Sociology – Chapter 2 - Culture
Miss Hickey
Sociology
Hilliard Davidson High School
What is culture?
• culture – language, beliefs, values, norms,
behaviors and even material objects passed
from one generation to the next
– penetrates deep into thinking; “taken for granted”
– provides implicit instructions for what to do in
different situations
– fundamental basis to make decisions
– moral imperatives (right way of doing things)
– can’t exist without culture—we all have it
Material Culture
• material culture – material objects that
distinguish a group of people
– nothing natural about it
• Example: different fashions around the world
– easier to change than non-material culture
Non-Material Culture
• non-material culture – group’s way of thinking
and doing
– nothing natural
• Example: ability to stand in a line or to push and shove
way to the front of group
– harder to change non-material culture than
material culture
Culture Shock
• culture shock – disorientation people
experience when coming in contact with a
fundamentally different culture
– coming into contact with radically different culture
challenge our basic assumptions about life
• When have you experienced culture shock?
What happened? How did you feel?
Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural Relativism
• ethnocentrism – use of one’s own culture to
judge others in their society
– all people are ethnocentric
• both positive and negative consequences
– “One’s group is the center of everything, and all
others are scaled and rated with it.”
– William Sumner
• cultural relativism – not judging a culture but
trying to understand it on its own terms
– putting self in their (other culture’s) shoes/eyes
A SHORT Review: Vocabulary
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culture
material culture
non-material culture
culture shock
ethnocentrism
cultural relativism
Components of Symbolic Culture
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non-material culture
gestures
language
values
norms
sanctions
folkways
mores
taboos
Communication
• gesture – communicating through the body
• language
– allows human experience to be communicative
– provides a social or shared past
– provides a social or shared future
– allows shared perspective
– allows complex, shared, goal-directed behavior
– Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - Language creates ways
of thinking (Edward Sapir and Ben Whorf)
Values, Norms and Sanctions
• norm – rules of behavior
• sanction – approval or disapproval for violation of
norms
• positive sanctions – a reward or positive reaction
for following norms
– Examples: material success, prize, trophy, money,
hugs, smiles, thumbs up!
• negative sanction – negative expression of
disproval for breaking a norm
– Examples: harsh words or gesture, frowning, staring,
violence, prison
Values in U.S. Society
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achievement
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success
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individualism
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activity
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work
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science and technology •
progress
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material comfort
humanitarianism
freedom
democracy
equality
education
religiosity
romantic love
racism/group
superiority
(contradiction)
Emerging U.S. Values
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leisure
self-fulfillment
physical fitness
youthfulness
concern for the environment
Folkway, More, Taboo
• folkway – norms that are not strictly enforced
– Example: breaking speed limit
• more – strictly enforced norms
– Example: murder
• taboo – extremely strong norm; a norm so
strong that it often brings revulsion if violated
– Example: incest
Subculture vs. Counterculture
• pluralistic society – a society made up of many
different groups
• subculture – the values and related behaviors of a
group that distinguishes its members from the larger
culture: world within a world
– ethnic subculture – values, norms, food, religion, language
and clothing set them apart
– professional subcultures – doctors, engineers, teacher,
police officers, etc. all have own vocabulary, values, etc.
• counterculture – a group whose values, beliefs and
elated behaviors place its members in opposition to
the broader culture
Values
• value cluster – values that fit together to form a
larger whole
• value contradiction – values that contradict one
another; to follow the one means to come into
conflict with the other
– Example: pro-life and pro-death penalty
• ideal culture – the ideal values and norms of a
people; the goals held out for them
• real culture – the norms and values that people
actually follow
Cultural Universals
• cultural universals – values, norms, or other
cultural trains that are found everywhere
– George Murdock
• The specific customs differ from one group to another
• Customs found were courtship, marriage, funerals, games,
laws, music, myths, incest taboos and toilet training.
• Sociobiology – a framework of thought that
views human behavior as the result of natural
selection and considers biological factors to be
the fundamental cause
Technology in the Global Village
• technology
– narrow sense: tools
– broader sense: skills or procedures necessary to
make and use those tools
• new technology – the emerging technology of
an era that have a significant impact on social
life
– technology sets the framework for a groups nonmaterial culture
William Ogburn
• cultural lag – human lagging behind
technological innovations
– a groups material culture usually changes first,
with the non-material culture lagging behind
Diffusion and Leveling
• cultural diffusion – the spread of cultural
characteristics from one group to another
• cultural leveling – the cultures become similar
to one another
– Example: U.S. culture being exported and diffused
into other nations
A SHORT Time to Ponder
• Why is culture not universal?
• How has technology changed in your lifetime
in ways that impact culture?
– How do you think technology will change in the
future, and how will those changes impact
society?
• What are some examples of cultural lag?