Popular Culture Throughout the years, many anthropologists and other cultural scientists have studied human nature and behavior. In order to understand human behavior, they can study either Anthropological or Popular Culture. Anthropological culture is a certain groups of people’s way of life, while Popular culture is defined as contemporary lifestyle and items that are generally accepted by a group of people. These two differing sanctions of culture give very different perceptions about the people they are associated with. Anthropological culture gives more of a realistic view of the values and beliefs of a society because it has more to do with the actual doings of a people, not the items they buy or how the world sees them.
Human behaviour can change depending on the setting we are put in. There are different aspects which can affect our behaviour, influencing how we feel, think and behave. People are part of the causal effect as we as human beings want to belong; no one wants to be left out on their own. All human beings act differently in different situations, because no one is the same. However in today's society, psychologists have been able to do research on the way human’s behaviour react in different situations with different participants to be able to get a generalized result but to do so they must first distinguish if the participant is showing social or personal identities.
Sociologists do not simply declare their beliefs indisputable truths – they do research to determine whether those beliefs are correct. Their investigations are rooted in the scientific method that distinguishes the sociological perspective from “commonsense” interpretations of the world. The sociological perspective emphasizes that people’s thoughts and action are strongly influenced by the groups to which they belong as well as by impinging social factors such as beliefs, values, practices and institutions. From birth to death individuals are imbedded within and influenced by groups and larger structures. As sociologists our main goal is to understand social situations and look for repeating patterns in society.
Cultural relativism Denise Lewis ANT 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (GSF1517D) Instructor: Fae Goodman Date Submitted The comprehension of a different culture practices tends to be difficult when only used in comparison to one’s own culture and practices. It may seem not normal for one’s own standards yet to those of the opposite cultures our own practices may not be considered as normal or logical to them as well. In order to be able to understand any culture, one must really know the meaning of cultural relativism. “Cultural relativism is the idea that the significance of an act is best understood by the standards of the actor’s own culture” (Crapo, 2013). Using this definition will lay the foundation of this paper.
Cultural anthropologists use the ethnographic method to study humans; they interview people and observe then in their everyday life, they also compare their findings with those of other societies. What cultural anthropologist seek to find is a way to help people of other societies understand and tolerate the differences other societies might have. Studying other societies will help us see ours more clearly, because we will be seeing it with background from another society. Before anthropologists use to study all aspects of a society now they might just specify on one part of the society such as economy, religion, or politics. Another kind of anthropologist are linguistic anthropologist they study language they look at its history and evolution.
Explain the meaning of the term observation (10 marks) An observation is watching behaviour in a real life setting and taking notes of the observation. Interpretivists prefer observation as it tends to produce qualitative data which is more valid. There are two different types of observation: covert observation which is when the researcher hasn’t told the participants that they’re being observed. The British Sociological association advised you should only use this method when there’s no other way of obtaining the data that the researcher needs. For example: Nigel Fielding used covert observation when researching the national front (far right wing political party) as he believed he would encounter hostility if they knew he was a sociologist.
It is our reality. Stepping out of one’s own culture and into someone else’s in an effort to gain a better understanding is known as cultural relativism (Crapo, 2013). This process is invaluable because it helps us to combat our own innate or built in ethnocentric bias. When looking at any belief, culture, ritual or ceremony it is important to remember what noted anthropologist Horace Miner said “Most cultures exhibit a particular configuration or style” (Miner, 1956). If we learn to look at another’s culture as their own particular style, it is easier to be objective, and less judgmental.
Interpretivists are those who support the use of more humanistic methods within research as they believe society cannot be studied as a science because human behaviour is not governed by society. These sociologists each make different claims to support their use of either quantitative or qualitative data. Within this essay, the claims supporting the use of each data will be discussed as well as the claims to dispute them. Quantitative data, according to Mustapha (2009), is data that usually takes the form of statistical and numerical information. This form of data is obtained using various quantitative research methods such as questionnaires and structured interviews.
Sociology is in one way or another related to science and common sense but it is also in many ways distinct from the two. Early sociologists like Comte Durkheim tried to link sociology with the natural sciences as they argued that human beings and social activity could be studied rationally and objectively producing anticipated results. However this is only true to a certain extent, because as we know people are not atoms or identical particles, their existence consists of feelings and attitudes and their social realm is shaped and created through meaning and interpretation. Sociology is not a science but it isscientific. The
The scientists create a a theory and then make some observations that either refute or support the theory. Enlightenment thinkers believe humans can understand the world better through science due to the human capacity of observation and reasonning. They also believed if the world could be understood it could also be changed. These thinkers believed that not to be divinely ordained or determined. They instead believe people are freewilled and responsible for their own actions.