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Understanding Cultural Diversity and Society: Language, Norms, and Values

Explore how culture shapes society through language, norms, and values. Learn about folkways, mores, beliefs, material culture, and the impact of cultural diversity. Discover the significance of subcultures, counter cultures, and ethnocentrism.

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Understanding Cultural Diversity and Society: Language, Norms, and Values

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  1. CULTURE

  2. CULTURE • CULTURE: knowledge, language, values, customs, and physical objects that are passed from generation to generation among members of a group • It guides our relationships with others

  3. SOCIETY • Def: a group of people who inhabit a specific territory and share a common culture • Culture defines a society’s way of life • It is learned

  4. CULTURE VS INSTINCTS • INSTINCTS: unlearned patterns of behavior (innate) • Instincts may create a drive (impulse to reduce discomfort) but do not teach • Culture focuses instincts

  5. SOCIOBIOLOGY • The systematic study of how biology influences human behavior • Combines Darwin’s natural selection and modern genetics • Certain social behaviors are beneficial and therefore carry on in society

  6. SECTION 2: LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

  7. SAPIR-WHORF HYPOTHESIS • Hypothesis of Linguistic Relativity: our idea of reality depends largely upon language • If something is important to a culture, there will be many words to describe it

  8. EXPANDING PERCEPTION • Exposure to another language can alter a person’s perception • Understanding the cultural norms of another society is beneficial

  9. SECTION 3: NORMS AND VALUES

  10. NORMS • Def: rules that define behavior • Anything is appropriate when norms approve of it • Change over time b/c of: • 1) Invention: creation of new cultural elements • 2) Discovery: better understanding of something already known • 3) Diffusion: spread of ideas

  11. 3 TYPES OF NORMS • There are 3 identified types of norms • Violation of these is tolerated in different degrees

  12. FOLKWAYS • Norms that lack moral significance • Not vital to group welfare • Violations is tolerated but seen as odd

  13. MORES • Norms that have moral dimensions and that should be followed by members of the society • TABOO: a rule of behavior; violation of which calls for strong punishment

  14. LAWS • Norm that is formally defined and enforced by officials • Mores are usually good sources for laws • Folkways can also become laws

  15. SANCTIONS • Def: rewards and punishments used to encourage people to follow norms • 2 types…

  16. FORMAL SANCTIONS • Def: imposed by persons given special authority • Positive---awards • Negative---punishments

  17. INFORMAL SANCTIONS • Def: rewards or punishments that can be applied by most members of a group • Positive and negative as well

  18. VALUES---THE BASIS FOR NORMS • Def: broad ideas about what is good or desirable shared by ppl in a society • Different groups in the same society can have different norms based on the same values • Very general

  19. BASIC U.S. VALUES • 1) Achievement and success • 2) Activity and work • 3) Efficiency and practicality • 4) Equality • 5) Democracy • 6) Group superiority • All are subject to change

  20. BELIEFS AND MATERIAL CULTURE

  21. z z NONMATERIAL/MATERIAL CULTURE • Nonmaterial culture: ideas, knowledge, and beliefs that influence behavior • Material culture: the concrete, tangible objects of a culture

  22. BELIEFS—WHY THEY MATTER • Belief: ideas about the nature of reality • Can be true or false • Ppl base their behavior on beliefs • They provide a sense of community • They put into action the values considered important

  23. MATERIAL CULTURE RELATION TO NONMATERIAL • Physical objects only have the meaning that ppl apply to them • We apply norms, values, and beliefs to physical objects, which is what defines them

  24. IDEAL AND REAL CULTURE • Ideal culture: cultural guidelines that group members claim to accept • Real culture: actual behavior patterns • A gap usually exists between these 2 in most societies

  25. CULTURAL DIVERSITY

  26. SOCIAL CATEGORIES • Def: groupings of persons who share social characteristics • Age, gender, religion, etc… • Cultural relevance: having materials appropriate for cultures

  27. FOLK AND POP • Folk culture: practiced by traditional groups, usually in isolation • Pop culture: widespread cultural patterns • Culture shock: feeling of surprise and confusion when encountering different cultures

  28. SUBCULTURES • Def: group that is part of the dominant culture but differs in some important aspects • Can be labeled in negative ways (stereotypes) • Can lead to problems

  29. COUNTERCULTURES • Def: subculture deliberately and consciously opposed to central beliefs or attitudes of the dominant culture • Hippies, goths, punks, etc…

  30. ETHNOCENTRISM • Def: judging other in terms of one own’s cultural standards • Black vs. White • North vs. South • It’s okay to feel good about who you are • It’s not okay to think you’re better because of it

  31. CULTURAL UNIVERSALS • Def: general cultural traits that exist in all cultures • Sports, cooking, education, etc… • Cultural particulars: the ways in which a culture expresses universal traits

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