Elements of Culture

Culture, society, and politics are all related to each other because they all affect each other.
There are a lot of people who believe that culture and politics are the same thing, but they
are different. Culture is an act of personal expression through various forms, such as art,
dance, clothing, and architecture. Society is the structured relationship between people,
based on the commonality of their needs and interests. Politics is the study or practice of
the distribution of power and resources within a given community. Culture, society, and
politics are all related in our daily lives because we as humans have to deal with these issues
on a day to day basis.
 The major elements of culture are symbols, language, norms, values, and artifacts.
 Language makes effective social interaction possible and influences how people conceive of
concepts and objects.
 Major values that distinguish the United States include individualism, competition, and a
commitment to the work ethic.
 The Elements of Culture

Culture was defined earlier as the symbols, language, beliefs, values, and artifacts
that are part of any society.
As this definition suggests, there are two basic components of culture: ideas and
symbols on the one hand and artifacts (material objects) on the other. The first type,
called nonmaterial culture, includes the values, beliefs, symbols, and language that
define a society. The second type, called material culture, includes all the society’s
physical objects, such as its tools and technology, clothing, eating utensils, and
means of transportation. These elements of culture are discussed next.
Symbols
Every culture is filled with symbols, or things that stand for something else and that
often evoke various reactions and emotions. Some symbols are actually types of
nonverbal communication, while other symbols are in fact material objects.
These symbolic interactions and perspective emphasizes, shared symbols make

social interaction possible.
Language
Perhaps our most important set of symbols is language. In English, the word chair means
something we sit on. In Spanish, the word silla means the same thing. As long as we agree how
to interpret these words, a shared language and thus society are possible.
Norms
Cultures differ widely in their norms, or standards and expectations for behaving. We already
saw that the nature of drunken behavior depends on society’s expectations of how people should
behave when drunk. Norms of drunken behavior influence how we behave when we drink too
much.
Norms are often divided into two types, formal norms and informal norms. Formal norms, also
called mores (MOOR-ayz) and laws, refer to the standards of behavior considered the most
important in any society.
Rituals
Different cultures also have different rituals, or established procedures and ceremonies that often
mark transitions in the life course. As such, rituals both reflect and transmit a culture’s norms
and other elements from one generation to the next. Graduation ceremonies in colleges and
universities are familiar examples of time-honored rituals. In many societies, rituals help signify
one’s gender identity.
Changing Norms and Beliefs
Our examples show that different cultures have different norms, even if they share other types of
practices and beliefs. It is also true that norms change over time within a given culture. Two
obvious examples here are hairstyles and clothing styles.
Values
Values are another important element of culture and involve judgments of what is good or bad
and desirable or undesirable. A culture’s values shape its norms. In Japan, for example, a central
value is group harmony. The Japanese place great emphasis on harmonious social relationships
and dislike interpersonal conflict.
The Work Ethic
Another important value in the American culture is the work ethic. By the 19th century,
Americans had come to view hard work not just as something that had to be done but as
something that was morally good to do (Gini, 2000).
Artifacts
The last element of culture is the artifacts, or material objects, that constitute a society’s material
culture. In the most simple societies, artifacts are largely limited to a few tools, the huts people
live in, and the clothing they wear.
Culture
1. Culture determines, how we see things.

2. Culture decides, how we react to people actions.
3. Culture we grow up teaches how we respect others.
Politics
1. Politics decides what we consume on daily life indirectly.

2. Politics decides what kind of safe environment we have to live.
3. Politics decides how much we are supposed to earn, save or spend to an large
extend.
Society
1. Society play a large role, what kind of person we are going to be.
2. Society helps us to know new things which we are not aware of.

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Culture, society, and politics are all related to each other because they all affect each other.

 The Elements of Culture

These symbolic interactions and perspective emphasizes, shared symbols make

Changing Norms and Beliefs

The Work Ethic

1. Culture determines, how we see things.

1. Politics decides what we consume on daily life indirectly.

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