Chapter 12 Culture

1. Chapter 12: Culture

2. Culture, in simple terms, can be described as a way of life.
There are various ways in which the term culture has been described and explained. These are as follows:
The term was first used by Taylor in 1871 who defined it as 'that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,
art, morals, laws, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society' (Berry et al.,
2002).
Hofstede (2011) defined culture as 'the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one
group or category of people from others'.
Culture can be also termed as developing from past behaviour, and it can be explained as initiator of future behaviour.
Human beings contribute to culture and are also influenced by them.
Krorber and Kluckhohn in 1952 suggested that ‘[c]ulture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for
behaviour acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including
their embodiments in artefacts, the essential core of culture consists of traditional (that is, historically derived and
selected) ideas and especially their attached values; cultural systems may on the one hand be considered as products
of action, on the other hand as conditioning elements of further action' (Berry et al., 2002).
Culture is to a greater extent influenced by the ecological variables.
Concept of Culture

3. Culture and Individual
There is a significant and complex relationship between and an individual
and his/her culture. An individual can be termed as a part and parcel of the
culture and has a strong conformity towards his/her cultural group. Also, an
individual’s social interaction to a greater extend is determined by culture.
Culture and personality
Self perception, perception of others and also interpersonal relationships are
influenced by culture
Culture also plays a role in perception of non-verbal communications
Culture and language

4. Intercultural Contact and Impact on
the Individual
Intercultural contacts can be categorized in to two (Ward, Bochner & Furnham, 2001, as cited by Spering, 2001, p.
30):
1. The first category includes people who already live in culturally diverse nations. India, for example, is a nation with
diverse cultures. This is also termed as within society, cross-cultural interactions.
2. The second category, between society sojourner contacts, includes people who come in contact with another culture
as they travel to another region with some purpose.
In the context of intercultural contact ,we also need to focus on the term social identity. Identity can be described as
a set of dynamic, complex processes by which individuals define, redefine and construct their own and others’
ethnicity
The term intercultural contact can be compared with the term acculturation. Intercultural contact mainly deals with
how members of two more cultural systems relate to each other. Acculturation on the other hand describes to what
extent an individual changes or modifies his/her practices and behaviours in order to adjust with the new culture.
Culture shock is yet another term we need to explain in this context. It is a way in which an individual deals with
contact with another culture. Cultural shock has three main components: affective, behavioural and cognitive

5. Socialisation
Socialisation denote a process through which the rules with regard to behaviour as well as beliefs and attitudes that prepare
an individual to function effectively as a member of the society. It is a deliberate process through which an individual
learns about various practices and behaviours.
Socialisation is also especially critical as it facilitates passing on of culture to the next generation.
Self-concept also develops as a result of reactions of others, as denoted by Cooly in his term ‘looking glass self’. Though
the process of socialisation mainly starts with family, peers, school and even mass media can play a significant role in this
process and can shape and reshape individual’s behaviour.
There are two main perspectives to socialisation. One of the perspectives views socialisation as a indirection process where
the source of socialisation lies outside the individual and his/her behaviour is changed and regulated from external aspects.
The other perspective of socialisation perceives the child as possessing certain instincts and desires that he/she would focus
on first, that he/she will seek to satisfy or vent first and later on satisfy the desires and feeling of others around him/her.
Socialisation, thus, can be described as a process that is bidirectional that encompasses not only the influence of culture on
the individual but also active participation of the individual in redefining of the goals and generation of strategies to
achieve the goals.

6. Enculturation and Acculturation
Enculturation is a term that was has been defined by Herkovits (1948) as a process directed towards
socialisation as well as maintenance of norms that are related to one's indigenous culture that encompass the
salient ideas, concepts and values of that culture.
It can be described a process that involves transmission of values, practices, language and so on from parents,
adults and peers belonging to his/her culture
Acculturation, on the other hand, occurs when one gets in contact with another culture and adopts the beliefs
and behaviours pertaining to that culture.
Redfield et al. (1936) stated that ‘[a]cculturation comprehends those phenomena which result when groups of
individuals sharing different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact, with subsequent changes in the
original culture patterns of either or both groups’‘.
Berry et al. (1989) explained the relationship between enculturation and acculturation in terms of four basic
status, namely, integration, assimilation, separation and marginalisation.

7. Enculturation and Acculturation
1. Integration (also termed as biculturalism) takes place when preference is displayed by an individual for
cultural norms of both the dominant group and the indigenous group.
2. Assimilation results when the cultural norms of the dominant group and preferred and the cultural norms
of the indigenous group are rejected.
3. Separation takes place when preference is displayed for cultural norms of the indigenous group and the
cultural norms of the dominant group are rejected.
4. Marginalisation is as an outcome of lack or preference for cultural norms of both the dominant group and
the indigenous group.

8. Psychological Perspective on Influence
of Culture on Behaviour
• Cross-cultural psychology
• Cultural psychology
• Psychological anthropology
• Indigenous psychology