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Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. This chapter examines the basic elements that make up a culture, social practices common to all cultures, and variations that distinguish one culture from another.

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Define a society.

2. Give examples of cultural universals.

3. Differentiate between the two forms of innovation: discovery and invention.

4. Explain how sociologists use the terms diffusion and globalization.

5. Discuss the "McDonaldization" of society.

6. Differentiate between the following elements of a culture: language, norms, sanctions, and values.

7. Explain what the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is, and why it is important when discussing language and culture.

8. Summarize the feminist perspective on gender-related language.

9. Describe the relationship between culture and the dominant ideology.

10. Differentiate between subcultures and countercultures.

11. Identify your own attitudes toward cultural variation.