SOC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Cultural Universal, Heredity, Social Learning Theory
4 Jul 2018
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Culture and Society Defined
Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the
members of a particular group or society. Through culture, people and groups define themselves,
conform to society's shared values, and contribute to society. Thus, culture includes many
societal aspects: language, customs, values, norms, mores, rules, tools, technologies, products,
organizations, and institutions. This latter term institution refers to clusters of rules and cultural
meanings associated with specific social activities. Common institutions are the family,
education, religion, work, and health care.
Popularly speaking, being cultured means being well educated, knowledgeable of the ‐
arts, stylish, and well mannered.‐ High culture—generally pursued by the upper class—
refers to classical music, theater, fine arts, and other sophisticated pursuits. Members of
the upper class can pursue high art because they have cultural capital, which means
the professional credentials, education, knowledge, and verbal and social skills
necessary to attain the “property, power, and prestige” to “get ahead” socially. Low
culture, or popular culture—generally pursued by the working and middle classes—
refers to sports, movies, television sitcoms and soaps, and rock music. Remember that
sociologists define culturedifferently than they do cultured, high culture, low culture,
and popular culture.
Sociologists define society as the people who interact in such a way as to share a
common culture. The cultural bond may be ethnic or racial, based on gender, or due to
shared beliefs, values, and activities. The term society can also have
a geographic meaning and refer to people who share a common culture in a particular
location. For example, people living in arctic climates developed different cultures from
those living in desert cultures. In time, a large variety of human cultures arose around
the world.
Culture and society are intricately related. A culture consists of the “objects” of a
society, whereas a society consists of the people who share a common culture. When
the terms culture and society first acquired their current meanings, most people in the
world worked and lived in small groups in the same locale. In today's world of 6 billion
people, these terms have lost some of their usefulness because increasing numbers of
people interact and share resources globally. Still, people tend to
use cultureand society in a more traditional sense: for example, being a part of a “racial
culture” within the larger “U.S. society.”
Culture's Roots: Biological or Societal?
The nature versus nurture debate continues to rage in the social sciences. When applied to
human culture, proponents of the “nature” side of the debate maintain that human genetics
creates cultural forms common to people everywhere. Genetic mutations and anomalies, then,
give rise to the behavioral and cultural differences encountered across and among human groups.
These differences potentially include language, food and clothing preferences, and sexual
attitudes, to name just a few. Proponents of the “nurture” side of the debate maintain that humans
are a tabula rasa (French for “blank slate”) upon which everything is learned, including cultural
norms. This fundamental debate has given social scientists and others insights into human nature
and culture, but no solid conclusions.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. Through culture, people and groups define themselves, conform to society"s shared values, and contribute to society. Thus, culture includes many societal aspects: language, customs, values, norms, mores, rules, tools, technologies, products, organizations, and institutions. This latter term institution refers to clusters of rules and cultural meanings associated with specific social activities. Common institutions are the family, education, religion, work, and health care. Popularly speaking, being cultured means being well educated, knowledgeable of the arts, stylish, and well mannered. High culture generally pursued by the upper class refers to classical music, theater, fine arts, and other sophisticated pursuits. Members of the upper class can pursue high art because they have cultural capital, which means the professional credentials, education, knowledge, and verbal and social skills necessary to attain the property, power, and prestige to get ahead socially.
