Chapter 2 Culture and Society
Culture
Totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior
Ex: language, beliefs, values, norms, symbols
It is more generally your way of life: way you dress, marriage ceremonies, patterns of work,
leisure activities
It also encompasses material goods that have importance for some members of society such as
brand names
Internet
Nearly ½ of all users are American
Unofficial language is English
82% of all websites are in English
94% of world speak a language other than English
American culture seen as a threat
Society
System of interrelationships that connect individuals together
No culture can exist without a society but culture is the glue to society
Some degrees of conformity is needed for society to exist
People need to agree to some rules and punishment for breaking rules
People learn the norms of that society and they become engrained in people’s minds. They, then,
become unquestioned and passed on to the next generations
Think of norms that you practice w/o thinking?
Behavior in a classroom, fans at a baseball game, booing Kobe Bryant
Large group of people who
Live in the same territory
Independent of those outside their area
Who participate in a common culture
Largest form of human group
People share common heritage and culture
Does NOT mean that society shares everything or that heritage is exact
Culture is transmitted down through generations
Types of culture- 1) Material culture- Physical or technological aspects of life (consumer goods)
Ex. food, houses, factories, clothes
2) Nonmaterial Culture- Ways of using material objects to transmit customs
beliefs and patterns of communication
Ex. Staring at people
Elements of Culture
Language- Most important element of culture (foundation of culture)
Abstract system of words, meanings, symbols
 Writing/characters/numerals
 Symbols like street signs
 Gestures like nonverbal communication
Humans can manipulate those symbols while animals have fixed set of signs
Language allows human experience to be cumulative
 Can transmit information from one generation to another and build on experiences
Language provides a social and shared past
 Memories remain alive
Language allows shared perspectives or understandings
 Distinguishes us from animals
Language allows complex, shared goal-directed behavior
 Gives a purpose for getting people together
Norms- Social rules that specify appropriate or inappropriate behavior
 In order to work, norms must be widely shared and understood
o Small villages
 Everybody agrees on norms and punishment
o Large society
 Norms do not work as well
 Everybody learns the norms- Told or through experience
 Happens during childhood, parents play a key role as do friends (peers)
Formal Norms- Generally written down; strict rules to punish violators through “laws”
 Punishment (social control) can take different forms
o Prison
o Classroom punishment: detention or suspension
o Stadium- thrown out
Informal Norms- Generally understood, but not precisely enforced
o Folkways- Norms governing everyday behavior whose violation raises comparatively
little concern. When breached, violator is seen as RUDE
o Taboos- Most extreme form of norm. you just don’t do these. society’s members may
become upset
Normally, a violation of either folkways or taboos do not put you in prison
o Violation of informal norms usually leads to individual being “left out” or ostracized by a
group, and/or gossip by others
o Punishment serves to guarantee conformity and to remind others what the norms and
values are (Durkheim)
Mores- The fixed customs of a particular group that are morally binding upon all members of the
group; Can be formal or informal norms; Deemed highly necessary to the welfare of society, and
society demands obedience to these; When breached, you are seen as IMMORAL.
o Informal: cheating on partner
o Formal: child abuse
Acceptance of Norms & Breaching…Why don’t people follow norms?
o Norms are not consistently enforced
o Behavior which appears to violate society’s norms actually represents adherence to
norms of a group
o Norms are violated because they conflict
o Exceptions and circumstances allow violation of norms
o Norms are subject to change as political, social and economic conditions change. People
can violate them more often, and are less likely to be punished for it
Sanctions-Penalties and rewards for conduct with regard to a social norm
o Positive & negative sanction
o Detecting sanctions: if not detected no sanction
o Somebody has to have the power to sanction if caught breaching
Values- Collective conception of what is good, desirable and proper or undesirable, bad and
improper in a culture
Values are general and do not explicitly specify which behaviors are acceptable or not
Values influence people’s behaviors
Depend on cultures
o Can you think of how values are different depending on cultures?
o What does “freedom” mean?
Cultural Universals- beliefs and practices common to all societies; transcend borders and
cultures; evolves with time to meet the needs of humans
o Ex. socialize children, dealing with deviant behavior, respect for human
life
Diffusion- Process by which a cultural item is spread from group to group or society to society;
Culture can adopt ideas, technology, and customs
o It happens through…Exploration, Military conquest, Missionary work,
Mass media, tourism, internet
Ethnocentrism-Tendency to see one’s culture or way of life as the “norm” or as superior
o Ex. Using your own culture to critique others
Culture & Dominant Ideology
o Dominant ideology- Set of cultural beliefs and practices that help to
maintain powerful social, economic and political interests
o Functionalists believe that stability in society depends on a
consensus and support of society’s members
o Conflict theorists believe that a common culture exists but that it
maintains privileges of certain groups, who enforce norms
Marx says that capitalist societies have a dominant ideology that benefits the ruling class

Powerful groups in society control wealth and property, but also produce beliefs about
reality through religion, education, and the media
o Ex. the “American Dream”

Dominant Ideology & Poverty
o Two explanations for poverty:

Individual explanations emphasize personal responsibility

Structural explanations blame external factors such as inferior educational
opportunities, discrimination, low wages etc…
Which one represents the dominant ideology in the U.S.?
Cultural Variation
Subculture
o Segment of society that shares a distinctive pattern of more, folkways, and values
that differs from larger society
o Culture within the dominant culture
o Differ but do NOT oppose the dominant culture

Ex. computer hackers
Counterculture
 Subculture which deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture
 Non-conforming subculture
o Ex. Hippie movement in the 1960s
Assimilation vs. Multiculturalism
(cultural experiences of immigrants in the U.S.)
Assimilation refers to the process by which different cultures (newly arrived immigrants)
are absorbed into mainstream culture
“melting pot”
Multiculturalism refers to the respect for everybody’s cultures (immigrants) while some
central cultural values are learned by everybody
“salad bowl”
How do subcultures develop?


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A segment of society face problems or privileges unique to its position
Common age, religion, ethnicity, occupation, beliefs
Shared interest or hobby
Members are excluded from conventional society and are forced to develop
other ways of living
Social Structure

Ways in which society is organized into predictable relationships and controls its members’
behaviors
o Social ordering
o Interweaving of people’s interactions and relationships

Our social interaction with others is controlled by the social structure, which means that ways
in which people respond to one another (can be face-to-face, phone, computer etc…) are
based on social constraints
o Example: When you meet somebody for the 1st time, your behavior is controlled by
what you see in that person (status, roles etc…)
Statuses

Full range of socially defined positions within a large group or society
o Ex. student, doctor, senator, etc…

People have many statuses called STATUS SET
Ascribed Status
 “Assigned” to a person, usually at birth.
 They are not earned through talent or actions, and are hard to change, if not impossible
o Ex. race, ethnicity and gender
Achieved Status
 Comes to us through our individual efforts
 They can change but can also be affected by ascribed statuses
o Ex. being promoted in a company can depend on your work but also on
your gender or race
Master Status
 Status that dominates others and determines a person’s general position in society
 Race and gender tend to dominate our lives
o What about age?
Roles- set of expectations for people who occupy a given status
 Ex. teacher lectures and grades; student studies and takes exams
Role Conflict- Incompatible expectations arise form two or more social positions held by the
same person
Two STATUSES, two ROLES
 They conflict
 Fulfillment of one status’ roles will violate the roles of another status
Status: Student
Role: come to class in time

Worker
be on time to work
What if class starts at 2:40 pm and you begin work at 3 pm???
Role Strain- differing demands and expectations are associated with the same status
One STATUS, two conflicting ROLES
Status:
Role:
be honest
Friend
be nice
Role Exit- process of disengagement from a role that is central to one’s self identity and
re-establishment of an identity
 Ex. divorce, leaving a career
Groups- any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who regularly
interact with one another
 Groups establish friendships, accomplish goals, and fulfill social roles
1. Aggregate- collection of anonymous individuals who are in one place at the same
time
ex. people at the mall
2. Category- collection of people who share a characteristic or a behavior
ex: age, race, ethnicity, gender, occupation etc…
Institutions- principal social structures used to organize, direct and execute the essential tasks of
social living
 Each institution is built around a standardized solution to a set of problems
o Ex. schools, government agencies, legal system

Roles of Institutions
o Replace personnel
 People die or leave the group
o Teach new recruits
 Group can’t survive unless members accept responsibilities and
established behaviors of groups
o Produce and distribute goods and services to members
o Preserve order and protect selves from attack
o Provide and maintain a sense of purpose