SHS

Understanding Culture
Society and Politics
Quarter 1: Week 2 - Module 2

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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Grade 11/12 Quarter 1: Week 2 - Module 2
First Edition, 2020

Copyright © 2020
La Union Schools Division
Region I

All rights reserved. No part of this module may be reproduced in any form without
written permission from the copyright owners.

Development Team of the Module

Author: Marybeth Nudas Garcia, T-II

Editor: SDO La Union, Learning Resource Quality Assurance Team
Illustrator: Ernesto F. Ramos Jr., P II

Management Team:

Atty. Donato D. Balderas, Jr.

Schools Division Superintendent
Vivian Luz S. Pagatpatan, Ph.D.
Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
German E. Flora, Ph.D., CID Chief
Virgilio C. Boado, Ph.D., EPS in Charge of LRMS
Mario B. Paneda, Ed.D., EPS in Charge of Araling Panlipunan
Michael Jason D. Morales, PDO II
Claire P. Toluyen, Librarian II

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Understanding Culture
Society and Politics
Quarter 1: Week 2 - Module 2

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 Target

Culture and society are complexly related. As the society changes, culture
follows and vice versa. Today, we consider the world very complicated, hence it is
very important to pay attention to the interplay of society and culture. These two
are fundamentals in understanding human behavior, conduct and activities and
social groups against the backdrop of globalization and industrialization. Therefore,
students as individuals and vital members of the society are expected to value their
roles in the society, apply the knowledge they learned from school, and translate
the gained knowledge/ideas into actions beneficial to nation building.

In your preceding lesson, you have learned about the nature, goals and
perspectives in/of anthropology, sociology and political science. Anthropology
deals with the study of human culture particularly the components, characteristics,
functions, modes, and adaptation of culture, as well as culture values and
practices (Ariola, 2012). Sociology deals with the study of society and social
interactions taking place therein (Arcinas, 2016). Political is a study and research
about human activity that deals, to a certain extent, with power, conflict, and
decision making (Francisco and Francisco, 2015). In short, it deals with study of
the state, its institutions, its laws and processes.

This lesson will provide you with information and various activities that will
help you understand the concepts, aspects and changes in/of culture and society.

After going through this lesson, you are expected to analyze the concepts,
aspects and changes in/of culture and society (UCSP11/12SPU-lb-3).

Specific Learning Objectives

1. explain the concept of society and culture in anthropological and sociological

perspective;
2. describe some major characteristics of society and culture;
3. differentiate between the various meanings of culture within society; and
4. appreciate the significance of culture in the society

Before going on, perform the activity below.

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 Jumpstart

Answer the diagnostic activities below to check on what you

know about the topic. Have fun and good luck!

Activity 1 Picture Analysis

Directions: Write your impression/s about the pictures/images below. Use
separate sheet for your answer.

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Activity 2. Write the Difference

Directions: Copy the diagrams below in a separate sheet of paper. Write the
difference between culture and society.

Discover
The Concept of Society

Meaning and Nature of Society

According to sociologist, a society is a group of people with common territory,

interaction, and culture. Arcinas (2016) in his book, Undertanding Culture, Society,
and Politics, defined society as group of people who share a common territory snd
culture. It is a group of people living together in a definite territory, having a sense
of belongingness, mutually interdependent of each other, and follow a certain way
of life. Society is deerived from the Latin term “societas”, from socius, which means
companion or associate. Thus, it refers to all people, collectively regarded as
constituting a community of related, interdependent individuals living in a definite
place, following a certain mode of life (Ariola, 2012).

Definition of society has two types - the functional definition and the
structural definition. From the functional point of view, society is defined as a
complex of groups in reciprocal relationships, interacting upon one another,
enabling human organisms to carry on their life-activities and helping each person
to fulfill his wishes and accomplish his interests in association with his fellows.
From the structural point of view, society is the total social heritage of folkways,

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mores and institutions; of habits, sentiments and ideals. The important aspect of
society is the system of relationships, the pattern of the norms of interaction by
which the members of the society maintain themselves.

The following are reasons people live together as a society (Ariola, 2012):
a. For survival – No man is an island. No man can live alone. From
birth to death, man always dependsn upon his parents and from
others. The care, support, and protection given by them are
importnt factors for survival.
b. Feeling of gregariousness – This is the desire of people to be with
other people, esecially of their own culture. People flock together
for emotional warmth and belongingness. the need for approval,
sympathy and understanding to which the individual belongs is a
psychosocial need. Among Filipinos, the feeling of gregariousness
is found in all levels of society, especially among the lower socio-
econmic classess. The more the person is needy, the more he
craves sympathy and understanding from someone else.
c. Specialization – Teachers, businessmen, students, physicians,
nurses, lawyers, pharmacists, and other professionals organize
themselves into societies or associations to promote and protect
their own professions.

Characteristics of Society

Society comprises of a group of people who share a common culture, live in a

particular area and feel themselves to constitute a unified and distinct entity.
Society or human society is a group of people related to each other through
persistent relations such as kinship, marriage, social status, roles and social
networks. By extension, society denotes the people of a region or country,
sometimes even the world, taken as a whole.
Society has the following characteristics:

1. It is a social system. A social system consists of individuals interacting

with rach other. A system consists of sub-parts whereby a change in one
part affects the other parts. Thus, a change in one group of individuals
will affect the stability of the other parts of the system.
2. It is relatively large. The people must be socialy integrated to be
considered relatively large than if the people are individually scattered.
Thus, the people in a family, clan, tribe, neighborhood, community are
socially integrated to be relatively large in scope.
3. It socializes its members and from those from without. Since most of
society’s members are born to it, they are taught the basic norms and
expectations. Those who come from other societies, before being accepted
as functioning members, are socialized and taught the basic norms and
expectations of the society.
4. It endures, produces and sustains its members for generations. For
society to survive, it must have the ability to produce, endure and

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 sustain its new members for at least several generations. For instance, if
a society cannot assist its members during their extreme conditions of
hunger and poverty, that society will not survive long.
5. It holds its members through a common culture. The individuals in a
society are held together because that society has symbols, norms, values,
patterns of interaction, vision and mission that are commonly shared by
the members of such society.
6. It has clearly-defined geographical territory. The members in a society
must live in a certain specific habitat or place and have a common
belongingness and sense of purpose.

Major Functions of Society

A society is important because they have the following functions:

1. It provides a system of socialization. Knowledge and skills, dominant

patterns of behavior, moral and social values, and aspects of personality
are transmitted to each members, especially to the young. the family, the
peer group, the school, the church and other government and non-
government organizations play a role in the individual’s development.
2. It provides the basic needs of its members. Food, clothing, shelter,
medicine, education, transportations and communication facilities,
among others must be provided by society to satisfy the basic needds of
its members.
3. It regulates and controls people’s behavior. Conformity to the
prevailing norms of conduct ensures social control. The police, armed
forces, law enforcement agencies and even the church and other
government and non-government organizations exist as means of social
control. Peace and order are created through a system of norms and
formal organizations.
4. It provides the means of social participation. Through social
participation, the individuals in a society learn to interact with each other,
present and discuss their concerns and solve their own problems or
renew their commitment and values. the people are give the opportunities
to contribute to their knowledge and skills for the betterment of their
family, neighborhood and community. religious organizations, civic
organizations, people’s organizations (PO) and non-government
organizations (NGOs) do their part in community developement.
5. It provides mutual support to the members. Mutual support is
provided to the members of society in the form of relief in any form and
solution to problems met by them. This form of assistance may come
from the family, neighbors, clans, government and non-government
agencies, civic and religious organizations.

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Types of Societies
Societies exist in particular places and times, and they change over time.
Societies are organized in particular patterns, patterns that are shaped by a range
of factors, including the way people procure food, the availability of resources,
contact with other societies, and cultural beliefs. For example, people can change
from herding to farming only if they have the knowledge, skills, and desire to do so
and only in environments that will support agriculture. As societies develop,
changes take place in the social structures and relationships between people that
characterize each type of society. For example, in industrialized societies,
relationships between people typically must become more formal because people
must interact with strangers and not just relatives. It is important to note that not
all societies go through all stages. Some are jolted into the future by political events
or changes in the global system, and some resist pressures to become modernized
and continue to live in simpler social systems.

Sociologists and anthropologists (experts who study early and tribal cultures)
identified different types and classification of societies. Below are the different types
of societies as mentioned by Ariola (2012) in his book Sociology and Anthropology
with Family Planning:

According to Economic According to According to People’s

and Material System Evolutionary View Substinence
1. Pre-class Societies 1.Simple Societies – 1.Food Gathering
– They are characterized These were Societies (more than
by communal ownership predominantly small, 16, 000 years ago) – The
of property and division nomadic and leadership people survived from day
of labor. Examples of is unstable. The people to day through hunting
these societies are had no specialization of larger animals, collecting
earliest clans and tribes. skills,thus they lived in a shellfish and vegetable
simple life. gathering. Their tools
were made of stones,
wood and bones.

2.Asiatic Societies – The 2.Compound Societies – 2.Horticultural

people are economically Two or more simple Societies (12, 000 to 15,
self-sufficient but their societies merged to form 000 years ago) - The
leaders are despotic and a new and bigger society. people planted seeds as a
powerful. These societies tended to means of production for
be predominantly settled subsistence.
agriicultural societies and
tended to be
characterized by a
division of four or five
social classes.

3. Ancient Societies – 3. Doubly Compound 3. Pastoral Societies –

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These are characterized Societies – These are Most of the people are
by private land completely integrated, nomadic who follow their
ownership. The rich more definite in political herds in quest of animals
(those who haves) owned and religious structure for food and clothing to
big tract of private and more complex satisfy their needs. they
properties while the poor division of labor. raised animals to provide
(those who-have-nots) Considerable progress in milk, fur and blood for
worked as laborers. infrastructure and protein. These societies
Thus, wealth is linited to knowledge in arts had typically are relatively
a few people. taken place. small, wandering
communities organized
along male-centered
kinship groups.
4.Feudal Societies – The 4.Militant Societies – 4.Agricultural
aristocrats (feudal lords) These are characterized Societies – In the early
owned the wealth of the by the following: (a) the agricultural socieities,
country due to their existence of military people used plow than
ownership of big tracts of organization and military hoe in food production.
lands. The peasants rank; (b) individual lives By the use of plow, it
workeed on the lands of and private possessions turns the topsoil deeper
the feudal lords with only are at the disposal of the allowing for better
few benefits received by State; and (c) individual aerating and dertilizing
them. However, these activities such as thus improving better
types of societies recreation, movements, yield when harvested.
collapsed due to the rise satisfaction of biological Irrigation farming was
of cities and metropolis needs, and production introduced which reulted
as a result of the rise of of goods are totally to a larger yield of
trades and industries. regulated by the State. production that can even
In other words, feed large number of
individuals exist to serve people who did not know
the State. how to produce food by
themselves.
5.Capitalists Societies – 5.Industrial Societies – 5.Industrial Societies -
These societies existed in These socities are These societies began in
societies where two characterized by the the 18th century during
classes of people following: (a) people elect the Industrial Revolution
appeared. The bourgeoise their representatives to and gained momentum
(property owners) who protect their individual by the turn of the 19th
owned the capital and initiatives; (b) freedom of century. This period is
the means of production belief, religion, characterized by the use
and the ploretariat (the production of industrial of machines as means of
laborers or workers) who goods exist; (c) disputes food production. Mass
are compelled to work for and grievances are production of guns,
the capitalists or sell settled through peaceful invention of steam
their small properties to arbitration; and (d) locomotives and large
the capitalists. business organizations production of steel, and

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 appear where cooperative well-coordinated labor
efforts between force took place. Thus,
management and labor the people began to be
are based on contractual highly skilled and highly
agreement. In other diversiifieed in their
words, individual occupation.
freedom, rights and
initiatives are being
protected.
6.Democratic 6.Post-Industrial 6.Post-Industrial
Societies – These Societies – These are Socieities or
societies are characterizzed by: (a) Information Societies –
characterized by free spread of computer Information and
enterprise where people machines and existence communication
are free to engage in any of information and technology is the
lawful business for profit communication; (b) hallmark of these modern
or gain. People had to inventions and socieities. These are
work on their own discoveries in medicines, characterized by the
livelihood accoeding to agriculture, business spread of computer
what the law mandates. whether in physical and technology, advances in
natural sciences this technology are made
emerged; and (c) by highly-trained
pollution, diseases, computer specialists who
calamities are prevalent work to increase the
as a result of the use of capabilities of computers
advanced technology. and internet. The use of
modern technology gave
rise to several
technological problems
such as pollution, lung
illness, skin problems
and other.

Dissolution of a Society

There are several ways by which a society is dissolved: (1) when the people
kill each other through civil revolution; (2) when an outside force exterminates the
members of the society; (3) when the members become apathetic among themselves
or have no more sense of belongingness; (4) when a small society is absorbed by a
stronger and larger society by means of conquest or territorial absorption; (5) when
an existing society is submerged in water killing all the people and other living
things in it; or (60 when the people living in such a society voluntarily attach
themselves to another existing society.

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 The Concept of Culture

Meaning and Nature of Culture

It was E.B. Taylor who conceptualized the definition of culture in 1860s.

According to him, culture is a complex whole which consist of knowledge, beliefs,
ideas, habits, attitudes, skills, abilities, values, norms, art, law, morals, customs,
traditions, feelings and other capabilities of man which are acquired, learned and
socially transmitted by man from one generation to another through language and
living together as members of the society (Arcinas, 2016).

Below are other definitions of culture as mentioned in the book of David and
Macaraeg (2010) entitled“ Socioloy: Exploring Society and Culture”:
 Culture is a historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in
symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic form
by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their
knowledge about and attitudes towards life. – Clifford Geertz
 Culture consists of learned systems of meaning, communicated by means
of natural language and other symbol systems, having representational,
directive, and affective functions, and capable of creating cultural entities
and particular senses of reality. – Roy D’Andrade
 Culture is an extrasomatic (nongenetic,nonbodily), temporal continuum
of things and events dependent upon symbols. Culture consists of tools,
implements, utensils, clothing, ornaments, customs, institutions, beliefs,
rituals, games, works of art, language, etc. – Leslie White
 Culture consists in the shared patterns of behavior and associated
meanings that people learn and participate in within the groups to which
they belong. – Whitten and Hunter
 A society’s culture consists of whatever it is one has to know or believe in
order to operate in a manner acceptable to its members. – Ward
Goodenough
 Culture is an instrumental reality, and apparatus for the satisfaction of
the biological and derived need”. It is the integral whole consisting of
implements in consumers’ goods, of constitutional characters for the
various social groupings, of human ideas and crafts, beliefs and
custom. – Malinowski
 Culture in general as a descriptive concept means the accumulated
treasury of human creation: books, paintings, buildings, and the like; the
knowledge of ways of adjusting to our surroundings, both human and
physical; language, customs, and systems of etiquette, ethics, religion
and morals that have been built up through the ages. – Kluckhohn and
Kelly
 Culture refers to that part of the total setting [of human existence] which
includes the material objects of human manufacture, techniques, social
orientations, points of view, and sanctioned ends that are the immediate

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 conditioning factors underlying behavior or in simple terms it is the “man
made part of the environmen. – Herskovits
 A culture is the total socially acquired life-way or life-style of a group of
people. It consists of the patterned, repetitive ways of thinking, feeling,
and acting that are characteristic of the members of a particular society
or segment of a society. – Harris
 The concept of culture as everything that people have, thinks, and does
as members of a society. This definition can be instructive because the
three verbs correspond to the three major components of culture. That is,
everything that people have refers to material possessions; everything
that people think refers to those things they carry around in their heads,
such as ideas, values, and attitudes; and everything that people do refers
to behavior patterns. Thus all cultures comprise (a) material objects, (b)
ideas, values, and attitudes, and (c) patterned ways of behaving. – Gary
Ferraro

In general, culture is a term used by social scientists, like anthropologists

and sociologists, to encompass all the facets of human experience that extend
beyond our physical fact. It simply refers to the way we understand ourselves both
as individuals and as members of society, and includes stories, religion, media,
rituals, and even language itself. Irrespective of the various definitions, conceptions
and approaches to the understanding of the concept of culture, it is however agreed
that culture is a way of life and morality is a part of culture. Practically all modern
definitions share key features.

Characteristics of Culture

From the Perspective of From the Perspective of

Sociologists) Anthropologists
1. Dynamic, flexible and adaptive 1. Learned
- Culture necessarily changes, and is - Culture is learned, as each person
changed by, a variety of interactions, must learn how to “be” a member of that
with individuals, media, and culture
technology, just to name a few. - Culture is acquired by being born into
- Cultures interact and change. Most a particular society in the process of
societies interact with other societies, enculturation. Through language, the
and as a consequence their cultures cultural traits of society are passed on to
interact that lead to exchanges of younger members in the process of
material (ex: tools and furniture) and growing up and through teaching.
non-material (ex: ideas and symbols) - Every human generation potentially
components of culture. can discover new things and invent
- All cultures change, or else, they better technologies. The new cultural
would have problems adjusting and skills and knowledge are added onto
adapting to changing environments. what was learned in previous
- Culture is adaptive and dynamic, generations.
once we recognize problems, culture
can adapt again, in a more positive
way, to find solutions.
- We need our cultural skills to stay
alive.

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2. Shared and maybe challenged 2. Symbolic
- (Given the reality of social - Culture is symbloic, as it based on the
differentiation), as we share culture manipulation of symbols
with others, we are able to act in a - Culture renders meaning to what
appropriate ways as well as predict people do. Beliefs, religion, rituals,
how others will act. Despite the myths, dances, performances, music,
shared nature of culture, that doesn’t artworks, sense of taste, education,
mean that culture is homogenous (the innovations, identity, ethnicity, and so
same). on are meaningful human expressions of
- It may be challenged by the presence what people do and how they act.
of other cultures and other social
forces in society like modernization,
industrialization, and globalization.
3. Learned through socialization or 3. Systemic and integrated
enculturation - Culture is systemic and integrated
- Culture is not biological, people do as the parts of culture work together in
not inherit it but learned as interact in an integrated whole.
society. Much of learning culture is - The systems of meanings and many
unconscious. People learn, absorb and other facets (sides) of culture such as
acquire culture from families, friends, kindred, religion, economic activities,
institutions, and the media. The inheritance, and political process, do
process of learning culture is not function in isolation but an
enculturation. integrated whole that makes society
work.
- These varying systems of meanings,
relations. And processes are shared
within a group of people rendering
culture bounded to those who seek a
sense of belonging to the same society.
4. Patterned social interactions 4. Shared
- Culture as a normative system has - Culture is shared, as it offers
the capacity to define and control all people ideas about behavior
human behaviors. - Since culture is shared within
- Norms (for example) are cultural exclusive domains of social relations,
expectations in terms of how one will societies operate differently from each
think, feel, or behave as set by one’s other leading for cultural variations.
culture. It sets the patterns in terms Even culture is bounded, it does not
of what is appropriate or mean that there are no variations in how
inappropriate in a given setting. people act and relate with each other
- Human interactions are guided by within a given system of their respective
some forms of standards and societies. On the contrary, the same
expectations which in the end society can be broadly diverse wherein
regularize it. people, for example, profess connections
to each other yet practice different
religion, values, or gender relations.
- Societies do not always exist
independently from each other.
5. Transmitted through socialization 5. Encompassing
or enculturation - Culture covers every feature of
- As we share our culture with others, humanity. Around the world, people as
we are able to pass it on to the new members of their own societies establish
members of society or the younger connections with each other and form
generation in different ways. relationship guided by their respective

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- In the process of socialization cultural practices and values.
/enculturation, we were able to teach - Edward Tylor defines culture as a
them about many things in life and complex whole which encompasses
equip them with the culturally beliefs, practices, traits, values,
acceptable ways of surviving, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts,
competing, and making meaningful symbols, knowledge, and everything that
interaction with others in society. a person learns and shares as a member
of society (David and Macaraeg, 2010).
6. Requires language and other forms
of communication
- In the process of learning and
transmitting culture, symbols and
language are needed to communicate
with others in society (Arcinas, 2016).

Importance/Functions of Culture
Sociologists recognize and regard culture as one of the most important
concepts within sociology because it plays a vital role in our social lives. It is
essential for shaping social relationships, maintaining and challenging social order,
determining how we make sense of the world and our place in it, and in shaping
our everyday actions and experiences in society. Moreover, culture is important to
sociologists because it plays a significant and important role in the production of
social order. The social order refers to the stability of society based on the collective
agreement to rules and norms that allow us to cooperate, function as a society, and
live together (ideally) in peace and harmony (Cole, 2019).

In the book of (David and Macaraeg, 2010), the following functions of culture
were given emphasis: (1) it serves as the “trademark” of the people in the society; (2)
it gives meaning and direction to one’s existence; (3) it promotes meaning to
individual’s existence; (4) it predicts social behavior; (5) it unifies diverse behavior;
(6) it provides social solidarity; (7) it establishes social personality; (8) it provides
systematic behavioral pattern; (9) it provides social structure category; (10) it
maintains the biologic functioning of the group; (11) it offers ready-made solutions
to man’s material and immaterial problems; and (12) it develops man’s attitude and
values and gives him a conscience.

Elements of Culture

1. Symbols refers to anything that is used to stand for something else. It is

anything that gives meaning to the culture. People who share a culture often
attach a specific meaning to an object, gesture, sound, or image. An example
of which are the feasts we are celebrating. Those particular events give a
representation of a particular culture. Even the meanings we provide to
things such as colors and graphic symbols provide understanding which is
common to a certain group of people (David and Macaraeg, 2010). For
instance, a cross is a significant symbol to Christians. It is not simply two
pieces of wood attached to each other, nor is it just an old object of torture
and execution. To Christians, it represents the basis of their entire religion,
and they have great reverence for the symbol.

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2. Language is known as the storehouse of culture ( Arcinas, 2016). It system
of words and symbols used to communicate with other people. We have a lot
of dialects in the Phillipines that provide a means of understanding. Through
these, culture is hereby transmitted to future generation through learning
(David and Macaraeg, 2010).
3. Technology refers to the application of knowledge and equipment to ease
the task of living and maintaining the environment; it includes artifacts,
methods and devices created and used by people (Arcinas, 2016).
4. Values are culturally defined standards for what is good or desirable. Values
determine how individuals will probably respond in any given circumstances.
Members of the culture use the shared system of values to decide what is
good and what is bad. This also refers to the abstract concept of what is
important and worthwhile (Davidand Macaraeg, 2010). What is considered
as good, proper and desirable, or bad, improper or undesirable, in a culture
can be called as values (Arcinas, 2016). It influence people’s behavior and
serve as a benchmark for evaluating the actions of others. Majority of
Philippine population is bonded together by common values and traits that
are first taught at home and being applied in our day to day lives. Filipinos
are known for the following values: (a) compassionate; (b) spirit of kinship
and camaraderie; (c) hardwork and industry; (d) ability to survive; (e) faith
and religiosity; (f) flexibility, adaptability and creativity; (g) joy and humor; (h)
family orientation; (i) hospitality; and (j) pakikipagkapwa-tao.
5. Beliefs refers to the faith of an individual ( David and Macaraeg, 2010). They
are conceptions or ideas of people have about what is true in the
environment around them like what is life, how to value it and how one’s
belied on the value of life relate with his or her interaction with others and
the world. These maybe based on common sense, folk wisdom, religion,
science or a combination of all of these (Arcinas, 2016).
6. Norms are specific rules/standards to guide for appropriate behavior
(Arcinas, 2016). These are societal expectations that mandate specific
behaviors in specific situations (David and Macaraeg, 2010). Like in school,
we are expected to behave in a particular way. If violate norms, we look
different. Thus, we can be called as social deviants. For example, Filipino
males are expected to wear pants, not skirts and females are expected to
have a long hair not a short one like that of males. Social norms are indeed
very essential in understanding the nature of man’s social relationship. They
are of different types and forms According to Palispis (2007), as mention by
Baleña (2016), in the social interaction process, each member possesses
certain expectations about the responses of another member. Therefore, it is
very important to determine the different forms of societal norms.

Types:
a. Proscriptive norm defines and tells us things not to do
b. Prescriptive norm defines and tells us things to do

Forms:
a. Folkways are also known as customs (customary/repetitive
ways of doing things); they are forms of norms for everyday
behavior that people follow for the sake of tradition or
convenience. Breaking them does not usually have serious

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 consequences. We have certain customs that were passed on
by our forebears that make up a large part of our day to day
existence and we do not question their practicality. Since they
are being practiced, it is expected that we do them also. For
example, we Filipinos eat with our bear hands.
b. Mores are strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior;
they are based on definitions of right and wrong (Arcinas, 2016).
They are norms also but with moral understones (David and
Macaraeg, 2010). For example, since our country Philippines is
a Christian nation, we are expected to practice monogamous
marriage. So if a person who has two or more partners is
looked upon as immoral. Polygamy is considered taboo in
Philippine society.
c. Laws are controlled ethics and they are morally agreed, written
down and enforced by an official law enforcement agency
(Arcinas, 2016). They are institutionalized norms and mores
that were enacted by the state to ensure stricter punishment in
order for the people to adhere to the standards set by society
(David and Macaraeg, 2010).

Two Components of Culture

Sociologists describe two interrelated aspects of human culture: the physical
objects of the culture (material culture) and the ideas associated with these objects
(non-material culture).
1. Material culture consists of tangible things (Banaag, 2012). It refers to the
physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their
culture. These include homes, neighborhoods, cities, schools, churches,
synagogues, temples, mosques, offices, factories and plants, tools, means of
production, goods and products, stores, and so forth. All of these physical
aspects of a culture help to define its members' behaviors and perceptions.
Everything that is created, produced, changed and utilized by men is
included in the material culture (Arcinas, 2016).
2. Non-material culture consists of intangible things (Banaag, 2012).
Non‐material culture refers to the nonphysical ideas that people have about
their culture, including beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language,
organizations, and institutions. For instance, the non‐material cultural
concept of religion consists of a set of ideas and beliefs about God, worship,
morals, and ethics. These beliefs, then, determine how the culture responds
to its religious topics, issues, and events. When considering non‐material
culture, sociologists refer to several processes that a culture uses to shape
its members' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Four of the most important
of these are symbols, language, values, and norms. Non-material culture can
be categorized into cognitive and normative culture. The former includes
ideas, concepts, philosophies, designs etc. that are product of mental or
intellectual functioning and reasoning of the human mind. Whereas, the
latter includes all expectations, standards and rules for human behaviour
(Arcinas, 2016).

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Modes of Acquiring Culture

1. Imitation - Children and adults alike have the tendency to imitate the
values, attitudes, language and all other things in their social environment.
Some of those things imitated are internalized in their personality and
become a part of their attitude, character and other behavioral patterns.
2. Indoctrination or Suggestion - This may take the form of formal training or
informal teaching. Formally, the person learns from school. Informally, he
may acquire those behaviors from listening or watching, reading, attending
training activities or through interaction.
3. Conditioning - The values, beliefs, and attitudes of other people are
acquired through conditioning. This conditioning can be reinforced through
reward and punishment.

Adaptation of Culture

1. Parallelism means that the same culture may take place in two or more
different places.
Example: The domestication of dogs, cats, pigs and other animals
may have semblance in other places
2. Diffusion refers to those behavioral patterns that pass back and forth from
one culture to another. This is the transfer or spread of culture traits from
one another brought about by change agents such as people or media
Examples: food and eating practices, marriage and wedding
ceremonies, burial rituals, feast celebrations
3. Convergence takes place when two or more cultures are fused or merged
into one culture making it different from the original culture.
4. Fission takes place when people break away from their original culture and
start developing a different culture of their own.
5. Acculturation refers to the process wherein individuals incorporate the
behavioral patterns of other cultures into their own either voluntarily or by
force. Voluntary acculturation occurs through imitation, borrowing, or
personal contact with other people.
6. Assimilation occurs when the culture of a larger society is adopted by a
smaller society, that smaller society assumes some of the culture of the
larger society or cost society.
7. Accommodation occurs when the larger society and smaller society are able
to respect and tolerate each other’s culture even if there is already a
prolonged contact of each other’s culture.

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Causes of Cultural Change

1. Discovery is the process of finding a new place or an object, artefact or

anything that previously existed. For example, the discovery of fire led to the
art of cooking; discovery of oil, of organisms and substances; of diseases; of
atoms and sources of energy.
2. Invention implies a creative mental process of devising, creating and
producing something new, novel or original; and also the utilization and
combination of previously known elements to produce that an original or
novel product. It could be either social or material or it could also be
invention of new methods or techniques.
Example of social invention: invention of number system, government,
language, democracy, religion, and alphabet
Example of Material Invention: invention of the wheel, machines
3. Diffusion is 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. It involves the following
social processes:
a. Acculturation – cultural borrowing and cultural imitation
Example: The Filipinos are said to be the best English-
speaking people of Asia.
b. Assimilation – the blending or fusion of two distinct cultures through
long periods of interaction
Example: Americanization of Filipino immigrants to the US
c. Amalgamation – the biological or hereditary fusion of members of
different societies
Example: Marriage between a Filipino and an American
d. Enculturation – the deliberate infusion of a new culture to another
Example: The teaching of American history and culture to the
Filipinos during the early American Regime
4. Colonization refers to the political, social, and political policy of establishing
a colony which would be subject to the rule or governance of the colonizing
state. For example, the Hispanization of Filipino culture when the Spaniards
came and conquered the Philippines.
5. Rebellon and revolutionary movements aim to change the whole social
order and replace the leadership. The challenge the existing folkways and
mores, and propose a new scheme of norms, values and organization

Ethnocentrism, Xenocentrism and Cultural Relativism as Orientations

in Viewing Other Cultures

Cultural variation is the differences in social behaviors that different

cultures exhbit around the world. What may be considered good etiquette in one
culture may be considered bad etiquette in another. In relation to this, there are
important perceptions on cultural variability: ethnocentrism, xenocentrism and
cultural relativism.

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 Etnocentrism is a perception that arises from the fact that cultures differ
and each culture defines reality differently. This happens when judging another
culture solely by the values and standards of one’s own culture (Baleña, et.al,2016).
This is the tendency to see and evaluate other cultures in terms of one’s own race,
nation or culture. This is the feeling or belief that one’s culture is better than the
rest. Whereas, xenocentrism is the opposite of ethnocentrism, the belief that one’s
culture is inferior compared to others. People are highly influenced by the culture
or many culture outside the realm of their society. This could be one of the effects
of globalization. Exposure to cultural practices of others may make one individual
or group of individuals to give preference to the ideas, lifestyle and products of of
other culture.

Cultural relativism is an attempt to judge behavior according to its cultural

context (Baleña, et.al,2016). It is a principle that an individual person’s beliefs and
activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual’s own culture.
This concept emphasizes the perspective that no culture is superior to any other
culture (Arcinas, 2016) because (a) different socieities have different moral code; (b)
the moral code of a society determines what is right or wrong within the society; (c)
there are no moral truths that hold for all people at all times; (d) the moral code of
our own society has no special status, it is but one among many; and (e) it is
arrogant for us to judge other cultures, so we have to be tolerant to them.

Other Important Terms Related to Culture

1. Cultural diversity refers the differentiation of culture all over the world
which means there is no right or wrong culture but there is appropriate
culture for the need of a specific group of people.
2. Sub-culture refers to a smaller group within a larger culture.
3. Counterculture refers cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely
accepted within a society (example in the 1960”s counter culture among
teenagers reflect long hair, blue jeans, peace sign, rock and roll music and
drug abuse).
4. Culture lag is experienced when some parts of the society do not change as
fast as with other parts and they are left behind
5. Culture shock is the inability to read meaning in one’s surroundings, feeling
of lost and isolation, unsure to act as a consequence of being outside the
symbolic web of culture that binds others.
6. Ideal culture refers to the social patterns mandated by cultural values and
norms.
7. Real culture refers to the actual patterns that only approximate cultural
expectations.
8. High culture refers to the cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite
9. Popular culture refers to the cultural patterns that are widespread among a
society’s population.
10.Culture change is the manner by which culture evolves.

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References
Books
Arcinas, Myla M. (2016). Understanding Culture, Society and Politics. The Padayon
Series. Quezon City, Philippines: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.
Ariola, Mariano M. (2012). Sociology and Anthropology with Family Planning.
Manila, Philippines: Purely Books Trading and Publishing Corp.
Baleña, Ederlinda D. et.al. ((2016). Understanding Culture, Society and Politics for
Senior High School. Quezon City, Philippines: Educational Resource
Corporation
Banaag, Lee Mark T. (2012). Socio-Anthro: An Integrated and Interdisciplinary
Approach to the Study of Society and Culture. Mandaluyong City: Books atbp.
Cole, Nicki L. (2019). So What Is Culture, Exactly? retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/culture-definition-4135409

David, M.D. and Macaraeg, A.M. (2010). Sociology:Exploring Societ and Culture.
Bulacan, Philippines: TCS Publishing House
Francisco, P. S. and Francisco, V.J. (2016). Introduction to Philippine Politics and
Government. Manila, Philippines: Midshapers Company Incorporated
Palispis, Epitacio S. (2007). Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology. Quezon
City: Ken Incorporated

Online Resources
https://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/society-and-culture/section5/
http://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/41246/1/Unit-1.pdf
https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/40402_3.pdf
https://open.lib.umn.edu/sociology/chapter/3-2-the-elements-of-culture/
https://open.lib.umn.edu/sociology/chapter/3-2-the-elements-of-culture/
https://www.iedunote.com/culture
https://chaerlshelly.wordpress.com
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/culture-and-societies
http://izquotes.com/quotes/310912
http://slideshare.com/slide/2315552/
www.ask.com

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