Understanding Culture

CULTURE • All shared products of human groups• Includes values, material artifacts,

and rules of behavior• They are not a result of biological

inheritance

Cultural Universals

• Features that all societies must develop to ensure they fulfill their needs– George Murdoch

• Identified 65 cultural universals• Included family, cooking, government, economy, medicine,

tool making, funeral rights, religious rituals, sports, dance, arts, games, music

• Cultures might differ in the way they show these traits.• Ex. All cultures have families in order to care for young

children, but the makeup of the family varies among different cultures.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxKTXO6Rhrw

Culture includes……

• Technology• Language• Religion• Food• Aesthetics (art, music, architecture)• Values, ideas• Norms• Gender roles• Recreational Activities• Commercial Practices• Social Structure

Material vs. Nonmaterial Culture

Material Culture• Physical Objects

– Books– Buildings– Clothing

Nonmaterial Culture• Abstract human creations

– Beliefs– Ideas – Language– Economic and Political

System

How do changes in material culture give rise to changes in

nonmaterial culture?http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=5MnQ8EkwXJ0

One Culture, Many Cultures

• We are born into different cultures– Family– Neighborhood– Church– School– City– Country– Global Culture

Society is not Culture

• Society: the group of people that share a common culture– Society = people – Culture = what these people produce and use

together

How do we learn culture?

• Socialization is the process by which we learn culture

• Through Media• Through People we meet at school and work• More importantly, at home (primary group)• Who are the agents of socialization?

• When do we start learning? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzXGEbZht0

Socialization and Cooperation in Animals – Moral Behavior• http://www.ted.com/talks/

frans_de_waal_do_animals_have_morals.html

• Time: 3:20• Time 12:35

Who socializes us?•Primary Groups

•Small Groups in which relations are regular, face-to-face, and personal; they play the most significant role in socialization•Family Members•Best Friends•Closest Co-workers

•Secondary Groups•Larger and more impersonal; interaction is not as regular, and is usually undertaken to achieve specific goals.

What do we learn?

Symbols – Anything that represents something else. It has a

shared meaning.

SYMBOLS

More on Symbols

• Symbols occur in different forms:– Words (hello)– Events (church service, pre-game chant)– Physical object (class ring)– Gestures (handshake)– Images (team logo)

• What’s the hidden meaning behind each of those symbols?

What’s the symbolism behind this pre-game huddle?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RABQY0t1Bqw

Language

Language

• System of communication using vocal and written symbols that have common meanings among all members of a group

• Important source of continuity and identity in a culture

• Around 6,000 to 7,000 languages in the world today

• Between 50% and 90% of languages will disappear in the year 2100

Language in Sports

• Hit below the belt– act unfairly

• Hail Mary– a long shot, a desperate last minute attempt

• Hands Down– in horse racing when the jockey wins and drops his hands,

relaxing • Drop the towel– give up

• Lightweight – of little importance

Language in Sports

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2zQf6bxsZo

What do we learn?

• Values: Socially created ideas (social constructions) about what is desirable and what is not desirable.

• http://www.values.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/71-My-Life-in-Sports

Core American Values

In 1970 Robin Williams identified core American Values:

• Personal Achievement and Success• Material Comfort• Activity and Work• Individualism• Practicality and Efficiency• Morality and Humanitarism• Progress• Equality and Democracy• Freedom

New Values in the United States

• Self-fulfillment: commitment to the full development one’s personality, talents, and potential. Examples include:

• Leisure• Physical Fitness• Youthfulness

• Concern for the Environment• Sometimes opposes another value, progress

What do we learn?Norms: commonly accepted expectations for

behavior in society

Breaking norms

• http://www.social-engineer.org/framework/Influence_Tactics:_Consensus_or_Social_Proo

f

Two Types of Norms

Folkways• Describe socially accepted

behavior but do not have great moral significance

• Common customs of everyday life

• Failure to follow will result in reprimand or minor punishment

• Ex. Shake hands when introduced to someone

Mores• Great moral significance• Violation of them

endangers society’s stability• Ex. Do not kill another

person• Laws are usually created to

protect society. For example, severe punishment for those who commit murder

Ideal Culture vs. Real Culture

• Ideal Culture: Values that a society professes– College students should not drink alcohol

• Real Culture: Values that a society actually acts on – Drinking is part of the college experience

• Can you think of other examples?

Subculture

• Values, practices, and other cultural elements are shared by a minority of people within a larger society.

– Common subcultures: Military, police, teachers– Subcultures within your own family (ex. Brothers)– Some may seem odd (ex. Emo subculture)

• Freerunners: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jXqhAXeDGY

Countercultures

• A group rejecting the major values, norms, and practices of the larger society

• Replaces them with a new set of cultural patterns– Ex. Hippie movements of the 1960s– http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=wRhW2CyrqhQ

The End