Sociology Chapter 2
Cultural Diversity
PreviewSection 1: The Meaning of Culture
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Chapter Wrap-Up
Sociology Chapter 2
Read to Discover
• What is the meaning of the term culture, and how do material culture and nonmaterial culture differ?
• What are the basic components of culture?
Section 1: The Meaning of Culture
Sociology Chapter 2
Culture consists of all the shared products of human groups which include physical objects, beliefs, values, and behaviors shared by a group.
Section 1: The Meaning of Culture
Sociology Chapter 2
Question
How do material culture and nonmaterial culture differ?
Section 1: The Meaning of Culture
Sociology Chapter 2
CULTURE
MATERIAL CULTURE
NONMATERIAL CULTURE
Section 1: The Meaning of Culture
Sociology Chapter 2
CULTUREAll the shared products of
human groups
MATERIAL CULTUREPhysical objects that
people create and use
Examples
Automobiles, books, buildings, clothing, computers
Examples
Beliefs, family patterns, ideas, language, political and
economic systems, rules
NONMATERIAL CULTURE
Abstract human creations
Section 1: The Meaning of Culture
Sociology Chapter 2
Question
What are the basic components of culture?
Section 1: The Meaning of Culture
Sociology Chapter 2
Basic Components of Culture
• Technology—physical objects and rules for using them
• Symbols—anything that represents something else and has a shared meaning
Section 1: The Meaning of Culture
Sociology Chapter 2
Basic Components of Culture
• Language—the organization of written or spoken symbols into a standardized system
Section 1: The Meaning of Culture
Sociology Chapter 2
Basic Components of Culture
• Values—shared beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong
Sociology Chapter 2
Basic Components of Culture
• Norms—shared rules of conduct
Sociology Chapter 2
Levels of Culture
• Culture trait—individual tool, act, or belief that is related to a particular situation or need
• Culture complex—cluster of interrelated traits
• Culture pattern—combination of a number of culture complexes into an interrelated whole
Section 1: The Meaning of Culture
Sociology Chapter 2
Read to Discover
• What are cultural universals, and why do they exist?
• What do the terms ethnocentrism and cultural relativism mean?
• What factors account for variations among and within cultures?
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Sociology Chapter 2
• Cultural universals—general features common to all cultures, such as cooking, dancing, and medicine
• ALL societies must develop certain features to ensure their fulfillment.
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Sociology Chapter 2
Question
What do the terms ethnocentrism and cultural relativism mean?
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Sociology Chapter 2
• Ethnocentrism—tendency to view one’s own culture and group as superior to other different cultures
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Ethno = people, ethnic group
centrism= centered
Sociology Chapter 2
• Ethnocentrism
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Sociology Chapter 2
• Cultural Relativism—belief that a culture should be judged by its own standards rather than by those of another culture
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Sociology Chapter 2
Cultural
Relativism
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Sociology Chapter 2
Cultural
Relativism
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Sociology Chapter 2
Question
What factors account for variations among and within cultures?
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Sociology Chapter 2
• Subculture—group within a society which shares values, norms, and behaviors that are not shared by the entire population
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Sociology Chapter 2
• Counterculture—subculture which rejects the major values, norms, and practices of the larger society and replaces them with a new set of cultural values
Section 2: Cultural Variation
Sociology Chapter 2
1. List five examples of material culture and five examples of nonmaterial culture.
2. What is language, and why is it such an important part of culture?
3. How do folkways, mores, and laws differ? List three examples of each type of norm.
4. How do cultural traits, cultural complexes, and cultural patterns differ?
5. How did Margaret Mead contribute to the study of cultures?
6. What is ethnocentrism? How does it differ from cultural relativism?
7. How are subcultures and countercultures related?
Chapter Wrap-Up Understanding Main Ideas