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Brainstorm a list of the elements of culture. Chapter 3 Culture. Section 1 The Basis of Culture. Culture . The knowledge, language, values, customs, and physical objects that are passed from generation to generation among members of a group Human creation. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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• Brainstorm a list of the elements of culture
Chapter 3Culture
Section 1 The Basis of Culture
Culture • The knowledge, language,
values, customs, and physical objects that are passed from generation to generation among members of a group• Human creation
• Material side: physical objects of culture (ex – skyscrapers, computers, cell phones, etc..)• Nonmaterial side: beliefs, rules, customs, family systems• Helps explain human social behavior
Society • A group of people who live in a defined territory and participate in a common culture• Culture is the total way of life of a society
Instincts • Genetically inherited patterns of behavior
Nurture vs. Nature• Is personality a result of heredity {genetics or nature} or as a product of the environment {nurture}?
• Studies involving identical twins have determined it is about half and half
Reflexes• Automatic reactions to physical stimulus• Simple, biological, inherited
Drive • Impulse to reduce discomfort• Biologically inherited• Eat, drink, sleep, & associate with others
Sociobiology • The study of the biological basis of human behavior combining Darwin’s theory of natural selection with modern genetics
• Assumes that the behaviors that best help people are biologically based and transmitted in the genetic code• Parental affection and care,
friendship, sexual reproduction, education of children
• Read the information regarding Sociobiology on pp.74-75• Do you agree with the sociobiology view of human behavior? Why or why not?
• Read “Another Time” on p.76. Answer #1 & 2
Section 2Language and Culture
• The pen is mightier than _________.• Better safe than __________.• It’s always darkest before ________.• Don’t bite the hand that _________.• No news is ___________.• If you lie down with dogs, you’ll
_________.
• A penny saved is a __________.• None are so blind as ________.• Children should be seen and not
_______.• Better late than ___________.
Cultural transmission• Transferring of culture from
one generation to the next• Heavily dependent upon
the use of symbols• Most powerful symbols are
those of language
Symbols • Things that stand for or represent something else• Range from physical objects to sounds, smells, and tastes
Language and Culture• Language frees from the limits of time & place allowing for the creation of culture• Allows the passage of experiences, ideas and knowledge
Edward Sapir & Benjamin Whorf
• Believe language is our guide to reality; perceptions of the world depend in part on the particular language we have learned• Known as the Sapir-Whorf
Hypothesis or the hypothesis of linguistic relativity
Vocabulary • Language will have many words to describe the things that are important to it• Something that is not important may not have any words to describe it
• Exposure to another language or to new words can alter a person’s perception
Section 3Norms and Values
Norms • Rules defining appropriate and
inappropriate behavior; help explain why people in a society or group behave similarly in similar circumstances• Cultural norms – ways of
behaving in specific situations
• Range from relatively minor rules to extremely important ones (laws)
William Graham Sumner• Believed anything can be
considered appropriate when norms approve of it• Society members use norms to
guide social behavior • Identified 3 basic types of
norms: folkways, mores, & laws
Folkways • Rules that cover customary
ways of thinking, feeling & behaving but lack moral overtones• Supporting school activities,
speaking to others in the hallway
Mores • Norms of great moral significance; vital to the well-being of a society• Violations bring strong disapproval
Taboos• The most serious mores with such strength that violations demand punishment by the group• Incest taboo – only one common to all societies
Laws • Norms that are formally
defined and enforced by officials• Consciously created and
enforced• Mores serve as an important
source
Sanctions • Rewards and punishments used to encourage conformity to norms• Can be formal and informal
Formal sanctions• Sanctions that may be applied only by officially designated persons, such as judges and teachers• Can be both positive or negative rewards
Informal sanctions• Sanctions that can be applied
by most members of a group; can be positive or negative• Not used randomly or without
reason• May sanction ourselves
mentally after a certain age
Values • Broad ideas about what most people in a society consider to be desirable• Do not dictate precise ways of thinking, feeling & behaving
• Influence human social behavior by forming the basis of norms
Basic Values in the U.S.• Achievement & success• Activity & work• Efficiency & practicality• Equality• Democracy• Group superiority
??????• Racism, based on a belief in the superiority of one group over another, remains part of the fabric of American culture.
Section 4Beliefs and Material
Culture
•What are beliefs?
Nonmaterial culture• Ideas, knowledge and beliefs that influence people’s behavior
Beliefs • Ideas about the nature of reality• Basis for human behavior regardless of truth
Material culture• the concrete, tangible objects of a culture• Have no meaning or use apart from the meanings people give them
• Read the section on p.93 about nettling
How is material culture related to nonmaterial culture?
• Uses and meanings of physical objects can vary among societies• Cultural meaning of physical
objects is not determined by the physical characteristics of the objects• Meanings are based on beliefs,
norms & values
Ideal culture• Cultural guidelines publicly embraced by members of a society• Ex: honesty
Real culture• Actual behavior patterns which often conflict with ideal culture
Section 5Cultural Diversity &
Similarity
Why does culture change?• Discovery: process of finding
something that already exists• Invention: creation of
something new• Diffusion: borrowing of
aspects of culture from other cultures (ex: food)
Social categories• Groups that share a social characteristic such as age, gender or religion• Certain behaviors are associated with the categories
Subculture • Group that is part of the dominant culture but that differs from it in some important aspects• Ex: youth, circus people, musicians
Counterculture • Subculture deliberately and
consciously opposed to certain central beliefs or attitudes of the dominant culture• Ex: prisons, gangs, religious
groups
Ethnocentrism • Judging others on terms of
one’s own cultural standards• Impact on society: people feel
good about themselves; stability is promoted; extremes can prevent change
Cultural universals• Traits that exist in all cultures• Sports, cooking, courtship, division of labor, education, etiquette
• Biological similarities account for cultural universals (children are born so must be taken care of; people die so must have funeral rites & mourning)
Cultural particulars• The ways in which a culture expresses universal traits