Understanding Culture

Society and Politics

Quarter 1: Week 2 - Module 2
Specific Learning Objectives
1. explain the concept of society and culture in
anthropological and sociological perspective;
2. describe some major characteristics of society and
culture;
3. differentiate between the various meanings of
culture within society; and
4. appreciate the significance of culture in the society
INTERPRET
ME!!!
SOCIETY
• Came from the French word “societas” which
means companionship

• It is highly structured system of human

organization that also follows common laws,
traditions, values and customs
The following are reasons people
live together as a society (Ariola,
2012)
a.For survival
b.Feeling of gregariousness
c.Specializations
Characteristics
Of
Society
1.It is a social system
2.It is relatively large
3.It socializes its members and from those from
without
4.It endures, produces and sustains its members for
generations
5.It holds its members through a common culture
6.It has clearly defined geographical territory
Major Functions
Of
Society
1.It provides a system of socialization
2.It provides the basic needs of its members
3.It regulates and controls people’s behavior
4.It provides the means of social participation
5.It provides mutual support to the members.
Dissolution of a Society. There are several ways by which a society is
dissolved:
(1) when the people kill each other through civil revolution;
(2) when an outside force exterminates the members of the society;
(3) when the members become apathetic among themselves or have no
more sense of belongingness;
(4) when a small society is absorbed by a stronger and larger society by
means of conquest or territorial absorption;
(5) when an existing society is submerged in water killing all the people
and other living things in it; or (6) when the people living in such a
society voluntarily attach themselves to another existing society
CULTURE
CULTURE
•Is defined as the norm and
social behavior found and
practiced in human societies
CULTURE
• It is a complex whole which encompasses
• Define as norm and social behavior found
belief, practices, values, attitudes, laws,
and practiced in human norms
norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge and
roles that a person learns and shares as a
member of the society.
Elements of Culture
1. Symbol- a mark or character used as a conventional representation
(Philippine Symbols-national fruit, national hero, flower, animal, )
2. Language- It system of words and symbols used to communicate with
other people. We have a lot of dialects in the Philippines that provide a
means of understanding.
3. Technology- refers to the application of knowledge and equipment to
ease the task of living and maintaining the environment
4. Values- culturally defined standards for what is good or desirable.
Values determine how individuals will probably respond in any given
circumstances(family oriented, hospitality, close family ties)
5. Beliefs refers to the faith of an individual
6. Norms- specific rules/standards to guide for appropriate behavior

Types:
a. Proscriptive norm defines and tells us things not to do
b. Prescriptive norm defines and tells us things to do.

Forms:
a. Folkways are also known as customs (customary/repetitive ways of doing
things); they are forms of norms for everyday behavior that people follow for
the sake of tradition or convenience. Breaking them does not usually have
serious consequences (Shake hands when you are introduced to someone,
Correct manners, appropriate dress, correct manners)
b. Mores- strict norms that control moral and ethical
behavior.

c. Laws are controlled ethics, and they are morally

agreed, written down and enforced by an official law
enforcement agency (Arcinas, 2016). They are
institutionalized norms and mores that were enacted by
the state to ensure stricter punishment in order for the
people to adhere to the standards set by
Two Components of Culture
1.Material Culture- consists of tangible things (Banaag, 2012).

2. Non-material culture consists of intangible things (Banaag,

2012). Non‐material culture refers to the nonphysical ideas that
people have about their culture, including beliefs, values, rules,
norms, morals, language, organizations, and institution
Modes of Acquiring Culture
1.Imitation - Children and adults alike have the tendency
to imitate the values, attitudes, language and all other
things in their social environment. Some of those things
imitated are internalized in their personality and become
a part of their attitude, character and other behavioral
patterns.
2.Indoctrination or Suggestion - This may take the form of
formal training or informal teaching.
Formally, the person learns from school. Informally, he
may acquire those behaviors from listening or
watching, reading, attending training activities or
through interaction.
3. Conditioning - The values, beliefs, and attitudes of
other people are acquired through conditioning. This
conditioning can be reinforced through reward and
punishment
Adaptation of Culture
1. Parallelism means that the same culture may take place in
two or more different places. Example: The domestication of
dogs, cats, pigs and other animals may have semblance in other
places

2. Diffusion refers to those behavioral patterns that pass back

and forth from one culture to another. This is the transfer or
spread of culture traits from one another brought about by
change agents such as people or media Examples: food and
eating practices, marriage and wedding ceremonies, burial
rituals, feast celebrations
3. Convergence takes place when two or more cultures are fused or
merged into one culture making it different from the original culture.

4. Fission takes place when people break away from their original
culture and start developing a different culture of their own.

5. Acculturation refers to the process wherein individuals incorporate

the behavioral patterns of other cultures into their own either
voluntarily or by force. Voluntary acculturation occurs through
imitation, borrowing, or personal contact with other people
6. Assimilation occurs when the culture of a larger society is
adopted by a smaller society, that smaller society assumes
some of the culture of the larger society or cost society.

7. Accommodation occurs when the larger society and

smaller society are able to respect and tolerate each other’s
culture even if there is already a prolonged contact of each
other’s culture.
Importance/Functions of Culture
(1) it serves as the “trademark” of the people in the society;
(2) it gives meaning and direction to one’s existence;
(3) it promotes meaning to individual’s existence;
(4) it predicts social behavior;
(5) it unifies diverse behavior;
(6) it provides social solidarity;
(7) it establishes social personality;
(8) it provides systematic behavioral pattern;
(9) it provides social structure category;
(10) it maintains the biologic functioning of the group;
(11) it offers ready-made solutions to man’s material and immaterial
problems; and
(12) it develops man’s attitude and values and
 Causes of
Cultural Change
1. Discovery is the process of finding a new
place or an object, artefact or anything that
previously existed. For example, the
discovery of fire led to the art of cooking;
discovery of oil, of organisms and substances;
of diseases; of atoms and sources of energy.
2. Invention implies a creative mental process of devising,
creating and producing something new, novel or original; and also
the utilization and combination of previously known elements to
produce that an original or novel product. It could be either social
or material or it could also be invention of new methods or
techniques.

Example of social invention: invention of number system,

government, language, democracy, religion, and alphabet
Example of Material Invention: invention of the
3. Diffusion is the spread of cultural traits or social practices from a
society or group to another belonging to the same society or to
another through direct contact with each other and exposure to new
forms. It involves the following social processes:

a. Acculturation – cultural borrowing and cultural imitation Example:

The Filipinos are said to be the best English- speaking people of
Asia.

b. Assimilation – the blending or fusion of two distinct cultures

through long periods of interaction Example: Americanization of
Filipino immigrants to the US
c. Amalgamation – the biological or hereditary fusion of
members of different societies
Example: Marriage between a Filipino and an American

d. Enculturation – the deliberate infusion of a new culture to

another
Example: The teaching of American history and culture to
the Filipinos during the early American Regime
4. Colonization refers to the political, social, and political policy
of establishing a colony which would be subject to the rule or
governance of the colonizing state. For example, the Hispanization
of Filipino culture when the Spaniards came and conquered the
Philippines.

5. Rebellion and revolutionary movements aim to change the

whole social order and replace the leadership. The challenge the
existing folkways and mores, and propose a new scheme of norms,
values and organization
 Ethnocentrism,
Xenocentrism and
Cultural Relativism as
Orientations in Viewing
Other Culture
Ethnocentrism is a perception that arises from
the fact that cultures differ and each culture defines
reality differently. This happens when judging another
culture solely by the values and standards of one’s own
culture (Baleña, et.al,2016). This is the tendency to see
and evaluate other cultures in terms of one’s own race,
nation or culture. This is the feeling or belief that one’s
culture is better than the rest.
Xenocentrism is the opposite of ethnocentrism,
the belief that one’s culture is inferior compared to
others. People are highly influenced by the culture or
many culture outside the realm of their society. This
could be one of the effects of globalization. Exposure
to cultural practices of others may make one individual
or group of individuals to give preference to the ideas,
lifestyle and products of other culture.
Cultural relativism is an
attempt to judge behavior according to its
cultural context (Baleña, et.al,2016). It is a
principle that an individual person’s beliefs
and activities should be understood by others
in terms of that individual’s own culture
Other Important Terms Related to Culture
1. Cultural diversity refers the differentiation of culture all over the
world which means there is no right or wrong culture but there is
appropriate culture for the need of a specific group of people.

2. Sub-culture refers to a smaller group within a larger culture.

3. Counterculture refers cultural patterns that strongly oppose those

widely accepted within a society (example in the 1960”s counter culture
among teenagers reflect long hair, blue jeans, peace sign, rock and roll
music and drug abuse).
4. Culture lag is experienced when some parts of the
society do not change as fast as with other parts and they are
left behind

5. Culture shock is the inability to read meaning in one’s

surroundings, feeling of lost and isolation, unsure to act as a
consequence of being outside the symbolic web of culture
that binds others.

6. Ideal culture refers to the social patterns mandated by

cultural values and norms
7. Real culture refers to the actual patterns that only
approximate cultural expectations.

8. High culture refers to the cultural patterns that distinguish a

society’s elite

9. Popular culture refers to the cultural patterns that are

widespread among a society’s population.

10.Culture change is the manner by which culture evolves.