Cultural Variations

Janice S. Zamora-Morales
Objectives:

Describe cultural universals and explain

why they exist.
Explain what the terms ethnocentrism
and cultural relativism mean.
Identify factors that account for
variations among and within cultures.
Cultural Universals

Cultural universals – general traits

common to all cultures
• Exist because some needs are so basic
that all societies must develop certain
features to ensure their fulfillment.
Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism
•Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one’s own
culture and group as superior to all others.
• People in all societies are at times ethnocentric.
• When ethnocentrism is too extreme, cultural
growth
may stagnate.
• Extreme ethnocentrism can also lead to conflicts
such
as wars.
Ethnocentrism and Cultural
Relativism
• Cultural relativism is the belief that
cultures should be judged by their own
standards.
– Researchers attempt to understand
cultural practices from the point of view of
the people they are studying.
Ethnocentrism and Cultural
Relativism
• Cultural relativism helps sociologists in
understanding why people in different
societies have different cultural norms.
– e.g. the Sepoy Rebellion of India in 1857
(gunpowder cartridges were sealed with pig or
beef fat, both are religiously offensive to Hindu
and Muslims)
Xenocentrism
The opposite of ethnocentrism
Xenocentrism is the belief that the products,
styles, or ideas of one’s society is inferior to
those that originate elsewhere.
Factors That Account for Variations
Among and Within Cultures
Subculture – shared values, norms and
behaviors that are not shared by the entire
population
Counterculture – rejection of the major values,
norms, and practices of the larger society and
replacing them with a new set of cultural values
Cultural Change
• As cultures change, they strive to maintain
cultural integration, the close
relationship among various elements of a
cultural system.
- William Ogburn’s concept of cultural lag
refers to the fact that cultural elements
change at different rates, which may
disrupt a cultural system.
Cultural Change
• Three phenomena promote cultural
change:
1. Inventions, the process of creating new
cultural elements.
2. Discovery, recognizing and
understanding an idea not fully
understood before.
3. Diffusion, the spread of cultural traits
from one cultural system to another
Philippine Culture
Prevailing Filipino Values
Kapwa –Tao is the core value of Pilipinos. (
neighbor, fellow human, shared being )
ka patid ka pwa kasambahay
ka isang dibdib ka anak kaaway

Ka denotes oneness or sameness of being.

This kapwa paradigm speaks of
Filipino as relational.

From kapwa proceeds the sub values like

Hiya pakikisama utang na loob
Hiya (shame/sensitivity)
Negative, because it arrests or inhibits one's
action. This trait reduces one to smallness thus
congealing the soul of the Filipino and
emasculating him, making him timid, meek and
weak.
Positive, because, a person considers other
people’s feelings and avoids arguments or
offense to others
Ningas-cogon
Negative, by all standards, because it begins
fervently and dies down as soon as it begins. This
trait renders one inactive and unable to initiate
things or to persevere.
Positive, in a way, because it makes a person
detached, indifferent, bewildered should anything
go wrong, and hence conducive to peace and
tranquility.
Mañana or "Bukas na"
(procrastination)
Negative, because one constantly postpones action and
accomplishes nothing. This aggravates a situation, a
problem grows beyond correction, a leak or a small break
becomes a gaping hole. This arises from an indolent
mentality that a problem will go away by itself.
Positive, because one is without stress and tension; one
learns to take what comes naturally. Like the Chinese wu-
wei, this trait makes one live naturally and without undue
artificiality.
Pakikisama (group loyalty)

Negative, because one closes one's eyes to evils like graft and
corruption in order to conserve peace and harmony in a group
at the expense of one's comfort.
Positive, because one lives for others; peace or lack of
dissension is a constant goal.
Pakiusap (appear)
palakasan (show of power)
sipsip (bribery)
palusot (alibi)
lagay (bribe)
Bahala na (resignation)

Negative, because one leaves everything to chance

under the pretext of trusting in Divine
providence. This trait is really laziness disguised
in religious garb.

Positive, because one relies on a superior power

rather than on one's own. It is conducive to
humility, modesty, and lack of arrogance.
Utang na loob (indebtedness)
Negative, because one overlooks moral principles when
one is indebted to a person. One who is beholden to
another person will do anything to please him, thinking
that by doing so he is able to repay a debt. One condones
what the other person does and will never censure him
for wrongdoing.

Positive, because it is a recognition of one's indebtedness.

This trait portrays the spirit behind the Filipino saying,
"He who does not know how to look to the past will
never reach his destination."
The Filipino has a mixture outlook –
oriental and occidental.

Among our conflicting values include:

• Non-rationalism – Rationalism
• Personalism – Impersonalism
• Particularism- Universalism