SOCL 2001 Chapter : Culture
Document Summary
Culture: ways thinking that is learned and shared, passed down from generation to generation. Ethnocentrism: assumption that ones way of life is superior to all others. Consumer society: consumption is a mass phenomenon among people, example: many college students have mac laptops. Non material: material----> any physical object that we give social meaning, nonmaterial----> shared sets of meanings (ideas/belief, example: a ring would be material but the meaning behind it is nonmaterial. Symbols: anything that meaningfully represents something else, example: hook em horns to us means texas but in italy it would mean your spouse was unfaithful. Language: shared symbols that enables people to communicate. Values: standards by which members of a particular culture define what is good or bad, examples: achievement and success, activity and work, morality, humanitarianism, efficiency, equality, individuality. Norms: are society"s specific rules of right and wrong behavior, 2 types, folkways: not critical, casual norms, ex.
