Culture

Culture

• “Only humans rely on culture rather than instincts to create a way of life and ensure our survival” (M. Harris, 1987)

• For humans, most of our social behavior is NOT the product of nature/biology. Instead it is the result of LEARNED patterns or CULTURE

• As a result, there is tremendous cultural diversity and there is no “natural way of life.” • Most of the vocab and details in this chapter demonstrate that diversity

Culture consists of

• Symbols• Gestures, words, sounds

• Language• Written and oral• Method by which culture is transmitted

• Values• Can be in conflict with each other• Can change over time• A society’s beliefs are based on its values

• Norms• Consist of mores, folkways, taboos, laws

Boston Time Capsule, 1795

• over a dozen coins, • several newspapers, • the title page of the first volume of the Massachusetts Colony Records• a paper impression of the Seal of the Commonwealth,• a medal depicting George Washington•  and a silver plaque commemorating the erection of the State House.

Westinghouse American Time Capsule 1939

(To be opened in 6939)A fountain Pen Eye glasses One dollar in changeA pack of Camel cigarettes Slide RulerA Lilly Dache women’s hatDictionary and almanacA toothbrush and tooth powder A cameraBoys and girls toys (a car and a doll) A BibleGillette safety razor Electrical wall switchMultiple types of fabrics, metals, and plastics (including asbestos, silicon, and stainless steel)

Seeds: wheat, corn, oats, tobacco, cotton, etcMicrofilm containing modern literature (Gone with the Wind), art, news events, and the Sears Roebuck catalog, a dictionary and almanac, photos of homes and factories, Spalding baseball rules, variety of magazines (Vogue, Life, Time, etc.)

Newsreels (with sound) (FDR, Jesse Owens winning 100 meter dash, etc)

Instructions for building something to view/hear microfilm and newsreels

Westinghouse American Time Capsule 1964

(To be opened in 6939)Credit card Electronic watchContact lenses Bikini & mini skirtBall point pen Reentry shield –rocket

Electric toothbrush Sample of carbon 14

Pocket radiation monitor AntibioticsComputer memory unit Plastic heart valve

News clip of Vietnam WarRock & Roll Music

American Time Capsule 2015

• Pick 10-15 material items that reflect the nonmaterial culture of America

Be sure to cover : Health TechnologyPolitics ScienceFashion Art /ArchitectureLiterature LeisurePopular culture/media Economy

Proverbs – a method of teaching values

The pen is mightier than the swordBetter safe than sorryIt’s always darkest before the dawnDon’t bite the hand that feeds youNo news is good newsA penny saved is a penny earnedNone are so blind as those who can seeChildren should be seen and not heardBetter late than neverThe apple doesn’t fall far from the treeAn eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

Norms Regarding Personal Space

• What behavior is expected when selecting a spot at a public beach?

• What behavior is expected when selecting a seat at a movie theater?

• How does gender affect expectations about public space? (What could a woman do, that would make you uncomfortable if a man did it or vice versa?)

Norms

• Folkways• Customs followed for the sake of tradition or convenience• Right vs rude• Breaking one carries no moral or legal consequence

• Mores• Have ethical/moral/religious significance• Right vs wrong• Breaking one results in disapproval, possibly being shunned

• Taboos• a norm that society holds so strongly that violating it results in extreme disgust.

• Often times the violator of the taboo is considered unfit to live in that society.

• Laws• Norms that become part of the legal code• Breaking one results in legal action

RESEARCH STUDIES ON THE

INVASION OF PERSONAL SPACE

Men’s Urinals in public bathroom

1976 Study by Middlemist in NYC

• Measured how long (seconds) it took men to begin urination when: • A) they were alone• B) there was an “other” standing several urinals away• C) there was an “other“ standing at the urinal right beside them

What do you think the results were?

1976 Study by Middlemist in NYC

Results• Alone = 4.1 sec• “Other” at least one urinal away = 6.2 sec• “Other” using the next urinal =8.4 sec

Interesting, but was it ETHICAL? Researcher hid in stall with stop watch. “Others” were part of the study.

Felipe and Sommer (1966)• First study was in the grounds of a large mental institution. When a man was sitting alone on a bench someone came and sat down next to him, sitting 1 ft away. • If the participant moved along the bench the ‘invader’ followed. • Observers noted the length of time before the participants left, and compared them with a control group (males sitting alone) who were watched from a distance.

Felipe and Sommer (1966)

Results•20% had left after one minute (but none of the controls had left), •and 50% had left after nine minutes (8% of the controls).

Felipe & Sommer 1966

1966• 2nd study was done in a library, using people who were sitting by themselves. • Results showed that, when an ‘invader’ sat in the next chair and moved it closer, 70% of the participants had left their seats after 30 minutes, whereas only 13% left when the participants allowed a gap of one chair between them.

Fisher & Byrne (1975)

Conducted a similar library study where they arranged for a confederate to invade the space of a person while s/he was sitting alone in the library.

Invaders were either: male or female and sat next to or opposite the subject.

After a few minutes the invader left and another confederate came over and asked for the participant’s impressions.

Fisher & Byrne (1975) Results

Male Participants disliked the invader who sat opposite, but did not mind when the invader who sat next to them.

Female participants disliked the invader sitting next to them, but did not mind the invader sitting opposite.

SUBCULTURE

Definition: A segment of a larger society that is set apart by its distinct cultural patterns

How do teens differ from mainstream culture in the areas of language clothes jewelrymusic celebritiesleisure activitiesdancetechnology

COUNTERCULTURE

• a subculture that deliberately and consciously opposes certain important beliefs or attitudes of the dominant culture.• Examples• punk of the 1980’s • hippies of the 1960’s• drug addicts • KKK & Skinheads• CULTS• ISIS• other?