SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Define Society

It is the largest unit to which an individual belongs. It can be viewed as a collection of people living and interacting within the same geographical area with which one feels a sense of belonging.

Explain the elements of society

1. Population Characteristics: The demographic features of a population and human ecology.

2. Social Behavior: The way in which members of a group interact with one another and other groups.

3. Social Institutions: Organized relationship between people that perform a specific function within society. They are the framework on which society is built and are intangible eg. the economy, family, religion, education, politics

4. Cultural Influences

5. Social Change

What are social organizations?

These are the groups that are formed in society based on cherished beliefs and values. They are tangible

List the characteristics of a society

• Consists of social institutions

• Members are often citizens

• Members work towards a specific goal

Define culture

A man’s way of life that embraces every aspect of life or an accumulation of symbols, ideas and material products associated with a social system.

Define Enculturation

The process by which an individual learns his/her culture by means of socialization and imitation

What is the dominant culture practiced in the Caribbean

Mass/Popular Culture

List four characteristics of culture

1. It satisfies human needs in a particular way

2. Acquired through learning

3. Based on the use of symbols

4. Consists of individual traits or group of traits called patterns

Differentiate between material and non-material culture

Material culture refers to those tangible things that the members of society create to sustain society’s survival. However, non- material culture refers to the intangible aspects like norms, beliefs, customs and values.

Differentiate between real and ideal culture

Real culture refers to the values and standards that people follow in society as opposed to the cultural ideal. Whereas, ideal culture refers to the values and standards that people claim to hold eg. marriage before sex

Define subculture

Groups of people that have something in common with each other that distinguished them in a significant way from other social groups.

Defines pluralism

A society where two or more racial/ethnic groups live together but there is limited mixing and intermarriage between cultures

Define culture shock

The confused and uneasy feeling that people get when dealing with people of another culture.

Define assimilation

The process by which people of one culture moves to a country where another culture dominates, resulting in them giving up their culture and picking up the dominant culture.

Define ethnocentrism

The idea or belief that one’s culture is superior to another

Define cultural relativism

The belief that no culture should be judged based on the standards of another

Define cultural lag

The failure of certain parts of a culture to keep up with other parts leading to erosion

Define cultural diffusion

The spreading of culture from the society which it originated

Define norms

The set of unwritten rules or guidelines that direct what is considered appropriate behaviour in a particular situation

Define values

The belief that something is good. It defines what is important, worthwhile, and worth striving for. Our values represent how strongly we feel about certain qualities.