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Chapter 2 |
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Sociologically, culture is the language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and material objects a society passes from on generation to the next. It includes a non-material and material component. Although the concept of culture is universal, the specific aspects of each society's culture can differ significantly. For example, the language, beliefs, values, norms, and behaviors of a tribe of people living in the Amazon River basin are substantially different from those of New Yorkers. A similar difference can be found in the material component (tools and technology) of the respective cultures.
All people perceive and evaluate the world through the lens of their own culture. People naturally practice ethnocentrism. They use their own culture as a standard against which to judge other cultures. Cultural relativism, on the other hand, tries to understand other peoples within the framework of their own culture. When a person finds himself or herself in a new and unfamiliar cultural setting it may provoke a feeling of disorientation and confusion called culture shock.
The central component of nonmaterial culture is symbols. These include gestures, language, values, norms, sanctions, folkways, and mores. Language is essential for culture because it allows us to move beyond the present, sharing with others our past experiences and our future plans. Language is the primary means by which people learn and communicate. Because of the diversity of overlapping cultures, societies that previously relied upon one language are now forced to be bilingual. An example of this is the influx of Latinos in the United States. Now a majority in Miami, Latinos become increasingly frustrated when monolingual English is emphasized. Bilingualism is essential for the successful Miamian which may be a trend for many other parts of the nation.
The importance of language in shaping cultural values cannot be over emphasized. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, language not only expresses our thinking and perceptions but actually shapes them.
At the heart of all cultures are the concepts of values, norms, sanctions, folkways, and mores. Values underlie our preferences, guide our choices, and indicate what we hold worthwhile in life. Norms are the expectations that develop to reflect and enforce values. Positive and negative sanctions are used to show approval or disapproval of those who do or don't follow norms. Folkways are norms that permit wide latitude of acceptability. Their violation fails to bring any significant sanction. Examples of folkways are dress codes for class and eating habits. Mores are norms that are taken very seriously and are considered essential to a society's core values. Violation of a more will provoke a serious negative sanction.
A subculture is a group whose values and behaviors set it apart from the general culture. They are a world within the larger world of the dominant culture, developing on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, occupation, geographic location, and status. Sociologically, subcultures are not necessarily evil or threatening to society's values. A counterculture, however, holds values and norms that threaten the dominant culture. Examples of countercultures include prostitutes, hate groups, and drug addicts.
The United States is a pluralistic society made up of many groups, each with its own set of values. Even so, sociologist Robin Williams was able to identify twelve underlying core values shared by many groups. These core values were achievement and success, individualism, activity and work, efficiency and practicality, science and technology, progress, material comfort, humanitarianism, freedom, democracy, equality, and racism and group superiority. James Henslin later added education, religiosity, and romantic love to Williams' list. Some values, such as science and technology and achievement and success, cluster together to form a larger whole. Core values that contradict one another, such as racism and group superiority and freedom, create social tension and are likely points of social change.
Although members of a society usually agree on specific values, norms, and mores there is also the potential for a cultural clash of values. A good example of this is the prolife/prochoice debate which has led to severe consequences including the destruction of property, physical violence, fire bombings, and even murder. Such an extreme clash is called a culture war.
Many of the norms that surround cultural values are followed only partially. Sociologists use the term ideal culture to refer to the values, norms, and goals that a group considers worthy. These are the aspects of culture that parents pass on to their children. The norms and values that people actually follow, referred to as the real culture, may not meet the same high standard.
Central to a group's real culture is its technology, the tools and skills people use. Technology sets the framework for a group's nonmaterial culture. As a group's technology changes, so do the way people think and the way they relate to one another. Important aspects of how cultures change include cultural lag, cultural diffusion, and cultural leveling. Cultural lag refers to the fact that not all parts of culture change at the same time. Nonmaterial culture (values and beliefs) often lag behind the material culture created by invention, discovery, and diffusion. Cultural diffusion is the adopting of some aspect of culture by one society when it comes in contact with another. Cultural leveling is the process in which cultures become similar to one another.
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