Societies and Culture
Society
• Collection of interacting individuals sharing the
•
same way of life and living in the same territory
Foundations of society Statuses-position in society
 Roles-expectation of what individuals should do in
according to their status
 Groups- collection of people who interact w/ one
another and have some unity
 Institutions- set of widely shared beliefs, norms and
procedures necessary for meeting the basic needs
of society
How can you tell if someone is
from a different culture than
yours?
What is Culture?
• Defined as the language, beliefs, values, norms,
behavior, and even material objects that are
passed from one generation to the next
 Material culture- jewelry, art, buildings, weapons,
machines, clothing, hairstyles
 Non-material culture- way of thinking (beliefs, values,
and assumptions) and common patterns (language,
gestures, and other forms of interaction)
Practice
• Identify the following as either material or
non-material culture
Symbols
• Something to which people attach meaning
and that people use to communicate
 Include language, gestures, values, norms,
sanctions, folkways and mores
Gestures
• Using one’s body to communicate with
others
 Used by people in every culture, although
meanings differ
• Confusion or offense can result because of
misunderstandings over the meanings or misuse of
a gesture
 Can create strong emotions
Language
• Consists of a system of symbols that can
be put together in an infinite number of
ways to communicate abstract thought
 Each word is a symbol, a sound to which a
culture attaches a particular meaning
Language
• Language is important because it is the
primary means of communication between
people
 Allows human experience to be cumulative
• Each generation build upon experiences that are
passed on to it by the previous generation
 It extends time back into the past, enabling is to
share past experiences, and forward in the
future allowing us to share our future plans
 It allows shared perspectives or understandings
and complex, goal directed behavior
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
• States that language predisposes us to see
the world in a certain way
• Language molds our minds, determining
how we think about the world
• Example: societies that are surrounded by
ice much of the year have numerous terms
for ice- enables people to see many
different kinds of ice- info that’s useful for
ensuring safety and comfort in the
environment
Practice
• :-)
LOL
• :. )
TTYL
• : -(
SMH
• >: - (
ROFL
• O : -)
Components of Culture
• Knowledge- collection of relatively
objective ideas and facts about our
physical and social worlds
 Can be turned into technology and can be
used to control the natural environment and to
deal with social problems
• Beliefs- ideas that are relatively subjective,
unreliable, or unverifiable
 Example: Religion
Components continues
• Norms- social rules that specify how people
•
should behave
Sanctions are the positive or negative reactions
to the way in which people follow norms
 Positive sanctions- expressions of approval
• Money reward, prize, smile, handshake
 Negative sanctions- denotes disapproval for
breaking a norm
• A fine, a frown, or harsh words
Components of Culture
• Values-socially shared ideas about what is
good, desirable, or important
 Ideas that support the norms
• More likely to abide by the norm if we believe in its
values
Folkways and Mores
• Folkways-weak norms that specify
expectations about proper behavior
 No real consequences- dirty looks, etc
• Mores- strong norms that specify normal
behavior and constitute demands, not just
expectations
 More severe punishment
 Most are formalized into laws
• One groups’ folkway may constitute another
group’s mores
Taboos
• Norms that are so strongly ingrained that
even the thought of them is greeted with
revulsion
 Eating human flesh, incest