CULTURE
What is CULTURE?
• According to Edward
Tylor, “Culture refers to
that complex whole
which includes
knowledge, beliefs,
art, morals, law,
customs, and any
other capabilities and
habits acquired by
man as a member of
society”.
• According to Robert
Redfield, “Culture is an
organized body of
conventional
understanding manifest
in art and artifacts,
which, persisting through
tradition, characterizes a
human group”.
Types of CULTURE
• Material culture refers to the concrete and tangible
things that man creates and uses. They range from
the prehistoric stone tools of primitive man to the
most advanced computer of the modern man
• Non-material culture consists of words people use;
the habits they follow; the ideas, customs and
behavior that any society professes and to which
they strive to conform. Laws, techniques, lifestyle,
and knowledge are included, too.
Characteristics of Culture
• Culture is learned and
acquired.
• Culture is shared and
transmitted.
• Culture is social.
• Culture is ideational.
• Culture gratifies human needs.
• Culture is adaptive.
• Culture tends toward
integration.
• Culture is cumulative.
Elements of Culture
1. Norms- these are guides or models of behavior
which tell us what is appropriate or inappropriate,
what is right or wrong
a. Folkways
b. Mores
c. Laws
2. Values- values represent the standards we use to
evaluate the desirability of things
a. Achievement and Success
b. Activity and work
Continuation….
c. Moral orientation
d. Humanitarian
e. Efficiency and practicality
3. Language- it refers to a system of symbols that have
specific and arbitrary meaning in a given society
4. Fashion, fads, and craze- these are other elements
of culture that are short-lived social norms with which
people are expected to comply with
Functions of Culture
• Culture as a Category
- As a general category for the classification of
phenomena
• Culture as a tool in prediction
• Some of the more specific functions of culture distinct
from the objectives of the various social institutions:
1. Culture serves as trademark or special feature that
distinguishes one society from one another.
2. Culture brings together, contains, and interprets the
values of a society in a more or less systematic manner.
Continuation…
3. Culture provides one of the most important bases
for social solidarity.
4. Culture provides a blueprint of, as well as the
materials for social structure.
5. The culture of any society is largely responsible for
producing a social personality.
6. The culture of a society provides behavioral
patterns.
7. Culture provides individuals with the meaning and
direction of their existence.
Modes of Acquiring Culture
• Imitation
• Indoctrination
• Conditioning
Thank you!
Prepared by:
Ina L.Ostonal
III-BAT-ATE1
