Generalizations Patterns of behavior can be seen in particular individuals Sociologists look at personal choice in social context: Individuals are unique but, society’s social forces shape us into “types” of people Categories make us conform

Stereotype Generalizations are not stereotypes Stereotype: Exaggerated description applied to every person in some category

CULTURE The values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that form a people’s way of life

Forms of Culture Nonmaterial culture Material culture The intangible world of ideas created by members of a society Material culture The tangible items created by members of a society

Cultural Transmission Elements of Culture Cultural Transmission How we pass culture to the next generation is based on how we communicate it.

Symbols and Language Symbol Language Meaning from items recognized by people who share a culture Reality for humans is found in the meaning of things they carry with them Language A system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another Non-Verbal Language Facial Expressions are universal language Gestures can carry different meanings

Cultural Universals Traits that are part of every known culture and include: Facial Expressions Concept of Family Funeral Rites Jokes

Cultural Transmission Humans pass our experiences to the next generation in how we communicate it. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis People see and understand the world through language The limits of language indicate the limits of one’s world The language we use determines how we experience the world and how we express that experience.

Values and Beliefs Together they form attitudes and opinion Values Culturally defined guidelines that support actions (behavior, communication, interaction with others) Ideas society feels are important Beliefs Statements people accept as truth, without proof “We are all created equal” Together they form attitudes and opinion

Norms and Social Control rules and expectations for life including: FOLKWAYS (difference between right and rude) Norms for routine and causal interaction, hold the door open for the person behind you PRESCRIPTIVE Shoulds, “drive on the right side of the road” MORES (taboos) Widely observed and have great moral significance PROSCRIPTIVE Should nots, “don’t use drugs” Social Control Goal is to have people in a society conform to the expectations guilt, shame, law, sanctions (rewards or punishments)

Ideal v. Real Culture Ideal Culture Real Culture The way things should be Mandated by values and norms Real Culture The way things actually occur in everyday life

Sociology teaches us there are many ways of life in one world Cultural Diversity Sociology teaches us there are many ways of life in one world

Culture Shock Culture shock can be experienced or inflicted. How people read new surroundings. Culture shock can be experienced or inflicted.

Cultural Diversity Counterculture High culture Popular culture Cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite Popular culture Cultural patterns that are widespread among society’s population Subculture Cultural patterns set apart some segment of society’s population Counterculture Cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society 1960s: Hippies: Rejected material possessions and competition in America

Cultural Changes Invention: Discovery: Diffusion: creating new cultural elements Telephone or airplane Discovery: recognizing and better understanding of something already in existence DNA or Outer Space Diffusion: the spread of cultural traits from one society to another Silk or Jazz

Interdependence Ethnocentrism Cultural relativism Multiculturalism The practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture Cultural relativism The practice of judging a culture by its own standards Multiculturalism An educational program recognizing the cultural diversity of the United States and promoting the equality of all cultural traditions E pluribus unum: “out of many, one”

Language Diversity across the United States Of the 262 million people age five or older in the United States, the 2000 census reports that 47 million (18 percent) speak a language other than English at home.