CULTURE Flashcards
whats culture and its 2 types
The way of life of a particular group of people, and the distinct characteristics
- nonmaterial
- material
whats material culture
Consists of artifacts e.g. tools and products - designed for leisure (objects)
- reflects the values and beliefs of the people who live in a culture e.g. american flag, cell phones, cars, monuments, money
whats nonmaterial culture
Concepts like norms, values and beliefs, symbols, and
language (non-object) e.g. laws, hand gestures, english language, individuality
how is culture created and changed
- socially constructed and created through interactions among people - dynamic because of this
- The language of a culture changes over time
how are words related to culture
Words are symbols - used to describe our material goods, beliefs, values, hopes and fears, and every other aspect of our culture - In turn, they become part of our culture and indicate who we are as a people
what are social norms
Expectations about appropriate thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a variety of situations (mores + folkways)
what are generalized other
Our perceptions of other communities - the collective knowledge of people that we bring to each situation
what is agency
The ability to act and think independently of social constraints; some norms are easier to ignore than others
what is status
An individual’s relative position in society
- Status is about relative power and respect
*Each society creates statuses and roles
what are roles
Expectations about how people of a given status should think, feel, and behave
*Each society creates statuses and roles
what are values
What a society holds to be desirable, good, and important
what are beliefs
What we deem to be true (as an individual)
- tend to relate to family upbringing and are transmitted through observation and reinforcement
important consideration about values and beliefs
- All values are beliefs, but not all beliefs are values
- they’re influenced by other aspects of a child’s environment
- Society and its institutions impact these
what are symbols
anything that has the same meaning for two or more people - convey both thoughts and emotions
e.g Language is a series of symbols used to communicate meaning among people - Technological inventions can prompt the creation of new words e.g. “sexting”, emojis
what are Social identities
a unique set of statuses, roles, and traits that each of us has - we develop our identities based on statuses and roles available to us
- Culture provides us with the tools to develop our social identities - we incorporate elements of culture with our own, individual way of doing things
- gives us the power to change ourselves and society - link back to the duality at the core of sociology
