are often directly related. For example, if a culture places a high value on the institution of marriage, it may have norms (and strict sanctions) that prohibit the act of adultery or make divorce difficult. If a culture views private property as a basic value, it will probably have stiff laws against theft and vandalism. The values of a culture may change, but most remain relatively stable during any one person’s lifetime. Socially shared, intensely felt values are a fundamental part of our lives in the United States. Sociologist Robin Williams (1970) has offered a list of basic values. It includes achievement, efficiency, material comfort, nationalism, equality, and the supremacy of science and reason over faith. Obviously, not all 320 million people in this country agree on all these values, but such a list serves as a starting point in defining the national character. Each year more than 200,000 entering college students at nearly 300 of the nation’s four-year colleges fill out a questionnaire about their values. Because this survey focuses on an array of issues, beliefs, and life goals, it is commonly cited as a barometer of the nation’s values. The respondents are asked what values are personally important to them. Over the past half century, the value of “being very well-off financially” has shown the strongest gain in popularity; the proportion of first-year college students who endorse this value as “essential” or “very important” rose from 42 percent in 1966 to 81 percent in 2012 ( Figure 3-2 ). During the 1980s and 1990s, support for values having to do with money, power, and status grew. At the same time, support for certain values having to do with social awareness and altruism, such as “helping others,” declined. According to the 2011 nationwide survey, only 42 percent of first-year college students stated that “influencing social values” was an “essential” or “very important” goal. The proportion of students for whom “helping to promote racial understanding” was an essential or very important goal reached a record high of 46 percent in 1992, then fell to 35.3 percent in 2012. Like other aspects of culture, such as language and norms, a nation’s values are not necessarily fixed. Whether the slogan is “Think Green” or “Reduce Your Carbon Footprint,” students have been exposed to values associated with environmentalism. How many of them accept those values? Poll results over the past 40 years show fluctuations, with a high of nearly 46 percent of students indicating a desire to become involved in cleaning up the environment. By the 1980s, however, student support for embracing this objective had dropped to around 20 percent or even lower (see Figure 3-2 ). Even with recent attention to global warming, the proportion remains level at only 26.5 percent of first-year students in 2012. Values can also differ in subtle ways not just among individuals and groups, but from one culture to another. For example, in Japan, young children spend long hours working with tutors, preparing for entrance exams required for admission to selective schools. No stigma is attached to these services, known as “cram schools”; in fact, they are highly valued. Yet in South Korea, people have begun to complain that cram schools give affluent students an unfair advantage. Since 2008, the South Korean government has regulated the after-school tutoring industry, limiting its hours and imposing fees on the schools. Some think this policy has lowered their society’s expectations of students, describing it as an attempt to make South Koreans “more American” (Ramstad 2011; Ripley 2011). Another example of cultural differences in values is public opinion regarding the treatment of different racial and ethnic groups. As Figure 3-3 shows, opinion on the need for equal treatment of different racial and ethnic groups varies dramatically from one country to another. Study Alert Remember that norms are society’s established expectations for typical behavior in varying situations, whereas values are the commonly held beliefs about what is considered proper or moral and improper or immoral behavior in a culture. FIGURE 3-2 LIFE GOALS OF FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1966–2012 Percentage who identify goal as very important or essential 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Financial security remains a popular goal of entering college students. Develop a meaningful philosophy of life Help to promote racial understanding Become involved in cleaning up environment Be very welloff financially 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2012 Sources: Pryor et al. 2007, 2013. MODULE EIGHT Elements of Culture 69
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