CULTURE

DEFINITION OF CULTURE
The web of ways of living, behaviors,
beliefs, values, customs, aesthetic standards,
social
institutions
and
styles
of
communication which a group of people have
developed to maintain its survival in a
particular physical and human environment.
Its pervasive binding force belongs to a
group of people who identify themselves as
Us. Culture is a non-evaluative term,
neither good nor bad

CONCEPT OF CULTURE
Culture is learned behavior

Each child goes through a process of

enculturation when they grow up in
a culture.
Children learn by observing the
behaviors
of
people
in
their
surroundings, including the recognition
of symbols specific to that culture.
Examples of cultural symbols

Culture is shared

Culture is an attribute not of

individuals per se but of individuals as
members of groups.
Culture is transmitted by society.
Enculturation
unifies
people
by
providing
us
with
common
experiences.

Culture is symbolic

Symbols
can
either
be
verbal
(linguistic)
or
nonverbal
(object,
written symbol).
Culture and Nature:
Differences in
How we meet the call
Culture defines what people eat, how
food is prepared, and when and how
food is eaten.

Waste
elimination
is
culturally
prescribed.
Sexual activities are also dictated by
culture (with who, how, where, and
when).

Culture
integrated

is

all-encompassing

Culture envelopes each of us, and

touches every aspect of our lives.
Culture is systematic and integrated
(it is not a random phenomenon).
Cultures teach us to share certain
core values that help shape the
personality of the individuals within a
culture.

Cultures are dynamic:

made to be broken

and

rules are

Humans are creative animals and

always do not strictly follow the
dictates of their culture.
There is individual interpretation of
each aspect of culture that is in part
due to family and personal history.
Real vs. Ideal culture.

Culture can be both adaptive and

maladaptive

Modern technology has provided for

the adaptation of humans to every
part of the globe, as ancient
technologies provided successful to
environments on a smaller scale.
Short-term vs. long-term adaptive
strategies.

Levels of culture

National: learned behavioral patterns,

beliefs, values, and institutions shared
by the citizens of a nation.
International: cultural traditions that
expand beyond cultural boundaries.
Subculture:
different traditions
practiced by groups set within a larger
culture. Frequently regionally based.

What makes cultures change?

Diffusion:
borrowing of traits
between cultures.
Acculturation: exchange of cultural
features that result from long-term
exposure between cultures.
Independent invention: Developing
to solution to problems by individual
cultures. Example: agriculture.

Forms of government

COMPONENT OF CULTURE
Customs and traditions

Rules of Behavior are enforced ideas

of right and wrong.
They can be customs, traditions, rules,
or written laws.

Religion

Answers for basic questions about the

meaning of life.
Supports values that groups of people
feel are important.
Religion is often a source of conflict
between cultures.
Monotheism is a belief in one god.
Polytheism is a belief in many gods.
Atheism is a belief in no gods.

Language

Language is the cornerstone of

culture.
All cultures have a spoken language.
People who speak the same language
often share the same
Many societies include a large number
of
people
who speak
different
languages.
Each language can have several
different dialects.

Arts and literature

They are the products of the human

imagination.
They help us pass on the cultures
basis beliefs.

Examples: art, music, literature, and

folk tales

People form governments to provide

for their common needs.
Definition
of
government:
Person/people who hold power in a
society
Democracy: people have supreme
power, government acts by and with
consent.
Republic: people choose leaders who
represent them.

Economize systems

How people use limited resources to

satisfy their wants and needs.
What to produce, how to produce it,
and for whom.
Traditional Economy: people produce
most of what they need to survive
(hunting, gathering, farming, herding
cattle, make own clothes/tools).
Market Economy: buying and selling
goods and services.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF CULTURE

Institutions

An institution is an established and

enduring
pattern
of
social
relationships. The five traditional
institutions
are
family,
religion,
politics, economics, and education. but
some sociologists argue that other
social institutions, such as science and
technology, mass media, medicine,
sport, and the military, also play
important roles in modern society.

Many social problems are generated

by inadequacies in various institutions.
For example, unemployment may be
influenced
by
the
educational
institution's
failure
to
prepare
individuals for the job market and by

alterations in the structure of the

economic institution.

example, we have no control over the

sex, race, ethnic background, and
socioeconomic status into which we
are born. Similarly, we are assigned
the status of "child," "teenager,"
"adult," or "senior citizen" on the
basis of age--something we do not
choose or control.

Social Groups

Institutions are made up of social

groups. A social group is defined as
two or more people who have a
common identity, interact, and form a
social relationship. For example, the
family in which you were reared is a
social group that is part of the family
institution. The religious association to
which you may belong is a social
group that is part of the religious
institution.
Social groups may be categorized as
primary
or
secondary. Primary
groups, which tend to involve small
numbers
of
individuals,
are
characterized by intimate and informal
interaction. Families and friends are
examples
of
primary
groups. Secondary groups, which
may involve small or large numbers of
individuals, are task-oriented and
characterized by impersonal and
formal
interaction.
Examples
of
secondary groups include employers
and their employees and clerks and
their customers.

An achieved status is assigned on

the basis of some characteristic or
behavior over which the individual has
some control. Whether or not you
achieve
the
status
of
college
graduate,
spouse,
parent,
bank
president, or prison inmate depends
largely on your own efforts, behavior,
and choices. One's ascribed statuses
may affect the likelihood of achieving
other statuses, however. For example,
if you are born into a poor
socioeconomic status you may find it
more difficult to achieve the status of
"college graduate" because of the
high cost of a college education.

Every
individual
has
numerous
statuses simultaneously. You may be a
student, parent, tutor, volunteer
fundraiser, female, and Hispanic. A
person's master status is the status
that is considered the most significant
in a person's social identity. Typically,
a person's occupational status is
regarded as his or her master status.
If you are a full-time student, your
master status is likely to be "student."

Statuses

Just as institutions consist of social

groups, social groups consist of
statuses. A status is a position a
person occupies within a social group.
The statuses we occupy largely define
our social identity. The statuses in a
family may consist of mother, father,
stepmother,
stepfather,
wife,
husband, child, and so on. Statuses
may be either ascribed or achieved.
An ascribed status is one that
society assigns to an individual on the
basis of factors over which the
individual
has
no
control.
For

Roles

Every status is associated with

many roles, or the set of rights,
obligations,
and
expectations
associated with a status. Roles guide
our behavior and allow us to predict
the behavior of others. As a student,
you are expected to attend class,
listen and take notes, study for tests,

and complete assignments. Because

you know what the role of the teacher
involves, you can predict that your
teacher will lecture, give exams, and
assign
grades
based
on
your
performance on tests.

A single status involves more than

one role. For example, the status of
prison inmate includes one role for
interacting with prison guards and
another role for interacting with other
prison inmates. Similarly, the status of
nurse involves different roles for
interacting with physicians and with
patients.

-Diverse meanings can be given to

different variations of the same object, for
example, the winking of an eye.
Language

-Enhances
communication
(lets
make sure were on the same page)
-Ensures continuity of culture (story
telling)
-Identifies societies or groups (group
specific words)
-Determines how a person is perceived
by others (proper grammar vs slang)

TYPES OF CULTURE
Material Culture formed by the
physical objects that people create

Example slang

Cars, clothing, books, buildings,

computers
Archeologists refer
items as artifacts

to

these

Non-material Culture abstract

human creations (cant touch it)
Language, family patterns, work
practices,
political
and
economic systems

Symbols:

A symbol is anything that carries a

particular meaning
recognized
by people who share a culture (a flag,
a
word, a flashing red light, a
raised fist, an animal etc).
Non-verbal gestures can be very
symbolic and diverse.

Sick
Dope
Bomb
For Schizzle my Snizzle
Fo sho
Whack
My bad
Dawg or is it Dog, or is it Dogg
(Snoop)

Values and Beliefs

ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

A system of symbols that allows

people to communicate with one
another.
Function of language:

VALUES
are
culturally
defined
standards by which people assess
desirability, goodness, and beauty and
that serve as broad guidelines for
social living.
BELIEFS are specific statements that
people hold to be true (e.g. The
possibility that the US will one day
have a female president - based on
the shared value of equal opportunity)

Norms are the agreed-upon expectations

and rules by which a culture guides the
behavior of its members in any given
situation.

Types of norms

PROSCRIPTIVE Should nots,

prohibited
PRESCRIPTIVE
Shoulds,
prescribed like medicine

actions a violation
guidelines.
Taboos

Folkways

Folkways are often referred to as

"customs."
They are standards of behavior that
are socially approved but not morally
significant.
They are norms for everyday behavior
that people follow for the sake of
tradition or convenience. Breaking a
folkway does not usually have serious
consequences.
Cultural forms of dress or food habits
are examples of folkways. In America,
if someone belched loudly while eating
at the dinner table with other people,
he or she would be breaking a folkway.
It is culturally appropriate to not belch
at the dinner table, however if this
folkway is broken, there are no moral
or legal consequences.

Mores are strict norms that control

moral and ethical behavior.
Mores are norms based on definitions
of right and wrong.
Unlike folkways, mores are morally
significant. People feel strongly about
them and violating them typically
results in disapproval.
Religious doctrines are an example of
mores. For instance, if someone were
to attend church in the nude, he or
she would offend most people of that
culture and would be morally shunned.
Also, parents who believe in the more
that only married people should live
together will disapprove of their
daughter living with her boyfriend.
They may consider the daughters

A taboo is a norm that society holds so

strongly that violating it results in
extreme disgust.
Often times the violator of the taboo is
considered unfit to live in that society.
For instance, in some Muslim cultures,
eating pork is taboo because the pig is
considered unclean.
At the more extreme end, incest and
cannibalism are taboos in most
countries.

Law

Mores

of their moral

Is a formal body of rules enacted by

the state and backed by the power of
the state.
Virtually all Taboos, like child abuse,
are enacted into law; some Mores are,
but not all. Folkways are never laws.
For example, wearing a bikini to
church may be offensive, but it is not
against the law.
Many laws (unlike mores) do not have
a moral evaluation connected to them.
Not stopping completely at a stop sign
is against the law, but you will not be
judged immoral for doing it.
Definition - A body of rules of conduct
of binding legal force and effect,
prescribed, recognized, and enforced
by a controlling authority.

CULTURAL SHOCK

Personal
disorientation
when
experiencing an unfamiliar way of life.
It is the inability to read meanings in
new surroundings.

CULTURALS DIVERSITY
High culture

Cultural patterns that distinguish a

societys elite

Popular culture

Ethno-relativism

Cultural patterns that are widespread

among societys population

Subculture

Cultural patterns set apart some

segment of societys population

Counterculture

Cultural patterns that strongly oppose

those widely accepted within a society

MORALS OF CULTURE
Ethnocentrism

The belief that ones own group or

culture is superior to all other groups
or cultures.
The tendency of most people to use
their own way of life as a standard for
judging others; now also indicates the
belief, on the part of most individuals,
that their race, culture, society, etc.,
are superior to all others

These people have gone from being

neutral about difference to being
positive. They not only accept cultural
differences, but are willing and able to
adjust their own behavior to conform
to different norms. They are able to
empathize with people from different
cultures. In many ways, they become
what is known as bi cultural or multicultural, effortlessly adjusting their
behavior to suit the culture of the
people they're with, "style switching,"
in other words. They do not give up
their own or birth culture's values and
beliefs, but they do integrate aspects
of other cultures into it.

Group 1 Members:

ABAS
ABIOG
ALAYAN
BANDALES
BARBOLINO
BASCO