Download Introduction to Sociology

Chapter 3:
Culture
Life Application Journal

Using the concepts from page 70-71,
describe how you think Moroccan
culture might change or stay the same
in the next 20 years. How will the
cultural changes affect your
professional and personal life?
What to Expect in This Chapter...
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What is Culture?
Components of Culture
• Material Culture
• Non-Material Culture
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Culture and Adaptation
Subcultures
Cultural Universals
What is Culture?
Culture is “...all that
human beings learn to do,
to use, to produce, to
know, and to believe as
they grow to maturity and
live out their lives in the
social groups to which
they belong.”
Culture and Biology
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Human beings are biological
creatures with biological needs
Humans differ from most other
animals, however, in the basis for
our behavior
– Animal behavior is based largely on
instincts which are universal for a
given species
– Human behavior is learned in
interaction with culture, and is thus
highly variable
Culture Shock, Ethnocentrism
and Cultural Relativism
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Culture shock refers to the difficulty that
people have when they encounter cultures
very different from their own
Our tendency is to make value judgments
on the basis of our own customs, a practice
called ethnocentrism
Sociologists strive toward cultural
relativism when studying other cultures—
understanding these cultures on their own
terms
Components of Culture
Material Culture
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Material Culture consists
of all things humans make
and use
American society places
great importance on
science and technology
Click on the American
Memory logo for photos and
other features of American
material culture
Non-Material Culture
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Non-Material Culture consists of
non-tangible human creations,
including knowledge beliefs,
values and rules for behavior
The statue of liberty, for example,
while a material artifact,
symbolizes the value that
Americans place on freedom
Norms
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Norms are standards of expected
behavior
Norms are relative:
– Across time
– Across societies
– Across Situations
Some Important Distinctions
Among Norms
Mores: Norms which
are vital to a society
and morally significant
Folkways: Norms that
permit great discretion
in carrying out as long
as certain boundaries
are not violated
Ideal Norms:
Real Norms:
Expectations of what
Adjustment of idealized
people would do under norms to real life
perfect conditions
conditions
Values and Cognitive Culture
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Values are the general orientations
toward life—its notions of what is
good or bad, pleasurable or painful,
etc.
Values are part of cognitive culture,
which refers to the “thinking”
component of culture such as beliefs
and knowledge as well as values
Language
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Language allows to organize the
world
It also allows us to communicate
complex ideas with others
Language reflects cultural reality
and what a culture considers
important
Language also shapes our view of
reality, an idea known as the SapirWhorf Hypothesis
Symbols
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A symbol is anything that
represents something other than
itself
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The meanings of symbols are
arbitrary, in that meaning is not
inherent to the symbol
Anyone know what 
this symbol from the
1960’srepresents?
The meanings of symbols are
shared by a substantial number of
people in a given culture
More Symbols...
Identify and discuss the possible
meanings of the following symbols
Culture and Adaptation
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Culture is the primary means by which
humans adapt to the challenges of their
environment
Adaptation refers simply to the process
by which humans adjust to their
environment. It takes to forms:
– Specialization involves developing ways that
work well in a particular environment
– Generalized adaptability involves more
complicated yet more flexible ways of doing
things
Mechanisms of Cultural
Change
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Cultural change takes place through
two primary processes:
– Innovation—involves new practices or
tools either through discovery or
invention
– Diffusion—involves the movement of
cultural practices or tools from one
culture to another. When this occurs,
these practices or tools are usually
reformulated—modified to better fit the
new culture.
Cultural Lag
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Cultural Lag is a term
coined by William Ogburn
to refer to the tendency for
certain aspects of culture
to change more quickly
than others, often causing
conflict
Material culture tends to
change more rapidly than
non-material culture
We have the technology to
prolong life almost
indefinitely, but have not been
able to clearly articulate an
appropriate system of ethics
for “when to pull the plug”
Subcultures
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Subcultures consist of certain
segments of the population
who share certain beliefs,
lifestyles, values and norms
which are distinctive from the
population.
The notion of subculture does
not suggest an inferior
culture—rather, that it is a
distinctive culture within a
larger culture
Subculture of
Drug Users
American Culture
Relationship
between culture
and subculture
Types of Subcultures
Cultural Universals
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Cultural Universals refer to cultural features that
are found in all cultures
Anthropologists have identified several cultural
universals, including
– A division of labor—the division of tasks among
members of a population
– An incest taboo—prohibition against sexual relations
with family members
– Rites of passage—rituals marking major life
transitions
– Ideologies—belief systems that unite the members of
a culture