Transcript Lectures: Culture, Culture Dimensions, Normative Dimension

Culture
Thomas Theorem (yet again)

People decide what to do next on the
basis of what they THINK is going on
now
•

That is, people’s behavior depends on what
they think is going on
Therefore, understanding behavior
requires knowing how people …
1. Decide what’s going on
2. Transform definition of situation into bhr
Culture

How do people know what is going on?
• To large extent, culture tells them
• Culture provides context of meaning and
provides tools for divining meaning

How do people know what to do?
• To a large extent, culture tells them what to
do
• When does not specify what to do, tells how to
figure out what to do
Culture Definitions


Backman: The established ways of
thinking, believing, feeling, and acting
that are widely understood and followed
by members of a society
Giddens, Duneier, Appelbaum, and Carr:
the values, norms, and material goods
characteristic of a given group
Culture

Key characteristics of culture:
1.
2.
3.
4.
It is shared
It is learned and taught
It changes over time
Usually it is not monolithic
Dimensions of Culture

Culture has three dimensions or
aspects:
1. Material dimension
2. Normative dimension
3. Symbolic dimension
Material Dimension of Culture

Physical residues of behavior in a
culture
• Especially physical things that have
recognized special meanings in a culture

Especially important are objects used
for subsistence (making a living)
Normative Dimension of Culture I


Concerned with the rules society
uses to evaluate behavior and other
things
Two components:
• Cultural values
• Norms
Normative Dimension of Culture II

Cultural values
• Beliefs or feelings that are widely
shared by members of a society about
what is important to the society’s
identity or well-being

Norms
• Expectations shared by members of a
group that specify behavior that is
considered appropriate for a given
situation
Selected U.S. Cultural Values



Activism- it is desirable to shape
your world through intense effort
Egalitarianism- everyone should
have an equal chance to succeed
Achievement- it is desirable to have
and accomplish personal goals
Selected U.S. Cultural Values



Materialism- it is good to have
“stuff”
Humanitarianism- it is desirable to
help people who are having troubles
Others: progress, morality ,
freedom, individualism
• Source: Turner and Starnes in Stokes, p.72
Value Conflict

Complex value systems routinely
have apparent conflict between
values
• E.g., humanitarianism and materialism
• E.g., egalitarianism and achievement
Morality as an American
Cultural Value


morality: it is desirable to evaluate
each behavior for whether it is moral
or not and to choose only moral
behaviors
Often leads to ends vs means
conflicts
Ends vs Means



Ends – desired outcomes, often
culturally valued
Means – behavior directed toward
achieving ends
Often apparently effective means to
valued ends violate cultural value of
morality
Personal Values



Individual’s feelings about what is
important to his or her identity or
well being
Do not have to be congruent
(consistent) with cultural values, but
often are
Deciding what to do is easier if
personal values and cultural values
are congruent
Norms and the
Thomas Theorem I


Thomas Theorem says definition of
situation is somehow turned into
behavior
Norms tell actors how the culture
feels a particular situation should be
turned into behavior
• That is, norms tell the actor what
he/she/they/it should do in this
situation
Norms and the Thomas Theorem II

Simplifies deciding what to do,
but …
1. Actor must to be able to define
situations
2. Actor must remember what is
appropriate behavior in situation

Our ability to do so is amazing!
Social Sanctions I
Social sanctions are responses to
behavior, responses that enforce
social norms
- May be positive (rewards) or
negative (punishments)
- Used by itself, the term usually
implies “negative”
Social Sanctions II
Sanctions may be formal or informal
• Formal sanctions –
 based on written rules
 administered by persons recognized to have
authority
• Informal sanctions - sanctions that are not
formal
• Most of the sanctions we receive are informal
Possibility of negative sanctions is one
reason we follow norms
Possibility of positive sanctions is another
Symbolic Dimension of Culture
The symbolic dimension of culture is the
system of meanings a group has for
interpreting and making sense of the
world around them and for communicating
meaning
Most important element: language
Others: body language (non-verbal
communication), cultural icons, collective
memories
Language I

Importance of Language• Language is the most important
medium for learning culture
• Language allows vicarious learning
• Learning through the experience of
others
• With language, you don’t have to be
there
Language II

We think in language
• Everyone talks to him- or herself
• Difficult to think about things for which
we have no words
Language III:
Whorf-Sapir (Sapir-Whorf)

Whorf-Sapir Hypothesis: Categories our
minds use to process information are
given by our language
• In effect, language controls how our senses
operate


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At level of vision, hypothesis is false
For vicarious learning through language, it
might as well be true
For thinking, largely true
Language IV:
Social Boundaries

Language can create and maintain
boundaries
• Subcultural boundaries can be
recognized through argots

Argot- specialized vocabulary of a group
• Some societies are divided by language

Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, South Africa
• Accent can identify class position
Other Symbols



Gestures
Physical distance
Flags
• Message: we can develop strong
emotional attachments to symbols
Societies, Organizations, Groups
and Culture I

Term “culture” usually refers to the
ways of a society
• Sometimes called dominant or
mainstream culture

Collectives smaller than societies
often have distinctive contexts of
meaning
• Sometimes called subcultures,
especially if many people are involved
Societies, Organizations, Groups
and Culture II


Can be analyzed in ways similar to
analysis of a society’s culture
Characteristics of culture in collectives
smaller than societies
• Cover smaller ranges of behaviors and symbols
than overall culture
 E.g., group of friends has norms and
symbols, but not an entire language or rules
about driving
• Aware of overall culture
 Usually augments overall culture
 Some may be in opposition to overall
culture