html5-img
1 / 7

Cultural Variation

Cultural Variation . Chapter 2, Section 2. Common Features of Culture. Cultures are vastly different, even though societies all have the same basic needs to meet . Features common to all cultures are known as cultural universals .

mizell
Download Presentation

Cultural Variation

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Cultural Variation Chapter 2, Section 2

  2. Common Features of Culture • Cultures are vastly different, even though societies all have the same basic needs to meet. • Features common to all cultures are known as cultural universals. • Societies meet these features differently, depending on biological features and environment. • George Murdock (anth.) came up with a list of over 65 of these. • While they may look different, their purpose is similar across cultures.

  3. Societal Variations • Margaret Mead (anth.) conducted a study in the 1930s to determine whether temperament resulted from inherited characteristics or cultural influence. • Mead looked at two societies from Papua New Guinea– The Arapesh and Mundugumor.

  4. The Two Societies • Arapesh • Cotented, gentle, nonagressive. • Both men and women are involved in childcare • Children are raised by many, and taught to take out their aggressions w/o harming others. • Mundugumor • Aggressive • Men and women are both competitive and jealous • Hostility between own family members

  5. Mead’s Findings • Temperament resulted more from culture than inherited traits. • Differences between the two societies were much greater than between men and women of the same tribe that’s from which she based her conclusion.

  6. Studying Variation • When examining other cultures, it can be tempting to draw inaccurate conclusions based on our own biases. • Ethnocentrism= the tendency to view one’s own group as superior. • Cultural relativism= belief that cultures should be judged by their own standards rather than applying them to the standards of another.

  7. Variation within Society • Subculture= a group of individuals who share values, norms and behaviors not shared by the entire population. • Edwin Sutherland. • Benefits? • Society is dependent on subcultures to provide different functions. • Subcultures make societies more open to change. • Counterculture= rejection of major values, norms, and practices and replacement with own. • Ex: Anarchists, organized crime families, Hippies

More Related