Chapter 2

Culture
 Chapter Outline
 Introduction to Culture
 Theoretical Perspectives on Culture
 Bases of Human Behavior: Culture and
Biology
 The Carriers of Culture
 Cultural Diversity and Change
 Sources of Cultural Diversity and Change
 Consequences of Cultural Diversity and
Change
 Globalization
 Where This Leave Us
What Is Culture?

Culture is the total way of life shared

by members of a community. It
includes not only language, values,
and symbolic meanings, but also
technology and material objects.
Culture
Nonmaterial culture – language, values, rules,
and knowledge shared by a society.

Material culture – physical objects a society

produces, such as tools, streets, sculptures, and
toys.
 Material objects depend on the nonmaterial
culture for meaning.
Theoretical Perspectives on
Culture
The Structural-Functionalist Approach
 Treats culture as the underlying basis of
interaction
 Views culture as a ‘given’
 Emphasizes how culture shapes us rather
than in how culture itself is shaped
 Concentrates on illustrating
how norms, values, and language guide
our behavior
Theoretical Perspectives on
Culture
The Conflict Theory Approach
 Focuses on culture as a social product
 Queries whose interests are served by
how culture develops
 Investigates how culture can reinforce
power divisions within society
 Argues that money brings power and
status, and that cultural capital does the
same
Cultural Capital:

 Refers to the attitudes and knowledge that

characterize the upper social classes.
 If you lack some of the cultural capital
needed to marry into or work in the upper
classes, you may be ridiculed if you try to
break into these social circles.
 In this way, culture serves as a symbolic
boundary that keeps the social classes
apart.
Theoretical Perspectives on
Culture
The Symbolic Interactionist Approach
 Interested in how people interpret and use
what they see in the media
 Explores the meanings people derive from
culture and cultural products, and how
those meanings result from social
interaction
Bases of Human Behavior:
Culture and Biology

Cultural perspective

Regardless of theoretical
perspective, sociologists
maintain that culture is:
1. Problem solving
2. Relative
3. A social product
Bases of Human Behavior:
Culture and Biology
Culture is problem solving …
 Cultural patterns evolve to provide
solutions to recurrent problems that
humans encounter in their physical
environments.
 Although these problems are universal,
the solutions people adopt vary
considerably.
Bases of Human Behavior:
Culture and Biology
Culture is relative…
 Cultural relativity – requires that each
cultural trait be evaluated in the context
of its own culture
 Ethnocentrism – the tendency to
judge other cultures according to the
norms and values of our own culture
 Ethnocentrism

In 1911, a British team and a Norwegian team raced to become the

first explorers to reach Antarctica. The British team relied on
man-hauled sleds and perished. The Norwegian team adapted
Inuit dog sleds and skiing techniques and succeeded.
Bases of Human Behavior:
Culture and Biology
Culture is a social product…
 Immense cultural diversity in human
societies results not from unique gene
pools, but from cultural evolution.
 Some aspects are deliberately produced.
 Culture depends on language.
 People learn culture, and as they use it,
they change it.
Culture and Biology
Biological Perspective
 Sociobiology is the study of the biological
basis of all forms of human behavior.
 Maintains that human behavior is based in
biology developed through evolution and
natural selection.
 Sociobiologists argue that humans have
developed altruism (unselfish behavior) as
an adaptive mechanism.
The Carriers of Culture
 Language

 Values

 Norms
Language is an important carrier
and symbol of culture. Protests
have emerged whenever people
feel their language is under attack.
The Carriers of Culture
Language:
The ability to communicate in symbols—orally,
by manual sign, or by writing

• language as embodiment of culture

• language as symbol
• language as framework
The Carriers of Culture
Language as embodiment
of culture
 Language embodies the values and
meanings of a society as well as rituals,
ceremonies, stories, and prayers.
The Carriers of Culture
Language as symbol
 Language symbolizes a group’s
separation from others while
simultaneously symbolizing unity within
the group of speakers.
(Joseph et al. 2003; Romaine 2000;Trudgill 2000)
The Carriers of Culture
Language as a framework
 Sapir-Whorf hypothesis – argues that the
grammar, structure, and categories embodied
in each language affect how its speakers see
reality
Also known as the linguistic relativity hypothesis

Example: Hopi grammar does not have past,

present, and future grammatical tenses. This
explains why Hopi speakers think differently about
time than do English speakers.
Map 2.1: Percentage of U.S. Residents 5 Years and Older Who Speak a
Language Other Than English at Home Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census (2011b).
The Carriers of Culture
Values:
Shared ideas about desirable goals

 Examples of group values: tenderness and

cooperation; toughness and competition

 Some values tend to be universal—nearly

all groups value stability and
security, a strong family, and good health.
The Carriers of Culture
Norms:
Shared rules of conduct that specify how
people ought to think

 Folkways are norms that are the customary,

normal, habitual ways a group does things.
 Mores are norms associated with fairly strong
ideas of right or wrong; they carry a moral
connotation.
 Laws are mores that are enforced and
sanctioned by the authority of government.
Norms that govern daily life are usually not as explicit as in the
example above. Nevertheless, most of us figure out social norms
without much trouble just from observing those around us.
Social Control
 Forces and processes encourage people to
follow the norms and values of their culture
and society.
 Through indoctrination, learning, and
experience, many of society’s norms come
to seem so natural that we cannot imagine
acting differently.
 No society relies completely on this voluntary
compliance—all encourage conformity by the
use of sanctions.
 Sanctions are rewards for conformity or
punishments for nonconformity.
Mores that are enforced and sanctioned by the
government are laws. Even though something is a
law, however, it doesn’t mean that it reflects popular
norms and values. For example, texting while driving
remains common even where it is illegal.
Cultural Diversity and Change
Subcultures:
Groups that share the overall culture of a society
but maintain a distinctive set of values, norms,
lifestyles, traditions, and language.

Counterculture:
Groups whose values, interests, beliefs, and
lifestyles conflict with those of the larger culture.
Cultural Diversity and Change
Assimilation
 The process through which individuals learn
and adopt the values and social practices
of the dominant group, more or less giving
up their own values in the process.
Multiculturalism
 The belief that the different cultural
strands within a culture should be valued
and nourished.
 Deafness as a Subculture

These deaf students believe that they share a common

culture and should have rights like those given to any
minority culture.
Sources of Cultural Diversity
and Change
 Environment
 Isolation
 Cultural Diffusion
 Technology
 Mass Media
Sources of Cultural
Diversity and Change
Environment
 Different environmental conditions in which
people live determine things like:
• what economies can flourish.
• what foods are practical.
• the degree of scarcity or abundance.
Sources of Cultural Diversity
and Change
Isolation
 When a culture is cut off from interaction
with other cultures, it is likely to develop
unique norms and values.
Sources of Cultural Diversity
and Change
Cultural Diffusion
 The process by which
aspects of one culture
or subculture are
incorporated into
another.
 Globalization of culture
spreads cultural
elements around the
world.
Sources of Cultural Diversity
and Change
Technology
 Tools available to a culture will affect its
norms and values and its economic and
social relationships.
Example: Facebook
 Not only attitudes toward privacy but also
access (or lack of access) to privacy are
affected.
Sources of Cultural Diversity
and Change
Mass Media
 Popular culture refers to aspects of culture
that are widely accessible and commonly
shared by most members of a society,
especially those in the middle, working, and
lower classes.

 High culture refers to the cultural

preferences associated with the upper class.
Sources of Cultural Diversity
and Change
Dominant Cultural Themes
 Cultures generally contain dominant
themes that give them a distinct character
and direction. Those themes also help
create a closed system.
 New ideas, values, and inventions gain
acceptance when they fit into the existing
culture without too greatly distorting
existing patterns.
Media and Culture
Media promote unrealistic images
that may alter cultural notions about
what constitutes attractiveness and
reduce body satisfaction in young
people.
 Sociological studies have shown
that: 1) individuals are active
consumers of media messages, 2)
different audiences interpret the
same message differently, and 3)
media do shape both culture and
individual beliefs and actions.
We judge ourselves through the
“media-filled” eye of others who
matter to us.
Milkie (1999)
Consequences of Cultural Diversity
and Change
 Cultural lag
occurs when one part of a culture
changes more rapidly than another.

 Culture Shock
refers to disconcerting and unpleasant
experiences that can occur when
individuals encounter a different culture.
Globalization
 The process through which ideas,
resources, practices, and people
increasingly operate in a worldwide rather
than local framework. (Ritzer 2011)

 Globalization has political and economic as

well as cultural impacts.

 Cultural change can occur not only within a

society but also across societies.
As globalization spreads
American products and
American cultural values
around the world, it can
challenge the cultures of
other societies. As a
result, globalization can
sharply increase tensions
both within nations and
between the United States
and other nations.
Globalization
Sources of globalization
 Technological change: cell and satellite
phones, email, and Internet

Political change: collapse of Soviet Union,

emergence of European Union, and the
North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA)
Globalization
Impact of globalization
Cultural:
 Global spread of culture – movies,
television shows, music, literature, and
other arts distributed and enjoyed around
the world
 Cultural values transmitted
 Global exposure to cultural alternatives
Globalization
Impact of globalization
Economic:
 Economic activity takes place between
people who live in different nations as goods
and services are produced and sold
internationally.
 Some scholars view international economic
enterprise as a path to better quality of living
globally. Others view it as a path that exploits
poorer nations.
Globalization
Impact of globalization
Political:
 Powerful transnational corporations (Coca
Cola, United Fruit Company) now dwarf many
national governments.
 Proliferation of international organizations
(World Bank, International Monetary Fund,
and United Nation’s International Criminal
Court as examples)
Where this leaves us…
 Culture is a ‘tool kit’ that helps people adapt
to their circumstances.
 Culture is learned, but has biological roots.
 Language and values are central
components.
 Cultural diversity is adaptive to conditions;
cultural lag occurs when parts of a culture do
not adapt at the same time.
 Globalization operates at a worldwide
framework rather than a local one, with
political, cultural, and economic effects.
Quick Quiz
1. Which of the following concepts refers to
the total way of life shared by members of
a society?
A. values
B. norms
C. culture
D. cultural universals
 Answer: C
Culture refers to the total way of life shared
by members of a society.
2. Within sociology, there are several
different approaches to the study of culture.
The _________ approach is more interested
in how culture shapes individuals than in how
economies shape culture.
A. structural-functional
B. conflict
C. biological
D. conservative
 Answer: A
Within sociology, there are several different
approaches to the study of culture. The
structural-functional approach is more
interested in how culture shapes individuals
than in how economies shape culture.
3.The requirement that each cultural trait
be evaluated in the context of its own
culture is known as:
A. ethnocentrism.
B. cultural diffusion.
C. normative adaptation.
D. cultural relativity.
 Answer: D
The requirement that each cultural trait be
evaluated in the context of its own culture is
known as cultural relativity.