SOC-1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Ethnocentrism, Cultural Relativism
Document Summary
Norms: rules by which society guides the behavior of its members. Laws are formal norms that have the support of the state. Actual social patterns that only approximate cultural expectations. Ideal: don"t steal, treat everyone fairly especially the disadvantaged . Real: don"t get caught stealing, those who allow themselves to be taken advantage of should. There is much frustration generated by the gap between the real culture (what is) and the ideal culture (what ought to be). The wider the gap, the more likely it is there is a mechanism to reduce the frustration. A moral holiday is a clearly specified time period when people are allowed (even encouraged) to violate clearly specified norms of behavior. However, the selected norms are never completely suspended they are only loosened and one is still expected to feel guilty about behavior that would normally be considered inappropriate. Consists of anything that is produced by a culture.
