Culture

1
Culture

• Includes a societies beliefs, history, knowledge,
  language, customs, moral principles and skills.

2

• Cultural Trait- A single object, action or
• belief as well as the smallest unit of culture.
• Cultural Complex- A set of inter-related
• cultural traits.
• Material Culture- The set of concrete objects
• created or used by the people of a culture.
• Ideal Culture- A collection of cultural beliefs
• that define what people in a culture should
• do and what they say they do.
• Real Culture- Reflected by peoples actual
• behavior as it appears to an observer.

3

• Norms- The guidelines people follow in
• relationships with one another
• Folkways- Everyday habits and conventions
• that people obey without giving much
• thought to it.
• Mores- Norms that have powerful moral
• significance attached to them. Intense
• reaction often happens if broken.
• Taboos- Prohibitions against a societys
• most important mores.

4
Sanctions

• A sanction rewards or punishes an action.
• Reward- Positive sanction
• Punishment- Negative sanction
• Formal Sanction- Given by organization or
  regulatory body (schools, groups)

5

• Symbols- Commonly understood gestures,
• words, objects, sounds, colors, or design
• that stands for something else.
• Language- Organized written or spoken
• symbols that is standard within a society.
• Non verbal signs- More flexible than
• language because they can communicate
• across languages.

6
Knowledge and Beliefs

• Knowledge- An element of culture that
• attempts to define what exists or the reality
• of the world.
• Beliefs- The theories and ideas about the
• nature of the physical and social world.