Chapter 3
Culture
Chapter Outline Culture and Society in a Changing World Components of Culture Technology, Cultural Change, and
Diversity A Global Popular Culture? Sociological Analysis of Culture Culture in the Future
Culture Culture is essential for survival
and communication with other people.
Culture is learned through interaction, observation and imitation.
Culture is fundamental for the survival of societies.
Culture The knowledge, language, values,
customs, and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next in a human group or society.
Examples of cultural interruption Residential Schools Genocide
How is a culture disrupted? Establish a hierarchy Propaganda
Create resentment, paranoia, fear
Alter laws Dehumanize
remove basic rights Re-educate
Language, religion, family Violence – murder and destruction
Cultural Diversity The Danger of a Single Story Cultural differences between and within
nations are caused by: Natural circumstances
Climate, geography Social circumstances
Technology, composition of the population
How Much Do You Know About Culture and Intolerance Toward Others?
True or False? Core values in the
United States are opposed to racism and a belief in the superiority of one’s own group.
How Much Do You Know About Culture and Intolerance Toward Others?
False. Among the core American values identified by sociologists is the belief that one’s own racial or ethnic group should be valued above all others. Inherent in this belief may be the assumption of racism—that members of racial–ethnic categories other than one’s own are somehow inferior.
How Much Do You Know About Culture and Intolerance Toward Others?
True or False? As the United States is increasing in
diversity, most dominant group members (middle- and high-income white Anglo-Saxon Protestants) are becoming more tolerant of social and cultural diversity.
How Much Do You Know About Culture and Intolerance Toward Others?
False. Recent polls show that as the U.S. has
increased in diversity, most dominant-group members are not becoming more tolerant. Examples include recent demands that
immigration laws be strictly enforced, interest in establishing English as the “official” language of the United States, and pressure to eliminate affirmative action programs that benefit minority-group members.
Question During the last few years, has anyone in
your family brought a friend who was a the opposite race home for dinner?
GSS National Data
EducationNo High School
Diploma
High School
Diploma
College Education
Yes 24.4% 31.9% 42.1%
No 75.6% 68.1 57.9%
Question _____ consists of knowledge, language,
values, customs, and material objects.
a. Social structure
b. Society
c. Culture
d. Social organization
Answer: c Culture consists of knowledge, language,
values, customs, and material objects.
Gestures With Different Meanings in Other Societies
“Hook ‘em Horns”
or
“Your spouse is unfaithful”
Gestures With Different Meanings in Other Societies
“He’s crazy”
or
“You have a telephone call”
Gestures With Different Meanings in Other Societies
“Okay”
Or
“I’ll kill you”
Material Culture Physical creations that members
of a society make, use, and share. Items of material culture begin
as raw materials such as ore, trees, and oil.
They are transformed through technology.
Sociologists define technology as knowledge, techniques, and tools that make it possible for people to transform resources into usable forms, and the skills required to use them after they are developed.
Nonmaterial Culture Abstract or intangible
human creations of society that influence people’s behavior. Language, beliefs, values,
rules of behavior, family patterns, and political systems are examples of nonmaterial culture.
A central component of nonmaterial culture is beliefs.
Question All of the following statements regarding
culture are true, except:a. culture is essential for our survival.b. culture is essential for our
communications with other people.c. culture is fundamental for the survival of
societies.d. culture is always a stabilizing force for
societies.
Answer: c The following statement regarding culture
is not true: culture is fundamental for the survival of societies.
Cultural Universals Examples:
Appearance (bodily adornment, hairstyles)
Activities (sports, dancing, games, joking)
Social institutions (family, law, religion)
Practices (cooking, folklore, gift giving)
Components of Culture
SymbolAnything that meaningfully represents something else.
LanguageSymbols that express ideas and enable people to communicate.
Components of Culture
ValuesCollective ideas about what is right or wrong and good or bad.
NormsEstablished rules of behavior or standards of conduct.
Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis According to this theory, language shapes
the view of reality of its speakers. If people are able to think only through
language, then language must precede thought.
Keith Chen (Ted Talk) Could your language affect your ability to save money?
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis…
Does language shape how we think?
Linguistic Relativity and Linguistic Determinism
Language and Gender
Male Term Female Term Neutral Term
Teacher Teacher Teacher
Worker/employee
Working motherWorker
/employee
Janitor/maintenance man
Maid/cleaning lady
Custodial attendant
Languages Spokenin U.S. Households
LanguageTotal Estimated
Number of Speakers
English only 215,423,557
Spanish 28,101,052
Chinese 2,022,143
French 1,643,838
German 1,383,442
Tagalog 1,224,241
Languages Spokenin U.S. Households
LanguageTotal Estimated
Number of Speakers
Vietnamese 1,009,627
Italian 1,008,370
Korean 894,063
Russian 706,242
Polish 667,414
Arabic 614,582
Ten Core American Values
1. Individualism
2. Achievement and Success
3. Activity and Work
4. Science and Technology
5. Progress and Material Comfort
Ten Core American Values
6. Efficiency and Practicality
7. Equality
8. Morality and Humanitarianism
9. Freedom and Liberty
10. Racism and Group Superiority
Question Which of the following hypothetical
statements does not express a core U.S. value?
a. "How well does it work?"
b. "Is this a realistic thing to do?"
c. "My freedom is important to me."
d. "It is good to be lazy."
Answer: d The hypothetical statement, “It is good
to be lazy." does not express a core U.S. value.
NORMS
Norms Norms are established
rules of behavior or standards of conduct.
Prescriptive norms state what behavior is appropriate or acceptable.
Proscriptive norms state what behavior is inappropriate or unacceptable.
Social norms The "customary rules of behavior that coordinate our
interactions with others…May be explicit or implicit” Established and approved ways of doing things,
of dress, of speech and of appearance
These vary and evolve: through time from one age group to another between social classes and social groups.
What is deemed to be acceptable dress, speech or behavior in one social group may not be accepted in another.
Social norms tend to be tacitly established and maintained through body language and non-verbal communication between people in their normal social discourse.
Failure to follow the rules can result in severe punishments, including exclusion from the group
Formal and Informal Norms Formal norms are written
down and involve specific punishments for violators. Laws are the most common
type of formal norms.
Informal norms are unwritten standards of behavior understood by people who share a common identity. When individuals violate
informal norms, people may apply informal sanctions.
Folkways Everyday customs that may be violated
without serious consequences within a particular culture.
In the United States, folkways include: using underarm deodorant brushing our teeth wearing appropriate clothing for a
specific occasion
Mores Strongly held norms with moral and ethical
connotations that may not be violated without serious consequences. Taboos are mores so strong that violation is
considered extremely offensive and even unmentionable.
The incest taboo, which prohibits sexual relations between certain kin, is an example of a nearly universal taboo.
In short, mores "distinguish the difference between right and wrong, while folkways draw a line between right and rude“.
Laws Formal, standardized norms that have
been enacted by legislatures and are enforced by formal sanctions. Civil law deals with disputes among
persons or groups.
Criminal law deals with public safety and well-being.
Technology, Cultural Change, and Diversity
Changes in technology continue to shape the material culture of society: The introduction of the printing press more
than 500 years ago and the advent of computers and electronic communications in the twentieth century.
Cultural lag is a gap between the technical development of a society and its moral and legal institutions.
Cultural Diversity
Cultural Diversity of U.S. Society: Religion
Question In what religion were you raised?
Protestant Catholic Jewish
GSS National Data
Region East Midwest South West
Protestant 43.2% 67.8% 80.1% 58.8%
Catholic 52.2% 31.1% 18.3% 38.1%
Jewish 4.6% 1.1% 1.6% 3.1%
Cultural Diversity of U.S. Society: Income
Cultural Diversity of U.S. Society:Race/Ethnicity
Question In which of these groups did your total
family income, from all sources, fall last year before taxes, that is? $1K-$14999 $15K-24999 25K and up
GSS National Data
EducationNo High School
Diploma
High School
Diploma
College Education
$1K-$1499949.5% 22.6% 13.2%
$15K-2499921.1% 20.7% 13.3%
25K and up29.3% 56.7% 73.5%
Then and Now Changing Culture Activity
Group pics Two pics of contrast in culture
SubcultureThe Old Order AmishStrong faith in God.Rejection of worldly concerns.Rely on horse and buggy for transportation.
Examples of Countercultures Beatniks of the 1950’s Flower Children of the 1960’s Drug Enthusiasts of the 1970’s Punk Rockers of the 1980s….
Culture Shock, Ethnocentrism, and Cultural Relativism
Culture shock refers to the anxiety people experience when they encounter cultures radically different from their own.
Ethnocentrism is the assumption that one’s own culture is superior to others.
Cultural relativism views and analyzes another culture in terms of that culture’s own values and standards.
Question An alternative to ethnocentrism is:
a. racism
b. Prejudice
c. cultural relativism
d. xenophobia
Answer: c An alternative to ethnocentrism is
cultural relativism.
High Culture and Popular Culture High culture consists of activities patronized by
elite audiences, composed of members of the upper-middle and upper classes. Examples: classical music, opera, ballet, live
theater Popular culture consists of activities, products,
and services that are assumed to appeal to members of the middle and working classes. Examples: Rock concerts, spectator sports,
movies, soap operas, situation comedies
Three Forms of Popular Culture
1. Fads - a temporary but widely copied activity followed enthusiastically by large numbers of people.
2. Fashions - A style of behavior, thinking, or appearance that is longer lasting and more widespread than a fad.
3. Leisure activities
Cultural Imperialism The extensive infusion of one nation’s culture
into other nations. Some consider the use of the English
language in countries that speak other languages as a form of cultural imperialism.
If the world develops a global culture, it will likely include a diffusion of literature, music, clothing, and food from many societies and cultures.
Sociological Analysis of Culture
FunctionalistCulture helps people meet biological, instrumental and expressive needs.
ConflictIdeas can be used by the ruling class to affect members of other classes.
Sociological Analysis of Culture
Symbolic Interactionist
People create, maintain, and modify culture during their everyday activities.
PostmodernCulture is based on simulation of reality rather than reality itself.
Quick Quiz
1. ________ consists of the physical or tangible creations that members of a society make, use, and share.
a. Nonmaterial culture
b. Cultural universals
c. Material culture
d. High culture
Answer: c Material culture consists of the physical
or tangible creations that members of a society make, use, and share.
2. Language, beliefs, values, rules of behavior, family patterns, and political systems are examples of:
a. material culture
b. high culture
c. nonmaterial culture
d. cultural universals
Answer: c Language, beliefs, values, rules of
behavior, family patterns, and political systems are examples of nonmaterial culture.
3. An example of a symbol is:
a. a dove
b. all of the choices
c. a heart
d. Nazi swastika
Answer: b An example of a symbol is a dove, a
heart, and a Nazi swastika.
3. According to the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis:
a. reality is objective and is easily understood by humans.
b. language shapes the view of reality of its speakers.
c. reality is based on the interactions of individuals.
d. with more knowledge, a person minimizes the influence of language.
Answer: b According to the Sapir-Whorf
Hypothesis, language shapes the view of reality of its speakers.
4. According to Karl Marx, and Marxist theorists:
a. none of the choices.
b. ideas are used by agents of the wealthy to affect the thoughts and actions of members of other classes.
c. ideas are effective for the working classes to motivate the wealthy.
d. ideas have little impact on the relations between the wealthy and poor in societies.
Answer: b According to Karl Marx, and Marxist
theorists, ideas are used by agents of the wealthy to affect the thoughts and actions of members of other classes.
5. Popular culture consists of:a. activities, products, and services that
are assumed to appeal primarily to members of the middle and working classes.
b. media events, which are typically on TV or the Internet.
c. ideas that can transform a society, but have yet to take shape or form.
d. fads to keep the populace uninterested in politics which can remove the status quo from power, disrupting organization and stability in everyday life.
Answer: a Popular culture consists of activities,
products, and services that are assumed to appeal primarily to members of the middle and working classes.
6. According to Functionalists, a function of popular culture is to:
a. keep members of society preoccupied so they do not realize inequalities within society.
b. keep members of society focused on the important things within society.
c. be the glue that holds society together.
d. teach cultural relativism.
Answer: c According to Functionalists, a function of
popular culture is to be the glue that holds society together.
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