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Why do you use deodorant?
Why do girls carry purses?
Why do you take your hat
off when you eat?
Why do you put your hand
over your mouth when you
yawn?
Norms

Rules and
expectations by
which a society
guides the
behavior of its
members
Prescriptive Norms


What we
should do
Ex. - You
should practice
safe sex
Proscriptive norms


Mandating what
it is we should
not do
You should not
have casual sex
Mores


A society’s standards
of proper moral
conduct
Apply to everyone all
the time – often they
are our LAWS !
Folkways



Society’s customs of
routine, casual
interaction
The line between right
and rude
Will vary place to place
Internalization
of Norms

Process by which a
norm becomes a part of
an individual’s
personality, thus
conditioning that
individual to conform to
society’s expectations.
Sanctions

Rewards or punishments used
to enforce conformity to
norms.
 They can be positive or
negative
 They can also be formal or
informal
 And many times sanctions
are a source of conflict!
Positive vs. Negative


Positive sanction
 An action that rewards a
particular kind of behavior
Negative sanction
 A punishment or a threat
of punishment used to
enforce conformity
Formal vs. Informal

Formal sanction


A reward or punishment given
by a formal organization,
business, or government
Informal sanction

A spontaneous expression of
approval or disapproval given
by an individual or group
Positive Formal
Sanction




Graduation
certificate
Pay raise
Promotion
Any award or medal
Positive Informal
Sanction





Standing ovation
Compliment
Smile
Pat on the back
Gift
Negative Formal
Sanction





Low grades
Suspension from
school
Fired from a job
Fine
Imprisonment
Negative Informal
Sanction






Frown
Gossip
Rebuke (turned away)
Insult
Ridicule
Ostracism
Conflict with
sanctions



Norms of different groups (subculture;
counterculture) clash
 Subculture – holds unique values
 Counterculture – rejects and replaces
 Seen as a challenge to authority
No universality – ex. School rules applied
differently to groups
Don’t understand folkways
How do sociologists
study a changing
society?

They break culture
down into levels and
study them separately.

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Traits
Complexes
Patterns
Culture traits

An individual tool,
act, or belief that is
related to a
particular situation
or need



You will say “Hey” to friends
and acquaintances, but
“Hello” or “Hi” to your boss
Using a knife, fork, or spoon
when eating is a culture trait
A football, cleats, helmets,
pads, first-aid kits are all
culture traits
Culture complex


A cluster of interrelated
traits
If the football is a trait,
what then is the
complex?
Culture pattern


A combination of a number
of culture complexes into
an interrelated whole
If the game of football is a
complex, what is the
culture pattern?

How does culture change?
How does culture
change?

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
Values and beliefs
Technology
Population
Diffusion
Physical environment
Wars and conquest
Values and beliefs

From a Structural
Functional view


A change in ideology can
change some or all aspects
of society
Social Movements
Technology

When people find new
ways to manipulate their
environment


Invention
Discovery
Population

The arrival of new groups with
different cultural traits. This impacts
...
 Food, language, clothing, ideas,
etc.
 Relationship with government
 Closeness of relations with others
 Average age of population
Diffusion

Spread of cultural traits
from one society to
another



Mass transportation,
media, communication
Material more readily
Reformulation
Physical environment

Environment can
encourage or discourage
cultural change



Local vs. imported foods
Natural disasters
Change in natural resources
Wars and conquests

Greatest change in the
shortest amount of time.



Disastrous like natural
calamities
Foster ingenuity
Power shifts
Cultural Lag



Not all cultural traits change at the
same rate. Some traits change
rapidly, and the transformation of
others may take considerable
time.
Material culture usually changes
faster and nonmaterial culture
lags behind.
Give me three examples