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Sociology
Chapter 3: Cultural Conformity and Adaptation
Section 1: The American Value System
* The vast majority of American share certain values = traditional American culture.
* Robin M. Williams – sociologist who identified 15 values central to the American way
of life. They include:
1. Personal Achievement
* People in the U.S. value individualism and competition
* Achievement is especially valued in employment, where power and wealth =
personal achievement.
2. Individualism
* Key to personal achievement; success through hard work and initiative.
* Individual is blamed for his/her failure.
3. Work
* Virtue  discipline, dedication, and hard work
* Those who do not work  considered lazy and immoral
4. Morality and Humanitarianism
* The U.S. was founded on strong religious faith, a belief in justice and equality,
on charity toward the less fortunate
* Viewing the world in terms of right and wrong.
5. Efficiency and Practicality
* Believe every problem has a solution
* Objects judged on usefulness and people judged on their ability to get things
done.
6. Progress and Material Comfort
* Looking to the future with optimism
* Hard work and determination  living standards will continue to improve
* Science and technology can make the world a better place, and more
comfortable
7. Equality and Democracy
* U.S. founded on the principle of human equality
* Citizens have the right to express their opinions and participate freely in
choosing government representatives.
8. Freedom
* Freedoms of religion, speech, press, etc., guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.
- Other core American values that have been suggested: nationalism and patriotism,
science and rationality, racial and group superiority, education, religious values, romantic
love/marriage
- Even though values are vital to the stability of society, they may sometimes produce
conflict. Not everyone agrees on what are acceptable American values.
Our Changing Values
- Values are dynamic. Some values change and new one emerge.
- Newer values in the U.S.
1. Self-Fulfillment: A commitment to the full development of one’s personality,
talents, and potential.
Examples of things in the culture that reflect this:
* Leisure, physical fitness, youthfulness
* Self-help industry and human potential movement  seminars, TV programs,
and books that help people improve their personal and professional lives.
* Health clubs and diet centers promise to transform people’s health and looks.
* Advertisements reflect this.
* Narcissism: extreme self-centeredness. Some sociologists consider the
emphasis on self-fulfillment a personality disorder.
2. Concern for the Environment and its Protection
People have started to realize that damage caused by humans is having an adverse
effect on the quality of life.
Advertising and Culture:
* American values effect business practices in the U.S., but companies have also
influenced American values through advertising. Ads can influence people’s views and
actions.
* Advertisers try to sell their products to American consumers by explaining how their
products will enhance consumers’ material comfort and lead to self-fulfillment.
* Advertisers spread their message through the mass media via newspaper, magazines,
television, radio, the Internet, and unused public spaces.
Section 2: Social Control
* Every society has cultural norms that reflect the cultural values that members see as
important. These norms must be upheld to allow society to run smoothly.
Norm = shared rules of conduct that tell people how to act in specific situations
* Norms are enforced in two ways:
1. internalization – process by which a norm becomes part of an individual’s
personality. The norm becomes so that the individual is conditioned to conform
to society’s expectations, without even thinking about it.
Ex: Red Light  You stop.
Sit down to eat  pick up your fork and knife automatically.
2. sanction – motivate some people to follow norms; rewards and punishments
used to enforce conformity to norms. They must be consistently enforced to
insure conformity.
Types of Sanctions:
A. positive sanction: an action that rewards a particular type of behavior.
ex: employers give raises, trophies for sports, etc.
B. negative sanction: discourages undesirable behavior; a punishment or
threat of punishment used to enforce conformity
ex: car towed for parking in a no-parking zone, ridicule, rejection, fines,
imprisonment
* The more important the norm is to social stability, the more serious the
negative sanction.
C. formal sanction: a reward or punishment given by a formal
organization or regulatory agency, such as a school, business, or
government.
ex: low grades, suspension from school, graduation certificates, raises
D. informal sanction: a spontaneous expression of approval or
disapproval given by an individual or a group. These are especially
effective with teenagers “fitting in”.
ex: standing ovations, compliments, pats on the back, insults, gossip,
frowns
Social control – the enforcing of norms through either internal or external means.
* Principle means  self-control learned through the internalization of norms or
external control through the use of sanctions via authority figures (police, courts,
religion, family, public opinion)
* System of social control: follow certain rules of behavior for society to function
smoothly; If norms are ignored, social order is in jeopardy, social stability is lost.
Section 3: Social Change
* ALL cultures change over time; although they may change at different rates.
* The pace of change is closely related to the total number of cultural traits that a culture
has at a particular time.
More traits  faster the change (More possibilities for change exist.)
* Society: set of interrelated parts – change in one aspect of society produces changes
throughout the system.
* Factors that stimulate social change:
1. Values and Beliefs
- ideology: system of beliefs or ideas that justifies the social, moral, religious,
political, or economic interests held by a group or by society (spread through
social movements).
- social movement: a long-term conscious effort to promote or prevent social
change, usually involving a large number of people.
Ex: Prohibition, women’s rights, peace movement, gay rights movement, civil
rights movement
2. Technology
- the knowledge and tools that people use to manipulate their environment.
- social change also occurs when people find new ways to manipulate their
environment.
- New technology arises through:
a. discovery: when people recognize new uses for existing elements in
the world or begin to understand them in new ways. Ex: atomic fission,
chewing gum, and oil shale
b. invention: when people use existing knowledge to create something
that did NOT previously exist; material objects, ideas, or patterns of
behavior. Ex: objects  cherry pitter, small computer; ideas  new
hobbies, businesses, political/religious movements
3. Population
- a change in the size of the population may bring about changes in the culture
(economy). Ex: The higher the population, more crowded places and less food,
housing, and schools, etc.
- the arrival of new groups of people with their own unique cultural traits and
values has influenced American culture. Ex: foods brought by immigration
groups (Mexican, Italian, Chinese foods) are common in U.S. culture.
- Two way process (other countries eat fast foods)
- Changes can occur from changes in the average age of a population. Ex: Baby
Boomers – we now need more services for the elderly. If fewer people have
babies, there is less need for schools, etc.
4. Diffusion
- process of spreading culture traits from one society to another.
- People often borrow ideas, beliefs, and material objects from other societies.
- The more contact a society has with other societies, the more culture traits it will
borrow (via mass transportation and instant communication).
- Cultures adopt material culture and technology more freely than ideas and
beliefs.
- Reformulation: societies often adapt the culture traits they borrow to suit their
own particular needs. (Ex: blending Christian values with traditional beliefs)
5. The Physical Environment
- Provides conditions that may encourage or discourage cultural change.
* local crops and food sources
* natural disasters
* supply of natural resources (ex: gas and gas prices)
6. Wars and Conquests
- Not as common as other forms of social change. They bring about the greatest
amount of change in the least amount of time.
- Causes loss of lives and destruction of property, and changes in the economy.
- Can lead to government changes (leaders, policies, etc.)
Resistance to Change
* In general, people are resistant to change. Regardless of the source of social change,
cultural change rarely occurs without opposition.
* Social change usually occurs as a result of a compromise between opposing forces.
* Some people will never accept change, but, in time, will adapt to it.
* Reasons why people resist social change:
1. ethnocentrism – tendency to view one’s own culture or group as superior to
others.
- People within a society are resistant when the change comes from outside of
society as people tend to believe their own ideas and ways of doing things are
best.
2. cultural lag – not all cultural traits change at the same rate. Some may come
quicker than others.
- Material culture, due to technology, changes must faster than non-material
culture.
3. vested interests – a person who is satisfied with the way things are now is
likely to resist change; they fear the unknown. They will resist any change that
threatens their security or standard of living  they have a vested interest to
protect.
Ex: workers resisting new technology in the workplace, out of fear it will
eliminate their job.