ANT 202 Culture Assignment

Martin, the main character of “The elevator”, is afraid of elevators. His situation got even worse when he moved into his new apartment with his dad. The apartment was old and dirty. The elevator that was in their building could only hold three people. The stairs were just as bad. They were dark and dirty as well. To make matters worse, they lived on the seventeenth floor. Later on in the story, Martin breaks his leg and is forced to ride the elevator. Martin’s dad thinks he’s being a coward and makes fun of him in a way. His dad doesn’t think he should worry about this woman and doesn’t really listen to what Martin says about this lady who always stares at him in the elevator. In William Sleator’s “The Elevator,” readers learn that you should

Norms are rules for behavior that are based on values, made through society. Breaking one of the norms can sometimes make people uncomfortable, or even disgusted. There are general rules that can make a conversation comfortable, based on how well a person knows others that talking in the conversation (“Social Distance”). As I experimented with the disruption of conversational distance, I experienced two completely different reactions. Depending on the level of comfortability, norms can be accepted behavior or can be

Through learning, families values, community relationships, and the willingness to achieve. Culture can be easily seen - the behavior of people – is the smallest part of culture. The greatest part, internal culture is inside people’s heads. It is our way of thinking and perceiving. Most importantly, it includes the values and beliefs unconsciously learned while growing up. The collision of two cultures as people come together causes us to become more aware of the differences and similarities between cultural values. By understanding the internal culture and significant values, we have a system to analyze and interpret behavior. People from around the globe bring their cultures here to American and institute them into society. Although, the United States is a culturally diverse society, there is a dominant culture and others give up their culture (depending upon where they may live) so they can fit into mainstream society. My family as other African American families changed their ways to fit into society hoping to become socially accepted because of not being members of the dominant culture. As with most societal trends, family values in all cultures are in constant motion; the list of American family values is always evolving. African

My mother has always told me that certain things should not be done in public. Social norms are opinions and beliefs that are shared amongst a group. Throughout our lives our parents tell us things that aren’t socially acceptable, and that there are consequences for those actions. Those that don’t act in ways that are socially acceptable are isolated from society. Norms help to guide the general public by reinforcing it with a punishment in waiting.

Norms are constantly changing and different in every culture. Norms are usually unnoticed in our society. There are folkways and mores norms. Folkway norms specify proper behaviors and are less violent and just rude which are stated was “weak”. Mores norms are “stronger” norms which violates more demands. We’re taught wrongs and rights while we’re kids like sneezing into your elbow and using manners. Other things are just common sense like facing forwards the doors in an elevator. In our culture standing backwards in the elevator is not normal. People walk in and turn around to face the door. For this assignment, I decided to break that norm. I was leaving a doctor’s appointment and had to take an elevator down to the first floor. I was about to turn around like a normal human but I remembered this essay and thought it was the perfect opportunity with an elevator full of people.

When I began to drive with my mom in the car, I was forced to obey the speed limit. However, after I started to drive on my own, I consistently speeded. Due to the fear of getting a ticket, I typically only travel five miles per hour over the speed limit. Although I do not drastically speed, I become irritated when I get stuck behind a vehicle traveling at or below the speed limit. So, for one of my norm-violations, I will become one of the people who drives the speed limit, and I will determine how others react. Another norm-violation I decided to participate in is walking on the wrong side of the hallway. Even though there is no specific rule or law stating that students are required to walk on the right side of the hallway, everyone walks on the appropriate side and violators of this norm sometimes get run over. Finally, a third norm I will violate is whispering when I talk. There are situations when whispering is appropriate; however, I will be whispering at the lunch table, at home, and in everyday settings where the environment is not quiet. By performing these three norm-violations, I hope to better comprehend why norms such as these exist in society.

Explain how culture shapes and gives meaning to the lives of the people described in the reading.

Norms are “how values tell us to behave” (Conley, 2017, pg. 90). They are like rules or guideline to what kind of behavior is acceptable. Norms can be informal or formal. Informal norms are unspoken for example, as I observed my surroundings I saw children taking turns going down the slide. I also saw families standing in line getting Pretzels. These are norms that are not written down but we learn them when we are young. Informal norms are viewed as what is right verses what is rude. Formal norms are written down like laws.

Social conventions are unwritten rules in society that are treated as the norm and as such, can be misinterpreted as the right thing to do, making them very hard to oppose. However, in truth, following social norms is not always the correct thing to do. Budge Wilson’s short

Social norms are behaviors that are expected within our society. When we see these norms out in public we might not acknowledge them because we’re expected to know how to act in different places or situations. When these norms are violated people may be confused of the situation and can become confused, annoyed, or mad. Social norms are a part of our everyday lives since before we were born there were norms laid out for us already, from the way we’re supposed to behave, dress, and even talk. Norms have high value in our society “they are the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad beautiful or ugly”. There’re what we expect in our society from our behavior at school, in public, or school. Each place has a certain norm we as a society should know when and how to follow.

'Social norms are rules and standards that are understood by members of a group, they identity belief systems about our perceptions of how or not to behave. They are used to guide behaviour without the force of laws' Prislin & Wood (2008). Social norms help us to apprehend uneasiness. They attribute to our judge ment of how

Social norms and deviant behaviors are important to society. These standards of behaviors are principles for society’s members to follow and to find their own thoughts and beliefs. Social norms can vary due to societies all over the world and the cultures that lie within them. The norms are known as the principles or rules that are expected by others in various types of social situations. These situations can vary from walking downtown to going to a formal dance.

From a sociological perspective, social norms are informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society. Norms are social expectations, establishes rules of behavior or standards of conduct. Norms explain why people do what they do in given situations. Norms are regarded as collective representations of acceptable group conduct as well as individual perceptions of group conduct. They can be viewed as cultural products, customs, traditions which represent individuals’ basic knowledge of what others do and think that they should do. Norms are usually done for research purpose to see that people think and how they react.

Norms are essentially unspoken rules of conduct given by society. These vary and evolve not only through time but also vary from one age group to another and between social classes and social groups. (Becker) It is important to understand how norms dictate our society because breaking any norms can lead to a negative sanctions Sanctions are punishments or rewards one receive when you either abide by a norm or violate it. (Carl, 54) Different types of norms call for different level of sanctions. There are three different types or levels of norms: folkways, mores, and taboos. Folkways are informal norms when violate have lax consequence. An example is picking your nose in class. While it seen as un-hygienic, the sanction for this violation is less severe. The next level of norm is mores. Mores have a much greater value attached to it. Mores distinguish the difference between right and wrong, while folkways draw a line

In chapter 6 of Introducing Cultural Anthropology Howell & Paris talked about the different Modes of Subsistence. Howell & Paris described what each mode was and then described how the lifestyle affected the interaction between people and interaction between societies. They then discussed the different exchange systems and how interaction were affected by the systems. In “Church, Plaza, and Marketplace Larson talks about the interactions of cultures and beliefs. Larson discusses the issues that can arise when ministering to someone in a different culture. Larson looks into detail the issue of completion vs social acceptance and independence vs economic security. This week David Mann discuss how culture vary when it comes to the how does wealth and relationships relate. Mann goes into the role of the missionary. The missionary must understand the how exchanges take place in different cultures to most effectively best share the Gospel.