Chapter 3: Culture
Objectives
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Culture is the medium through which all social transactions take place. It was developed by our early ancestors to improve the quality and quantity of human life. Culture is an essential and necessary human trait which reflects our capacity to learn from others. Because of the importance of culture on human learning, we must investigate how it influences social behavior.
After reviewing Chapter 3, you will be able to:
- Define the sociological concept of culture.
- Describe the relationship between human intelligence and culture.
- Outline the components of culture and be able to provide examples.
- Illustrate the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.
- Identify the major U.S. values and recognize their relations with one another and with other aspects of our culture.
- Provide examples of different types of norms operating in a culture.
- Explain how subcultures and countercultures contribute to cultural diversity.
- Describe the significant issues concerning multiculturalism.
- Differentiate between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism and provide examples of each.
- Discuss significant factors which suggest that a "global" culture is being created in our world.
- Contrast analyses of culture using the structural-functional, social-conflict and sociobiological paradigms.
- Identify the consequences of culture for human freedom and restraint.