1. Cultural Diversity in the United States

2. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. An Overview of U.S. Values Achievement and Success Individualism Hard Work Efficiency and Practicality Science and Technology Material Comfort Freedom

3. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. An Overview of U.S. Values Continued Democracy Equality Group Superiority Education Religiosity Romantic Love

4. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Value Clusters: Values are not independent units; some cluster together to form a larger whole. Success  Education  Hard work  Material comfort  Individualism

5. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Value Contradictions -Sometimes, some of our values contradict other values U.S. values group superiority? Change over time

6. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. An Emerging Value Cluster Leisure Self-fulfillment Physical Fitness Youthfulness Concern for the Environment

7. Physical fitness is part of an emerging value cluster.

8. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. When Values Clash When values clash between traditionalists and those advocating change, we might describe these clashes as “culture wars,” even if an overstatement.

9. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Values as Distorting Lenses What society “ought” to be like

10. Values, both those held by individuals and those that represent a nation or people, can undergo deep shifts. It is difficult for many of us to grasp the pride with which earlier Americans destroyed trees that took thousands of years to grow, are located only on one tiny speck of the globe, and that we today consider part of the nation’s and world’s heritage. But this is a value statement, representing current views. The pride expressed on these woodcutters’ faces represents another set of values entirely.

11. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. “Ideal” Versus “Real” Culture Ideal: What a group considers worth aiming for Real: What people actually do

12. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cultural Universals Some Activities are Universal − Courtship, Marriage, Funerals, GamesFunerals Present in all cultures, but the specific customs differ from one group to another  What are some examples of activities that you think might differ from culture to culture?  What activities might be the same?

13. Unlike this beautiful ant, we humans are not controlled by instincts. Sociobiologists, though, are exploring the extent to which genes influence our behavior.

14. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The New Technology Technology can be equated with tools. New technology refers to that which has had a significant impact on social life. Technology sets the framework for a group’s nonmaterial culture.

15. Language is the basis of human culture around the world. The past decade has seen major developments in communication—the ease and speed with which we can talk to people across the globe. This development is destined to have vital effects on culture. This photo of teens texting was taken in a village in Ethiopia.

16. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cultural Lag and Cultural Change Cultural Lag: human behavior sometimes lags behind technological innovations Not all parts of culture change at the same pace. A group’s material culture usually changes first, with the nonmaterial culture lagging behind. School being nine months

17. Technological advances are now so rapid that there can be cultural gaps between generations.

18. © 2014, 2012, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Technology and Cultural Leveling Cultural leveling is a process by which cultures become similar to one another, especially as Western culture is being exported and diffused into other nations.

19. Cultural leveling is occurring rapidly, with some strange twists. These men from an Amazon tribe, who have just come back from a week hunting in the jungle, are wearing traditional headdress and using traditional weapons, but you can easily spot something else that is jarringly out of place.