This document discusses different techniques for comparing cultures, including cross-cultural comparisons and studying specific similarities and differences between societies. It outlines Durkheim's three schemes for comparative studies: examining human biological drives, psychic unity, and dependence on group life. The document also discusses how physical and social environments can influence cultures. It notes several sources of cultural diversity, including cultural variability in solutions to problems, different sex roles, cultural integration, and cultural relativity.

1. Chapter 4

2. How does One Find Out About
Similarities and Difference in Culture?
• The comparative approach in social science
research employs a wide variety of
sociological techniques. Among those which
sociologist have frequently resorted to in the
study of personality, society, and culture are
cross-cultural and inter-societal comparisons.
• An elaborated source of data for cross-
cultural and inter-societal comparisons in the
Human Resources Area Files (Murdock 1963).

3. • The Family of Man (1955) is an expressive
photographic exhibition of humanity of all
times.
• Max Weber’s study (1958) on the origins of
the spirit of capitalism is illustrative of the
attempt. He studied not only societies where
capitalism flourished but also societies where
capitalism failed to develop.

4. Comparative Technique
• Study of specific difference in societies which
are basically similar.
• The approach centering on specific similarities
among societies or sub-groups which are
basically different.
Durkheim’s Three Basic Schemes
for Comparative Studies (1947)

5. Human biological drives
• C. Kluchohm (1954) pointed out that cultures
are preconditioned by human being’s
biological drives which appear to be products
of individual’s organic balance.
• Mark Zborowski (1953) stated that in human
societies, biological processes vital for one’s
survival acquire social and cultural
significance.

6. Psychicunity
• One’s psychic unity is not exactly identical with his or
her inherited psychological traits.
i. Cognitive structure is made up of concepts and
beliefs by which one defines the world around him or
her ( Newcomb, Turner and Converse 1965:23-27). It
usually reflects the values and beliefs that are widely
shared by people within a cultural environment
ii. Habit structure. Habits, which are acquired through
learning are regularly patterned ways of acting,
feeling, or thinking. Perception is the process through
which people translate their observation into
internalized, meaningful experiences

7. • Trait configurations. A trait configuration is any
characteristic that can be observed or
measured. It refers to a repetitive way of
reaching to a particular event.
• Acquired predisposition. Predispositions refers to
the repetitive manner in which an individual
appears inclined to favor or disfavor a person or
group, an object, or a situation or event that
arises periodically in his or her environment.
Preference are the individual’ tendencies to
accept or reject a wide variety of objects.
Attitudes are comprised of a number of relatively
enduring tendencies to accept or reject an object,
concept, or entity.

8. Dependence upon group life
• Many human needs and motivates are derived
from sources other than organic

9. Physical and Social Environment
• Mostesquieu (1950:315, 317-318) believes
that the geographical environment can have
significant conditioning effects upon the
economic aspects of societies.

10. Diversity in cultures
1.) Cultural variability. Cultures differ because of the great variety of
solutions people of different societies evolve in solving life problems,
Aldous Huxley (in R.E.Farson 1965:69) points out that the intellectual
capabilities of human beings changed over the last twenty or thirty
thousand years.
• Sex roles also differ in different societies. Sex difference are based on
biological difference. However, the way a man or a woman is expected on
act is prescribed by society.
• The division of labor by sexes in universal, but task assignment to the
sexes in a matter of cultural definition. Maleness and femaleness are
institutionalized as statuses and become the core of their identities.
• Human ingenuity is manifested in differences of aptitudes and skills to
form new combinations and ideas from the natural and social
environment. People vary in their awareness and observation, interest in,
and experimentation with the resources around them.
• Cultural variability arises also from society’s tendency to preserve cultural
practices that were one time necessary and reasonable but which later
became outdated or useless

11. 2.) Cultural integration. Cultures are also vary
significantly in the degree of their being internally
consistent in their patterns of value, beliefs, and
behavior.
• A relatively well integrated culture is one where there
are no outstanding contradictions between people’s
beliefs and their behavior, between one set of beliefs
or actions and another, between institutional goals and
means within the society.
3.) Cultural relativity. Difference in culture also arise from
the relativity of the standards that societies uphold and
use for evaluating truth, right, propriety, virtue,
morality, legality, beauty, and the means of adhering to
these