disapproval to the death penalty
informal norms
unwritten standards of behavior understood by people who share a common identity
formal norms
written down and involve specific punishments for violators
(laws are the most common type of formal norms)
folkways
*everyday customs that may be violated without serious consequences within a particular culture
* the usual customs and conventions of everyday life
EX in the US:
using deodorant, brushing our teeth, wearing appropriate for a specific occasion
mores
* strongly held norms with moral and ethical connotations that may not be violated without serious consequences
* norms of such moral and ethical significance to the members of society or community that their violation is regarded as a serious matter of s
taboos
are mores so strong that their violation is considered to be extremely offensive and even unmentionable
incest taboos
which prohibit sexual relations b/w certain kin, is an example of a nearly universal taboo
laws
are formal, standardized norms that have been enacted by legislatures and are enforced by formal sanctions
civil law
deals with disputes among persons or groups
criminal law
deals with public safety and well being
cultural change
*societies continually experience
* both at the material an nonmaterial levels
changes in technology continue to shape the material culture of society
Culture includes
symbols, sounds, events, and objects to which people attache meaning and significance
technology
refers to the knowledge, techniques, and tools that allow people to transform resources into usable forms and the knowledge and skills required to use what is developed
cultural lag
which is a gap btw the technical development of a society and its moral and legal institutions
*cultural lag occurs when material culture changes faster than nonmaterial culture, creating a lag btw two cultural components
cultural diversity
William Ogburn's term for a gap btw the technical development of a society (material culture) and its moral and legal institutions (nonmaterial culture)
* natural circumstances: climate, geography
* social circumstances: composition of the population
discovery
the process of learning abut something previously unknown or unrecognized
homogeneous societies
meaning that some nations include people who share a common culture and who are typically from similar social, religious, political, and economic backgrounds
heterogeneous societies
meaning that some nations include people who are dissimilar in regard to social characteristics such as religion, income, or race/ethnicity
subcultures
a category of people who share distinguished attributes, beliefs, values and/or norms that set them apart in some significant manner from the dominant culture
EX: Old order Amish-
* strong faith in God, Rejection of worldly concerns
*core values include t
countercultures
* a group that strongly reject dominant society values and norms and seek alternative lifestyles
* a subculture that challenges important elements of the dominant culture such as beliefs, attitudes, or values and seeks to create an alternative lifestyle
E
culture shock
* refers to the anxiety people experience when they encounter cultures radically different from their own
*believe they cannot depend on their own taken-for-granted assumptions about life
ethnocentrism
*making value judgments about another culture from perspectives of ones own cultural system
*one way of seeking things
relegates the out-group to a lesser status
cultural relativism
*not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms
* the viewing of peoples behavior from the perspective of their own culture
*the belief that the behaviors and customs of any culture must be viewed and analyzed by the cultures own stand
high culture
* the artifacts, values, knowledge, beliefs, and other cultural elements that elites in a society use to distinguish themselves from the masses
* Activities patronized by members of the upper-middle and upper classes, with time, money, and knowledge assum
popular culture
* all the artifacts, values, knowledge, beliefs, and other cultural elements that appeal to the masses
* activities, products, and services that are assumed to appeal primarily to the middle and working classes
EX: rock concerts, spectator sports, movies,
Cultural Capital
Pierre Bourdieu's- french sociologist views high culture as a device used by the dominant class to exclude the subordinate classes
fad
temporary but widely copied activity followed enthusiastically by large numbers of people
object fads
items that people purchase despite the fact that they have little use value
EX: wrist bands that make a statement or support a cause
activity fads
includes pursuits such as body piercing or flash mobs
idea fads
such as new age ideologies
personality fads
EX: those surrounding celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and the Kardashians
fashion
currently valued style of behavior, thinking, or appearance that is longer lasting and more widespread than a fad
cultural imperialism
the extensive infusion of ones nations culture into other nations.
EX: english language into countries that speak other languages
Sociological analysis of culture (theoretical perspectives)
* Functionalist perspectives
* conflict perspectives
* symbolic interactionist perspectives
* postmodernist perspectives
functionalist perspective
* culture helps people meet their biological, instrumental and expressive needs
* based on the assumption that society is a stable, orderly system with interrelated parts that serve specific functions
* Bronislaw Malinowski suggested culture helps people
conflict perspective
* ideas are cultural creation of societys most powerful members and can be used by the ruling class to affect the thoughts and actions of members of other classes
* based on the assumption that social life is a continuous struggle in which members of powe
ideology
an integrated system of ideas that is external to, and coercive of, people
symbolic interactionist perspectives
* people create, manitain, and modify culture durint their everyday activities: however, cultural creations can take on a life of their own and end up controlling people
* engage in a microlevel analysis that views society as the sum of all peoples intera
postmodernist perspectives
* believe that much of what has been written about culture in the western world is eurocentric
* based on the uncritical assumption that European culture is the true, universal culture in which all the worlds people ought to believe
* much of culture toda
How have technological changes affected the culture of a nation and the world?
*all parts of culture do not change at the same pace
*however, technological change widens a cultural lag btw a technical development in a society and the society's moral and legal institutions
* the pace of technology modifies peoples daily lives, as evi