(Or how we know what we know)
Culture and Socialization
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What is culture?
Development of culture
Cultural variation
Language and culture
Norms and values
Global culture wars
Culture and dominant ideologies
Culture and socialization
Socialization and the self
Agents of socialization
Aging and socialization
Culture and Socialization
 Culture: totality of learned socially transmitted
customs, knowledge, objects, and behavior
 Culture includes language, values, norms, customs,
artifacts, and even groups of people
 Socialization: process by which people learn basic
societal attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, and values
 Society: large number of people who live in the same
territory, who are relatively independent of the people
outside of that area, and who participate in a common
culture
 Common culture emphasizes day-to-day interaction
Cultural Universals
 All societies develop common practices and beliefs
 These are adaptations to meet essential human needs
 Innovation
 Diffusion
 What are some examples of cultural universals?
 Ethnocentrism: tendency to assume one’s own
culture and way of life represent the norm or are
superior to all others
Cultural Relativism
 Evaluation of a people’s behavior from the perspective
of that culture
 Tries to employ a type of value-neutral approach in
scientific study
 Requires a serious effort to be unbiased
 Innovation: process of introducing a new idea or
object to a culture
 Discovery: making known or sharing the existence of
some aspect of reality
 Invention: results when existing cultural items are
combined into something new
Development of Global Culture
 Globalization: worldwide integration of government
policies, banking systems, cultures, social movements, and
financial systems through trade and the exchange of ideas
 Diffusion: process by which a cultural item spreads from
group to group
 Exploration
 Conquest
 Missionary work
 Mass media
 Tourism
 Internet
Development of Global Culture
 McDonaldization: process through which the
principles of the fast-food industry dominant certain
sectors of society
 Material culture: physical or technological aspects of
our daily lives
 Nonmaterial culture: ways of using material objects
 Culture lag: period of maladjustment when
nonmaterial culture struggles to adapt to material
conditions
Cultural Variation
 Each culture considers its own customs, rules, norms, and
values as “natural”
 Cultures adapt to meet specific sets of circumstances
 Subcultures: segments of society that share distinct
patterns of customs, rules, and traditions that differ from
the larger society
 Argot: specialized language that is developed that allows
insiders to understand words with special meanings
 Counterculture: when a subculture deliberately opposes
or rejects aspects of the larger culture
 Culture shock: feeling of disorientation, uncertainty, or
being out of place when immersed in an unfamiliar culture
Culture and Language
 Language: abstract system of word meanings and
symbols for all aspects of culture
 Includes speech, written language, numerals, gestures,
and nonverbal communication
 What we know is bounded by language
 We need to know and understand a symbol to be able
to express it
 Miscommunication
Norms and Values
 Norms: establish the rules and standards of behavior
in a society
 Formal norms: written down; specific punishments
 Informal norms: generally understood but not
recorded
 Mores: norms determined as highly necessary for
society
 Folkways: norms of everyday behavior
 Sanctions: the penalties and rewards for conduct
concerning social norms
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Sanctions are a form of social control
Norms and Values
 Norms are collective expressions of what is good, bad,
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desirable, or undesirable in a society
Influence people’s conceptions of themselves
Influence people’s behavior
Criteria for evaluating others
May change over time or situationally
Culture Wars
 Culture war: polarization of society over controversial
elements of culture
 National: abortion, health care, pensions/social
security, debt, gun control, sexual expression, religious
expression
 Global: wars, nuclear programs, global economy,
colonization
Culture and Dominant Ideologies
 Dominant ideology: set of beliefs and practices that
help maintain powerful interests
 Social
 Economic
 Political
 “If you work hard enough, you can succeed in life”
Perspectives on Culture (pg. 55)
Culture and Socialization
 Nature vs. Nurture
 Today’s scientists believe the two interact
 Sociobiology: systematic study of the biological basis
for human behavior
 Began with Charles Darwin
 Sociobiologists apply Darwin’s principle of natural
selection to the study of human behavior
 Isolation: interaction of heredity and environment
shape development
 Emphasize early socialization of children
Socialization and the Self
 Self: distinct identity that sets us apart from others
 Constantly changing
 Develops throughout your life
 Looking-glass self
 Mead’s stages of the self:
 Preparatory stage: children imitate people around them
 Play stage: become more aware of social relationships and
role taking occurs
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Role taking: the process of mentally assuming another’s perspective
and responding from that point of view
 Game stage: children about 8-9 consider several actual tasks
and relationships simultaneously
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Generalized Other: attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of
society as a whole that a child takes into account
Mead and Goffman
 Mead:
 The self begins as a privileged/central point in a person’s
world
 As a person matures, the self begins to change and
reflect greater concern for the reactions of others
 Significant others: individuals most important in the
development of the self
 Goffman:
 Impression management
Agents of Socialization
 Family
 Gender roles: expectation regarding proper behavior,
attitudes, and activities for men and women
 School
 Peer groups
 Harassment and support
 Mass media and technology
 Workplace
 Religion
 State
Aging and Socialization
 Rites of passage: means of dramatizing and recognizing
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changes in a person’s status
Life course approach: looking closely at the factors that
influence people throughout their lives
Anticipatory socialization: person “rehearses” future
occupations and social relationships
Resocialization: discarding former behavior patterns and
accepting new ones as you transition
Total institution: regulates all aspects of a person’s life
under a single authority
 Degradation ceremony: ritual where the individual
becomes secondary and invisible in an overbearing social
environment