Essay 2 The Elements of Culture Culture can be summed up as the behaviors, attitudes, customs, and beliefs combined in a society at a given time and place. Culture joins people by establishing a common ground. There are many common elements that result in the formation of cultural subgroups such as religion, family traditions, and the arts. The two most important cultural elements that have influenced my own social group (for better or for worse) would be communication styles and roles within the family. The way people interact with one another effects how they communicate. More specifically, their verbal and nonverbal communication define their social group, which in turn gives them their cultural identity. For instance, since I live in the Midwestern United States, I call a fizzy beverage ‘pop’, while someone in the northeast might call it ‘soda ' and someone from the southern part of the United States would likely refer to it as 'coke '. This shows the people in my area …show more content…
In regards to communication, I find the notion of avoiding eye contact very ill-mannered and outlandish. Yet, in some cultures, making direct eye contact is viewed as inappropriate. This is the case in some Native American and Asian cultures, where cultural norms establish avoiding any unnecessary direct eye contact in order to maintain social hierarchy. Another way in which I have been ethnocentric is in regards to family roles. I think that having one gender limited more than the other is odd (such as only allowing women to fall into domestic roles). Of course, I have never seen a family where either the mother or father have more parental involvement due to gender inequality. Even the use of the term ‘inequality’ shows judgement because inequality is generally associated with bad things (where someone comes out on top), but isn 't always negative (when both parties
Culture can be defined as the way of life of a particular people, shown in their behaviors and habits, their behaviors and habits toward each other, and their moral and/or religious beliefs. Many different aspects can be used when trying to define what makes up a culture of a particular group of people. The Center for Advance Research on Language Acquisition describes culture as shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and understanding that are learned by socialization. In many countries, the culture can be derived from many different groups of people in their country. A country can be comprised of the cultures of many different groups of people making the culture of an entire country very diverse. Culture is formed
Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a group or society. Through culture, people and groups define themselves, conform to society 's shared values, and contribute to society. Thus, culture includes many elements of language, customs, values, norms, mores, rules, tools, technologies, products, organizations, and institutions. As elements, values and beliefs determine what is true and just in the society. Example, the American dream is to have a family, be wealthy and work hard. Then come the written rules called the norms. These define how to behave in accordance with the society. Example: The road stops signs, swimming pool “no running” signs and the no smoking area boards which are to be followed. Symbols and language are another indication that help people understand the world. Example: Sports uniforms,
Culture is an aspect of everyone's life. It helps others to understand another person's beliefs and actions. There are multiple cultures in the world which are opposed to their own kind seeking help for a mental illness. There is an infinite number of cultures that are represented in the United States. “Many cultural and religious teachings often influence beliefs about the origins and nature of mental illness, and shape attitudes towards the mentally ill.” (1). One's cultural beliefs can make them think about whether or not they should seek to get help for a mental illness. Among the cultures around the world and particularly in the US, many Asian cultures do not want the community members to be receiving help for their mental illness. In these cultures mental illness is seen as shameful, because these cultures influence the “conformity to norms, emotional self-control, and family recognition through achievement.” (1). There are many cultural factors that play a role in whether or not a person will receive therapy. These factors include: language, level of acculturation, age, gender, occupational issues, family structure, religious beliefs, and traditional beliefs about mental health (2). Language limits the access of therapy. If a person living in the United States does not speak English very well, it could influence them to not seek therapy. There is a large focus on “in-group/out-group” in many Asian cultures, as in everyone who is in the family/community around them are in the “in-group” and everyone else who is not like them are in the “out-group.”
Culture by definition is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices, as well as customary beliefs, social forms and material traits that characterize a racial, religious or ...
Thesis: The church is catholic or universal through inculturation and different interpretations of Christianity in many different cultures. In order for the church to be catholic, it must be able to spread the Gospel with respect of the cultural diversities.
Throughout the years, humans have shaped the world and many societies have developed different cultural patterns. Culture is the way of life of a society. Through culture, we learn how to collaborate with groups of people and we learn how to survive and adapt to changes. It is composed of values and beliefs that are shared by other members of society, as well as species survival. Every culture has different cultural elements that are vital to one’s survival in a certain place.
Culture can be defined as customary beliefs or ways of an origin. Characteristics that can define culture are that culture is learned, shared, based on symbols, integrated and is dynamic (EarthLink). Culture is something that can be passed down from generation to generation, it is not inherited or in our genes. We are taught culture from everyone around us and being taught culture means we will share it as well. Starting from young ages, elders of family and friends share their experiences and knowledge of the culture. Symbols can be different from all other cultures. All symbols have meaning behind them such as their language, artistic pieces and in some cases, currency. Integration of culture is known as holism, or the various parts of culture being interconnected (EarthLink). Every aspect of culture must all be learned to understand the complete meaning within the culture. Not everything within a culture can stay the same, it can adapt to the new times and changes within the society.
Culture is a set of beliefs, values and attitudes that a person inherits from a society or a group that they are in and they learn how to view the world and how to behave, these principles can then be passed down from generation to generation so that the culture that has been inherited can live on for
Culture constitutes common characteristics of a particular group of people or a society such as behaviors, beliefs, objects, and any other characteristics of such a people. It is thus through culture, that groups of people define their unique characteristics that conform to their shared values and contribute towards building the society as sociologist suggests. Therefore, culture includes different societal aspects such as the customs, language, norms, values, tools, rules, products, technologies, morals, institutions, and organizations. The terms organizations and institutions will thus refer to the set of rules associated with specific activities within the society. For instance, healthcare, education, security, family, religion, and work
Culture can be simply considered as "the way we do things around here", said Cartwright (2004, pp.85). A further understanding given by Deresky (2006, pp.83) is that a culture is composed by 'shared values, understandings, assumptions, and goals that are learned from earlier generations, imposed by present members of a society and passed on to succeeding generations'. It can be seen that culture is formed by lifestyle and knowledge acquisition of people from a certain region, and then it stands for a general preference, opinion, and value of them. So that's why people from the same place may have much in common.
Anthropologists define the term culture in a variety of ways, but there are certain shared features of the definition that virtually all anthropologists agree on. Culture is a shared, socially transmitted knowledge and behavior. The key features of this definition of culture are as follows. 1) Culture is shared among the members of that particular society or group. Thus, people share a common cultural identity, meaning that they recognize themselves and their culture's traditions as distinct from other people and other traditions. 2) Culture is socially transmitted from others while growing up in a certain environment, group, or society. The transmission of cultural knowledge to the next generation by means of social learning is referred to as enculturation or socialization. 3) Culture profoundly affects the knowledge, actions, and feelings of the people in that particular society or group. This concept is often referred to as cultural knowledge that leads to behavior that is meaningful to others and adaptive to the natural and social environment of that particular culture.
The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition defines Culture as the “shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization. These shared patterns identify the members of a culture group while also distinguishing those of another group.” (Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition)
The way people communicate varies widely between, and even within, cultures. One aspect of communication style is language usage. Language has always been perceived as a link between people but it can also constitute a barrier. Across cultures, some words and phrases are used in different ways. For example, even in countries that share the English language, the meaning of "yes" varies from "maybe, I'll consider it" to "definitely so," with many shades in between . Furthermore, communication between cultures which do not share the same language is considerably more difficult . Each culture, has its distinct syntax, expressions and structure which causes confusion in intercultural communication. For example , in Asian countries the word “no” is rarely used, so that “yea” can mean “no” or “perhaps”. Therefore, an American traveling to Japan might be considered impolite if he ignores this rule. Furthermore, individuals who are not comfortable with a certain language may not be taken seriously. Such is the case in the classroom, where a student who has a perfect knowledge of the subject in question may have difficulty expressing his idea due to his inability to write properly and therefore he would not receive the grade he truly deserves. Similarly intercultural communication is dominant in the workplace. In the past, many companies and organizations could operate entirely within their country of origin and conduct their activities exclusively in their own native language. But now, due...
Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. It includes the ideas, value, customs and artifacts of a group of people (Schaefer, 2002). Culture is a pattern of human activities and the symbols that give these activities significance. It is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold and activities they engage in. It is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing people from their neighbors.
The term “culture” refers to the complex accumulation of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and provide a general identity to a group of people. Cultures take a long time to develop. There are many things that establish identity give meaning to life, define what one becomes, and how one should behave.