COMPONENTS

OF CULTURE

1. NORMS
guidelines

to follow in
relation with one another
shared rules (right or
wrong)
Folkways or Mores

Folkways
habits, customs, traditions,
conventions
customary and habitual
Mores
vital to well-being ; cherished
moral and ethical
significance
coercive and compulsory

Mores
Positive Mores or Duty
Thou shall behavior
b. Negative Mores or Taboo
Thou shall not
behavior
a.

2. IDEAS,
BELIEFS,VALUES

Ideas
non-material
embody

mans
conception of his
physical, social and
cultural world

Beliefs
mans

conviction of
certain idea
embodies peoples
perception of reality

Values
abstract

concepts of
what is important and
worthwhile
provide foundation that
underlies a peoples
entire life

3. MATERIAL CULTURE
concrete

and tangible
objects produced and
used by man to satisfy
various needs and wants
artifacts

4. SYMBOLS
object,

gesture, sound,
color, design that
represents something
other than self
language plays a
significant role

PERSPECTIVES
ON CULTURE

Cultural Relativism
cultures

differ
a cultural trait, act, or
idea has no meaning or
function by itself only
within its cultural setting
(Horton &Hunt, 1985)

Culture Shock
disbelief,

disorganization and
frustration one
experiences when he
encounters cultural
patterns

Ethnocentrism
the

tendency to see
behaviours, beliefs,
values, and norms of
ones group as the only
right way of living and
to judge others by
those standards

Xenocentrism
what

is foreign is
best and that ones
lifestyle, products or
ideas are inferior of
others

Noble Savage Mentality

evaluation

of ones
culture and that of
others based on the
romantic notion that
simple cultures are
better

Subculture
smaller

groups which
develop norms, values,
beliefs, and special
languages which
makes them distinct
from the broader
society

Counter/Contra
Culture
subgroups

whose
standards come in
conflict with or oppose
the conventional
standards of dominant
culture

Culture Lag
gap

between the
material and nonmaterial culture
material culture
advances and non
material lags behind

Categories of Culture in
Philippine Society
Based
Based
Based
Based
Based
Based
Based
Based
Based

on
on
on
on
on
on
on
on
on

Nationality
Ethno linguistic Group
Economic Means
Geographical Location
Religion
Technology
Age
Economic Status
Response to Colonialism

ELEMENTS OF
CULTURE

Universals
traits

or complexes which
are common to and practiced
by
every
normal
adult
member of the society
if not followed a person
meets
disapproval
and
ridicule
forms of behavior uniformly
done by the members of

Alternatives
within

certain
expectations, there are
still choices
forms of behaviour that
allow range of choice in
individuals as members
of a society

Specialties
outgrowth

of alternatives since
once an individual chooses an
alternative he must master the
skills which that alternative
demands
forms of behaviour manifested
by members of certain socially
organized group of individuals,
but which are not shared by the
total population

MODES OF
ACQUIRING
CULTURE

Modes of Acquiring Culture

Imitation
2. Formal and Informal
Teaching
3. Conditioning
1.

CAUSES OF
CULTURAL CHANGE

Discovery
refers

to the process of finding

a new place or an object,
artifact or anything previously
existed (Gillin, 1948)
the initial awareness of
existing but formerly
unobserved relationships of
elements of nature to human
life

Invention
implies

a creative mental
process of devising; creating
and producing something new,
novel or original
implies the utilization &
combination of previously
known elements to produce an
original or novel product

Diffusion
refers

to 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

Diffusion (Social Processes)

Acculturation cultural
borrowing and imitation
b. Assimilation blending or
fusion of two distinct cultures
through long periods of
interaction
c. Amalgamation biological and
hereditary fusion
d. Enculturation deliberate
infusion of new culture to
a.

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

Rebellion and
Revolutionary
Movement
aims

to change the whole

social order and replace the
leadership
challenge the existing
folkways and mores a propose
a new scheme of norms,
values and organization
radical

FACTORS THAT
ACCOUNT FOR
THE
DEVELOPMENT OF
CULTURE

1. Human biological
needs and drives
culture provides a variety
of choices for the
individual to satisfy his
drives and needs

2. Psychological Processes
refer to the totality and
integration of an individuals
mental and thought
processes, such as cognition,
perception, memory,
emotions and other thinking
processes

3. Mans highly developed

nervous system
mans nervous system is highly
developed and complex compared
to that of animals
enables

man to emerge with

superior intelligence necessary for
effective adaptation to his
environment

4. Mans highly
developed vocal
apparatus
man is endowed with
highly complex vocal
apparatus for effective
speech

5. Mans upright posture

allows freedom of the
arms and hands to be used
for more creative and
manipulative activities

6. Physical and social

environment
greatly

affects mans economic

activities for the satisfaction of
his needs and wants (physical)
provides necessary socialization
for his effective participation in
the society (social)

FACTORS THAT
ACCOUNT FOR
THE
DIVERSITIES IN
CULTURE

Cultural Variability

people devise different

solutions to problems of
existence

there are observable

differences in
the behavioral
manifestations of
similar cultural patterns

Cultural Relativity

differences in culture
arise due to differences
in beliefs, values, norms
and standards that
societies use for
interpreting the same
cultural trait

Environmental Differences

people live in different kinds

of environment

among the factors that give rise

to cultural differences are the
kind of ones environment, the
available human and natural
resources, the extent of exposure
to other people from whom they
can borrow ideas and their
cultural heritage (Huxley, 1965)

Human Ingenuity and Ability to

Absorb and Expand New Culture

some people are more

adaptive, integrative,
creative and responsive
to their natural and
social environments