Culture can be defined as the distinctive way of living of a group of people, including their language, religion, habits, arts, and lifestyle. Culture has both material and nonmaterial aspects. Material culture includes physical items like tools and buildings, while nonmaterial culture consists of ideas, beliefs, and behaviors. Cultures share characteristics like being learned, socially shared, adaptive, integrated, and prescriptive. They provide individuals with a sense of identity and purpose through shared values, norms, and rituals. However, cultures also differ in small but important ways between various national and regional groups.

1. CHAPTER 3
CULTURE

2. CULTURE
“The distinctive way of living of a group of people.”
“Culture is the characteristics of a particular group
of people, defined by everything including
language, religion, social habits, music, arts and
lifestyle.”

12. Nonmaterial Culture
Includes the words that people use, ideas, beliefs and
habits.
Material Culture
Physical substances used by people, like tools,
automobiles, roads, farms etc.

13. EXAMPLES
Material
Shopping centers.
Nonmaterial
The way people shop in the shopping centers.

14. IMPORTANT TERMS
National Character
Differences that distinguishes one national
group from another.
Silent Language
Non-verbal language like gestures, postures,
symbols, food and drinking habits.
Taboos
Prohibited things in a culture, like color, phrase or
symbols.

15. Rituals
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for
their symbolic value.
It is usually repeated over a fixed episodic
sequence, and repeats over and over again.
Example
Hajj, Dewali, Eid ets

16. CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
1. Culture is Invented
Culture does not exist to be discovered but rather
invented by groups of people.
a.Ideological System
Ideas, beliefs, values and way of reasoning
things.
b.Technological systems
Consists of skills, crafts, arts used to produce
material things

17. c. Organizational Systems
In coordination with others.
E.g. family system and social class.
2. Culture is Learned.
Culture is passed from one generation to
another.
Younger generation learns the culture from the
senior one.
e.g. corruption in Pakistan.

18. 3. Culture is Socially Shared.
We share the our culture with others.
Adapt other cultures in to our culture.
The food we eat and clothes we wear are
elements of imported culture.
e.g. Basant, Mehndi, Valantines etc

19. 4. Cultures are Similar but Different
All cultures have a lot in common.
Like all cultures have food, dresses, songs,
dances, worshiping style etc.
Yet all these elements are different among
other cultures.
e.g. Hajj and The Mela of KUM KUM

20. 6. Culture is Adaptive.
Although culture is persistent and does not
change over night, yet it is adaptive.
It is always changing gradually by the passing
time.
Some old things fade away while new things
enter in to it.
Some culture change slowly while others rapidly.

21. 5. Culture is Gratifying and Persistent
A culture is happily meeting the needs of its
practitioners.
They are driving a sense of happiness and
satisfaction from their culture.
So it stays over a longer period of time and does
not change overnight.

22. 7. Culture is Organized and Integrated.
All cultures follow a set of rules and are hanging
together upon those.
All elements must fit together to form a
consistent and integrated culture.
The guide lines set must be rationale and
understandable.

23. 8. Culture is Prescriptive
Culture gives direction.
What to do in what situation etc.
Norms
Rules or guideline of behavior in a given
situation whether acceptable or not.
Sanctions
To impose a penalty in case of wrongful act.
Mores
Norms that have been converted into law.
e.g. murder, robbery etc

24. IMPORTANT CULTURAL VALUES
1. Individualism
2. Equality
3. Activity
4. Progress and Achievement

25. 5. Efficiency and Practicality
6. Mastery over the Environment
7. Religious and Moral Orientation
8. Humanitarianism

26. 9. Youthfulness
10. Materialism
11. Social interaction and Conformity

27. QUIZ