the learned and shared behaviors, beliefs,
attitudes, values, and material objects
that characterize a particular group or
society
culture determines a people’s way of life
Every group has a culture
A group of people that has lived
and worked together long enough become
an organized population and to think of
themselves as a social unit
1.
Culture is learned
2.
Culture is transmitted from one
generation to the next
3.
Culture is shared
4.
Culture is adaptive and always
changing
 Culture
 If
is not innate
a baby was born in one culture but
adopted into another culture- that child
will more than likely practice the culture
of his or her adoptive parents
 Informally-
through interactions such as
families and friends
 Formally-
through schools, jobs,
community organizations, etc.
 Culture
brings member of society
together
 Allows
people to have a sense of
belonging as they share beliefs, values
and attitudes about
• What is right
• What is wrong
• What is normal
Culture changes from generation to
generation
• Technology
• Family values
• Marriage
Tangible objects that members of society
make, use and share.
The shared set of meanings that
people in a society use to interpret and
understand the world
Symbols
Values
Beliefs
Sanctions
 Anything
that stand for something else
and has a particular meaning for people
who share a culture.
 Through
symbols we
engage in symbolic
interaction
symbols may unify or divide a society
A system of shared symbols that enable
people to communicate with each other
 Businessman, Chairman, Mailman
 Abortion-
why do we not talk about the
number of men who impregnate women
but rather we often just talk about the
women?
 Men
who have a lot of sexual partners vs.
Women who have a lot of sexual partners
The standards by which members of a
particular culture define what is…
-
Good
Bad
Moral or immoral
Proper or improper
Desirable or undesirable
Beautiful or ugly
Values are ‘general guidelines’
Values are emotion-laden
Achievement and Success
Activity and Work
Morality
Humanitarianism
Efficiency and Practicality
Progress
Material Comfort
Equality*
Freedom
Conformity
Nationalism and Patriotism
Democracy
Individuality*
Identified by Sociologist Robin Williams
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Trouble in US Values
Individuality vs. Those who are not ‘ideal’
Discrimination against groups
Equality vs. Income Gaps
Responsibility vs. “TV and Kids”
Specific rules of right and wrong
 Unwritten-
Most are passed down and are
not written
 Instrumental- They serve a specific purpose
 They can be both explicit (save money for a
rainy day) and implicit (keep your car
clean)
 Change- from generation to generation
 Conditional- apply in some settings but not
others (singing in your car by yourself vs
with new friends)
 Rigid/Flexible
norms that members of a society (or a
group within a society) look upon as not
being critical and that may be broken
without severe punishment
The first date at someone’s
home
norms that maintain moral
and ethical behavior
these are considered very important
Formal rules about behavior that are
defined by a political authority that has
the power to punish violators
Rewards for good behavior
Penalties for bad behavior
sanctions vary
often are not consistent
despite universal norms
cheating
higher education
Ideal vs. Real Culture
Norms that people in a society
say that they follow
The actual norms that people
follow within a society
Obviously there are differences from
society to society with culture- but there
are quite a few universal culture staples
Customs and practices that
are common to all societies

Athletics

Division of Labor

Ethics

Games

Religious rituals

Supernatural beings
(all are listed on page 50)
A sense of confusion,
uncertainty,
disorientation or anxiety
that comes with
exposure to different
cultures
My summer abroad
and culture shock
Subcultures and Countercultures
A group of category of people who
distinctive ways of thinking, feeling, and
acting differ somewhat from
those of the larger society
A group or category of people who
deliberately oppose and consciously
reject some of the basic beliefs, values,
and norms of the dominant culture