Chapter 3
Culture

What kinds of things come to mind, when
we mention the word “CULTURE?”

Can animals have culture?
Culture

All that human beings learn to do, to use,
to produce, to know, and to believe as
they grow to maturity and live out their
lives in the social groups to which they
belong.
Culture and Biology


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Human beings acquire the means to meet their
needs through culture.
Example:
 Although human infants cry when hungry, the
responses to the cries vary.
 In some groups, infants are breast-fed; in
others, they are fed prepared milk formulas
from bottles; and in still others, they are fed
according to the mother’s preference.
Culture is shared, and
Transmitted from one generation to the next
Culture Shock

The difficulty people have adjusting to a
new culture that differs markedly from
their own.
Ethnocentrism

When one makes judgments about other
cultures based on the customs and values
of one's own.
 An Iranian female in a meeting with
students at FIU…
Ethnocentrism and what we eat!
Ethnocentrism and what we value!
Cultural Relativism

Recognizing cultures must be understood
on their own terms before valid
comparisons can be made.
With which cultural background do
you identify with the most? Choose
only one.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Anglo (white, non-Hispanic)
Hispanic
African American, black
Native American (American Indian)
Asian
Other
Components of Culture




Material culture (objects)
Nonmaterial culture (rules)
Cognitive culture (shared beliefs)
Language
Material Culture



Everything human beings make and use.
Material culture allows humans to cope
with extreme environments and survive in
all climates.
Material culture has made human beings
the dominant life form on earth.
Nonmaterial Culture


Knowledge, beliefs, values, and rules for
appropriate behavior.
Elements of nonmaterial culture:




Norms
Mores
Folkways
Values
Question

Do you favor or oppose an amendment
to the U.S. Constitution that would make
English the official language of the
United States?
A. Favor
B. Oppose
C. No opinion
Norms


The rules of behavior that are agreed
upon and shared within a culture and that
prescribe limits of acceptable behavior.
Norms define “normal” expected behavior
and help people achieve predictability in
their lives.
Mores



Strongly held norms that usually have a
moral connotation and are based on the
central values of the culture.
Violations produce strong negative
reactions, often supported by the law.
Examples: sexual molestation of a child,
rape, murder, incest, and child beating.
Folkways


Norms that permit a wide degree of
individual interpretation as long as certain
limits are not overstepped.
People who violate folkways are seen as
peculiar but they rarely elicit a strong
public response.

The way we dress, the music we listen to, or
the “good manners” can be considered
folkways.
Ideal and Real Norms


Ideal norms - expectations of what
people should do under perfect
conditions.
Real norms - Norms that are expressed
with qualifications and allowances for
differences in individual behavior.
Values

A culture’s general orientations toward
life—its notions of what is good and bad,
what is desirable and undesirable.
Language and Culture



Language makes it possible for humans
to share culture.
Animals are controlled by their biology,
but human behavior is determined by
culture and language.
Children learn culture through language,
socialization, and role models.
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis



The language a person uses determines their
perception of reality.
Different languages classify experiences
differently.
Example: The Hopi Indians
 Two words for water—pahe (water in a
natural state) and keyi (water in a container).
 One word to cover every thing or being that
flies, except birds.
 Perceptions of time
Symbol

Anything representing something else,
carrying a particular meaning recognized
by members of a culture.


Can you think of some common symbols we
use in the United States?
Symbols are entirely arbitrary and rely on
cultural conventions for their meaning.
 Swastikas
 Mourning
Symbols in Cyberspace
:-) smile
|^o Snoring
:-( sad
:-@ Screaming
:-0 wow
%-) Dazed or silly
:-X my lips are sealed
%*} Drunk
LOL laughing out loud
%-( Confused
:-|| I am angry
:-C Astonished
Culture and Adaptation

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Culture is the primary means by which
humans adapt to the challenges of their
environment.
We are culture producing, culture
transmitting, and culture dependent.
Take away culture and the human
species would perish.
Mechanisms of Cultural
Change
Two mechanisms are responsible for
cultural change:
 Innovation – new concepts, ideas, and
material objects.
 Diffusion - the movement of cultural traits
from one culture to another.
Innovation




Invention - recombining elements already
available to a society.
Discovering new concepts.
Finding new solutions to old problems.
Devising and making new material
objects.
Diffusion


Results when people from one group or
society come into contact with another.
Diffusion is marked by reformulation, in
which a trait is modified in some way so
that it fits better in its new context.
Cultural Lag

The phenomena through which new
patterns of behavior emerge even though
they conflict with traditional values.
Subcultures


Distinctive lifestyles, values, norms, and
beliefs of certain segments of the
population within a society.
Types of subcultures include: ethnic,
occupational, religious, political,
geographic, social class and deviant.
Cultural Universals
Developed to solve common societal
problems:
 Division of labor
 Incest taboo
 Marriage
 Family organization
 Rites of passage
Families



Families differ between cultures depending on
who is allowed to marry and how many spouses
are allowed.
The basic family unit of husband, wife, and
children is recognized in almost every culture.
Sexual relations among a family (other than
between husband and wife) are almost
universally taboo.
Functions of the Incest
Taboo



Helps keep sexual jealousy under control.
Prevents the confusion of authority
relationships in the family.
Ensures family offspring will marry into
other families, creating a network of social
bonds.
Rites of Passage


Standardized rituals marking life transitions.
Examples of rites of passage:


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Baptisms
Bar and bat mitzvahs
Graduation
Wedding ceremonies
Funerals and wakes
Functions of Rites of
Passage

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
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Help the individual achieve a social
identity.
Map out the individual’s life course.
Aid the individual in making life plans.
Provide people with a context to share
emotions.
Ideologies


Beliefs and values that help groups maintain
identity as a social unit.
Examples of deeds performed in the name of
an ideology:



Thirteenth-century crusaders
Abolitionists, prohibitionists, trade
unionists,
Civil rights activists, feminists,
environmentalists
Culture and Individual Choice



Culture tells humans what to do, how to
do it, and when it should be done.
Humans have more individual freedom of
action than any other creature.
Society and culture limit choices and
make it difficult to act in ways that deviate
from cultural norms.