Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the

members of a particular group or society. Through culture, people and groups define
themselves, conform to society's shared values, and contribute to society. Thus, culture
includes many societal aspects: language, customs, values, norms, mores, rules, tools,
technologies, products, organizations, and institutions. This latter term institution refers to
clusters of rules and cultural meanings associated with specific social activities. Common
institutions are the family, education, religion, work, and health care.
Sociologists define society as the people who interact in such a way as to share a common
culture. The cultural bond may be ethnic or racial, based on gender, or due to shared beliefs,
values, and activities. The term society can also have a geographic meaning and refer to
people who share a common culture in a particular location. For example, people living in
arctic climates developed different cultures from those living in desert cultures. In time, a
large variety of human cultures arose around the world.
Culture and society are intricately related. A culture consists of the objects of a society,
whereas a society consists of the people who share a common culture. When the terms
culture and society first acquired their current meanings, most people in the world worked
and lived in small groups in the same locale. In today's world of 6 billion people, these terms
have lost some of their usefulness because increasing numbers of people interact and share
resources globally. Still, people tend to use culture and society in a more traditional sense: for
example, being a part of a racial culture within the larger U.S. society.
Characteristics of Culture
For a clear understanding of the concept of culture, it is necessary for us to know its main
characteristics. Culture has several characteristics. Following are the main characteristics of
culture.
1. Culture is Learnt
Culture is not inherited biologically, but learnt socially by man. It is not an inborn tendency.
There is no culture instinct as such culture is often called learned ways of behavior.
Unlearned behavior such as closing the eyes while sleeping, the eye blinking reflex and so on
are purely physiological and culture sharing hands or saying namaskar or thanks and
shaving and dressing on the other hand are culture. Similarly wearing clothes, combing the
hair, wearing ornaments, cooking the food, drinking from a glass, eating from a plate or leaf,
reading a newspaper, driving a car, enacting a role in drama, singing, worship etc. are always
of behavior learnt by man culturally.
2. Cultural is Social
Culture does not exist in isolation neither it is an individual phenomenon. It is a product of
society. It originates and develops through social interaction. It is shared by the members of
society. No man can acquire culture without association with other human beings. Man
becomes man only among men. It is the culture, which helps man to develop human qualities
in a human environment. Deprivation is nothing but deprivation of human qualities.

3. Culture is Shared
Culture in the sociological sense, is something shared. It is not something that an individual
alone can possess. For example customs, tradition, beliefs, ideas, values, morals, etc. are
shared by people of a group or society. The invention of Arya Bhatta or Albert Einstein,
Charaka or Charles Darwin, the literary, works of Kalidas or Keats, Dandi or Dante, the
philosophical works of Cunfucius or Lao Tse, Shankaracharya or Swami Vivekananda, the
artistic work of Kavi Verma or Raphael etc. are all shared by a large number of people.
Culture is something adopted, used, believed practised or possessed by more than one person.
It depends upon group life for its existence. (Robert Brerstedt)
4. Culture is Transmissive
Culture is capable of being transmitted from one generation to the next. Parents pass on
culture traits to their children and them in turn to their children arid so on. Culture is
trasmitted not trough genes but by means of language. Language is the main vehicle of
culture. Language in its different forms like reading, writing and speaking makes it possible
for the present generation to understand the achievements of earlier generations. But
language itself is a part of culture. Once language is acquired it unfolds to the individual in
wide field. Transmission of culture may take place by intution as well as by interaction,
5. Culture is Continuous and Cumulative
Culture exists, as a continuous process. In its historical growth, it tends to become
cumulative. Culture is growing completely which includes in itself, the achievements of the
past and present and makes provision for the future achievements of mankind. Culture may
thus be conceived of as a kind of stream flowing down through the centuries from one
generation to another. Hence, some sociologists like Lition called culture the social heritage
of man. As Robert Brerstedt writes culture or the money of human race. It becomes difficult
for us to imagine what society would be like without this accumulation of culture what lives
would be without it.
6. Culture is Consistent and Interconnected
Culture, in its development has revealed tendency to be consistent. At the same time, different
parts of culture are interconnected. For example the value system of a society, a society is
closely connected with, its other aspects such as morality, religion, customs, traditions,
beliefs and so on.
7. Culture is Dynamic and Adaptive
Though culture is relatively stable, it is not altogether static. It is subject to slow but constant
change. Change and growth are latent in culture. We find amazing growth in the present
Indian culture when we compare it with the culture of the Vedic time. Hence, culture is
dynamic.
Culture is responsive to the changing conditions of the physical world. It is adaptive. It also
intervenes in the natural environment and helps man in his process of adjustment. Just as our

house
shelters us from the storm, so also does our culture help us from natural dangers and assist us
to survive. Few of us indeed could survive without culture.
8. Culture is Gratifying
Culture provides proper opportunities, and prescribes means for the satisfaction of our needs
and desires. These needs may be biological or social in nature. Our need for food, shelter and
clothing and our desire for status, name, fame and money etc are all, for example, fulfilled
according to the cultural ways. Culture determines and guides the varied activities of man. In
fact culture is defined as the process through which human beings satisfy their wants.
9. Culture varies from Society to Society
Every society has a culture of its own. It differs from society to society. Culture of every
society in unique to itself. Cultures are not uniform. Cultural elements such as customs,
traditions, morals, ideals, values, ideologies, beliefs in practices, philosophies institutions,
etc. are not uniform everywhere. Ways of eating, speaking, greeting, dressing, entertaining,
living etc. of different sects differ significantly. Culture varies from time to time also. No
culture ever remains constant or changeless. If Manu were to come back to see the Indian
society today he would be bewildered to witness the vast changes that have taken place in our
culture.
10. Culture is Super Organic and Ideational
Culture is sometimes called the super organic. By super organic Herbert Spencer meant that
culture is neither organic nor inorganic in nature but above these two. The term implies the
social meaning of physical objectives and physiological acts. The social meaning may be
independent of physiological and physical properties and characteristics. For example, the
social meaning of a national flag is not just a piece of colored cloth. The flag represents a
nation. Similarly, priests and prisoners, professors and profanation, players, engineers and
doctors, farmers and soldiers and others are not just biological beings. They are viewed in
their society differently. Their social status and role can be understood only through culture.