Substantive Approval and Schematic Association: The Sociological Analysis of the Working Mechanism of Culture

Although culture has been frequently cited by social scientists to account for social phenomenon, there is still room for specification of the mechanisms through which culture works. This article draws on the culture triangle model and the dual process theory, to make a nuanced distinction between the mechanism of substantive approval and the mechanism of schematic association. To illustrate this theoretical framework, we examine how the traditional fertility-promoting culture in China affects one’s propensity of son preference through these two mechanisms, and how one’s educational attainment moderates the strength of these two mechanisms. This framework of the culture mechanism helps to understand the social effect of traditional culture, responds to social concerns in an era of low fertility rate, and promotes the creative transformation and innovative development of Chinese traditional culture.