COMPONENTS OF

CULTURE
CULTURE
What does this mean?
Culture – all the shared products
of human groups. This includes
both physical objects and the
beliefs, values, and behaviors
shared by a group.
Material culture – physical or
tangible creations that members of
society make, use, share
Nonmaterial culture – abstract or
intangible human creations of
society that influence people’s
behavior
COMPONENTS OF
CULTURE
Technology
Symbols
Language
Values
Norms
1)TECHNOLOGY
The items themselves are
important, but the rules of
acceptable behavior when using
material culture is a part of this.
Technology and its impact on
cultural change
Cultural lag – gap between the technical development
(material culture) of a society and its moral and legal
institutions (nonmaterial culture)
Discovery – learning about something previously
unknown
Invention – combining existing cultural items into a new
form
Diffusion the transmission of cultural items or social
practices from one group or society to another
 2) SYMBOLS
It is through symbols that we create
our culture and communicate it.
Symbols have a shared, accepted
meaning. It’s how we make sense of
our lives.
Culture shock! Inability to read the
symbols
 3) LANGUAGE
The organization of written or spoken
symbols into a standardized system.

Changing nature of word acceptance

– what are some examples
Language shapes the view of reality
of the speaker
• Language and gender
• The use of the male and female
• Language and race, ethnicity
• Transmission of preconceived
ideas
 4) VALUES
Language and symbols allow us to
communicate our values to one
another.
Values are shared beliefs about what
is good or bad, right or wrong,
desirable or undesirable.
 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

 The chance to achieve success

• Youth sports, clubs organizations
• Adult intramural activities
• Public school
• Federal aide programs
 ACHIEVEMENT AND
SUCCESS

Built into our competitive activities

• Grades in school for scholarships and
class rank (bumper stickers, choice of
school)
• Promotions at work for power, prestige,
and pay (floor, office)
MATERIAL COMFORT
 Material possessions = achievement and success

 Knowledge for self actualization . . . BLAH.

Give me $

 Material wealth confirms hard work and

perseverance

 Tremendous symbolism here

 ACTIVITY AND WORK
Employment, participation, outdoor activities, cell
phones

The unemployed are ridiculed

Connected to the character issue

From the young to the old

• Youth sports; “go play outside”; get a summer job
• Retirement becomes travel; part-time job, we don’t
slow down
 PRACTICALITY AND
EFFICIENCY
 People want bigger, better, faster

 For tech - “How well does it work?” “What is its usefulness?”

 For people - “Is this a realistic thing to do?” “Play it safe” “Play
the odds”
• We value people on their ability to “get things done.”
• Think about a college major
 Doers vs. dreamers

 This is why it can be difficult to change institutions like school

 PROGRESS
Often times this is connected with Material
Comfort, and later with Science, but it may stand
alone.

We have always changed government, technology,

social structure, for the better, albeit most of the
time slowly.

“Things can and will get better.”

SCIENCE/MATH/TECHNOLOG
Y
Vary much tied to our comparison with
the rest of the world and our progress

It controls our health and safety, our

reliance on day to day functioning

“I want to no numbers, results, proof”

DEMOCRACY AND FREE
ENTERPRISE

Individual nature of both the

political and economic

Self-reliance is promoted just as

much as equal opportunity
 FREEDOM
Natural, civil, political, economic, social rights

No matter the political attitude the concept of

freedom and liberty is always articulated

This is oftentimes the first complaint, “I’m being

denied my . . .”
 RACIAL AND/OR
GROUP
SUPERIORITY
American past and present discrimination

Do we need this to strengthen our culture?

 CORE AMERICAN
VALUES
Equal Opportunity Progress

Achievement and success Science

Material comfort Democracy and free

enterprise

Activity and work Freedom

Practicality and efficiency Racism and group

superiority
APPLICATION OF VALUES
How does our specific geographic location
(Morehead, Ky.) influence our value of Activity
and Work?

In practicality and efficiency?

In freedom?

In race relations?

Value Contradictions – values that conflict with
one another or are mutually exclusive (achieving
one means makes it difficult to achieve another)

Ideal culture – what we profess

Real culture – what people actually follow

 5) NORMS
Norms are created to enforce culture.
Norms are shared rules of conduct that tell
people how to act in specific situations.
Ex. – the value of democratic government
is reinforced through the norms governing
political participation; respect for the flag;
etc.
Folkways – norms that describe socially
acceptable behavior but do not have great
moral significance
• Provide 5 examples
Mores – norms with great moral
significance
• Provide 5 examples