Culture

…It is interesting…

Definition of Culture

• Culture is…– A learned set of beliefs, values, norms, and

material goods shared by group members. – Please add traditions to the definition.– Different between societies:• Differences in what they believe• Tools they use• Technology they use

Parts of Culture

• Norms- – Expectations and rules for proper conduct that

guide the behavior of group members. – Socially constructed and enforced.– Easiest way to think about it? What is considered

normal.– Enforced by rewards and sanctions to encourage

conformity.

Parts of Culture 2– Norms include: • Folkways (informal rules)

– Rules and expectations that guide daily life for group members

• Mores (most noticeable and important)– What people consider essential for the general welfare of

society.– Have great moral significance.

• Taboos (prohibited behaviors)– Behaviors that are not considered acceptable or repugnant to a

group.

• Laws – Formal rules enacted and enforced by the state where the

culture is developed.

Question

• What would we do to or think about a parent who puts their six-week-old into a lake when the temperature is 17 degrees F?

• What if I told you that in Russia, this is common practice, based on something like a national pastime.

What is Culture?

• Culture is the values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects, that, together, form a people’s way of life.– Nonmaterial culture – is the intangible world of

ideas created by members of a society.– Material culture – tangible things created by

society.– What does tangible mean?

Components of Culture

• Symbols• Language• Values and beliefs• Norms• Material culture

Symbols

• Symbol – anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share culture.– A word, a whistle, a wall of graffiti, all serve as

symbols.– How is the U.S. flag a symbol?– Think of other symbols that might have dual

meanings

Symbols gone wrong

Language

• Language is a system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another.

• Does language shape our reality?• Sapir-Whorf thesis states that people perceive the

world through the cultural lens of language.– We emphasize certain words because of their importance

in our culture. – How many words do we have for snow?– One Eskimo language has twenty.

Values and Beliefs

• Values – culturally defined standards by which people assess desirability, goodness, and beauty and that serves as broad guidelines for social living.– Values are statements, from the standpoint of

culture, of what ought to be.• Beliefs – specific statements that people hold

to be true. Based on social agreement, many contradictions usually.

Robin Williams (1970)• NOT Him

• Let’s read through his values of Americansociety that he developed… 45 years ago: not so great… but applicable

• PS- This Robin Williams to the right was NOT a sociologist, but instead was an actor and comedian.

Key Values of U.S. Culture• #1 Equal opportunity• #2 Achievement and success• #3 Material Comfort• #4 Activity and work• #5 Practicality and efficiency – doing over dreaming• #6 Progress• #7 Science• #8 Democracy and Free Enterprise• #9 Freedom• # 10 Racism and group superiority• Notice any contradictions? Robin Williams, 1970

Culture, Nation, Society

• Culture: a shared way of life by a particular group– Each Culture has norms which are standards of society of

desirability, goodness, and beauty. – Norms are components of all cultures and guides behavior.

Norms can change over place and time. (KNOW THAT)• Nation: a political entity; a territory with designated

borders (also called a state or nation-there are currently 196.)

• Society: The organized interaction of people in a nation or within some other boundary.

• The United States is both a nation & society, with many cultures.

Norms and Range of Tolerance

• Prescriptive Norms– Tell us what we

should do. • Using Manners• Saying Excuse Me

when bumping into people• Taxes

– Think… Prescriptions from the DR. • Seen as “good” things

• Proscriptive Norms– Tell us what we should

not do, more informal rules• Feet on dinner table• Wearing shoes when we

go outside and not taking off shoes when entering the house

– Think… Opposite of a pro, more like a con when people look at your behavior

Let’s Try This… Social Norms Regarding Personal BehaviorPrescriptive/Proscriptive and Folkway, Taboo, Law, or More?

1. When guests come to your house, you should offer drinks or food.

2. Pay for groceries after you shop.

3. Mow your lawn.4. Apply sun screen at the

beach.5. Brush your teeth.6. Do not shower or bathe.

1. Prescriptive: Folkway

2. Prescriptive: Law

3. Prescriptive: Law and Folkway

4. Prescriptive: Folkway

5. Prescriptive: Folkway

6. Proscriptive: Taboo

Culture Shock

• Most of us feel uneasy when we enter a different culture.

• Questions we usually ask ourselves in a new situation:– How do we act? Are going to do anything that can

be seen as rude? Etc.• This uneasiness is known as culture shock –

personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life.

Ethnocentrism• The belief that one’s own culture is superior to

all others and therefore the most “civilized” way to live.

• Leads us to judge people before getting to know them and their way of life/culture.

• Ethnocentric individuals believe thatthey are better than other individuals for reasons based solely on their heritage. Clearly, this practice is related to problems of both racism and prejudice.

• It is a matter of perspective

Ethnocentric Examples• European Imperialism

– Taking over other’s lands• Nazi Germany• Saying that someone’s

practices are wrong and yours are right.– Americans drive on the correct

side of the road and our steering wheels are located in the right position.

• American Wedding (it is a movie)

– Jim’s grandmother believes he should only marry a Jewish girl

• Leave a tip for the waiter or waitress. Prescriptive: More, Folkway• Chew with your mouth closed. Prescriptive: Folkway (Pro do not chew)• Chew food without making sounds. Prescriptive: Folkway (Pro do not

chew)• Men usually pay for dinner, unless invited by the woman. Prescriptive:

Folkway Is that even true?• Do not talk with food in your mouth. Proscriptive: Folkway• Do not wear casual clothes in a fine dining restaurant. Proscriptive:

Folkway• Do not eat soup with a fork. Proscriptive: Folkway• Do not belch. Proscriptive: Taboo• Do not eat sloppily or fast. Proscriptive: Folkway• Do not eat with your hands, except for certain foods. Proscriptive:

Taboo• Do not eat off another person’s plate or use another person's utensils.

Proscriptive: Folkway or Taboo• Do not walk through a drive through. Proscriptive: Folkway, Law• Do not order something that is not on the menu. Proscriptive: Folkway• Do not ask for substitutions if "no substitutions" is listed. Proscriptive:

Folkway

SANCTIONS

Used to Enforce:

NORMS

Which are types of:

VALUES

Which are based on:

Folkways Mores Laws

Sociologists consider sanctions as external mechanisms of social control. (Internal control, like cultural norms and values) Sanctions can either be positive (rewards) or negative (punishment), and can arise from either formal or informal control.

Culture

Cultural Relativism

• Learning to look at things from a point of view different from your own, and not making value judgments based on your beliefs and norms.

Culture and Heredity

• Nature v. Nurture argument/debate. Which one do you think has more influence on our development?

• Instincts, reflexes, and drives, all affect us, but nothing is as important as culture when looking at how a society develops.

Like father, like son?

Folkway, More or Law?

• Incest• Appropriate dress• Bigamy• Correct manners• Speeding • Cheating on Income Tax• Murder• Cannibalism• Proper eating behavior

Ideal and Real Culture

• Ideal culture – cultural guidelines that group members claim to accept.

• Real culture – actual behavior patterns, which often conflict with ideal culture.

• Example – Most men and women would agree that you should not cheat on your husband or wife.– Almost 25% of men and 10% of women cheat on

their spouses. 17% of divorces are due to infidelity.

Cultural Diversity• Popular culture – cultural patterns that are

widespread among a society’s population.• Subculture – cultural patterns that are self-

defined within society that hold different values and norms than the majority.– People who like rap music– Italian Americans– NASCAR fans– Star Wars Fans– Polygamists

Cultural Diversity (cont.)

• Counterculture – cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society.

• This is usually associated with a culture’s youth.