What is the central characteristic that makes something a successful symbol?

Chapter 2 Review

Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Section 1

(1.) A. The central characteristic that makes a successful symbol is if it carries a particular meaning.

B. Folkways are different from laws, because folkways can be broken and only result in a minor punishment. When laws are broken the government enforces harsh punishments.

C. I believe folkways aren’t neccessary for our culture to exist. They don’t have harsh punishent if not abidded like laws, and they don’t have much moral significance attached to them. They are just what society tells you, that you have to do.

Section 2

(2.) A. The most common way that a cultural change takes place is that, people spread it from place to place, and it eventually is influenced from outside forces.

B. Ethnocentrism is the idea that one’s own group is superior to others. It differs from cultural realism because in reality their goups arn’t superior, they just don’t understand that.

C. Counterculture is valuable to society, because it could evolve society in positive ways.

Section 3

(3.) A. New American values that have emerged in the recent years are saving money (not wasting it) and trust in the government.

B. A strong commitment to values such as personal achievement and individualism affects a person’s economic decisions, because these concepts revolve around employment, wealth, power, and working hard. These are very important and by keeping them in mind at all times, people’s decisions change.

C. My opinion on the value of self-fulfillment is that it’s not important as the other values, but still has significance.

Internet Activity

(4.) The Hippie movement started in Mid-1960’s in American, but generally spread to other countries. The primary reason it began was because of the protest against the Vietnam War. They wanted the troops brought home, and to live in peace and love. The height of the movement was when Time magazine’s cover story read ”The Hippies: The Philosophy of a Subculture”. In the 1970’s the Hippie movement started to decrease but still goes on to this day.

Reviewing Vocabulary

(5.) G (6.) E (7.) H

(8.) B (9.) D (10.) A

(11.) F (12.) I (13.) C

Sociology in Your Life

(14.)  I am a Christian and that is a subculture. We believe in Jesus, which is different from other religions. There arn’t any values that I can think of at this point in time that we reject. Being a Christian doesn’t seriously challenge society’s values. It’s not a counterculture either since SO many people believe, and practice it.

Skills Activity: Interpreting Graphs

(15.) Between 2000 and 2002, was the the two years where a major percent of people quit supporting the category “The protection of the environment should be given priority over economic growth”.

(16.) 2000

(17.) Over time the graph shows that less and less people are supporting the environment. This is because of the advances in technology and overall society, people get side tracked by the material things in life.

Writing From Sociology

(18.) Symbol: This is a thing that stands for and represents something else. It can be either nonmaterial or material culture. An example would be the American Flag. American citizens see it all the time in day to day life, and it represents the freedom we fought for and to remeber that we should be proud to live here.

Values: This is the importance or preciousness of something. It is part of nonmaterial culture. An example would be a baby blanket to a young child. They value this item highly, and that is the case for many children.

Norms: These are social expectations in society. They are a part of nonmaterial culture. An example would be how most parents expect their children to keep their mouths closed when they are eating.