Powerpoint #3 - Culture Flashcards
What is culture?
“foundation of human society”
-combination of ideas, behaviors, and material objects that people have created/adopted for carrying out necessary tasks of daily life
What is the “foundation of civilization”?
handing down culture from generation to generation
Who was Ralph Linton?
stated that culture = social heredity, many things in our culture were invented elsewhere
What are the components of culture?
- Material culture: physical things created by a society
- ->art, architecture, technological artifacts (either good or bad) - Non-material culture: symbols, language, values/beliefs, norms
What are cognitive elements?
expressing thoughts, beliefs, preferences
–> ex. symbols, values, beliefs
What are normative elements?
expressions of how we should behave
–> ex. norms
What are values?
standards of desirability, rightness, or importance in a society
What are norms?
expectations of how you should behave
-play more to roles that individuals play, not individuals themselves
(two types: folkways and mores)
What are folkways?
rules governing everyday conduct that are not considered to be morally important and are not strictly enforced
–> ex. wearing a tie to church
What are mores?
really important, serious norms that are strictly enforced/may become laws
–> ex. do not murder/cheat on a test
What are sanctions?
acts designed to encourage behaviors conforming to norms and discourage behavior that violates (punishment vs. reward)
What is dominant culture?
the culture that takes precedence in activities/events involving people of many categories of population
- we oftentimes don’t question the dominant culture
- supports those who have the greatest influence through ideologies, values, and beliefs
(ex. swearing oath on the Bible)
What are subcultures?
culture that maintains many aspects of dominant culture, but has some unique characteristics to distinguish its members
-may be based on ethnic heritage, lifestyle choices, social class, age, race, gender, etc
What are countercultures?
subculture that challenges important aspects of the dominant culture, such as beliefs, attitudes, or values
-seek to create alternate lifestyle
What is multiculturalism?
perspective that recognizes the contributions of diverse groups to our society, none is better than the other
What is ethnocentrism?
your own culture is the standard in which others can be judged right or wrong
What is the Functional View of culture?
societies have structures which can have positive or negative consequences on society
Who was Robert Murdock?
examined hundreds of cultures and identified dozens of cultural universals (ex. food, calendar system, language)
What is the Interactionist View of culture?
examines how we come to define meaning of cultural elements through social interaction
What is the Conflict View of culture?
high culture: artifacts, values, knowledge, and other cultural elements that societal elites use to distinguish them from the masses
strategy of distinction: differentiating the elite from the masses by resources that may be unaccessible to those of the lower classes
What is popular culture?
elements of culture that appeal to the masses
–> cannot distinguish yourself by pop culture
What is cultural lag theory?
technological changes propel some aspects of culture while others remain lagging behind technology
What is cultural diffusion?
spread of cultural elements such as objects and ideas from one culture to another
What is cultural leveling?
the reduction of differences (good or bad) between cultures resulting in a loss of cultural uniqueness and cultural heritage
