• Brainstorm a list of the elements of culture

Chapter 3Culture

Section 1 The Basis of Culture

Culture • The knowledge, language,

values, customs, and physical objects that are passed from generation to generation among members of a group• Human creation

• Material side: physical objects of culture (ex – skyscrapers, computers, cell phones, etc..)• Nonmaterial side: beliefs, rules, customs, family systems• Helps explain human social behavior

Society • A group of people who live in a defined territory and participate in a common culture• Culture is the total way of life of a society

Instincts • Genetically inherited patterns of behavior

Nurture vs. Nature• Is personality a result of heredity {genetics or nature} or as a product of the environment {nurture}?

• Studies involving identical twins have determined it is about half and half

Reflexes• Automatic reactions to physical stimulus• Simple, biological, inherited

Drive • Impulse to reduce discomfort• Biologically inherited• Eat, drink, sleep, & associate with others

Sociobiology • The study of the biological basis of human behavior combining Darwin’s theory of natural selection with modern genetics

• Assumes that the behaviors that best help people are biologically based and transmitted in the genetic code• Parental affection and care,

friendship, sexual reproduction, education of children

• Read the information regarding Sociobiology on pp.74-75• Do you agree with the sociobiology view of human behavior? Why or why not?

• Read “Another Time” on p.76. Answer #1 & 2

Section 2Language and Culture

• The pen is mightier than _________.• Better safe than __________.• It’s always darkest before ________.• Don’t bite the hand that _________.• No news is ___________.• If you lie down with dogs, you’ll

_________.

• A penny saved is a __________.• None are so blind as ________.• Children should be seen and not

_______.• Better late than ___________.

Cultural transmission• Transferring of culture from

one generation to the next• Heavily dependent upon

the use of symbols• Most powerful symbols are

those of language

Symbols • Things that stand for or represent something else• Range from physical objects to sounds, smells, and tastes

Language and Culture• Language frees from the limits of time & place allowing for the creation of culture• Allows the passage of experiences, ideas and knowledge

Edward Sapir & Benjamin Whorf

• Believe language is our guide to reality; perceptions of the world depend in part on the particular language we have learned• Known as the Sapir-Whorf

Hypothesis or the hypothesis of linguistic relativity

Vocabulary • Language will have many words to describe the things that are important to it• Something that is not important may not have any words to describe it

• Exposure to another language or to new words can alter a person’s perception

Section 3Norms and Values

Norms • Rules defining appropriate and

inappropriate behavior; help explain why people in a society or group behave similarly in similar circumstances• Cultural norms – ways of

behaving in specific situations

• Range from relatively minor rules to extremely important ones (laws)

William Graham Sumner• Believed anything can be

considered appropriate when norms approve of it• Society members use norms to

guide social behavior • Identified 3 basic types of

norms: folkways, mores, & laws

Folkways • Rules that cover customary

ways of thinking, feeling & behaving but lack moral overtones• Supporting school activities,

speaking to others in the hallway

Mores • Norms of great moral significance; vital to the well-being of a society• Violations bring strong disapproval

Taboos• The most serious mores with such strength that violations demand punishment by the group• Incest taboo – only one common to all societies

Laws • Norms that are formally

defined and enforced by officials• Consciously created and

enforced• Mores serve as an important

source

Sanctions • Rewards and punishments used to encourage conformity to norms• Can be formal and informal

Formal sanctions• Sanctions that may be applied only by officially designated persons, such as judges and teachers• Can be both positive or negative rewards

Informal sanctions• Sanctions that can be applied

by most members of a group; can be positive or negative• Not used randomly or without

reason• May sanction ourselves

mentally after a certain age

Values • Broad ideas about what most people in a society consider to be desirable• Do not dictate precise ways of thinking, feeling & behaving

• Influence human social behavior by forming the basis of norms

Basic Values in the U.S.• Achievement & success• Activity & work• Efficiency & practicality• Equality• Democracy• Group superiority

??????• Racism, based on a belief in the superiority of one group over another, remains part of the fabric of American culture.

Section 4Beliefs and Material

Culture

•What are beliefs?

Nonmaterial culture• Ideas, knowledge and beliefs that influence people’s behavior

Beliefs • Ideas about the nature of reality• Basis for human behavior regardless of truth

Material culture• the concrete, tangible objects of a culture• Have no meaning or use apart from the meanings people give them

• Read the section on p.93 about nettling

How is material culture related to nonmaterial culture?

• Uses and meanings of physical objects can vary among societies• Cultural meaning of physical

objects is not determined by the physical characteristics of the objects• Meanings are based on beliefs,

norms & values

Ideal culture• Cultural guidelines publicly embraced by members of a society• Ex: honesty

Real culture• Actual behavior patterns which often conflict with ideal culture

Section 5Cultural Diversity &

Similarity

Why does culture change?• Discovery: process of finding

something that already exists• Invention: creation of

something new• Diffusion: borrowing of

aspects of culture from other cultures (ex: food)

Social categories• Groups that share a social characteristic such as age, gender or religion• Certain behaviors are associated with the categories

Subculture • Group that is part of the dominant culture but that differs from it in some important aspects• Ex: youth, circus people, musicians

Counterculture • Subculture deliberately and

consciously opposed to certain central beliefs or attitudes of the dominant culture• Ex: prisons, gangs, religious

groups

Ethnocentrism • Judging others on terms of

one’s own cultural standards• Impact on society: people feel

good about themselves; stability is promoted; extremes can prevent change

Cultural universals• Traits that exist in all cultures• Sports, cooking, courtship, division of labor, education, etiquette

• Biological similarities account for cultural universals (children are born so must be taken care of; people die so must have funeral rites & mourning)

Cultural particulars• The ways in which a culture expresses universal traits