Sociology- culture

culture

knowledge, values, customs, and physical objects that are shared by members of a society

-passed down from generation to generation

Material culture

Concrete, tangible things in a culture

-cars, buildings, phones

Non-Material culture

Beliefs, rules, customs, family systems, economic system

-learned, not instincts

Society

specific territory where people live and share culture.

instincts

Innate(un-learned), patterns of behavior

-cant survive on instincts alone

Heredatiory

genetic makeup dose not make up human behavior.

-passed down from parents to offspring

reflex

automatic reaction to something

Drive

impulse to reduce discomfort

-eating when hungry

Nature

genetics make up our behavior

Nurture

environment, upbringing, and life experiences determine behavior

Sociobiology

Belief that human behavior is passed down through genetic code, which changes and evolves over generations

-Controversial because relies on the idea that human behavior is hardwired by genes rather than shaped by free will, learning, or social environments

-much more than nature

Symbols

represent something

-clapping: Good(america) Bad(latin america)

language importance

Allows to create culture, pass on ideas, expression and knowlage

Sapir-whorf Hypothesis (linguistic reality)

Reality depends a LOT on language

-if something is important there is a lot of words for it

Lexical gap (sapir-whorf Hyp)

no direct meaning for a word in a lanugage

Norms

defining appropriate and inappropriate behavior

-Whats normal in a society is not in another

-is not noticed until someone breaks it

Folkway

norms that lack moral significance

-covering mouth(burp, cough), rasing hands

More

Norms that have more dimension, not illegal

-not respecting elders

Taboo

Rule of behaving, if broken is punished by group

-Religious(birth control for christana)

law

defined and enforced by governments

Scanlations

Rewards and punishments used to encourage people to follow norms

-Formal: done by people in authority

-Informal: rewards that are appealed by anyone in a group. To please someone

Value

ideas about what is good or desirable shared by most of society

-norms can look difference even if value is same (education)

-influence norms: value independence 16y can drive.

Beliefs

ideas about nature of reality

-can be true or false, still believe

ideal culture

cultural guidelines that group members claim to accept

-perfect standard

Real culture

actual behavior of members of the group

(cultural change) Discovery

finding something that allays exists

-people that found oil

(cultural change) Invention

something new

-smartphones, social media, cars

(cultural change) Diffusion

borrowing from other cultures

-food, religion, democrocy

Social categories

Grouping of people that share a social charistic

subculture

Group that is a part of a dominant culture but differs in important aspects

-goth

Counter culture

subculture deliberately apposed to central beliefs of dominant culture

-Punks, gangs, drug abuse

Ethnocentrism

Judging others by your own cultural standards

-afghans

cultural universal

General cultural traits In all cultures

-sports, cooking, family

Cultural perticulars

The ways in which a culture expresses universal traits

-caring for children (daycare stay at home parent)

Assmilition

Blending of fusing minority groups into dominant society

Acculturation

Adapting culture of new socioty while retaining your own culture