DOMINANT CULTURE

(or state culture)

 Represents the learned values,
beliefs, and behaviors shared by most
in society
 Is the most powerful group in a
society
 Receives the most support from major
institutions and those institutions
perpetuate the dominant culture,
giving it a degree of legitimacy not
shared by other cultures
 SUBCULTURE
 Values and norms do not
oppose the dominant
culture, although the group
is characteristically distinct
 Members of subcultures
interact frequently and
share a common world
view
 Subcultures share some
elements of the dominant
culture and coexist within
it. (they support the
dominant)
 COUNTERCULTURE
 Values and norms DO OPPOSE the
dominant culture, although the group is
characteristically distinct
 Subcultures created as a reaction
against the values of the dominant
culture.
 Members of the counterculture reject
the dominant cultural values and
develop cultural practices that defy the
norms and values of the dominant group
 Nonconformity to the dominant culture
is often the mark of a counterculture