Sociology Chapter 3 and 4

Nonmaterial culture

intangible things created and shared between the members of a culture over time are aspects of their nonmaterial culture. Social roles, rules, ethics, and beliefs are just some examples.

Culture

language, norms, values, beliefs, and more that, together, form a people's way of life

mores

norms that dictate morally right or wrong behavior. Ex: Don't murder, no incest, in some societies (no homosexuality)

Folkways

norms that, while not offensive to violate, are expected to be followed

Cultural relativism

practice of understanding and judging a culture from the perspective of that culture instead of one's own Ex: Judging the culture of the Cherokee from a Cherokee perspective not my own culture

Social conflict theory on culture

proposes that laws and norms that are created as part of a culture reflect the interests of the most powerful members of society For example, this is easy to see in American culture. We have a capitalist society that values competitiveness and material wealth. This benefits the rich but hurts the poor. This results in a drastic contrast between the richest and the poorest members of our society.

dramaturgical analysis.

study of human social interaction in terms of theatrical performance; You can think of sociologists as directors, observing and analyzing what happens on the stage of life. Every social status that humans have is like a part in a play, and the role associated with that status serves as our script.

Popular culture

subculture shared by the majority of a society's population

Impression management

the attempt to control the impressions and opinions that other people have of one's self. Ex: A woman seeking a job tries hard to influence her impression on potential employers.

Ethnocentrism

the belief in the inherent superiority of one's own culture relative to other cultures Ex: People suggesting that American culture is good whereas the culture of Muslims around the world is bad.

Master status

the most important status that a person occupies Ex: Stephen Hawking, physicist; Barack Obama, President; Thomas Edison, inventor

ideal culture

the values, norms, and behaviors that people in a given society profess to embrace Ex: Americans value environmentalism

nonverbal communication

use of anything other than words to communicate something Ex: facial expressions, postures, gestures, eye contact and so on - and other things such as tone of voice and even appearance

real culture

values and norms that are actually followed by a culture Ex: Although Americans profess to embrace environmentalism, they engage in a lot of practices that hurt the environment.

Role conflict. What causes it?

what happens when role demands from different statuses conflict with each other and cause stress. The more statuses we have and the more roles we play, the more likely we are to experience role conflict. If our fictional mother worked as an office manager, volunteered for a philanthropic organization, participated in church activities and provided care for her own aging mother, she would likely experience role conflict, because the role demands would sometimes overlap and clash.

Role strain

when the role demands from a single status cause conflict or become stressful Ex: For example, a teacher might feel overwhelmed by the demands of his role set. The demands of the school board, principal and students aren't always complementary. He would probably feel stressed or even burdened by the different roles of his job that he has to play with regard to each of these three parties.

Counterculture

A culture that rejects the norms and values of its society. Ex: Polygamists in America, Racists in America

subculture

A culture within a larger culture. Ex: Amish in America, hippies in America, Indian community in US, bikers, Whovians in America, veterans in America

Social role

A role for a social status are the behavioral expectations from society for that status. Ex: a woman becomes a mother when she has a child, and so occupies the status of a mother. She is expected to play the role of mother by caring for and loving her children (among other things).

Studies on socialization

An example can be seen in the tragic, well-known case of Anna, an unwanted child of a farmer's daughter. Her mother confined Anna to a dark, windowless room and, although she provided her with enough milk to keep her alive, had no other contact with her. When social workers found Anna, she was five years old and had lived her entire life tied to a chair in that room. She didn't know how to walk, talk or even chew. She was also extremely apathetic and never laughed, cried or had much of a reaction to other people at all Even studies involving monkeys show us the importance of socialization and the negative effects of social isolation. Harry Harlow conducted a famous experiment in which he split into groups baby monkeys who had been separated from their mothers at birth. Long story short, he discovered that monkeys who were placed in isolation for just six months had a dramatic effect on their development. These monkeys were unable to interact and socialize once exposed to other monkeys - they had never learned how!

Idealization

It is our attempt to present the best possible version of ourselves and convince others that our actions and intentions are not selfish. Ex: Politicians trying to get votes, and presenting the best possible image of themselves. On the campaign trail, they try to convince the public that their intentions and actions are for their benefit, and not their own personal gain.

Socialization

Lifelong process that all of us go through in learning our own culture, including the norms and values of our society. We also learn how to interact with other people as part of this lifelong process.

Material culture

Material culture includes all the physical things that people create and attach meaning to. Clothing, food, tools, and architecture are examples of material culture that most people would think of. Natural objects and materials (rock, dirt, trees, etc.) aren't considered to be part of material culture. However, how people view natural objects and how they use them are.

Is all of the behavior that we humans consider human nature actually human nature?

No, that behavior is learned through socialization.

Explain the importance of socialization

Socialization is such a basic part of our lives that it is easy to overlook its importance. But, it is the reason we laugh, cry, talk and do many of the other things we think of as just a part of being human.

Structural-functional theory approach to culture

Structural-functional theory proposes that culture functions as the structure in society that exists to meet human needs. For example, our culture gives our lives meaning and direction, giving us cues for what to do and how to live. It encourages us to work together to find resources to help us survive and to make connections with other people who provide care and comfort. Also, there are elements that universally exist in all cultures such as funeral rituals.

Elements of every culture

Symbols (Ex: American flag) language (Spoken language such as French, but also body language, slang, and common phrases that are unique to certain groups of people) values (defined standards for what is good or desirable) (Ex: Competition is good in US culture) Norms (defined expectations of behavior) (Ex: we know that we should stand in line to use the restroom and no cutting, boys wearing pants instead of skirts)

Agents of socialization definition and types. Describe each one.

These are the people or groups responsible for our socialization during childhood Family (Our parents, or those who play the parent role, are responsible for teaching us to function and care for ourselves. They, along with the rest of our family, also teach us about close relationships, group life, and how to share resources. Additionally, they provide us with our first system of values, norms, and beliefs - a system that is usually a reflection of their own social status, religion, ethnic group, and more.) Schools (In school, we also learn social skills through our interactions with teachers, staff, and other students. For example, we learn the importance of obeying authority and that to be successful, we must learn to be quiet, to wait, and sometimes to act interested even when we're not.) Peer groups (Influence norms of children, allow children to develop social skills they need as adults) Mass Media (television, Internet, radio, movies, books, and magazines) (Children are exposed to a wide variety of content, including violence and sex, which many deem inappropriate. Mass media also seems to reinforce gender and other stereotypes.)

Sociobiology

They suggest that some elements of cultures, particularly values and behavioral norms, are created because of human instinct, which is based on our biology. Like structural-functional theory, this supports the idea of cultural universals. For example, avoiding incest is not just a part of American culture - this behavioral norm is found in virtually every human society.

Role set

When a status occupies numerous roles. Ex: For example, a teacher plays one role in relation to his students, another role in relation to his fellow teachers, another in relation to the school board and so on.

Social Isolation

When someone no communication with humans, no visual sighting of them - no access to society whatsoever.

Society

a population in which people interact and share common interests

Status

a social position one holds in a group, organization or society For example, imagine the fictional King Arthur who most of us are familiar with. He had several statuses just as many of us do, including male, son, warrior, British and king (just to name a few).

Achieved status

a status that one earns or chooses to take on. Ex: doctor, athlete, husband, warrior, alcoholic, criminal

Ascribed status

a status that one is either born with or takes on involuntarily Ex: sex, race and socioeconomic status, when King Arthur was born, he automatically obtained the statuses of son, male, British and more.

High culture

a subculture shared by the elite in a society

Nation

a territory with designated borders. Ex: United States, China

Role exit definition. Describe the process

an individual leaves an important social status and stops playing its attached role. By 'important,' we are talking about a status that was central to one's identity, such as a master status. By exiting the status and attached role (either voluntarily or involuntarily), the person typically has to redefine relationships with others and reestablish a new status and role. For example, when our teacher retires, he will experience a role exit. He will no longer have to play the role of teacher, which was an integral part of his identity for so many years. He will have to obtain a new status as a retiree and play the according role.