intro to sociology chapter 3

13. What is ethnocentrism and how does it impede our understanding of other cultures? What kind of attitude should we take instead?

Ethnocentrism causes us to judge other groups and individuals by using our own culture as a yardstick for normality, thus making any other culture "abnormal." This attitude also makes it more difficult for us to see the strangeness in our own culture. "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" may be mentioned to make this point. We should adopt the attitude of cultural relativism instead of ethnocentrism, because relativism forces us to judge each culture on its own terms, and it opens up a wider variety of views.

4.Describe an example of how mainstream values can change or fall out of favor.

A group's mainstream values are based on public consensus about what is good or bad. For example, smoking cigarettes was not universally looked down upon in the 1980s; people could even smoke in restaurants and public places. But today, because of the change in social understanding of the health risks, and because of higher insurance premiums for smokers, there is a strong aversion to participating in this type of unhealthy behavior.

7.Both sociologists and anthropologists study culture. Explain how sociology differs from anthropology and why cultural relativism is important for the sociologist.

Answers should start by emphasizing that anthropologists tend to study cultures that are very different from their own, whereas sociologists tend to study their own cultures. However, answers should also mention that sociologists may have a tendency to engage in the process of "othering" groups within their own societies by studying unusual or deviant aspects of the culture. To avoid this, and the ethnocentrism that is inherent in it, sociologists need to practice cultural relativism by studying both the strange and the familiar without making value judgments.

11.Explain the difference between subcultures and countercultures, and give an example of each.

Both subcultures and countercultures can be seen as distinct from the mainstream or dominant culture. However, while a subculture has its own values, norms, and practices, they do not contradict or stand in direct opposition to the beliefs of the mainstream culture. A counterculture, on the other hand, has beliefs, values, and practices that are incompatible with or in direct opposition to the mainstream culture. Some countercultures attempt to bring about social change; others simply try to live outside of mainstream society. For example, people who engage in activities like LARPing (live action role playing) would be considered members of a subculture, whereas people who have joined hate groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, would be considered a counterculture.

2.Describe cultural relativism.

Cultural relativism is a way of understanding other cultures on their own terms, rather than from the perspective of our own culture. Unlike ethnocentrism, cultural relativism enables us to see other cultures clearly without making value judgments.

1.List at least four examples of symbolic culture.

Examples could include gestures, language, signs, values, norms, sanctions, folkways, laws, taboos, and/or mores.

6. Because of Western cultural imperialism, American media companies broadcast shows in other countries that may clash with those countries' traditional cultural values. What are some examples of American cultural values exported through the media that people in non-Western parts of the world might find distasteful?

Examples could include materialism, democracy, capitalism, Christianity, individualism, and sexual freedom.

14. Give an example of hegemony in contemporary culture. Define hegemony and then explain, in detail, what makes your example hegemonic.

Hegemony is defined as the cultural aspects of social control whereby the ideas and values of the dominant social group are accepted by all members of a society. Many examples can show how a particular value, idea, or way of doing things has been disseminated down from the dominant social group and accepted in all levels of society.

3.What is an example of ethnocentrism?

If we travel to another country, the people there may choose to eat a certain type of food that we would consider abnormal for consumption. For example, if you travel to Scotland and are asked to try haggis, you will likely feel repulsed, because you have been culturally conditioned to respond in this manner to foods that we consider odd in the U.S. In Scottish culture, however, haggis is a perfectly acceptable thing to eat—in fact, it is a cultural tradition. This is an example of ethnocentrism because you would be judging another culture based on the standards of what is considered "normal" in your own culture.

9. Language is the most important element of symbolic culture, but its role in social life is still hotly debated among sociologists. Describe the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and its position about the role of language in creating social life.

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, or the principle of linguistic relativity, reverses the standard assumption about the relationship between language and perception. Instead of sensory perception suggesting the need for words to describe it, the hypothesis suggests that our language helps structure our perception and therefore controls what our senses notice. For example, a native Colombian perceives a lemon as both a lemon and a lime. People in the U.S. see a distinct difference between a lemon and a lime.

15. How are ideal culture and real culture different? Give an example of a situation in which ideal culture and real culture separate from each other.

The difference between ideal culture and real culture is the distinction between the norms and values that members of a cultural group espouse and the patterns of behavior that exist in everyday life—in other words, the difference between how people think they should behave and how they actually do behave. Any example should describe a situation in which some important value that is nearly universally held is contradicted by people's actual behavior.

8. Culture is a very broad concept, so sociologists usually divide it into the concepts of material culture and symbolic culture. List and describe the major components of symbolic culture.

The elements of symbolic culture fall into two groups, each consisting of three parts. The first group includes signs, gestures, and language. Signs are symbols that are designed to meaningfully represent an idea and to convey information. Gestures refer to body language and nonverbal communication. Good answers will emphasize that gestures are culturally specific. Language is probably the most significant component of culture, because it is the basis of all symbolic culture and is what allows us to communicate and to pass culture from one generation to the next. The best answers might mention the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which argues that language does not just reflect culture but actively structures thought and perception. The second group of elements includes values, norms, and sanctions. Values are a set of shared beliefs about what is good and bad; norms are the rules and guidelines for carrying out those beliefs; and sanctions are the means of enforcing norms. Norms may be formal, like laws, or informal, like folkways and mores. Sanctions may be positive or negative.

5.The term "culture wars" refers to the extreme clashes in values that occur when there are conflicting viewpoints about efforts to change core values in society. Give an example of how social commentators in the media can facilitate a culture war.

The textbook uses the example of how social commentators have debated issues such as the appropriateness of Miley Cyrus's "twerking" during the MTV Video Music Awards. Many commentators felt that exposure to these forms of sexually suggestive behavior is breaking down the moral fiber of impressionable teenagers. Others argued that Cyrus is old enough to be free to explore her individualism and that parents should take responsibility for their children's morality.

12. Cultures around the world are changing at an increasingly rapid pace. How does a cultural group change through contact with other cultures?

There are three principal concepts associated with cultural change resulting from contact between societies. Cultural diffusion occurs when one culture begins to adopt the tools, beliefs, and/or practices of another culture that it has been exposed to. Cultural leveling happens when formerly distinct cultures become increasingly similar. Cultural imperialism refers to the imposition of the cultural beliefs and practices of a more economically powerful group onto a less powerful group. Within these types of cultural change, it is more likely that the flow of practices and ideas goes from the more dominant group to the less dominant group.

10.Values and norms are symbolic culture in action. Describe the difference between values and norms, and then describe the different kinds of norms.

Values are a cultural group's shared beliefs about what is worthwhile and desirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly. Norms are the rules and guidelines about acceptable behavior that develop out of those values. Norms can be formal or informal. Formal norms, such as laws, are always codified in some way, shape, or form. Informal norms are ordinary, everyday conventions and are usually unspoken. Informal norms range from folkways, the least strictly enforced, to mores, which are more strictly enforced because they relate to the core values of the group. The most extreme form of mores are taboos, which are so deeply ingrained that most people don't even like to think about violating them.