In sociology the concept of culture refers to the shared thoughts of a particular group regarding way of life. The structure of a certain culture is based on four major elements including, language, norms, values and beliefs. These major cultural components regulate individuals conduct within a specific society. Culture is regarded as a blue print for human social behavior that guides them how to act and interact with fellow members within a respective social group. However, it’s vital to analyze the characteristics of culture in order to understand the sociological idea of culture. Beside major elements analysis of culture characteristics or traits is vital for comprehending the concept of “culture”. Given below are the major characteristics of culture, extracted from a number of culture definitions offered by the most eminent sociologists and anthropologists.
Culture Is a Learned Behavior
Culture is not an instinctive behavior but a learned behavior. Instinctive or innate refers to those behaviors which are not learned through experience and observation rather, these are biologically inherited for instance, primitive reflexes of a new born including, rooting and suckling are instinctive behaviors. Whereas, individuals learn their respective culture in a given society through the process of socialization. An individual interact with different people in different social groups throughout his course of life whereby, he learns through his social encounters, how to behave in different social situations as well as, to conduct his social relationships with others within different social institutions or groups.
Nevertheless, the most basic and major element of a culture is language through which members of a given society are able communicate with one another. Children learn language of their respective culture or mother tongue through frequent interaction with family members. In the primary stage of socialization process family members directly or indirectly teach the words and sentences of a given language to a new born, in order to make him or her able to communicate with other members of society. An individual who is born and raised in Pakistani Pashtun family will not obtain the knowledge of Mandarin until and unless the members of his family have acquired the knowledge of and communicate in mandarin. Similarly, a child born and raised in Chinese family will certainly learn and speak mandarin rather than Pashto.
Moreover, norms, values and beliefs are the other intertwined elements of culture on the basis of which individuals of a particular society differentiate and label different social behaviors as good or bad —- ethical or unethical —-moral or immoral — virtuous or vicious. Each society has distinct culture because of variation in their major elements. However, one must wonder, why a particular conduct is considered moral by the members of one society but immoral by the members of another? Because members of every society learn the elements of their respective culture via the process of socialization thus, they define each and every social phenomenon in accordance with their adhered cultural values, norms and beliefs for instance, majority of Indians are the adherent Hinduism. Therefore, the dominant culture of India is based on Hindu religious beliefs. According to the Hindu Holy Scripture “Gita” cow is a sacred animal and holds the status of mother. For the reason that, for Hindu Indians slaughtering a cow is an immoral social conduct. Whereas, in Muslim countries such as, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia slaughtering a cow is not prohibited and is not categorized as an immoral behavior by the inhabitants. Since, the dominant culture of these countries are based on Islamic beliefs, which grant permission to slaughter a cow and use the meat to gratify hunger need.
Furthermore, it is not necessary that people would always learn their own cultural norms and values. However, they could adopt the norms and values of foreign culture. The learning process of a culture depends on the frequency of interaction. Therefore, individuals are most likely to learn and adopt the culture of a social group in which they socialize the most for instance, if a new born Catholic English baby is adopted by and raised in Pakistani Muslim family, he will most probably learn Pakistani culture and adhere religion of Islam rather than English culture and Christianity.
Additionally, culture could be learned through various sources such as, institution of family, education, religion, peer group, social media, electronic media, print media etc.… one or few among all socializing agents may play greater role in the process of learning culture for instance, an individual born and raised within a family of criminal may learn criminal culture or deviant behavior and could lead a life of a convict. In contrast, he might also learn and adopt normative or moral socio-culture within educational institutions because of which he could become a productive member of society and lead a respectable social life. Hence, it can be said that some agents of socialization have more influence than others on individuals learning of culture. Moreover, it suggests that culture is not biologically inherited but learned through experiencing various social encounters.
Culture Is Abstract
Culture does not have physical existence but is the amalgamation of thoughts and ideas about the ways of life that are collective shared by individuals of a particular society. However, the existence and visibility of a given society culture is reflected via the habits of its members. Habits refer to those behaviors which are frequently repeated by individuals in different social situations. The foundation of these repeated social conducts rest upon individuals shared ideas and thoughts concerning the way of life. The way how individuals frequently act while greeting one another is one among many habits that ensure the visibility of a culture for instance, People may greet one another by, a kiss on cheeks — kissing each other hands or merely shaking hands. The repeated pattern of such behaviors define the collectively cherished way of life of a particular society.
Culture Is Shared
In accordance with sociological context culture is the thoughts and ideas about the way of life that is shared by the members of a given society. The existence and development of a particular culture depend on the collectively cherished ideas and thoughts about social life. Respective culture of each society differ from one another due to the variance in shared values. These variances exit because people in different societies cherish different things or ideas. In one society people may value wealth and material whereas, in other people may cherish religious thoughts about social life. However, in both cases culture is shared by the members of each society.
Culture Is Transmissive
One among the many major characteristic of culture is the ability of diffusion from one generation to the next. The culture of a given group or society could be passed on to the new inducted members directly or indirectly. However, institution of family play an important role in transmission of culture. Parents teach language to their children through which they acquire the ability to communicate with the other members of society. Language is the basic and only mean to understand and teach cultural trait. Absent the knowledge of native language new members would lack the capacity to learn a given culture. Socialization is not only the process of learning but also the process of teaching or transmitting culture. Whereby, senior members teach and new members learn culture of particular society. Furthermore, social interaction is the major and mandatory component of in this process that aid individuals to pass on and absorb respective socio culture.
During the long journey of life an individual socialize in different social groups and interact with different people that makes him or her capable, to transmit and learn given cultural norms, values and beliefs. New members obtain the knowledge of societal culture via experiencing numerous social encounters in different social groups. However, after obtaining cultural knowledge through social experiences they become senior members who pass on or infuse their acquired knowledge to the new inductees via social interaction. The learners of one generation become the teachers of new or next generation.
Nevertheless, it is not important that the individuals transfer the exact cultural knowledge to the next generation. They may add some new ideas which could be related with the occurrence of social change. As society is not static but dynamic in nature. Each society evolve with the passage of time due to the change in social conditions. It becomes mandatory for the members to establish new or modify the old norms to function in the new social environment. These new norms, values along with old ones are transmitted to the next generation in order to make them productive members of society. Individuals cannot function and survive in modern industrial or IT society if they learn and follow the culture of agriculture society. As individuals are required to acquire different skill set and knowledge to function in modern societies compare to traditional agriculture society. In traditional society father was supposed to teach his son, how to ride horse or bull cart because these were the only available and efficient source of transportation at the time. Whereas, in industrial society father is supposed to teach his son how to drive a car or other mechanical vehicles because these are the available and productive source of transportation within modern society, the given example proposes that teaching or acquiring traditional social skills and knowledge is futile for individuals to operate and function within modern society.
As stated above, language plays crucial role in the process of culture transmission. Language has two different forms including, written and spoken. In either form language acquire the capability to communicate or convey ideas and thoughts. Therefore, physical and face to face interaction is not necessary and the only source for inculcating culture to the new members of society. Books, magazine, newspapers, blogs, research papers, television etc… are the agents which could diffuse culture by mean of written and spoken form of language without physical or face to face social interaction.
The advancement in technology has transformed the world into a global village. In this modern era, people can easily have access to and contact with cultures of entire globe, which could result in transmission of foreign cultures to the new generation. Such exposure and exchange of culture can further bring about social change because frequent contact with foreign culture through electronic and social media may influence individuals to adopt foreign cultural elements. On the other hand, such contact could also lead to the feeling of resentment and hatred towards other foreign cultures due to dissimilar and conflicting cultural norms, values and beliefs.
Culture Differ From Society To Society
Each society has its own culture which differ from the cultures of other societies. The uniqueness and distinction among cultures of various societies is due to the difference in mutually cherished ideas and habits that build the structure or foundation of cultures. A society culture could be based on religious — economic or philosophical ideas regarding way of life. Structure of dominant cultures within India and Pakistan are influenced from distinct religious doctrine therefore, they differ from one another — for instance, polygamy is prohibited in accordance with Hinduism, therefore one man can take only one women as a wife within Indian society. However, one man can marry four women at a time within Pakistan because Islam allows polygamy type of marriage.
Culture Is Dynamic
Culture is not static but dynamic or in ever changing state. Cultural change refer to the alteration — modification or transformation in thoughts, ideas, philosophy, traditions, customs, rituals, institutional structure, norms and values of a certain society. Every new generation come up with new ideas regarding ways of life which is amalgamated or replaced with old ones. This change take place because some of traditional cultural ideas become dysfunctional in new social setting hence they are supplanted with new functional ideas. If these specific dysfunctional cultural elements or parts of cultural elements are not modified and replaced with new operational ones the given society would not acquire the ability to make any progress and keep up or compete with other modern societies.
Moreover, one among many reason behind the phenomenon of cultural change is innovative scientific ideas. Every scientific discovery or invention is based on innovative scientific ideas offered by the intellectuals of different generations. Furthermore, these scientific inventions in could be characterized as the prime cause of change in material culture that further influence and compel the phenomenon of change in non-material culture for instance, prior to the scientific discoveries such as, electricity, telephone, cars, computers, internet etc…. individuals social life was regulated by traditional . Traditional societies had distinct ways for gratifying various felt needs of individuals compare to modern societies. As, in traditional society the modes of correspondence among individuals were exchange of letters or face to face verbal communication. However, scientific discoveries such as, telephone, computers, internet, social media etc… changed the ways of correspondence in different space and time. These discoveries not only introduced the new but productive means for satisfying human needs that resulted in progressive social change. The ways of correspondence in traditional societies was very time consuming among individuals who resided faraway from one another because communication was carried out via letters or personal visits which would took days or months at the time. However, thanks to the technological advancement that changed the traditional ways of life. Now, individuals are able to frequently communicate with one another in time efficient manner either the distance between them is long or short.
Moreover, the relationship among material and non-material culture is vital for analyzing dynamic trait of culture. As the relationship of change between material and non-material culture defines the nature of change. The nature of cultural change could be progressive or regressive. Furthermore, the nature of social change is based on the variance of change between these two types of culture. The positive relationship of change may lead to progressive social change whereas, non-existent relationship may create social instability. In other words, if material and non-material culture change is parallel and in accordance with one another than the nature of social change would be progressive. On the other hand if change in one does not bring change in other accordingly, it may lead to social unrest.
When change occur in material culture but non material culture remains same it leads to cultural lag. Balance between both cultures is necessary for stable social environment. The phenomenon of cultural lag create disorder in a particular society. Individuals can benefit from the availability and functional use of smartphones or computers which might bring about progressive social change on the other hand, misuse of these could prove to be harmful and may impede social progress. The positive or negative use of these advanced technological materials completely depend on non-material culture. As non-material culture includes established rules and procedures that regulate individuals behavior within a society. The occurrence of change in material culture can only prove to be productive or progressive if supported by relevant cultural norms.
Change in material culture such as advent of television, computers, smartphones and other technological advancement could improve the social lives of individuals in that case if non-material culture is changed — molded or modified in accordance with change in material culture. Entire structure of society should be based on norms that advocate positive and productive use of these technology. In this scenario students will learn how to use mentioned technologies for educational purposes within institution of education which will give birth to a generation of young intellectuals. Similarly, relevant change in non-material culture will promote the functional use of these new technologies among businessman, entrepreneurs, politicians, teachers etc.… in their respective fields. Such development will foster the productivity of different social institutions which together will contribute in the smooth functioning and progress of society.
In contrast if nonmaterial culture does not change in accordance with given technological change, it would obstruct the productivity of social institutions as well as the smooth functioning and progress of society. In given scenario young individuals may use computers and smartphones for sexting or playing games rather than for obtaining information or education. Such ill use will result in violation of social norms and values, which may ignite the feeling of resentment towards technological change among senior members of society. Such resistance towards technological change slow down the progress of given society. As technology increase the productivity of social institutions and leads to progressive social change.
Culture Is Social
Culture is not limited to an individual but is communal. The formation of a particular culture could be inspired from the ideas or thoughts of an individual or individuals however, mutually adhered by the members of given society. The source of ideas concerning ways of living could be — religion, philosophy, charisma or amalgamation of all, in any case it cannot exist in isolation. Whether the structure of given culture is based on the collection of ideas from a single source or multiple sources but then again, is collectively cherished and followed by individuals of a particular society. Culture is being characterized as social because its origination is associated with human social interactions additionally, social encounters and relationships among individuals are regulated and guided by the relative cultural norms, values and beliefs of a certain social group.
Moreover, frequent social interaction among individuals based on collection of different thoughts regarding ways of life give birth to a culture of assumed society. The formation or creation of culture in any social group depend on the repetition of certain behaviors through which individuals maintain or sustain different social relationships with one another. As, frequent recurrence of given behaviors create and become common habits among individuals. Furthermore, these common habits among individuals together frame the structure of particular culture or make it whole. According to the above explanation regarding origination process and structural composition, culture can be characterized as social.
Culture Fulfills Various Felt Need
In order to survive individuals, have to satisfy their various felt need within a society. Whereby, mutual cooperation is necessarily required to accomplish the objective of gratifying various felt needs of individuals that are important for their survival. However, culture work as force that ensures the cooperation among individuals within a particular society. Culture ascertains cooperation among individuals because its structure is composed those ideas regarding social conducts or ways of doing things which are mutually cherished by individuals within a particular society.
Culture Is Criterion for Human Social Behavior
Culture is regarded as the criterion for human social behavior because it regulates behavior of individuals in varied social situations via behavioral classification. Culture characterized Behaviors as good or bad — moral or immoral — virtuous or vicious in accordance with shared habits — values and norms on which the foundation of each culture rest upon. Given classification guide individuals to differentiate between acceptable or unacceptable social conducts.
Culture is Accumulative
Culture is not established or come into existence in one day — month or year. As the structure of culture is built upon different ideas which are gradually accumulated over centuries. These ideas gradually store up and form the major components of culture such as, traditions, moral values, norms, beliefs etc.… whereby, given major parts or components together form and define the structure of a particular culture.
Written By: Khushdil Khan Kasi
