Cultural Norms Activity

Cultural Norms Cultural norms are behavior patterns that are typical of specific groups. Such behaviors are learned from parents, teachers, peers, and many others whose values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors take place in the context of their own organizational culture. Some norms are healthy and some are not. Some contribute to the betterment of individuals, families, and communities; others are precisely the kinds of high-risk behaviors that mainstream American society would like to reduce or eliminate. Conflict or uncertainty over which cultural norms should be acceptable in which circumstances has contributed to change and instability in the fields of education and prevention during recent years. Cultural norms often are so strongly ingrained in an individual's daily life that the individual may be unaware of certain behaviors. Until these behaviors are seen in the context of a different culture with different values and beliefs, the individual may have difficulty recognizing and changing them. The goal of prevention and effective youth development is to understand and improve cultural norms, and thereby reduce alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use. Make a short list of some of your cultural norms……

Subculture

As understood in sociology, a subculture is a set of people with a distinct set of behavior and beliefs that differentiate them from a larger culture as a whole of which they are a part of. The subculture may be distinctive because of the age of its members, or by their race, ethnicity, class and/or gender, and the qualities that determine a subculture as

distinct may be aesthetic, religious, political, and sexual or a combination of these factors. Subcultures are often defined via their opposition to the values of the larger culture to which they belong, although this definition is not universally agreed on by theorists. Members of a subculture will often signal their membership through a distinctive and symbolic use of style. Therefore, the study of subculture often consists of the study of the symbolism attached to clothing, music and other visible affectations by members of the subculture, and also the ways in which these same symbols are interpreted by members of the dominant culture. If the subculture is characterized by a systematic opposition to the dominant culture, then it may be described as a counterculture. More simply, subcultures are groups of individuals who, through a variety of methods (conspicuous clothing and ostentatious behavior), present themselves in opposition to the mainstream trends of the mainstream culture that they are a part of. It may also be difficult to identify subcultures because their style (particularly clothing and music) may often be adopted by mass culture for commercial purposes, as businesses will often seek to capitalize on the subversive allure of the subculture in search of cool, which remains valuable in selling any product. This process of cultural appropriation may often result in the death or evolution of the subculture, as its members adopt new styles which are alien to the mainstream. A common example is the punk subculture of the United Kingdom, whose distinctive (and initially shocking) style of clothing was swiftly adopted by mass-market fashion companies once the subculture became a media interest. In this sense, many subcultures can be seen to be constantly evolving, as their members attempt to remain one step ahead of the dominant culture. In turn, this cyclical process provides a constant stream of styles and ideas which can be commercially adopted by the mainstream culture. Sometimes styles (particularly clothing and music) of a particular subculture are adopted by mass culture for commercial purposes, Businesses will often seek to capitalise on the subversive allure of subcultures in search of cool. Music-based subcultures are particularly vulnerable to this process, and so what may be considered a subculture at one stage in its history — such as jazz, punk, hip hop and rave cultures — may represent mainstream taste within a short period of time. Make list of different subcultures that you are familiar with…..What are there cultural values and norms?Folklore Tales coming tomorrow!!! Scheel……..