1. Culture

2. Culture vs. Instinct
Why is culture more important than instinct in determining human behavior?
Instincts  innate (unlearned) patterns of behavior
Reflexes  automatic reaction to physical stimulus
Drives  impulse to reduce discomfort

3. What is culture?
It consists of all the shared products of human groups
Material Culture  physical objects created by human groups, also known as artifacts
Nonmaterial Culture  abstract human creations such as language, ideas, beliefs, rules, skills, family patterns, work practices, and political and economic systems

4. Culture and society ARE NOT the same!!
Culture vs. Society
Society is a group of mutually interdependent people who have organized in such a way as to share a common culture and feeling of unity
Culture and society ARE NOT the same!!

5. Components of Culture Symbols Language Values
Norms (folkways, mores, taboos, laws)

6. Breaking it down… Food Ethnic Language Tradition Religion
Entertainment
Clothing
Ethnic
Tradition
Standard of Living
Government
Education

7. Cultural Universals
Cultural Universals – general cultural traits that exist in all cultures
How are these cultural universals expressed?
Cultural particulars  the ways in which a culture expresses universal traits
Why do cultural universals exists?

8. Cultural Universals Economy Clothing, Food, Shelter, Communications,
Researchers have identified more than 70 traits in all cultures
Economy
Clothing, Food, Shelter, Communications,
Transportation, Business, Jobs, Services, Goods,
Technology, Tools, Trade
Institutions
Economy, Religion, Education, Government, Family
Arts
Folk Tales, Crafts, Music, Theater, Dance, Literature,
Art
Language
Words, Expressions, Pronunciations, Alphabet,
Symbols
Environment
Communities, Geography, Geology, Habitat, Wildlife,
Climates, Resources
Recreation
Games, Toys, Arts, Media, Holidays, Festivals
Beliefs
Values, Traditions, Ethnicity, Customs, Religions,
Morals

9. Examining Culture
Culture is DYNAMIC not static – it is always changing!
Sociologists divide culture into three parts:
Traits
Complexes
Patterns

10. ***Diagram on my website under CULTURE folder!***
Levels of Culture
***Diagram on my website under CULTURE folder!***

12. Beliefs and Physical Objects
Nonmaterial culture – Ideas, knowledge, and beliefs that influence people’s behavior
Beliefs – ideas about the nature of reality
Material Culture – the concrete, tangible objects of a culture
How are these two related??

13. Ideal Culture vs. Real Culture
Ideal Culture  Cultural guidelines that group member claim to accept
Real Culture  Actual behavior of members of a group

14. Cultural Diversity
Social Categories  groupings of persons who share social characteristics
Subculture – a group that is part of the dominant culture but that differs from it in some important respects
Counterculture – a subculture deliberately and consciously opposed to certain central beliefs or attitudes of the dominant culture

15. Ethnocentrism Judging others in terms of one’s own cultural standards
Examples?
Does ethnocentrism help or hurt society?

16. Norms
Norms are the specific cultural expectations for how to behave in a given situation
They are the agreed-upon expectations and rules by which the members of a culture behave
Norms can be broken down into FOUR categories

17. Folkways Often referred to as "customs”
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

18. Mores 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

19. Taboos
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

20. Laws
A law is a norm that is written down and enforced by an official law enforcement agency