Culture!
Culture as a way of life
A combination of the material and
nonmaterial worlds
Importance of meanings
Created in social interaction
Multiple levels of analysis
Genetics and Culture
Genetics loads the gun, environment
pulls the trigger
• Culture
• Social
• Physical Environment
• Biological
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
Linguistic relativity
Language shapes our reality
Different languages and cultures
makes for different realities
Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication: Use of
gestures, facial expressions, and
other visual images to communicate
• Learned
• Differs by cultures
• Symbols: gestures,
objects, and words
that form basis of
human communication
Key Cultural vocabulary
Norms define appropriate and
inappropriate behavior
• Folkways (lack moral component)
• Mores (moral)
• Laws (official)
• Formal and informal sanctions
Cultural values in the U.S.
(Robin Williams)
Equal opportunity for success vs.
fate
Material comfort vs. spiritual comfort
Activity and Work vs. reflection
Science vs. spirituality
Democracy vs. Socialism
Freedom and Individuality vs.
Collectivity
Subcultures and Counterculture
Subculture still part of dominant
culture
Counterculture opposed to dominant
culture
Examples of acceptance and
resistance?
Ethnocentrism and Cultural
Relativity
Judging others by your own cultural
standards vs. by their own larger
cultural context
Culture shock
War on Terrorism?
Changing society
Agriculture
Industrialization
Post-industrial society?
Virtual culture
Post-Industrial society?
Shift toward service industry
White collar instead of blue
Power of knowledge
Technology is controlled?
Intellectual technology and
rationality
Global Culture War
Culture wars: Polarization of
society
over controversial cultural elements
• In 1990s, referred to political debates
over abortion, religious expression,
gun control, and sexual orientation
• After U.S. established military presence
in Iraq and Afghanistan, foreign
opinion of U.S. became quite negative
Culture and the Dominant
Ideology
Dominant ideology: Set of cultural
beliefs and practices that help
maintain powerful interests,
including:
• Social interests
• Economic interests
• Political interests
Conflict perspective: dominant
ideology has major social significance
Dominant ideologies or “isms”
Sexism
Racism
Ageism
Sexual Orientation
Physical ability
Religion
Language
Nationalism
Classism
Body type
Mental health
Medical conditions
Culture/Ethnicity
Healthy?
Conformism?
Geert Hofstede’s
five cultural dimensions
" Culture is more often a source of
conflict than of synergy. Cultural
differences are a nuisance at best and
often a disaster."
Individualism (IND)
The degree to which individuals are integrated into
groups
High individualism:
• Ties between individuals are loose
• Everyone is expected to look after him/herself, but has
the freedom to make her/his own life decisions in return
Low individualism (i.e., collectivism):
• People from birth onwards are integrated into strong,
cohesive in-groups
• The groups continue protecting individuals throughout
life in exchange for unquestioning loyalty
Where do you think America falls on this dimension?
America on a 0-100 scale: 91 (highest of 56
countries studied by the Hofstede research group)
Power distance (PDI)
The extent to which the less powerful members of society
accept and expect that power is distributed unequally
High power distance:
• Clear-cut status differences that are accepted by members of
society as natural and normal
• Low degree of social mobility (people don’t readily change
their status or station, nor expect they can or should do so)
• High degree of deference to authority figures
Low power distance:
• Fluid or shifting status differences; a social ethic of equality
• High degree of social mobility (people easily change their
status or station, or at least believe and expect that they can)
• Low degree of deference to authority figures
Where do you think America falls on this dimension?
America on a 0-100 scale: 40
Uncertainty avoidance (UAV)
Deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity, its
orientation to truth, and its emphasis on rules and safety
High uncertainty avoidance:
• Many rules that are strictly observed, with an emphasis on social
conformity (everyone should think and act alike)
• The cultural belief that “there is only one truth and we have it”; a more
philosophically monolithic culture in which the cultural framework is rarely
questioned
Low uncertainty avoidance:
• Few rules with tolerance for slack observance, with an emphasis on
personal autonomy (a diversity of perspectives and lifestyles)
• Many overlapping or competing truths that may be seen as relative or as
an “ideological smorgasbord”; a more philosophically diverse culture where
questioning is expected or encouraged
Where do you think America falls on this dimension?
America on a 0-100 scale: 46
Long-term orientation (LTO)
Refers to the time frame that governs most people’s
lives (individually and in groups)
High long-term orientation:
• Focus on sacrificing present-day rewards for the sake of
maximizing future gains
• Patient, willing to play a “long game” to win over the
course of many years or many generations
Low long-term orientation:
• Focus on immediate, tangible payoffs and gaining quick
rewards in the here and now
• Impatient, seeking immediate gratification or the “quick
win” in the short term
Where do you think America falls on this dimension?
America on a 0-100 scale: 29
Masculinity (MAS)
Refers to the extent to which culturally expected
behaviors are gender-specific, and the extent to which
masculine roles and attitudes are seen as more
culturally favored
High masculinity:
• Clear-cut differences in gender roles
• Emphasis on competitiveness, toughness, directness,
achievement, being results-minded
Low masculinity:
• Minimal differences in gender roles
• Emphasis on cooperation, tenderness, tact, affiliation,
being relationship-minded
Where do you think America falls on this dimension?
America on a 0-100 scale: 62
Can’t we all just get along?
Cultural Universals (Functionalism)
• Sports
• Cooking
• Education
• Funeral rites
• Family
• Government
• Housing
• Religious rituals
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