Paul Michael A.

Vizcarra

BSA-IIIB

Culture and Society

1. Give the meaning of culture by Edward Taylor.

- Culture, he wrote, is “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” (Tylor 1924 [orig. 1871]:1). Cultural evolutionism is
a theoretical approach that seeks to describe and explain long-term processes of culture change. To do this it draws
on all subfields.
2. Differentiate cultural values and cultural norms.
- Cultural values are the core principles and ideals upon which an entire community exists. This is made up of several
parts: customs, which are traditions and rituals; values, which are beliefs; and culture, which is all of a group's
guiding values while;
- Cultural norms often mediate the relationship between ethnicity and health, even effecting gene expression through
such practices as marriage rules, lifestyle choices, and environmental exposures. At the individual and group levels,
cultural norms have a substantial role in health-related behaviors such as dietary practices, tobacco use, and
exercise.
3. Discuss the cultural explanation of human behavior.
- culture includes both modalities of actual behavior and a group's conscious,
partly conscious, and unconscious designs for living. More precisely, there are at least three different classes of
data:
1) a people's notions of the way things ought to be;
2) their conceptions of the way their groups actually behave;
3) what does in fact occur, as objectively determine.
4. Define Ethnocentrism and give an example.
- Ethnocentrism is the evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and
customs of one's own culture.
Example: Every culture on earth tends to impart ethnocentrism, albeit unintentionally. Various aspects of culture
such as mythological tales, folktales, legends, religion, songs, proverbs, language, rituals, etc. promote the
superiority of that one culture over others. Though this is an unintentional kind of promotion of ethnocentrism, it
instills the belief that 'my race/my culture' is really better than the rest, in so many ways in most of us, especially
during childhood or teenage.
5. Discuss 2 types of symbols.
6. Enumerate 5 Filipino values.
 Close to Family - Family is the foundation of a nation, in Philippines it is a culture of being close to the family. Its not new to
us, that many families living in one home that we usually called extended family It means that distance relatives such as
aunts, uncle grandparents would be living under the same house or in the same compound.
 Respect to elders - When we Filipinos talking with someone who is older or in position of authority we will always tend to use
the tagalog equivalent of Ma’am or Sir which is “PO and OPO. There are also some simple words to show a sign of respect
that we always say like kuya, ate, tita,tito manong, manang etc. But there is something in the Philippines that is really deep
root culture for being a Filipino that is “Mano or Mano Po” “Mano or Mano po “is an act to show sign of respect to elders by
grabbing their right hand and put in our forehead and say “Mano PO”.
 Hospitality - is values of Filipinos by showing a heartwarming generosity and friendliness to every visitors come to our
home. Filipinos receives guests, even the strangers, in a warm and pleasant way. We do our best to make the visitor
comfortable. Not only the upper class practices this kind of values, it can be fund among the poorest members of the society.
 Religious - Filipinos is the most r religious country in the world in fact 9 out of 10 Filipinos believes in God base on the survey
conducted by NORC an American research group in University of Chicago. Philippines ranked as number 1 with 94% followed
by Chili 88% and USA 81%.
 Bayanihan - means helping one another most especially in times of need without expecting anything in return. Filipinos
strongly believe in helping their fellow countrymen in any possible way they can do to extend a helping hand. It is a beautiful
Filipino mentality of helping one another.
7. Differentiate folkways and mores.
 - Folkways and mores are informal norms that dictate behavior; however, the violation of mores carries heavier
consequences. Societal norms, or rules that are enforced by members of a community, can exist as both formal and
informal rules of behavior. Informal norms can be divided into two distinct groups: folkways and mores. Folkways
are informal rules and norms that, while not offensive to violate, are expected to be followed. Mores
(pronounced more-rays) are also informal rules that are not written, but, when violated, result in severe
punishments and social sanction upon the individuals, such as social and religious exclusion.
8. What is Sociobiology?
- Sociobiology investigates social behaviors such as mating patterns, territorial fights, pack hunting, and
the hivesociety of social insects. It argues that just as selection pressure led to animals evolving useful ways of
interacting with the natural environment, so also it led to the genetic evolution of advantageous social behavior.
9. Define culture shock and give 5 characteristics of culture.
 Culture shock - the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way
of life, or set of attitudes.
Characteristics of culture:
- Culture is shared. Every culture is shared by a group of people, usually inhabiting the same part of the world. The
region they live in, the geographical conditions around them, their country's past, the belief system and values of its
people, and the heritage they are proud of, constitute their culture. Being common to a group, these aspects
develop a sense of unity and belonging among the people of that group. People of the same community share the
same values, beliefs, and traditions. Their literature and history is the same.
- Culture is learned. Culture is not biologically passed from older generations to the newer ones. It is learned through
experience. The members of a culture share certain ideals which shape their lives. The future generations learn to
follow the same ideals. Culture propagates through generations, which adopt their old customs and traditions as a
part of their culture. The ideals they base their lives on, is a part of their culture.
- Culture changes. Cultures undergo a gradual change. With passing time, some beliefs change, certain traditions or
rituals are eliminated, language and mannerisms of people change, and thus their culture. Migration and
globalization lead to a mixing of cultures. When people from different parts of the world come together, they
influence each other and effectively, each other's cultures. These factors contribute to the formation of a
multicultural society and sometimes, even new cultures develop.
- Culture takes years to form. It is true that culture influences us, but it is also true that we influence culture. In fact,
culture evolves over time and takes years to develop. It is not a set of rules made by one or more people and
followed by generations. With passing time, a culture develops and even changes in the process.
- Culture cannot be isolated. Studies have brought out the fact that no culture can remain in isolation. There is hardly
any social community that is completely isolated from the rest of the world. Every culture is mostly influenced by
cultures of the surrounding regions. Years ago, there were tribal societies that stayed in seclusion, unaware of the
world outside. Today, most of these once-secluded groups are connected to the rest of the world. And there is
hardly any community, and thereby any culture which is totally isolated.
10. Explain the different ways of acquiring culture.
 Imitation – it is the process of socialization plays a very important role in the development of every individual. As the child
grows, he imitates the things around him.
 Indoctrinization – this may take the form of formal teaching or training.
 Conditioning – through the social norms prevailing in one’s social and cultural milieu, the individual acquires the certain
pattern of beliefs, values, behaviors and actions through the process of conditioning.