This presentation talks about how the culture we are born into can impact our identity and personality and influence society as a whole. It talks about how differences in gender and human roles are treated in different cultures and societes and how it plays a role in individual development.

1. Impact of Culture on
Identity and Behavior
Manali Anand Sawant
22BAR06038
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2. How does culture influence us?
Loosely defined, culture refers to the shared values,
beliefs and norms of a specific group of people.
Culture, therefore, influences the manner we learn, live
and behave. Culture is an important shaper of our
personality.
The way we dress, the phrases we use in our daily lives, our ways
of walking, accent etc. is highly influenced and dependent on the
culture we grow up in.
From birth, the child develops by learning from its surroundings.
Socialization is an important aspect for the development of human
life and two of the major agents of socialization are family and
religion.
The values learnt from the process of socialization form the outline
of individual persona and mentality.
Our thought process depends to a big extent on how we see
others around us and the media we are exposed to behave.
The effect of culture on a large scale is that people who are born
and bred in the same culture share common personality traits.
Thus, this leads to the formation of communities. The rituals and
traditions of the communities are followed by the children and they
shape the ways of living.

3. Example: Samoan Tribes
In the culture of Samoan tribes, it was noted that until
individuals reach the age of 15- 16, when they are to be
subjected to marital rituals, they do not have significant
roles in terms of social life.
In fact, children are ignored by their parents and the rest
of the society until after they reach puberty. Girls are
taught to see boys as their enemies.
The effect of this portion of the Samoan culture is that
children tend to be either aggressive to gain attention, or
passive due to the lack of affection and love from their
significant others.
Impact of Samoan culture on
individuals

4. Sex, Differences and Personality
There are dramatic biological and physical differences
between the way the bodies of men and women are built,
including strength and size, pubertal timing, consistent
patterns of hunting versus gathering and childrearing, as
well as differences in reproductive requirements.
Psychologically, this sculpting by evolution has left men
and women with particular approaches to life and love
built upon a common core of human nature. The physical
differences have lead to behavioural and lifestyle
differences between the 2 genders over the centuries.
As a society formed with its institutions, it lead to an
imbalance in the division of work. There are several
restrictions put in place based on gender.
Each child growing up is taught ways of life based on
their gender. This includes their motivation to work, the
way they behave, the things they wear and so on and all
this shapes their personalities. The clear division and
restriction on duties is a result of a fight for power and
dominance in society. Thus, people in society function
on the basis of a general rule on how people are
expected to behave based on their cultural norms and
ways.

5. Sex, Differences and Personality
dresses and skirts. They are
taught to keep their hair long
and behave in a soft and
graceful manner. In India,
women are expected to take on
duties like cooking and cleaning.
Actresses are seen as fashion
icons with different make up and
glamor and females tend to
perceive that as the way they are
meant to be to be able to feel
significant in society.
People living in different cultures follow these cultural gender norms and children see the
way people around them are behaving and tend to start imitating and behaving the same
way. Thus it majorly influences the personality and behaviour of an individual.
hair which is considered favourable
for a man. Anything deviant is
shamed. Men grow up in an
environment which has pressure
for success. A lot of the times
these circumstances lead to
entitlement and superiority,
which in turn leads to inequality
and discrimination.
Each culture has different norms and rules. Below are some examples for how differences in ways we are bought up based on
gender differences shapes our personality and behaviour:
In the Indian culture, woman are primarily gives the roles of
homemakers and caretakers. Women are from childhood
dressed in clothing considered “feminine” such as
India is a patriarchal society. Males are considered the
heads of families and make all the decisions. Males are
bought up with privilege and trained for dominance
and responsibility. We can see the male fashion
consisting of shirts and trousers and short

6. Culture and Expressions of Emotion
Different cultures have different ways of reacting to
emotions that are considered normal or acceptable
responses. Situations that elicit certain emotional
reactions can be similar and universal across
societies, while the ways they are expressed
depend hugely on the cultural norms that the
people follow.
For example, there is a big cultural variation in how
people deal with the dead and their grief. This
includes the differences in rituals based on cultures
and religions, such as funerals, burials or cremation.
For example, in most Western cultures, it is preferred
when people control their anger and let it out through
socially approved channels. In most parts of the
Eastern culture, people of higher authority have the
privilege of anger, while the younger generations and
people with lower authority are expected to suppress
their emotions and hold their anger in.
India, as well as some other parts of Asia, follows the
anger suppression technique. Anger is considered as
an emotion that makes a person undisciplined and
uncultured. Anger possessed and expressed by
anyone who is not in a higher hierarchical position
goes against cultural norms.
Thus, anger is not viewed as a valid emotion and
response to any situation. People displaying anger
are shunned and punished by the people in authority,
which leads to them suppressing their anger and
essentially bottling it up.
This shows how much cultural validity for
emotions affects and shapes the way a person
tends to behave. We can notice huge differences
between people of different countries in the way they
behave at schools, their workplaces and their homes.

7. Ethnocentrism
Cultures have a set of rules and beliefs about what is correct for that specific culture. Ethnocentrism is the measuring and judging of one
culture by the norms of another culture.
It refers to the tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own culture. Part of ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own race, ethnic or
cultural group is the most important or that some or all aspects of its culture are superior to those of other groups.
This leads to people judging others and believing them to be inferior to themselves and thus leads to cultural and religious community conflicts. This affects the
society and country on a political level. This also leads to prejudices and racism.
Thus, it affects human behaviour towards one another to a great extent.

8. Noble Savage Mentality
In Western anthropology, philosophy, and literature, the noble savage is a stock
character who is uncorrupted by civilization. As such, the noble savage symbolizes the
innate goodness and moral superiority of a primitive people living in harmony with
Nature.
Noble savage mentality is a concept that talks about the negative impact of
modern culture on human thought and mentality. Noble savage states that people
from nonindustrial or nontechnological societies were the most noble of human beings
because they were untouched by civilization, which is viewed as a degrading influence
on human thought and behavior.
It states that humans are innately good by nature and
evil is a result of civilization.
Supporters of primitivism state that warfare is an
occasional activity by a society, but is not an inherent
part of human culture.
They also believe that rural lifestyle is better because it
has simpler needs and are not exposed to temptations
and crimes.

9. Conclusion
• To conclude, humans are a result of genes and the environment they grow up in.
• Every factor of the society affects and influences the way a human is going to grow up and behave.
• All factors of the culture and the way people around us live shape us and our personalities.