Culture can be defined as the beliefs, values, and behaviors shared by a group of people. It is learned and shared, evolving over time in a cumulative and dynamic way. A culture comprises various elements like beliefs, values, norms, language, and material objects. Culture is transmitted through enculturation and shapes people's identities. There are various perspectives of analyzing culture including anthropological, sociological, and social views. The sociological perspective examines concepts such as mainstream culture, subcultures, countercultures, ethnocentrism, xenocentrism, xenophobia, and multiculturalism.

1. CULTURE

2. Culture (in an
Anthropological
Perspective)
•Is a complex whole which
encompasses beliefs,
practices, values, attitudes,
laws norms, artefacts,
symbols, knowledge, and
everything that a person
learns and shares as a
member of society (E.B.
Tylor)
ENCULTURATION:
•A diffusion of one’s culture
to another through diverse
means, namely learning,
imposition by force, and
conquest, among others.

3. Enculturation
leads to:
•Identity formation
-the formation of
the identity of an
individual through his
interaction with other
people.
ex. Chinese foods
and traditions. Korean
language and culture

4. Elements of
Culture
• Beliefs- the conceptions and ideas of man
regarding his environment.
• Symbols- anything that has meaning and
represents something else (Kendall, 2013)
• Language- a set of symbols that expresses
ideas which enables people to formulate
thoughts and communicate with one
another.
•Values- a sum of all ideas and
concepts that is desirable in a
particular culture.
•Norms- a concrete set of rules and
standards to be observed by man in
his cultural setting.
•Law- a rule or policy that governs the
conduct of men which is mostly
enacted by a sovereign power

5. •Norms
-are culturally determined rules that guide
people regarding what’s right, wrong proper, or
improper.
-It creates predictability in daily affairs and
interactions, making it easier to live with other
members of society.
ex. Wearing decent clothes for specific events or
occasions.
- not laughing when someone commits mistake.

6. •Values:
-Are experimented by a particular
society to check its relevance and
appropriateness to existing norms and
laws.
-Are created and shaped in the
community through time.
•Status
-is any position that an individual
can occupy in society. It is not a ranked
position, but simply label that implies
certain roles that must be performed.
Ex. Being a singer, a student, and an
artist at the same time.

7. 2 Types of
Status
•1. Ascribed: it is given at birth,
or assigned later in life.
•Ex. Age, sex, ethnicity, and
membership in a family.
•2. Achieved: It is acquired
willfully and consciously
through effort, talent,
decisions, and
accomplishments.
•Ex. Being someone’s girlfriend
/boyfriend, being a top
student, etc.

8. Aspects of
Culture
•Culture is Learned
-Enculturation- the process of
learning the accepted norms and
values of the culture or society
where the individual lives.
•Culture is Shared- it is not
something that an individual
alone can possess.
•Culture is Cumulative- based on
the knowledge and
understanding gained from
specific experiences.

9. Aspects of
Culture
•Culture is Dynamic- It exists as a
continuous process
•Culture is Diverse- It varies from
society to society.
•Culture is Communicated- it is
communicated from one
generation to another through
language.

10. Would You Rather

15. Culture (in a
Sociological
Perspective)
1. Mainstream Culture
•Includes the cultural
patterns that are broadly in
line with a society’s cultural
ideas and values.
a. Low Culture (Pop
Culture)
- includes the cultural
behaviors and ideas that
are popular with most
people in a society.
b. High Culture
- refers to cultural
patterns that distinguish
a society’s elite.

16. Culture (in a
Sociological
Perspective)
2. Subculture: Refers to the
cultural patterns that set
apart a segment of a
society’s population.
3. Counter-culture: pushes
back on mainstream culture
in an attempt to change how
society functions.
-ex. Feminism, LGBTQI Rights

17. Question:
Who decides what’s
mainstream, and what’s a sub-
culture?

18. Who decides
what’s
mainstream,
and what’s a
sub-culture?
•Norm: Cultural groups
with the most power and
societal influence.
•Subgroups: people with
less power.

19. Culture as a
Social
Perspective
•Ethnocentrism
-seeing one culture as
superior than the other.
-the practice of judging one
culture by the standards of
another.
a. It encourages the solidarity
of a group in a negative way.
b. It hinders the understanding
or the cooperation between
groups.
c. It leads to cultural conflict.

20. Culture as a
Social
Perspective
•Xenocentrism- It is
characterized by a strong belief
that one’s own culture
(products, style, or ideas) is
inferior to those which
originate elsewhere.
Ex. Filipino’s preference for
imported goods because
anything abroad is better
(Balikbayan Box).

21. Culture as a
Social
Perspective
•Xenophobia- It is the fear of
what is perceived as foreign or
strange.
It may include:
a. The fear of losing identity
b. Suspicion of the other
group’s activities
c. Aggression
d. The desire to eliminate the
presence of the other group
to secure a presumed purity.

22. Culture as a
Social
Perspective
•Multiculturalism (Cultural
Relativism)
-recognizes cultural
diversity while advocating
for equal standing for all
cultural traditions.
Appreciation of other
cultures may come from
two reasons:
a. Acquisition of sufficient
knowledge about other
culture.
b. Direct exposure to other
cultures

23. Links for References:
• https://www2.palomar.edu/anthro/culture/culture_1.htm
• https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/society-and-
culture/culture/a/cultural-relativism-article
• https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/culture-and-
societies/culture-and-society-defined