Chapter 2 Culture 02 16 2014 Chapter 2 What is culture Humans share society organized life in groups with other animals social animals such as monkeys wolves ants Only humans have elaborated cultures distinctive traditions and customs transmitted over the generations through learning and through language Enculturation is the process by which a child learns his or her culture Culture is learned The ease with which children absorb any cultural tradition rests on the uniquely elaborated human capacity to learn avoid fire after it hurts Cultural learning depends on the uniquely developed human capacity to use they stand for or signify Symbols signs that have no necessary or natural connection to the things Cultures have been characterized as sets of control mechanisms plans recipes rules instructions programs for the governing of behavior These programs are absorbed by people through enculturation in particular traditions People gradually internalize a previously established system of meanings and symbols which helps guide their behavior and perceptions throughout their lives every person begins through a process of conscious unconscious learning and interaction with others to internalize or incorporate a cultural tradition through the process of enculturation taught directly say thank you observation unconscious behavior Culture is Symbolic Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans to cultural learning Symbol a verbal non verbal sign that arbitrarily by convention stands for something else with which it has no necessary or natural connection doesn t need to be an obvious natural connection between the symbol and what it symbolized They are often linguistic and some nonverbal flag water and holiness Culture is Shared of groups Culture and Nature Culture is an attribute not of individuals per se but of individuals as members Culture takes the natural biological urges we share with other animals and teaches us how to express them in particular ways People have to eat but culture teaches us what when and how Cultural habits perceptions inventions mold human nature into many forms bathroom sitting or standing Our culture cultural changes affect how we perceive nature human nature and the natural Through science invention discovery cultural advances have overcome many natural limitations cures for disease culture doesn t always prevent us from natural threats Hurricanes floods earth quakes nature strikes back Culture is all encompassing All people are cultured during enculturation Popculture affects people everyday particularly those that influence children television fast food restaurants sports and games As a cultural manifestation a rock star may be as interesting as a symphony conductor a comic book as significant as a book award winner Culture is Integrated Cultures are integrated patterned systems If one part of the system economy changes other parts change as well housewives in 1950s vs now marriage divorce Cultures are integrated not simply by their dominant economic activities related social patterns but also by sets of values ideas symbols judgements individualism Core values A set of characteristics key basic central values integrates each culture helps distinguish it from others ex Americas work ethic Culture is instrumental adaptive and maladaptive Culture is main reason for human adaptability and success People use culture instrumentally that is to fully fill their basic biological needs for food drink shelter comfort and reproduction use to fulfill psychological emotional needs such as friendship companionship approval and being desired sexually People seek informal support help from people who care about them as well as formal support from associations institutions cultivate ties on basis of common experiences political interest aesthetic sensibilities personal Cultural traits can be adaptive e g air conditioning if they help individuals cope with environmental stresses Maladaptive threaten a groups continued existence overconsumption attraction pollution Cultures Evolutionary Basis Similarities between humans and apes our closest relatives are evident in anatomy brain structure genetics biochemistry Hominids members of the zoological family that includes fossil and living humans chimps and gorillas Hominins members of the evolutionary line leading to and including modern humans as distinct from chimps and gorillas Many human traits reflect the fact that our primate ancestors lived in trees grasping ability manual dexterity opposable thumbs Color and depth vision grooming Humans have developed considerably the primate tendency to be social animals living and interacting regularly with other members of their species What we share with other primates There is a substantial gap between primate society organized life in groups and fully developed human culture which is based on symbolic thought Studies of nonhuman primates reveal similarities with humans ability to learn from experience change behavior as a result tool use with a specific purpose in mind chimps make stone tools to break nuts How we differ from other primates Apes monkeys tend to feed themselves individually Cooperation and sharing are much more developed among humans Amount of info stored in a human band is far greater than other primate group Mating differs Marriage differs exogamy and kinship systems Most cultures have rules of exogamy requiring marriage outside ones kin group creates ties between spouses Humans maintain lifelong ties with children Universality Generality and Particularity Anthropologists accept the term the psychic unity of man although individuals differ in their emotional and intellectual tendencies capacities all human populations have equivalent capacities for culture Regardless of their genes or physical appearance people can learn any cultural tradition Certain biological psychological social and cultural features are Universal something that exists in every culture or Generalities culture patterns or traits that exist in some but not all societies Still other traits are Particularities unique to certain cultural traditions Ex McDonalds is global but menus local McLobster McAloo Tiki Burger Universals and Generalities Biologically based universals include a long period of infant dependency year round rather than seasonal sexuality and a complex brain that enables us to use symbols languages and tools societies can share the same beliefs and customs because of their borrowing