Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate")

Culture defined: - Information (ideas, values, customs, skills ) - Transmitted from person to person through direct teaching, imitation, or writing - Guides behavior and provides framework for interpreting things in the world - May or may not be adaptive

Psychology Mind Brain Behavior

Sociology Society Socialization

Political Science Power Government

Economics Utility Markets

High Culture Entertainment and arts enjoyed mostly by the elite members of society

Pop Culture Mainstream stuff that fades in and out of fashion.

Material Culture The aggregate of physical things used by a society

Culture is uniquely human Culture is learned Culture is shared Culture is symbolic Culture is integrated

Culture is uniquely human Other animals have rudimentary cultures, but humans take it to another level Humans have cumulative culture

All people have culture This includes you! Not just people from exotic locations Some rare individuals raised in isolation have limited culture and language

Individuals learn the culture-specific rules for behaving and perceiving the world through cultural learning Direct teaching Conversation Reading written culture Observation

Transmission of culture to an individual is called enculturation Culture can be transmitted in various ways: Vertical intergenerational, parent to child Horizontal intragenerational, peer to peer Oblique intergenerational but between non-related individuals (teacher to student, watching tv, reading books, etc)

Culture is not an attribute of individuals per se, but of individuals as part of groups Some culture changes because the composition of groups is constantly changing Other aspects of culture endure generation to generation

International culture practices common to identifiable group extending beyond boundaries of one culture National culture experiences, beliefs, learned behavior patterns, and values shared by citizens of the same nation Subcultures identifiable cultural patterns existing within a larger culture

Universals things found in all people regardless of culture Generalities things common to several but not all human groups Particularities things that are unique to specific cultures

Symbol something verbal or nonverbal within a particular culture or language that stands for something else Many symbols are linguistic, such as the word for dog: French chien Indonesia anjing Bahasa Karo biang

All aspects of shared knowledge in a group is considered culture Some aspects of culture are relatively unnoteworthy But, they are nonetheless culture Cultured does not equal refined or important

Culture is a system Changes in one aspect will likely generate changes in other aspects Core values sets of ideas, attitudes, and beliefs that are basic in that they provide an organizational logic for the rest of the culture

These Goths go against typical American culture in their wedding outfits

Human nature things we are born with and that are in our genes Culture things we learn and acquire through experience Although these may be viewed as distinct, each is influenced (and possiblyshaped) by the other.

Due to cultural integration Causes:

 Invention-the process of creating new cultural

elements. (Telephone)  Discovery-recognizing and understanding something already in existence.  Diffusion-the spread of cultural elements to the world.

multiple ethnic groups with very different cultures Thanks to globalization, we are likely to work with Japanese, French, Chinese, German and all sorts of other nationalities. It is important to recognize that people from different cultures have are different in a variety of ways

different ways of looking at things different ways of dressing different ways of expressing personality/goodness

In the US, a firm, short handshake indicates self-confidence and masculinity. A limp handshake by a man can be interpreted (usually wrongly) as a sign of homosexuality or wimpiness. But in most parts of Africa, a limp handshake is the correct way to do it. Furthermore, it is common in Africa for the handshake to last several minutes, while in the US a handshake that is even a few seconds too long is interpreted as familiarity, warmth and possibly sexual attraction.

Ethnocentrism
 The practice of judging another culture by the

standards of one s own culture.

Emotionally attached to their way of life. It generates misunderstanding and conflict.

Cultural Relativism
 The practice of evaluating a culture by its own

standars.  Require openness to unfamiliar values and norms.