LECTURE 7b Cultural Variation sociology notes.ppt

Sociology notes

1. CULTURAL VARIATION,
CONFORMITY AND ADAPTATION
Cultural variations, and mechanisms for
achieving conformity and adaptation.

2. Subcultures
•Characteristics
Do not reject all the values and practices
of the larger society.
Recognize that they share broad cultural
traits with the larger society (e.g., India
residents of Parklands and South ‘C’).

3. Characteristics Contd..
•Similarity evident in:
Shared language- Swahili, ‘Sheng’,
Interest in same current affairs and T.V and
Radio programs
Common customs like greetings and
appreciation or seeking favours (chai kidogo,
kitu kidogo)
A sense of patriotism.

4. Distinction
•Subcultures however can be distinguished by:
Their unique languages, foods, style of dress,
beliefs, customs, and celebrations that are not
shared by the larger society.
Unique experiences of members of a particular
group or profession from the subcultures
emerge.

5. Distinction Contd..
•Examples include soldiers on a military
camp who are distinguished by:
Rigid ranking system
Extreme regulation of activities, and
Dormitory-style living arrangements.

6. Relation with larger culture
•Most subcultures do not present a threat
to society.
•On the contrary modern society is
dependent on various subcultures.

7. Relation with larger culture
•For example larger cultures are usually
dependent on subcultures of the:
•Military
•Police
•Lawyers
•Physicians
•Teachers, and
•Religious leaders for many important functions.

8. Challenge to larger culture
•A subculture may however consciously
emerge to challenge the values, norms
and practices of the larger society
•It may seek to replace them with a new set
of cultural patterns referred to as
counterculture.

9. Challenge to larger culture
•Examples of counterculture are observed
among the youth such as Punkers.
•They are identified by extreme dressing
and grooming styles (Heavy bling, hairdos
etc.).

10. Challenge contd..
Cultural variation within a society just like
among societies gives rise to ethnocentric
feelings.

11. Social Control
Introduction
•Every society develops norms that reflect
the cultural values its members consider
important.
•Social control refers to the methods by
which social behavior is regulated and
norms of society enforced.

12. Achieving social control
•Societies uphold their norms and regulate
social behavior through two basic means.
Internalization
Sanctions

13. Meaning of Internalization
•When people come to believe that a
particular norm is good, useful and
appropriate, they generally follow it and
expect others to do the same.
•Internalization is the process by which a
norm becomes part of an individual’s
personality, thereby conditioning the..

14. Meaning contd..
•.. individual to conform to society’s
expectations.
•Consequently they follow norms without
conscious thought.

15. Examples of internalization
•We drive on the left side of the road,
•Knock on the door before we open when
visiting someone’s house or office,
•Stop when the traffic signal turns red and
go when it turns green.

16. Examples contd..
•We do not do these things simply because
we fear being punished.
•We do so because we have internalized
the laws and rules.

17. Sanctions
•Usually not everyone internalizes all of
society’s norms.
•Some people must be motivated to follow
the norms.
•Sanctions are the mechanisms by which a
society motivates people to obey its
norms.

18. Definition of sanctions
•Sanctions are rewards or punishment used
to enforce conformity to norms.
•Sanctions are classified according to how
they are applied.
•We have the following types of sanctions:
Positive sanctions
Negative sanctions

19. Positive sanctions
•When a sanction is in form of a reward it is
referred to as a positive sanction.
•We see an example of a positive sanction
when parents praise their children for
good behavior.
•Other examples of positive sanctions
include:

20. Positive sanctions contd..
•Teachers who react favorably to students
who pay attention in class and who do well
in school.
•Employers who give salary raises to
workers who show initiative and
dedication.

21. Forms of positive sanctions
•Smiles, nods of the head and cheers.
•Public ceremonies for presentation of
badges, ribbons and certificates and
financial rewards.
•All these positive sanctions serve the vital
function of encouraging and upholding of
social norms.

22. Negative sanctions
•Usually positive sanctions are not enough
to ensure conformity.
•Society also must use negative sanctions
to bring about desired behavior.
•A negative sanction is punishment or
threat of punishment used to enforce
conformity.

23. Forms of negative sanctions
•Towing away someone’s car that is parked
in a ‘no parking’ zone.
•Denying children an opportunity to go out
with friends for failing to fulfill the
conditions of previously granted
permission.

24. Negative Sanctions Contd..
•When the threat of punishment fails, however,
the actual punishment is their to remind the
violator that conformity is expected.
•Actual punishment may range from frowns,
ridicule, rejection, and fines to imprisonment and
even death.
•In general, the more important the norm, the
more serious the punishment for nonconformity.

25. Other classifications of sanctions
•Apart from being positive or negative,
sanctions can be either formal or informal.
Formal Sanctions
• A formal sanction is a reward or
punishment that is given by some formal
organization or regulatory body such as
the government, school, court of law, or a
corporation.

26. Formal sanctions contd..
•Examples of negative formal sanctions are
fines, low grades, suspension from school,
demotion, termination from job and
imprisonment.
•Positive formal sanctions include
promotions, pay raises, graduation
certificates, awards and medals.

27. Informal Sanctions
•An informal sanction is a spontaneous
expression of approval or disapproval
given by an individual or a group.
•Although formal sanctions play an
important role in maintaining social
stability, the majority of norms are
enforced informally.

28. Informal sanctions contd..
•Positive informal sanctions include
standing ovations, compliments, smiles,
pats on the back, and gifts.
•Negative informal sanctions include
frowns, gossip, scolding, insults, and being
ignored.