Ch. 3 Cultural Conformity and Adaptation

1
Ch. 3 Cultural Conformity and Adaptation

• Identification of key people
• and Definition of terms

2
Key people identified

• Robin M. Williams- Sociologist who identified 15
  values that are considered to be central to the
  American way of life
• James M. Henslin- Sociologist who suggested that
  education, religious values and romantic values
  should be added to the list of core American
  values.
• Christopher Lasch- Social historian and author of
  the book Culture of Narcissism. He went so far
  as to consider the emphasis of personal
  fulfillment as a personality disorder. He called
  this disorder Narcissism. (Narcissism- Extreme
  self-centeredness)

3
Key people identified (continued)

• Daniel Bell- Sociologist who felt that the focus
  on self was dangerous. He felt it weakened the
  established values of hard work and moderation.
  It threatened the stability of the capitalist
  system.
• Daniel Yankelovich- Psychologist and survey
  researcher who saw the shifts towards
  self-fulfillment as a problem. He agreed that
  Americans believed less in hard work than did
  earlier generations. He also saw it as a
  beneficial change. It marked a movement away for
  satisfaction based on material gain.

4
Vocabulary Terms defined

• Self-fulfillment- Commitment to the full
  development of ones personality, talents, and
  potential.
• Narcissism- Extreme self-centeredness.
• Internalization- Process by which a norm becomes
  a part of an individuals personality, there by
  conditioning the individual to conform to
  societys expectations.

5
Vocabulary Terms defined (continued)

• Sanctions- Punishment or rewards used to enforce
  conformity to norms.
• Positive Sanctions- Actions that rewards a
  particular kind of behavior.
• An example would be parents praise of a
  young child for good behavior.
• Negative Sanctions- Punishment or the threat of
  punishment used to enforce conformity.
• An example would be the possibility of
  having your car towed is usually enough to
  persuade you not to park in a no parking zone.

6
Vocabulary Terms defined (continued)

• Formal Sanction- Reward or punishment given by a
  formal organization or regulator agency, such as
  a school, business, or government.
• Informal Sanctions- A spontaneous expression of
  approval or disapproval given by an individual or
  a group.

7
Vocabulary Terms defined (continued)

• Social Control- The enforcing of norms through
  either external or internal sanctions.
• Ideology- System of beliefs or ideas that
  justifies the social, moral, religious,
  political, economic interest held by a group or
  by society.
• Social Movement- Long term conscious effort to
  promote or prevent social change.
• Examples would be Prohibition Movement,
  Womens rights Movement, and Civil Rights
  Movement.

8
Vocabulary Terms defined (continued)

• Technology- Knowledge and tools people use for
  practical purpose.
• Diffusion- Spread of cultural traits-ideas, acts
  beliefs and material objects from one society to
  another.
• Examples include Mass transportation, instant
  communication through radio, TV, the phone, and
  internet help to spread cultural traits.

9
Vocabulary Terms defined (continued)

• Reformulation- The process of adapting borrowed
  cultural traits.
• Cultural lag- Situation in which some aspects of
  the culture change less rapidly, or lag behind,
  other aspects of the same culture.