9/21/2016 

Society and Culture

Fundamentals

Society and Culture NOT interchangeable

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Humans are social creatures. Since the dawn

of Homo sapiens nearly 250,000 years ago,
people have grouped together into
communities in order to survive. Living
together, people form common habits and
behaviours—from specific methods of
childrearing to preferred techniques for
obtaining food.

Culture

• It is a powerful tool for the survival of mankind

• Cultural patterns of ancient people are reflected in their

artifacts and are studied by archaeologists to understand their
way of life

• Culture is an important part of a society for the very existence

of society

• Culture also plays an important role to establish discipline in a

society

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Society

• Society is referred to as a group of people who share common

area, culture and behavior patterns.

• Society is united and referred as a distinct entity.

• Society consists of a government, health care, education system

and several occupations of people.

• In a society each and every individual is important because

each individual can contribute something to the society.

• Many different cultures can be found within a society. You can

find several differences within a country or town.

Culture and Tradition

What is tradition?
- tradition is the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs,
information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of
mouth or by practice.

What is culture?
- culture is defined as the behaviors and beliefs of a particular social,
ethnic, or age group, as well as the ways of living built up by a group,
from one generation to another.

Traditions and cultures (human habits) does not include religion. Religion
is the same as being religious and believe in a god - not everyone is a
believer, but live in societies with traditions and cultures. A religion can be
distorted and misinterpreted and used to war and destruction and use as a
weapon to control people or countries.

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Culture and Tradition

Tradition is the passing of beliefs from one

generation to the next. Tradition often remains the
same over time.

Culture consists of the features that describe a

society at any given time. Culture changes
continuously, even within the same society.

Traditions often include the passing down of a

hereditary customs that can range from
cooking recipes to family hierarchies, family
legends .

These customs are rarely in written form and

are most often passed down the generations
by word of mouth.

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What is the difference between Culture and

Tradition?

• The composite body of knowledge of people that is acquired and

not genetic is referred to as its culture

• Traditions are practices that are passed from one generation to

another and are still being followed by the people

• Traditions are a part of the complex culture

• Traditions are mostly religious in nature though there are cultural

traditions and family traditions too

• Culture is reflected in the language, dress and tools used by a

people and the manner in which they share social skills

Cultural universals

family unit

Anthropologist George Murdock recognized humor seems to be

a universal way to release tensions and create a sense of unity
among people. Sociologists consider humor necessary to human
interaction because it helps individuals navigate otherwise tense
situations.

Other universals:
finding food, clothing, and shelter, birth and death, or
illness and healing. language, the concept of personal
names

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Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

Ethnocentrism, evaluating and judging another culture based on

how it compares to one’s own cultural norms. Ethnocentrism, as
sociologist William Graham Sumner (1906) described the term,
involves a belief or attitude that one’s own culture is better than all
others.

Cultural relativism is the practice of assessing a culture by its

own standards rather than viewing it through the lens of one’s own
culture.

Material Culture

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Dar al‐Hajar (Rock Palace) Yemen 

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Nonmaterial Culture
Beliefs
Family patterns
Ideas
Language
Political and economic systems

http://lci.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cbf9a53ef0154337cfe6f970c‐popup 

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Symbols
Humans, consciously and subconsciously, are always striving to
make sense of their surrounding world. Symbols—such as
gestures, signs, objects, signals, and words—help people
understand the world.

They convey recognizable meanings that are shared by societies.

The world is filled with symbols. Sports uniforms, company logos, and traffic
signs are symbols.

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Some symbols are highly functional; stop signs, for instance, provide useful
instruction.

As physical objects, they belong to material culture, but because they function
as symbols, they also convey nonmaterial cultural meanings.

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• Some symbols are only valuable in what they represent.

• Many objects have both material and nonmaterial symbolic value.

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“Most people do not see their

beliefs. Their beliefs tell
them what they see. This is
the simple difference
between clarity and
confusion.” ~ Matt Khan

Norms, Values
and Beliefs

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Values are a culture’s standard for discerning what

is good and just in society. Values are deeply
embedded and critical for transmitting and
teaching a culture’s beliefs.
Values help shape a society by suggesting what is good and bad,
beautiful and ugly, sought or avoided.

Beliefs are the tenets or convictions that people

hold to be true. Individuals in a society have
specific beliefs, but they also share collective
values.

Sanctions and Social Controls

One way societies strive to put values into action is through

rewards, sanctions, and punishments.

Sanctions are a form of social control, a way to encourage

conformity to cultural norms. Sometimes people conform to norms
in anticipation or expectation of positive sanctions: good grades,
for instance, may mean praise from parents and teachers

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Sanctions and Social Controls

Breaking norms and rejecting values can lead to cultural

sanctions such as earning a negative label—lazy, no-good—or to
legal sanctions such as traffic tickets, fines, or imprisonment.

Values are not static; they vary across time and between groups
as people evaluate, debate, and change collective societal
beliefs. Values also vary from culture to culture.

We commonly believe that anyone who works

hard enough will be successful and wealthy.
Underlying this belief is the value that wealth is
good and important.

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Norms
Norms define how to behave in accordance with what a society
has defined as good, right, and important, and most members of
the society adhere to them.

Formal norms are established, written rules.

There are plenty of formal norms, but the list of informal norms—
casual behaviours that are generally and widely conformed to—
is longer. People learn informal norms by observation, imitation,
and general socialization

1. Waiting in a queue rather than simply pushing to the front.

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2. Holding the door open for someone.

3. The idea that it is wrong to kill another person.

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4. Boys wearing trousers and not skirts.

5. The belief that it is wrong to take other people’s property.

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6. Good manners, for example, saying thank you for something.

7. Using a hand to eat with.

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Norms

Values
Technology
The Five
Components of
Culture

Language Symbols

Actions  

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