Week 4-2

Basic Elements of Culture
 There are some basic Cultural Elements given below:

I. Language
II. Symbols
III. Norms
IV. Values
V. Beliefs
VI. Cognitive Elements
Values
 Values are abstract concepts that certain kinds of behaviours are
good, right, ethical, moral and therefore desirable.
 Cultural values are the core principles and ideals upon which an
entire community exists and protect and rely upon for existence and
harmonious relationship.
 It is the measure of goodness and desirability.
 They are often referred to as higher-order norms.
 Anything getting importance in our daily life becomes our values.
 The origin of values is not biological but it is social production while
living in society the values develop. (sacred & profane)
 Values depend upon the culture.
 Culture varies from society to society and thus values are
different in every social situation.
 Some values are hereditary which we gain from our elders, books
and parents.
 Values are what we like and what we say well in our society
 values are the idea and thinking of a person.
 The culture is full of values and can may transmit from one
generation to another.
 E.g. cultural dress, Honour to national flag and anthem, Tenets of
Islam, Temple, faith in Islam, Safety of life, Respect for parents,
Teacher and religious leaders, Truth, Wearing national dress,
respect the holy Quran, Iphone value, etc.
Beliefs
 Beliefs are shared ideas held collectively by people within a given culture
about what is true.
 a feeling of being sure that a person or thing exists or is true or
trustworthy
 trust, faith, or confidence on something or about someone
 Shared beliefs are part of what binds people together in society.
 Every sect within a culture has some beliefs
 These beliefs are responsible for the spiritual fulfilment of needs and want.
 Beliefs are the basis for many norms and values of a given culture.
 Muslims believe in God, the Holly Prophet, The Day of Judgment, the
recitation of the Holly Quran, Hajj, etc.
 Sikhs wear a bangle in one hand, a turban bearing a long beard, keeping a
dagger.
 Cross for Christians and a necklace or a cotton thread around nick,
 the water of Ganga and are sacred for Hindus.
 Ajmer sharif visit for success in Indian society .
Cognitive Elements
 Cognitive elements of culture are those through which an

individual knows how to cope with an existing social situation.
 How to survive, how to make a shelter from storms and other
natural calamities etc. are the practical knowledge that makes a
culture.
 Such knowledge is carefully taught to every generation.
Material Culture
 Material culture refers to the physical objects and resources

that people use to define their culture.
 Material culture consists man made objects, such as tools,
furniture, automobile, buildings, currency system, homes,
neighborhoods, cities, schools, churches, temples, mosques,
offices etc. which has been changed and used by people.
 These physical aspects of a culture help to define its members'
behaviors and perceptions.
 For example, technology is a vital aspect of material culture in
today's era. So students must learn to use modern technology
to survive in college and business
Non-Material Culture
 Refers to the nonphysical ideas that people have about their

culture, including beliefs, values, 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.
 The term culture when used in an ordinary sense means
nonmaterial culture, including words people use, and the ideas,
and beliefs they hold.
Ideal culture & Real culture
 Ideal culture includes the values and norms that culture claims to
have.
 It involves an idealized, uncompromising value system that dictates
perfect behaviour.
 Using ideal culture as a standard, you are either right or wrong.
 It is the goal of the society
 For E.g. Islam is our ideal one.
We May claim to be true Muslims and this claim is our ideal
culture but how far we are Muslims in practice is our real culture.
Real culture
 Real culture, on the other hand, includes the values and norms
that are actually followed by a culture.
 It involves an adaptable value system that is used mostly as a
set of guidelines for preferred behaviour.
 Right and wrong are separated, but exceptions exist for pretty
much everything.
 We act upon on culture in our social life is real, its part which
the people adopt in their social life is their real one.

Week 4-2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Week 4-2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Week 4-2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Basic Elements of Culture

 There are some basic Cultural Elements given below:

 Cognitive elements of culture are those through which an

 Material culture refers to the physical objects and resources

 Refers to the nonphysical ideas that people have about their

You might also like