Chapter 8

Cultural Foundations: Social Institutions

The Family

A social group with a common residence, economic cooperation, and the management of reproducing (p 133)

Not all families fit the above model

1. Nuclear families

2. Extended families

The definition of family varies from society to society

Family Structure

Monogamy – marriage between one man and one woman

Polygamy – marriage to more than one partner

1. Polygyny: marriage between one man and two or more women

2. Polyandry: marriage of one woman to two or more men (p 134)

Family Structure

Exogamy – marriage outside a certain group

Endogamy – marriage restricted to members of a certain ethnic group (usually arranged marriages)

Patriarchal – male dominatesMatriarchal – female dominated

Religion

Unified set of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things (p 142)

Rituals characterize religion (p 141)Religion is a deep and pervasive

determinant in establishing cultural patterns

Churches unify people and groups

Types of Religions

Primitive Religions – nonliterate tribes or groups

1. Preanimism: the belief that the world is in constant change from the force of a spirit

2. Animism: the social and physical world is inhabited by spirits; these spirits but be offered sacrifices to be made happy (p 143)

Types of Religions

Modern religions – literate cultural groups

1. Monotheism: one god

2. Polytheism: many gods or goddesses

3. Abstract: a timeless, eternal force beyond human and nature

Political Institutions - Types

Authoritarianism – ruled by one or elite group; forbidding freedom (North Korea)

Totalitarianism – government controls every aspect of life (Nazi Germany)

Democracy – elected officials govern; power restricted by laws protecting rights (US, Japan) Democracies are rare in the world (p 149)

Power

This concerns who gets what, how much and when; determine behavior of others even against their will (p 149)

1. Influence: the power to persuade

2. Coercion: the power that comes from a superior force that can punish for disobedience

3. Authority: those in command as approved by the nation’s majority (p 149-50)