Notes:
Culture: the society’s socially learned and shared ideas, behaviors and material components
Material culture: the physical artifacts representing components of society, includes electronic devices, houses, toys, automobiles and food
Nonmaterial culture: ideas and symbols representing components of society. Languages, customs, philosophies, morals and knowledge represent nonmaterial culture
Ideal culture: the ideals and values that a society professes to believe
Real culture: the actual behavior of members of society
Culture shock: surprise, disorientation, or fear when encountering a new culture
First-generation college student: the first person in the immediate family to attend college
Structural elements of culture include five basics: symbols, language, beliefs, values and norms.
Symbol: an idea or object that has a shared meaning of groups of people
Language: words and symbols used to communication
Verbal language: a system of spoken and written words
Sapir-Whorf Theory: a theoretical perspective that suggests people view society through the framework of language
Nonverbal language: a system of communication using symbols such as facial expressions, gestures, and proximity of the body
Personal space: the physical region surrounding an individual that is considered private
Emoticons: symbols that are a type of shorthand and means of expressing emotions and attitudes within text-based communications
Beliefs: ideas generally held to be true to society
Technological determinism: the idea that society’s technology drives the development of its social structures
Values: collective ideas about what is desirable and undesirable in society
Value contradictions: conflicting issues between values
Sustainable development: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Norms: established guidelines, behaviors, and expectations that are accepted in a given range of social situations
Folkways: informal and common norms that guide everyday behavior
Mores: informal norms based on moral and ethical factors
Laws: formal and legal rules enforced by the state. Designed to maintain order in society, and violations can result in fines and imprisonment
Taboo: formal norms that if violated, cause revulsion and the most severe social sanctions
Sanctions: punishments or rewards that support socially approved norms.
Cultural transmission: the means by which culture is passed from generation to generation
Dominant ideology: the beliefs and interest of the majority
Cultural imperialism: the influence and power of one country’s culture on a country due to importing goods and services
Subcultures: groups with a distinct set of cultural characteristics shared by a minority of people in society
Countercultures: are subcultures groups that are in opposition or contrast with the majority of the members of society
Cultural universals: aspects of culture found in all societies
Social facts: social patterns that are external to individuals and greatly influence our way of thinking and behaving in society
Ethnocentrism:judging another culture by one’s own standards
Cultural relativism: understanding another culture from its standards
Cultural diffusion: the spread of norms, values, knowledge, symbols and material components from one society to another
Cultural lag: the process by which technological development and progress outpace current norms, values, knowledge, symbols and material components of society
Cultural leveling: the process of cultures becoming similar due to factors such as media and globalization
Popular culture: cultural characteristics adopted, imitated, and idolized by the masses
High culture: consists of cultural characteristics associated with the dominant and elite members of society