Material culturereferstothephysicalobjects,resources,andspacesthatpeopleusetodefine

theirculture.Theseincludehomes,neighborhoods,cities,schools,churches,synagogues,temples,
mosques,offices,factoriesandplants,tools,meansofproduction,goodsandproducts,stores,andso
forth.Allofthesephysicalaspectsofaculturehelptodefineitsmembers'behaviorsandperceptions.
Forexample,technologyisavitalaspectofmaterialcultureintoday'sUnitedStates.American
studentsmustlearntousecomputerstosurviveincollegeandbusiness,incontrasttoyoungadultsin
theYanomamosocietyintheAmazonwhomustlearntobuildweaponsandhunt.
Material culture consists of man-made objects such as tools, implements, furniture, automobiles,
buildings, dams, roads, bridges and in fact the physical substance which has not been changed and
usedbymanitisconcernedwiththeexternal,mechanicalandutilitarianobjects.Itincludestechnical
and material equipments like a printing press, a locomotive, a telephone, television, a tractor, a
machinegunetc.Itincludesourbanks,parliaments,insurance,schemes,currencysystem,etc.

Non-material culturereferstothenonphysicalideasthatpeoplehaveabouttheirculture,including
beliefs,values,rules,norms,morals,language,organizations,andinstitutions.Forinstance,thenonmaterialculturalconceptofreligionconsistsofasetofideasandbeliefsaboutGod,worship,morals,
andethics.Thesebeliefs,then,determinehowtheculturerespondstoitsreligioustopics,issues,and
events.
Whenconsideringnon-materialculture,sociologistsrefertoseveralprocessesthatacultureusesto
shapeitsmembers'thoughts,feelings,andbehaviors.Fourofthemostimportantofthesearesymbols,
language,values,andnorms.
Thetermculturewhenusedinitsordinarysensemeansnon-materialculture.Itissomethinginternal
and intrinsically valuable, reflects the, inward nature of man. Non-material culture consists of the
words the people use or the language they speak, the beliefs they hold, values and virtues they
cherish, habits they follow, rituals and practices that they do and the currencies they observe. It
also includes our customs and tastes, attitudes and outlook, in brief the ways of acting, feeling and
thinking.
Differences between material and non-material culture
SomesociologistslikeOgburnandNimkoffdividescultureintotwopartsnamelymaterialandnonmaterial.Materialcultureconsistsofconcreteandtangibleobjectsliketools,implements,furniture,
automobiles,books,buildings,damsetc.Theseconcreteandtangibleobjectsareman-made.Itis
concernedwiththeexternal,mechanicalandutiliarationobject!Itincludestechnicalandmaterial
objectslike,aprintingpress,atelephone,atelevisiontractoretc.Itisreferredtoascivilisation.
Cultureisasociallylearnedandtransmittedbehavior.Ideas,norms,valuesandbeliefsarelargely
dependentonthekindofculturewebelongtoastheproductsofthisculture.
Thenonmaterialaspectsofanycultureareitsbeliefs,customs,philosophy,patternsandwaysof
communication(verbalandnon-verbal)anditsgovernment.Thematerialaspectofcultureconsistsof
thephysical.Thesearehouses,fooditems,factories,rawmaterialsandtechnologies.Everycultureis
theproductofthisinteractionbetweenits'materialandnonmaterialaspects.
"Culture"alsogivesthemeaningtoanobject.Forexample,aringmightbejustanartifact,butina
societywhereweddingringsareexchanged,itwillbevalueddifferently.
Itiseasiertochangethematerialcultureofanysocietythanthenonmaterialpartofit.
Non-materialcultureconsistsofintangibleandabstractobjects.Inincludescustoms,tradition,habits,
manners,attitude,beliefs,language,literature,art,law,religionetc.Itissomethinginternaland
reflectstheinwardnatureofman.

CULTURE
Whatisculture?Culturereferstothetotallifestyleofapeople,includingalloftheirideas,
values,knowledge,behaviors,andmaterialobjectsthattheyshare
Cultureshapesandguidespeoplesperceptionofreality
Culturedetermines
Foodweeat
Clothing
Music
Gamesweplay
Howtoexpressemotions
Whatisgoodorbad
Whatishighorlowculture(ifany)
Cultureandappearance
Societyvs.Culture
Societyreferstoagroupofpeoplewhoarerelativelyself-sufficientandwhoshareacommon
territoryandculture
Membersofthesocietypreserveandtransmititfromonegenerationtothenext(through
literature,art,videorecordingandothermeansofexpression)
Societyvs.Culture
Culturereferstothatpeoplestraditions,customs,andbehaviors.Itincludesideas,values,
andartifacts
Sharingasimilarculturehelpstodefinethesocietytowhichwebelong
CharacteristicsofCulture
Cultureisauniversalfeatureofhumansociallife
Cultureiscumulative
Cultureislearned
Cultureisshared

MaterialandNonmaterialCulture
Material Cultureincludesallthosethingsthathumansmakeoradaptfromtheraw
stuffofnature:houses,computers,jewelry,oilpaintings,etc(Stickfromtheforest
mightbeapartofmaterialculture)
Nonmaterial cultureisagroup'swayofthinking(includingitsbeliefs,values)
anddoing(itscommonpatternofbehavior,includinglanguageandotherformsof
interaction)(Poemaboutstick)
Diffusion
Istheprocessbywhichaculturalitemisspreadfromgrouptogrouporsocietytosociety
Diffusioncanoccurthroughavarietyofmeans,amongthemexploration,militaryconquest,
missionarywork,influenceofmassmedia,andtourism
Diffusionmaytakeplaceoverlongdistance
TheuseofsmokingtobaccobeganwhenIndiantribesintheCaribbeaninventedthehabitof
smokingthetobaccoplant.Overtheperiodsofhundredofyears,tobaccotraveledthrough
CentralAmericaandacrosstheNorthAmerica

Diffusionisnotalwayseasy.Societiesresistideaswhichseemtooforeign(orthreatening
totheirownbeliefs).Eachculturetendstobeselectiveinwhatitabsorbs(foodvs.beliefs).
Europeacceptedsilk,magneticcompass,chess,andgunpowderfromChinesebutrejectedthe
teachingofphilosophy
Cultureandtaken-for-grantedorientationsinlife
Ourspeech,ourgestures,ourbeliefs,ourcustomsareusuallytaken-for-granted
Weassumethattheyarenormalornatural,andalmostalwayswefollowthemwithout
questions
Cultureprovidesimplicitinstructionsthattelluswhatweoughttodoinvarioussituations.It
providesabasisforourdecisionmaking.
CulturalShock-Culturebecomesthelensthroughwhichweperceiveandevaluatewhatis
goingaroundus.Wehaveexpectationsofthe way people ought to be
Cultural shock- is the disorientation that people experience when they come in contact
with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their taken-for-granted
assumptions about life. AnAmericantouristwhogoesouttodinnerinSeoul,Koreaand
learnsthatalocalspecialtyisdogmeatmightwellexperienceculturalshock
AttitudestowardCulturalVariation
Ethnocentrismisatendencytoevaluateandjudgethecustomsandtraditionsofothers
accordingtoonesownculturaltastes,beliefs,andstandards.Welearnthatthewaysofour
owngrouparegood,right,proper,andsuperiortootherways
Ethnocentrism-Hasbothpositiveandnegative consequences.Onthepositiveside,itcreates
in-grouployalty.Onthenegativeside,ethnocentrismcanleadtoharmfuldiscrimination
againstpeoplewhosewaysdifferfromours
BodyRitualofNacirema
Pathologicalhorrorandfascinationwiththemouth
Holy-mouth-manandritualswithmouth
Womenbaketheirheadinsmallovens
Latipsoceremonies
AttitudestowardCulturalVariation
Cultural relativismisatendencytounderstandandevaluateacultureinthecontextofitsown
specialcircumstances.Noneofuscanbeentirelysuccessfulatpracticingculturalrelativism.
Wecannothelpviewingacontrastingwayoflifethroughthelensthatourownculture
provides
CulturalRelativismandPractice-ChineseimmigrantwasconvictedinaNewYorkcourtof
bludgeoninghiswifetodeathwithahammer.Hewassentencedtoonly5yearsofprobation.
Thejudgetookintoconsiderationtheculturalconsiderations.Thedeceasedwomenconfessed
extramaritalaffair.TestimonyofanexpertinChineseculturerevealedthathusbandsinChina
exactseverepunishmentontheirwives.Inposttrialhearings,thejudgedeclaredthatthe
defendanttookallhisculturewithhimtotheU.S.andthereforewasnotfullyresponsiblefor
hisviolentact///

Xenocentrism-Reversetoethnocentrism. Xenocentrismisthebeliefthattheproducts,styles,
orideasofonessocietyisinferiortothosethatoriginateelsewhere.PeopleintheU.S.
assumethatFrenchfashionorJapaneseelectronicdevicesaresuperiortoourown
PeopleinSaudiArabiamayprefertobuyPepsiColaandotherfoodproductsthatoriginate
intheUnitedStates.Peoplearecharmedbythelureofgoodsfromexoticplaces?Such
fascinationwithBritishchinaorDanishglasswarecanbedamagingtotheU.S.competitors.
Somecompanieshaverespondedbycratingproductsthatsound EuropeanlikeHaagen-Dazs
icecream(madeinTeaneck,NewJersey)
ComponentsofCulture
Norms
Sanctions
Values
Symbols
Language
Norms-Normsareestablishedstandardsofbehaviormaintainedbyasociety
Formal normshavebeenwrittendownandinvolvestrictrulesorpunishmentofviolators
(Lawisthebodyofrules,madebygovernmentforsociety,interpretedbycourts,andbacked
bythepowerofthestate(Wise,1993)
Informal normsaregenerallyunderstoodbutarenotpreciselyrecorded.Examples:standards
ofproperdressorproperbehavioratschool
TypesofNorms
Folkwaysarenormsgoverningeverydaybehaviorwhoseviolationmightcauseadirty
look,rolledeyes,ordisapprovingcomment.Example:Walkingupadownescalatorina
departmentstorechallengesourstandardsofappropriatebehavior
Mores arenormsdeemedhighlynecessarytothewelfareofasociety,oftenbecausethey
embodythemostcherishedprinciplesofpeople.Eachsocietydemandsobediencetoits
mores(violationcanleadtoseverepenalties.Examples:murder,childabuse
Taboosarenormsthataresodeeplyheldthateventhethoughtofviolatingthemupsetpeople.
IntheU.S.Thereisatabooagainsteatinghumanflesh.
Sanctions-Sanctionsarepenaltiesandrewardsforconductconcerningasocialnorm.
Conformitytoanormcanleadtopositivesanctionssuchaspayraise,amedal,awordof
gratitude,orapatonaback
NormsandSanctions
Values-arecollectiveconceptsofwhatisconsideredgood,desirable,andproper-orbad,
undesirable,andimproper-inaculture.Valuesindicatewhatpeoplefindimportantand
morallyright(orwrong).Valuesinfluencepeople'sbehaviorandserveascriteriafor
evaluationtheactionsofothers.Americanstraditionallyprizedsuccessthroughindividual
effortandinitiative,Japaneseemphasizecollectivismandloyaltytothecompany
AnoverviewofU.S.ValuesmadebysociologistsRobinWilliams(1965)
Achievementandsuccess
Individualism
Activityandwork
Efficiencyandpracticality
Materialcomfort

Freedom
Democracy
Equality

Sapir-WhorfHypothesis
Since people can conceptualize the world only through language, language precedes
thought . Wordsymbolsandgrammarorganizetheworldofusanddeterminesourbehavior
Languagedoesmorethandescribereality,itshapes therealityofaculture.Examples-The
SolomonIslandershave9distinctwordsforcoconut,eachspecifyinganimportantstageof
growth.Theyhaveonlyonewordforallmealsoftheday.
TheAleuts(northernCanada)have33wordsforsnow(texture,temperature,weight,color,
loadcarryingcapacity,etc)
TheHanunoopeopleofthePhilippineshavedifferentnamesfor92varietiesofrice
Americansuseasinglewordrice
Hanunoowouldbeincapableofseeingthedistinctionb/waFordandaToyota