Sociology Chapter 3 Culture The artifacts and ways of thinking feeling and acting that are part of any society Key concept to the sociological perspective Become most evident when we examine behaviors that are biological in nature Sociologists favor culture over biology Differences from one society to another in various behaviors underscore the importance of cultural differences Different people do different things in different ways at different frequencies Biological explanations implicitly support the status quo and might be used to support biological inequality Components of culture are ideas symbols and artifacts Nonmaterial culture values beliefs symbols Material culture belongings and artifacts Elements of culture are symbols and language Norms Formal standards considered most important of society Informal less important in uence behavior Rituals Mark transitions in a life course Transmit norms from one generation to the next Values involves judgement of good vs bad desirable vs undesirable Artifacts Material culture Technological development has played an important role in creating todays artifacts Culture is transmitted from one generation to the next through socialization Occurs largely through family Universals Shelter clothing family courtship sexual mores language religion America centered around work ethics and individualism Subculture A smaller culture within a culture with distinctive ways of thinking feelings and acting Counterculture A subculture whose norms and values directly oppose those of the larger culture Cultural relativism No culture is superior or inferior by norms values and practices Opposite of ethnocentrism xenocentrism Gemeinschaft Human community where ties are strong Gesellschaft As societies grew and industrialized social ties weakened Deviance 1 Social control Conformity and obedience Informal and formal social control 2 A violation of social norms Social stigma and deviance Technology and deviance Helps de ne social norms Ex Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence 3 4 Punishment for rejecting social norms Institutional means vs cultural allowance