CULTURE- a complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, law, custom, and any other

capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society.

Characteristics of Culture

1. Culture is learned- it is acquired through education, training and experience.

2. Culture is socially transmitted through language- it is transmitted from one generation to
another through the medium of language, verbal or nonverbal through gestures or signs,
orally or in writing.
3. Culture is a social product- culture is a product of social interaction, through the mutual
interstimulation and response of people with one another.
4. Culture is a source of gratification- it provides satisfaction of man’s varied physiological,
social, emotional and spiritual needs.
5. Culture is adaptive- through inventions and discoveries, man has been able to
overcome his limitations to outdo all other animals.
6. Culture is the distinctive way of life of a group of people- members of the society have
developed their unique way of life that suits their needs and particular situation.
7. Culture is material and immaterial- material culture are the products or outputs of the
application of man’s knowledge and skills, which are basically non-material.
8. Culture has sanctions and controls- these are rewards for conformity to culture but there
are also punishments for deviation from or violation of the culture.
9. Culture is stable yet dynamic- it is preserved and accumulated, highly stable and
continuous.
10. Culture is an established pattern of behavior- members of a certain society act in a fairly
uniform manner because they share mutual beliefs, customs, and ways of doing things.

COMPONENTS OF CULTURE

I. Norms- guidelines people are supposed to follow in their relation with one another; they
are shared rules that specify what is right or wrong and the appropriate or inappropriate
behavior.
Among the social norms are:
a. Folkways- these are everyday habits; customs, traditions, and conventions people
obey without giving much thought to the matter.
- Without particular moral and ethical significance
b. Mores- norms people consider as vital to their well-being and most cherished values
- With moral and ethical significance; they are society’s code of ethics, moral
commandments, and standards of morality.

2 kinds of Mores

1. Positive Mores or duty or the “Thou shall behavior”- Duty refers to the behavior, which
must and ought to be done because they are ethically and morally good.
2. Negative Mores or taboo or the “Thou shall not behavior”- Taboo refers to societal
prohibitions on certain acts which must not be done because they are not only illegal,
but unethical and moral.
c. Laws- formalized norms enacted by people vested with legitimate authority.

II. Ideas, Beliefs, Values

 Ideas are non-material aspects of culture and embody man’s conception of his
physical, social and cultural world.
 Beliefs refer to a person’s conviction about a certain idea
 Values are abstract concepts of what is important and worthwhile; they are general
ideas that individuals share about what is good or bad, right or wrong, desirable and
undesirable.
 III. Material Culture
It refers to the concrete and tangible objects produced and used by man to satisfy
his varied needs and wants.
IV. Symbols
Refers to an object, gesture, sound, color or design that represents something “other
than itself”.

DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS/PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURE

1. Culture Relativism- cultures differ, so a cultural trait, act or idea has no meaning or
function by itself but has a meaning only within its cultural setting. Example: Marriage.
2. Culture Shock- Refers to the feeling of disbelief, disorganization, and frustration one
experiences when he encounters cultural patterns or practices which are different from
his.
3. Ethnocentrism- the tendency to see the behaviors, beliefs, values, and norms of one’s
own group as the only right way of living and to judge others by those standards.
4. Xenocentrism- the idea that what is foreign is best and that one’s lifestyle products or
ideas are inferior to those of others. Ex. Colonial mentality
5. Noble Savage mentality- the evaluation of one’s culture and that of others based on the
romantic notion that the culture and way of life of the primitives or other simple cultures
is better, more acceptable and more orderly.
6. Subculture- smaller groups which develop norms, values, beliefs, and special languages
which make them distinct from the broader society.
7. Counterculture or contra culture- subgroups whose standards come in conflict with and
oppose the conventional standards of the dominant culture. Ex: criminals, prostitutes,
etc.
8. Culture lag- the gap between the material and non-material culture. Ex. A new
invention is introduced before the skills to utilize it are developed.

CAUSES OF CULTURAL CHANGE

1. Discovery- the process of finding new place or an object, artifact or anything that
previously existed.

2. Invention- a creative mental process of devising; creating and producing something

new, novel or original.

3. Diffusion- 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.

Social Processes of Diffusion

a. Acculturation- cultural borrowing and cultural imitation

b. Assimilation- blending or fusion of two different cultures through long period of
interaction.
c. Amalgamation- biological or hereditary infusion of members of different societies.

d. Enculturation- deliberate infusion of a new culture to another.

4. Colonization- the political, social, and political policy of establishing a colony which
would be subject to the rule or governance of the colonizing state.

5. Rebellion and Revolutionary Movements- aim to change the whole social order and
replace the leadership.
Chapter 6- VALUES

 Comes from the Latin word “valere” which means to be strong, to be worth.
 Those standards by which a group of society judges the desirability and importance of
persons, ideas, actions, or objects.

7 Aspects of Values

 Must be clearly defined and presented in order to say what the person has chosen is a
value.
1. Value is chosen freely.
2. It is chosen among alternatives and with consideration of the consequences of choice.
3. There is celebration; the person is happy for his choice
4. There is public affirmation of the choice
5. The value must be acted upon; it must be evident in one’s behavior
6. Acting must be repeatedly done in some fashion to a variety of similar experiences
7. Value should enhance and not impede the development of the emotional and spiritual
well-being.

IMPORTANCE / FUNCTIONS OF VALUES

1. It provides framework within which judgments are made.

2. It gives purpose and direction to the lives of people.
3. It gives meaning and significance to life and totality of society.
4. It makes things desirable, satisfying and worthy of approval.
5. It defines what are important to people, what are worth living for and if need be, what
worth dying for.
6. It provides for the gap between knowledge and action.
7. It has a primordial place in education, in the total formation of the person.

THEORIES ON THE ORIGIN OR SOURCE OF VALUES

1. The Inner Man or Mentalistic Theory of Values by William James

 All of what we call good and what we call bad, do not exist as good and bad
per se. They are OUR constructions and are for each of us but a product of each
individual’s wants, needs and desires.
2. The Outer Man or Behavioral Theory of Values by B.F. Skinner
 Values come from personal experience. You get punished or rewarded for things
you did and that reinforcement is what determines what you’ll deem good or bad.
3. The ID, Ego, and Superego or Theory of Values and Prefereves by Sigmund Freud
 Id based drives- to prefer certain things; ego based drives- set of culturally do’s
and don’ts; superego based drives- spend a good amount of time in tension-producing
conflict between what we value and what we prefer.
4. The Labeling Theory or Cultural Relativism Theory of Values
 Things, ideas, events, behavior are neither good nor bad per se. It is society which
labels them as either good or bad.

BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL ORIGIN OF THE FILIPINO AND HIS OPPOSING VALUE ORIENTATIONS

A. NON-RATIONALISM VS. RATIONALISM

 Non-Rationalism Involves belief in the supremacy of nature and forces outside of oneself
like the belief in ghosts, spirits, gods or deities, and other supernatural beings. While
Rationalism involves a belief that by systematic planning, studying, and training, one can
actually control and manipulate his/her destiny.

B. PERSONALISM VS. IMPERSONALISM

 Personalism refers to the tendency to give due importance to intrapersonal and
interpersonal relationships in working arrangements. Kinship, friendship, and intimacy are
 considered for getting things done. While, Impersonalism is the tendency to eliminate
the influence of friendship or kinship in working relations.

C. PARTICULARISM VS. UNIVERSALISM

 Particularism refers to the tendency of a person to center his /her concern on his/her
sub-groups made up of relatives, friends, colleagues, associates, religious affiliates or
members of his/her ethnic/regional group in the larger society to which he/she belongs.
While Universalism refers to the tendency to focus one’s attention and concern on the
promotion of the national and common weal.

D. NATIONALISM VS. INTERNATIONALISM

 Nationalism is the advocacy of making one’s own nation distinct and separate from
others in intellectual, social, cultural, economic, political, and moral matters. While
Internationalism rests on the belief in having friendly relations between among nations
for their mutual and common benefit.

CHAPTER 7- SOCIALIZATION AND PERSONALITY

 Socialization- is the process whereby the cultural heritage is socially transmitted from one
generation to another.
 Personality- the organization of the biological, psychological, social, cultural and moral
factors which underlie a person’s behavior which makes him unique, distinct, or different
from all others.

Factors That Influence Personality Development

1. Biological Inheritance or heredity –the physical and mental traits transmitted by the
parents to their offspring through the germ plasma.
2. Environment- the physical surrounding, both natural and artificial, which affect the
growth, development and existence of living organisms.

Functions of Socialization

1. Through socialization, the group transmits its values, customs and beliefs from one
generation to another.
2. Socialization enables the individual to grow and develop into a socially functioning
person.
3. Socialization is a means of social control by which members are encouraged to conform
to the ways of the group by internalizing the group’s norms and values.

Socialization for Sex Roles

 Sex refers to the general classification of human beings as males and females based
on the differences of their primary organs and their anatomical biological
characteristics.
 Gender connotes the physical, social and cultural differences between males and
females. Ex: productive roles for males; reproductive roles for females.
 Gender Identity refers to the conception that we have of ourselves as men or
women. It constitutes our inner experience or sense of ourselves as being males or
females as a result of socialization.
 Gender Training or socialization for sex roles begins at birth. It starts in the family and
reinforced by the schools, by the media, and by other social settings.