The

CHARACTERISTICS of
SOCIETY & CULTURE
Prepared by:

Miss Clarissa A. Dumanacal, MST

Social Science Teacher
At the end of the discussion, you should be able to:
 enumerate the different characteristics of society and culture;
 articulate the concepts of the characteristics of society and culture;
 recognize the importance of the characteristics of society and culture especially in
understanding society as the social arena of anthropological and sociological studies;
 determine these characteristics aid us in addressing social concerns, and
 illustrate situations and contexts in which these characteristics can be manifested.
 CULTURE & SOCIETY
Culture and Society are two different concepts. Each has its own meaning and function.

According to Edward B. Tylor, CULTURE is SOCIETY can be defined as the

"that complex whole which encompasses interaction among people where a
beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, common culture can be shared. Society
norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and can also refer to people from a particular
everything that a person learns and shares place that shares the same culture. A
as a member of society." common location may not just develop a
common culture. It can also be formed by
gender, shared beliefs, values, norms, or
activities.
For example of culture and society interacting from
each other: People from Bicol love spicy food while
people from Iloilo are known to be sweet and caring.
The Relationship of
CULTURE
& SOCIETY Culture and society are two closely related concepts. For
culture to exist and to be developed, it needs human
interaction. It needs people to interact with one another,
and it needs people to practice it continuously. Without a
society practicing their common culture, the culture may
cease to exist.
Culture is also essential to society because, without culture,
society will be dull and will not continue to thrive. A
society without culture is like a body without a soul and
vice versa. Culture and society need each other so they can
both develop and prosper.
The
CHARACTERISTICS of
SOCIETY
 Society is a
1 COMPLEX WHOLE
As a complex whole, it is a social system consisting of individuals society interacting
with each other. A change in a group of individuals will affect the stability of the other
parts of the whole system (consider the idea of deviant, conflict, and coercive units in
the society).
Society is
2 RELATIVELY LARGE
Being a complex whole, the people must be socially integrated to be considered
relatively large than if the people are individually scattered. Thus, the people in a family,
clan, tribe, neighborhood, community are units that are socially integrated to be
relatively large in scope.
 Society
3 SOCIALIZES ITS MEMBERS and from those from without
Since most of society’s members are born to it, they are taught the basic norms and
expectations. Those who come from other societies, before being accepted as functioning
members, are socialized, and taught the basic norms and expectations of such society.
Society
4 ENDURES, PRODUCES, and RESTRAIN its members for generations
For society to survive, it must have the ability to produce, endure and sustain its new
members for at least several generations. For instance, if a society cannot assist its
members, during their extreme conditions of hunger and poverty, that society will not
survive long.
 Society holds its members through a
5 COMMON CULTURE
The individuals in a society are held together because society has symbols, norms,
values, and patterns of interactions, vision and missions that are commonly shared by
the members of such society.

Society has a
6 CLEARLY-DEFINED GEOGRAPHICAL TERRITORY
The members in a society must live in a certain specific habitat or place and have a
common belongingness and sense of purpose.
The
CHARACTERISTICS of
CULTURE
 Culture is
1 LEARNED AND ACQUIRED
Culture is not instinctive nor a part of biological equipment of man. It is acquired
through the senses and experiences- from the neighbors, family, playmates, schools,
churches, and other agents of socialization. This means of acquisition are imitation,
conditioning, suggestion, formal or informal instruction and mass media.
Culture is
2 SHARED and TRANSMITTED
To continuously preserve culture, it is best to share to other people or to transmit it to
the next generation, or else it will die a natural death. Culture is transmitted through
language (oral, written, or symbolic).
 Culture is
3 ADAPTIVE and DYNAMIC
Culture is always changing, new ideas, procedures and techniques are added, modified or
discarded. People must be prepared and ready to conform to these changes. The changes
going on today is very rapid than in the primitive times due to fast advancement of
science and technology.
Culture is
4 CUMULATIVE
Certain features of culture have been retained today and they are modified and
innovated to make them new and updated. Thus, man’s modification and innovation are
learned from already existing culture in the past.
Culture is Dynamic
Example:
Filipino man before are very known to their style of courtship, wherein
man are oblige to do harana to show how deeply in love he is to the lady
she loved most. But as time passes by this traditions vanishes and was
change by “pang madalian style”, wherein the mode of courting is made
easy through the used of modern technology (cellular phone)-wherein
courting only last for an hour.

Culture is Adaptive
Example:
From hunting and gathering to technology based capital activities,
people tend to adapt and learned the improvement in the society. In
order to survived and never left behind by time people need to blend
with the changes around them.
 Culture is
5 IDEATIONAL
Culture is an ideal pattern of behavior which the members are expected to follow. Thus,
the members of society are society from the standpoint of culture.

Culture
6 GRATIFIES HUMAN NEEDS
Culture continues to exist if it satisfies human needs biologically and psychologically. An
individual is likely to follow and observe cultural techniques that satisfy his needs.
 Culture is
7 SOCIAL
Culture is a group product developed by many individuals interacting in a group. The
habits and knowledge of the members in a group are shared by other members out of
the sharing of ideas, culture sprouts.
Culture is
8 INTEGRATED
By integration, it means that there is a tendency for individuals to fully appreciate
those elements in culture that are best for them, and these are very often integrated in
their personality and become which are already rooted in their behavior are very
difficult to remove as they were already ingrained or were already integrated over the
years.
 Culture is
9 NOT USUALLY KNOWN BY PEOPLE
The way people interact and do things in their everyday lives seems “natural” to people. People are
unaware of their culture because they are so close to it and know it well. For most people, it is as if
their learned behavior was biologically inherited. It is usually known only when they encounter people
from another culture that they become aware that their patterns of behavior are not universal.

No one knows
10 EVERYTHING ABOUT HIS/HER CULTURE
In all societies, there are bodies of specialized cultural knowledge that are gender specific- they are
known to men but not to women or vice versa. In many societies there are also bodies of religious
groups, or other special purpose associations. Gender-based skills, knowledge and perception largely stem
from the fact that boys and girls to some extents are treated differently from each other in all
societies.
 Culture gives
11 PEOPLE A RANGE OF PERMISSIBLY BEHAVIOR PATTERNS
Culture commonly allows a range of ways in which men can be men and women can be women.
Culture also tells people how different activities should be conducted such as how one should act as a
husband, wife, parent, child, etc. The rules of permissible behavior are usually flexible to a degree- there
are some alternatives rather than hard rules.

Culture is
12 LEARNED THROUGH ENCULTURATION
Enculturation is the process through which we learn about the culture we live in. Through
enculturation, we learn what behavior, values, language, and morals are acceptable in our society. We
learn by observing other members of our society, including our parents, friends, teachers, and mentors.
Enculturation provides a means for us to become functional members of our society.
Socialization
Considered the learning process about culture.
For example, Maria and Joseph is discussing about each
others culture whereby sharing information between is considered
socialization.

Enculturation
Is the process by which people learn and adopt the ways and
manners of other culture (refers to culture)

Example: Listening to someone with an slang accent and

trying to learned and adopt how it is done and make it as
your practice.