Cultural Variations

1. Cultural Variations

2. Learning Goals • What do most cultures have in common with each other. • What factors account for cultural variations within cultures. • How have some social scientists responded to cultural variation. • What is a subculture and why do they exist?

3. What do We Have in Common & variations • Cultural Universals • Needs so basic that all societies must develop certain features to ensure their fulfillment. • Subculture • Groups in society that share values, norms, and behaviors that are not shared by the entire population. • Counterculture • Groups that reject the major values, norms, and practices of the larger society and replaces them. • Ethnocentrism • Tendency to view one’s own culture and group as superior. • Cultural Universals • Arts & Leisure • Basic Needs • Beliefs • Communication & Edu • Family • Gov’t & Economy • Technology

4. Cultural Variations • Cultural Relativism • The belief that cultures should be judged by their own standards rather than by applying the standards of another culture. • Cultural Diffusion • The spreading of cultural traits from one society to another. • Cultural Lag • The time between changes, when ideas and beliefs are adapting to new material conditions. • Cultural Leveling • A process in which cultures become more and more alike.

5. Group Activity: Subcultures • In your group you will research a subculture and create a presentation. • Subcultures: Age, gender, ethnic, religious, political, geographic, social-class, and occupational subcultures. • Info Keys: Where are they from, what is the dominant culture, how do they reject the norms (Include pictures and details).