Culture PDF

Culture Norms, values, and variations Generic term for soft drinks (by US county) Blue= Pop; Red= Coke; Yellow= Soda  Culture Culture consists of all objects and ideas contained within a society and includes the totality of learned, socially transmitted b...

Culture Norms, values, and variations Generic term for soft drinks (by US county) Blue= Pop; Red= Coke; Yellow= Soda  Culture Culture consists of all objects and ideas contained within a society and includes the totality of learned, socially transmitted behaviors.  Sociologists work off the assumption that culture is learned (not biological or genetic). Two interrelated aspects of culture: Material culture- The objects and physical artifacts of a society. Non-material culture- All the non-physical features shared by the members of a society.  Non-material culture serves as “an owners manual for social life”.  Cultural change Culture lag (Ogburn 1922) the concern that society may face problems because one aspect of the culture develops more rapidly that the other. Ogburn saw situations occurring where society had developed the ability to do certain things, but had not figured out how the technology should be used (or if it should be at all).  Cultural change Three means by which change commonly occurs within a culture: 1) Discovery is change caused by making known something that is already in existence.  Involves finding something of which we were previously unaware that causes cultural knowledge to be reconsidered. 2) Invention is change occurring through the creation of something new by combining previously existing items. 3) Diffusion is change that occurs through contact with other cultures– likely to involve both goods (material) and ideas (non- material).  Cultural appropriation Cultural (mis)appropriation is the adoption of elements of one culture by members of another culture. It involves members of a dominant group exploiting the culture of less privileged groups. Quite often, this is done along racial and ethnic lines with little understanding of the latter’s history, experience, and traditions. https:// www.reshareworthy.com/ asian-character-tattoos- gone-wrong/  Cultural appropriation Cultural diffusion is change in a culture that occurs through contact with other cultures– diffusion can involve both goods (material) and ideas (non-material).  Norms, values and social control Norms are established standards of acceptable behavior maintained by a society. Values are the ethical foundations of a culture.  Values are the ideas that justify the normative behavior. Social control refers to certain strategies that are used with a specific goal of controlling human social behavior and deterring deviant behavior.  2 processes of social control 1) Internalization- Process by which group norms are learned, accepted, and supported by those within the society. The ultimate goal of this process is to cause individuals to not question the norms and expectations of society so that they would never even consider undertaking deviant acts. 2) Sanctions- Process by which society notices and reacts, either positively (towards normal behavior) or negatively (toward deviance), to the behavior of an individual. Sanctions are necessary because complete internalization is not possible.  Norms Two types of norms: Formal norms (also called mores; pronounced “MORE-ays”) are norms seen as necessary for the survival of society.  Rules without which society would be fundamentally different– and possible cease to exist. These norms are often codified and strictly enforced by those with power (agents of social institutions, agencies, or organization); violations are met with severe punishments.  Typically called obedience.  Norms Informal norms (also called folkways) are rules of everyday behavior that guide situational behavior. Folkways are enforced by peers and punishments for violations are typically not as severe. Breaching experiments (Garfinkel) are systematic violations of norms to gauge the reaction of others to the violation. Although peers have no right to direct our behavior they can still engage in sanctions through various interactions.  This is typically referred to as conformity.  Conformity Solomon Asch (1961) designed a study that would test the effectiveness of conformity in adults. He had 8 subjects participate in the same test at the same time. He asked: “Which of these lines is most similar in length to the line on your card?”  Conformity 7 of the 8 subjects were confederates (meaning they were in on the study) and were all instructed to give the obviously wrong answer. In this condition, 75% of the subjects (the 8th person to answer) conformed and gave a wrong answer. More importantly, after the group disbanded a large percentage of those who conformed claimed to be confident that their answer was correct.  Culture and language Language is an organized set of symbols which allows us to think and to communicate with others.  Language is the primary way we use to understand ourselves and our environment. Language is important to culture in that it transmits the information that one needs to learn to be a part of the group.  Some also argue that language helps shape the culture in addition to transmitting it.  Culture and language Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (1956) states that language is culturally determined and will focus attention on what is truly important in that culture.  More words a language has for something, the more important that thing is to the culture. Sapir-Whorf also argues that the use of the language affects the way we think, feel, and ultimately act toward the world.  So if we use derogatory language towards someone/thing chances are we will feel and act negatively toward that thing as well.  Cultural variation Ideal culture are the beliefs, values and norms that we say we support. Real culture are the actual beliefs, values, and behaviors that we use on a regular basis (Williams 1970). High culture are tastes and creations used by the upper classes to separate themselves from the lower classes.  Usually demands elaborate training, technical proficiency, and considerable resources. Low/popular culture comprises tastes that appeal to the masses or lowest common denominator.  http://www.cc.com/video-clips/cgb0cw/the- colbert-report-colbert-platinum---luxury-ice--- hot-dic-tip  Subcultures Subcultures are groups within a culture that share many elements with the dominant group but are different in some fundamental way.  Subculture members will follow the norms of the dominant group with these few possible exceptions. The subculture recognizes that it’s members have some specific needs or unique challenges that require their members to behave differently from the dominant group. Code switching refers to the ability to move between multiple languages and sets of cultural norms in order to fit into different cultural contexts.  This skill is vital for those in immigrant/racial or ethic minority communities.  Countercultures Counterculture is a type of a subculture that has fundamental problems with the dominant culture and will reject it. Countercultures will either attempt to change the dominant culture or will withdraw from it as much as possible (or both). Countercultures are often seen as a threat to society and their members tend to be seen as deviant.  Attitudes toward variation Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge other cultures by the standards of your own.  Typically involves the assumption that your way of life is superior. Cultural relativism is an attempt to understand norms and behaviors within their cultural context.  Evaluate the norms by how well they seem to meet the needs of the people within the culture.  Cross-cultural variation Variation across cultures involves having differing norms, values, and morals within different culture. Variation can often be fairly obvious (different clothes, languages, food) but can occasionally less easy to recognize.  http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2013/06/08/obscene-g estures-from-around-the-world/