What is culture?

Culture is the knowledge, language, values, customs, and material objects that are passed from one person and from
one generation to the next in a human group or society
Culture includes:
Culture is NOT society-culture is a blueprint for how we live, think and act, while society is a group of people
within a geographic area
Cultural Universals
Cultural universals are basic traits, but there is much variation to these traits and what constitutes a violation of
norm*
Murdock (1945) listed these universals:
Division of labor
Incest taboo
Marriage
Family
Rites of Passage
Five Components of Culture
Although there are a few cultural universals, the number of cultural differences outweighs what he have in common.
Functionalists see cultural universals as proof of universal human needs for order and meaning, while critical theorists
view them in light of colonialism and the imposition of a certain cultures beliefs onto others.
The 5 components of culture are:
1. Norms
2. Values
3. technology
4. Language
5. people
Types of norms
1. Folkways- also known as customs, they are norms for everyday behavior that people follow for the
sake of tradition.
2. Mores- they are strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior
3. Taboos- they are norms that society holds strongly that violating results in extreme disgust.
4. Laws- they are codified ethics and formally agreed, written down and enforced by an official.

Characteristics of culture

1. Culture is dynamic, flexible and adaptive.

2. Culture is shared and may be challenged
3. Culture is learned through socialization and enculturation
4. Culture is a patterned social interaction
5. Culture is integrated. All aspects of culture are related to one another.
6. Culture is transmitted. We share our culture with others.
7. Culture requires language and other form of communication.

Types of society
1. Hunting and gathering society- they are the earliest form of society. They are small and generally with less
than 50 members.
2. Pastoral society- they rely on products obtained through domestication and breeding of animals for
transportation and food.
3. Horticultural society- these society rely on the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and plants in order to
Survive.
4. Agricultural society- they rely on the use of technology in order to cultivate crops in large areas including
wheat rice and corn.
 5. Industrial society- they uses advanced sources of energy to run large machinery which led to
industrializations.
6. Post Industrial society- there economy is based on services and technology not production. The economy is
dependent on tangible goods.

Social Change
refers to an alteration in the social order of a society
it may include changes in nature, social institutions, social behaviors or social relations
Social Change
a change in the socio-cultural group which has lasting and perceivable effects either on the culture or the social
structures of the system.
changes occur which are not too relevant to the group.

Types of Social Change

1. Civilization Change
dress, foods habits, technologies
2. Cultural Change
religion, rituals, literature
3. Change in Social Relationship
father and son, teacher and student, husband and wife

Rhythm in Social Change

1. Small Changes
2. Change due to a crisis situation
3. Seasonal Change

Social Control
is the sum total of the instrumentalities and factors which maintain or repair a certain balance in
a social system if change has been introduced.
it gives the balance between entrance and release in social system.
Social Control
Has a great importance on communication and social interactions
there is a norm on how to act in the classroom
there is a norm on how to act when in the church

Factors of Social Control

Sanctions (rules/regulation)
Rituals (set of actions)
Cultural Heritage (tradition)
Role Assignments
Factors of Social Control
Interrelated with each other
Resist social change within a system
Prolong the life of a socio-cultural system
Control the obedience and practice of the norms
Change
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.
- John F. Kennedy
Change
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
- Charles Darwin

Is the process whereby the cultural heritage is socially transmitted from one generation to another

Refers to that lifelong process of learning and relearning as people move from different stages of growth and
development, or from one social group to another (Panopio, 1996)
Is the process by which we acquire those modes of thinking, feeling, and acting that are necessary to participate
effectively in the larger community.
Is the process by which we acquire social identities and internalize the values and roles of our social world. (D.
Light, 1995)
Is the process by which a society transmits its cultural values to individuals in order that they can function
properly as its members. It is a process whereby a person acquires and internalizes the behavior, concepts,
knowledge and skills that are essential for social living. (Conklen, 1984)
Is the process of fitting into an organized way of life and established cultural tradition; it includes the
complementary process of transmission of the culture and social heritage and the development of personality.
(Broom and Selznick, 1977)
Is the learning process where the individual acquires a status, plays a corresponding role and emerges with a
personality.
Deviance and Social Control:

Introduction
Deviance- the violation of social norms
Stigma- the disapproval attached to disobeying the expected norms
Crime- the forms of deviance in which formal penalties are imposed by the society
We are all deviant at some time or another and in some places

What is deviance?

Deviance is a violation of ever-changing social norms

Deviance is culturally dependent and historically located, exists always in juxtaposition with some normality
Deviance is socially constructed even though some of it might be characterized as an immoral absolute

Structural-functionalist viewpoint

Deviance serves vital functions for society

Sets examples of unacceptable behavior
Provides guidelines for (opposite) behavior that is necessary to maintain social order
Bonds people together through their common rejection of deviant behavior
Provides jobs for those who deal with deviants
Can signal problems in a society that need addressed (stimulate positive change)
Opens societies to new and creative paths of thinking
Social control theory - our bonds with society encourage us to conform; with fewer bonds, we are more likely to
be deviant
Rational choice theory - the decision to be deviant depends upon a cost/benefit analysis of sanctions
Differential association theory - conformity or deviance is learned from those we spend time with
Labeling theory - behavior is not intrinsically deviant, but becomes deviant because it is labeled as such
o Members of a society define (label) what is deviant and impose sanctions for that behavior
o Individuals who engage in primary deviance are not labeled, but those who engage in secondary
deviance are
Being labeled can reinforce deviant behavior by:
o Increasing alienation
o Forcing increased interaction with deviant peers
o Motivating juvenile delinquents to positively value and identify with the deviant status
Deviance becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy
 Those with less power in society are more likely to be labeled as deviants

Meso and macro-level explanations of deviance

Structural-functionalist theories
o Anomie - the breakdown of the norms guiding behavior leads to social disorganization
o Strain theory - those with fewer resources are less able to achieve societally shared goals and may resort
to deviant behaviors to achieve their desired goals
Mertons ways of adapting to strain
Conformity - embracing the society's definition of success and adhering to the established and approved means
of achieving success
Innovation - use of illicit means to reach approved goals
Ritualism - strict adherence to culturally- prescribed rules, even though individuals give up on the goals they
hoped to achieve
Retreatism - giving up on both the goals and the means
Rebellion - rejecting the socially approved ideas of "success" and the means of attaining that success, but
replaces those with alternative definitions of success and alternative strategies for attaining the new goals
Conflict theory - deviance is a result of social inequality
o Elites want to maintain control, so they define what is deviant to benefit themselves and deflect
attention from their own behaviors
o The greater the power differentials and inequalities, especially class, the greater the conflict in a society
o Conflict is inevitable under the current capitalist power arrangement
o Feminist theory - abuses suffered by women are rooted in the patriarchal, capitalist system
o The causes include the gendered division of labor, the separation of spheres, and the socialization of
children
o Cultural attitudes toward crime against women differ based on the status of women in that society
o Women are less often in a position to commit crimes and often commit crimes that are different from
mens

The Sociological Perspectives

The Structural/Functional Perspective
The Conflict Perspective
Symbolic/Interactionist Perspective
Structural - Functional
Society is viewed as a complex system of parts (structures) that interact to perform various necessary functions
Shared values, norms, attitudes and beliefs (consensus)
Change is generally viewed as disruptive and gradual
Conflict Theory
Views society as a struggle for resources and power
Change is inevitable, often beneficial and can be violent
Conflict between the classes determines social change
Some groups prosper at the expense of others
Conflict is universal; social consensus is limited and inequality is widespread
Macrosociology
Symbolic Interactionism
Studies society through interactions within individual and small groups
Interaction between individuals is negotiated through shared symbols, gestures and nonverbal communications
Humans are social animals and require interaction
Asks the questions How do individuals experience one another? How do they interpret the meaning of these
interactions? and How do people construct a sense of self and the society as a whole?