CULTURE

Culture is defined as all that human beings learn to do, to use, to produce, to know, and
to believe as they grow to maturity and live out their lives in the social groups to which they
belong. Culture is basically a blueprint for living in a particular society. In common speech,
people often refer to a “cultured person” as someone with an interest in the arts, literature, or
music, suggesting that the individual has a highly developed sense of style or aesthetic
appreciation of finer things.
To sociologists, however, every human being is cultured. All human beings participate in
a culture, whether they are Harvard educated and upper class or illiterate and living in a primitive
society. Culture is crucial to human existence. When sociologists speak of culture, they are
referring to the general phenomenon that is a characteristic of all human groups. However, when
they refer to a culture, they are pointing to the specific culture of a particular group. In other
words, all human groups have a culture, but it often varies considerably from one group to the
next.
Cultures vary widely around the world. Culture shapes the way we see the world. It
impacts how we think, how we act, what we value, how we talk, the organizations we create, the
rituals we
hold, the laws we make, how and what we worship, what we eat, what we wear, and what we
think of as beautiful or ugly. Our emotions and our choices of many of the foods we eat are
“cultural acquisitions.”

Culture is the Knowledge, values, customs, and physical objects that are shared by members of
a society.
CONCEPTS RELATED TO CULTURE

1. CULTURE SHOCK

Sociologists use the term culture shock to describe the difficulty people have
adjusting to a new culture that differs markedly from their own.
Every social group has its own specific culture, its own way of seeing, doing, and making
things, its own traditions. Some cultures are quite similar to one another; others are very
different. When individuals travel abroad to countries with cultures that are very different from
their own, the experience can be quite upsetting. Meals are scheduled at different times of day,
strange or even repulsive foods are presented, and the traveler never quite knows what to expect
from others or what others in turn might expect. Local customs might seem charming or brutal.
Sometimes travelers are unable to adjust easily to a foreign culture; they might become anxious,
lose their appetites, or even feel sick.

2. ETHNOCENTRISM
People often make judgments about other cultures according to the customs and values
of their own, a practice sociologists call ethnocentrism.
Ethnocentrism can lead to prejudice and discrimination and often results in the repression

or domination of one group by another. When studying cultures and cultural variations,

sociologists must be aware of ethnocentrism, judging other cultures by the standards of one’s
own culture. When we all live within a culture, we tend to see the way our culture does things as
“normal” or “natural” and the ways that other cultures do things as “abnormal” or “unnatural.”
We also tend to judge our own familiar culture’s ways of doing things as “better.” Things that
are greatly different than our own cultures may evoke ethnocentric feelings.
For example, when we in Pakistan say that Hindu culture or Western culture is not good,
we pass such a judgement, keeping our own cultural and social standards in our minds. This is a
historical fact that everywhere man has displayed his own interests, value system, cultural
patterns and normative order as right, normal, and superior to others.

3. CULTURAL RELATIVISM
To avoid ethnocentrism in their own research, sociologists are guided by the concept of
cultural relativism, the recognition that social groups and cultures must be studied and
understood on their own terms before valid comparisons can be made.
Rather than being ethnocentric, sociologists need to develop cultural relativism. This
means they should be careful to judge other cultures by those cultures’ own standards. In other
words, sociologists try to understand other cultures and why they behave and believe as they do
rather than judging them “unnatural” or “wrong.”
 Cultural relativists like all the ice-cream flavors, if you will. They respect and appreciate
cultural differences even if only from the spectators’ point of view. They tend to be teachable,
child-like, and open-minded. They tend to enjoy or learn to enjoy the many varieties of the
human experience.
For example, being Pakistani, we may not understand the practice of eating live insects as they
do in countries in South East Asia simply because we do not carry out such practices here,
however cultural relativism teaches us that instead of calling this practice ‘unnatural’ we may ask
why they carry out this practice and try to understand it in the context in which they are placed to
get a better understanding of the whole practice.

COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
The concept of culture is not easy to understand, perhaps because every aspect of our
social lives is an expression of it and because familiarity produces a kind of nearsightedness
toward our own culture, making it difficult for us to take an analytical perspective toward our
everyday social lives. Sociologists find it helpful to break down culture into separate
components: material culture (objects), and nonmaterial culture (rules and shared beliefs) (Hall
and Hall, 1990).

1. MATERIAL CULTURE
It consists of human technology—all the things human beings make and use, from
small, handheld tools to skyscrapers. Without material culture, our species could not
survive long because material culture provides a buffer between humans and their
environment. Using it, human beings can protect themselves from environmental stresses,
as when they build shelter and wear clothing to protect themselves from the cold or from
strong sunlight.
Using material culture, our species has learned to cope with the most extreme
environments and to survive and even to thrive on all continents and in all climates.
Human beings have walked on the floor of the ocean and on the surface of the moon. No
other creature can do this; none has our flexibility. Material culture has made human
beings the dominant life-form on earth.
 2. NON-MATERIAL CULTURE
Every society also has a nonmaterial culture, which consists of the totality of
knowledge, beliefs, values, and rules for appropriate behavior. The nonmaterial culture is
structured by such institutions as the family, religion, education, economy, and
government. Whereas material culture is made up of things that have a physical existence
(they can be seen, touched, and so on), the elements of nonmaterial culture are the ideas
associated with their use. Although engagement rings and birthday flowers have a
material existence, they also reflect attitudes, beliefs, and values that are part of American
culture, with rules for their appropriate use in specified situations. Norms are central
elements of nonmaterial culture.

ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

Culture includes such elements that make up the essence of a society or a social group.
There are some basic Cultural Elements given below: 
1. Language
2. Symbols
3. Norms
4. Values
5. Beliefs

LANGUAGE
A group of words or ideas having common meaning and is shared to a social situation is
called language. Language is the entrance to a culture. Language is a set of socially sound
pattern, words, and sentences having specific meaning and terminology common to the same
culture.  Language is central to the way we understand our world. Culture encompasses
language, and through language, culture is communicated and transmitted. Without language it
would be impossible to develop, elaborate and transmit culture to the future generation.
Language is like a vehicle through which we can carry out our complex social activities.
Language is the foundation of a culture and ticket to the entrance of a social life

SYMBOLS
Symbols are central to our understanding and sharing of culture. Symbols refer to
anything to which people attach meaning and which they use to communicate with others. A
symbol is something that stands for, represents, or signifies something else in a particular
culture. It can represent, for example, words, ideas, emotions, values, beliefs, attitudes, gestures
or events. A symbol can be anything. It can be a gesture, word, object, or even an event.
Bowing head, whistling, winkling of eyes, all are the symbols, which express a specific
object idea about other. Bait-Ullah is the symbol of God and we pray to it. Other examples are
flag, anthem, picture, statues are symbols.

NORMS
Norms as elements of culture are the rules and the guidelines which specify the behavior
of an individual. Norms keep a person within the boundary of society and its culture. It gives us
restriction about something which to do and which not to do. It molds our behavior and gives as
knowledge about wrong and right. Norms can be divided into:

a. Folkways. Folkways are the simple customary ways of the people. It is the normal and
habitual action of people within a culture. Folkways are the recognized or accepted
ways of behavior. These are the behavior pattern which a person uses generally in his

daily life.

Folkways are weak norms that are often informally passed down from previous
generations. They often deal with everyday behaviors and manners. Most folkways are
not written down and enumerated. They are the type of things that most of us learn
from others to do or not to do. Examples of folkways include covering your mouth
when you cough or wearing covered shoes to a restaurant. Folkways are norms of
etiquette that are not very serious if broken. 
 b. Mores. Mores is a Latin word which means customs or beliefs accordance with a
group customary expectation. It is the “must” behavior of a person. Mores refers to
“what ought to be and what ought not to be.”  Mores are serious norms but are
informed like folkways. They have a serious binding on a group the violation of mores
threats to social order. Punishment may be both formal and informal for the violation
of mores. Religious doctrines are an example of mores that govern social behavior.

VALUES
Values - non-material culturally defined - a general or abstract guidelines for our lives,
decisions, goals, choices, and actions, which are central to a culture. Cultural values include
etiquettes, success, hard work, freedom, equality, democracy, individualism, and progress. Not
everyone in a culture shares identical values. Some people or groups hold more tightly to certain
values while rejecting others. Values are dynamic, meaning they change over time. They are also
static and tend to persist without any significant modification. Values are also diversified,
meaning they vary from place to place and culture to culture.

BELIEFS
Every sect within a culture having some beliefs for cultural refuge. These beliefs are
responsible for the spiritual fulfillment of needs and wants.  Muslims believe in God, Holly
Prophet, The Day of Judgment, recitation of Holly Quran, Hajj etc. Sikh wear bangle in one
hand, bear a long beard, keeping a dagger.  Cross for Christians and a necklace or a cotton thread
around neck, the water of ganga are sacred for Hindus.