SOC 10000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Shared Experience, Mcdonaldization, Determinism
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Culture: the totality of socially learned and transmitted customs, behaviors, values, knowledge, and artifacts. a. b. c. Cultural universals - all societies have certain common practices and beliefs. Ethnocentrism - refer to the tendency to assume that one"s own culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others. Cultural relativism - viewing people"s behavior from the perspective of their own culture. i. Stresses that different social contexts give rise to different norms and values. d. Sociobiology - systematic study of how biology affects human social behavior. i. Sociobiologists apply darwin"s principle of natural selection to the study of social behavior. Norms are the established standards of behavior maintained by a society. For a norm to become significant, it must be widely shared and understood. Formal norms - written down and specify strict punishments for violators. Norms are also classified by their relative importance to society.