Fabillar, Ma. Melissa S.

MWF 1300-1400
December 2, 2016 Prof. Maria Filipinas Loquellano

Culture
It 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.

Components and characteristic

Components
o Symbols may be either physical or non-physical. A flag is an example
of a physical symbol, and bows and curtsies are examples of non-
physical symbols.
o Language is used for communication. It can be written or spoken. Even
when a culture uses the same basic language as another culture,
differences in terminology and inflection create new meanings.
o Values help define acceptable behavior within the society. Values can
be different for each group to which a person belongs. For example, it
may be acceptable in the family group to eat certain foods that are not
accepted within the religious group a person chooses.
o Beliefs fulfill the spiritual needs of a culture. A whole culture can be
based on one set of beliefs, yet a larger cultural group may have many
different sets of beliefs.
o Norms are the rules, mores and traditions within a culture. As a group
develops laws and regulations, norms change. A law that was
necessary 100 years ago may not be needed in modern times.
Technological advances also change the way cultures behave. Traditions are norms
that a culture holds onto once the norms are no longer common. Wearing certain
clothing for a holiday is an example of a norm that has become a tradition.

Characteristic
o Culture is learned. It is not biological; we do not inherit it. Much of
learning culture is unconscious. We learn culture from families, peers,
institutions, and media. The process of learning culture is known as
enculturation. While all humans have basic biological needs such as
food, sleep, and sex, the way we fulfill those needs varies cross-
culturally.
o Culture is shared. Because we share culture with other members of
our group, we are able to act in socially appropriate ways as well as
predict how others will act. Despite the shared nature of culture, that
Fabillar, Ma. Melissa S. MWF 1300-1400
December 2, 2016 Prof. Maria Filipinas Loquellano

doesnt mean that culture is homogenous (the same). The multiple

cultural worlds that exist in any society are discussed in detail below.
o Culture is based on symbols. A symbol is something that stands for
something else. Symbols vary cross-culturally and are arbitrary. They
only have meaning when people in a culture agree on their use.
Language, money and art are all symbols. Language is the most
important symbolic component of culture.
o Culture is integrated. This is known as holism, or the various parts of a
culture being interconnected. All aspects of a culture are related to one
another and to truly understand a culture, one must learn about all of
its parts, not only a few.
o Culture is dynamic. This simply means that cultures interact and
change. Because most cultures are in contact with other cultures, they
exchange ideas and symbols. All cultures change, otherwise, they
would have problems adapting to changing environments. And
because cultures are integrated, if one component in the system
changes, it is likely that the entire system must adjust.

Ethnocentrism, xenocentrism and cultural relativism

o Ethnocentrism is the consequence of ones tendency to perceive and
judge others, according to ones cultural standards. In other words,
ones culture is used as a yardstick in all our judgement of the behavior
of others in other social context. For example, an Asian tourist might
see nude bathing as disturbing while this will be a normal behavior for
a European. Likewise the latter might perceives eating with bare hands
as unhygienic. Ethnocentrism has its positive sides in the sense that it
creates in group loyalties, but on the other hand, it can lead to harmful
discrimination against people whose ways of life differ.
o Xenocentrism indicates a preference for the products, styles, or ideas
of someone else's culture rather than of one's own.
o Cultural relativism, that is, we try to understand others culture from the
perspectives of their culture and not ours. Cultural relativism is a
challenge to ordinary thinking. For instance, instead of looking at
bullfighting as dangerous or unethical, one can look at it in the context
of its own culture, the history of the game, the folklore, and ideas of
bravery and so on.

Philippine values
Filipino values are apparent in the traits of risk-taking, social responsibility
and entrepreneurship as well as a strong sense of family. The Filipinos place
immense value on the family and the community.
Filipino culture values a structured way of life and a strong sense of
community, as opposed to the Western ideal of individuality. Filipinos are
therefore more dependent and less autonomous. They see themselves as a self
within the family, and that is where their self-concept lies. Filipinos believe that
any personal successes are family successes and any personal failings are
Fabillar, Ma. Melissa S. MWF 1300-1400
December 2, 2016 Prof. Maria Filipinas Loquellano

family failings. The elementary family consists of the mother, father and the
children, while the bilateral extended family includes the relatives of both the
mother and the father.
Women in the Philippines hold a high status and are the equals of the men in
the family. They can drive, walk alone and earn money on their own. The
Filipinos value equality for all. They love to give and attend parties for every
event in the family, such as the baptism of an infant, a job promotion or passing
of a government exam. Filipino values all stem from the sense of family that is
imperative to the cultural fabric of the nation. This promotes a generosity of spirit
and a warmth in the country.

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/culture-and-
societies/culture-and-society-defined
https://www.reference.com/world-view/five-components-culture-
51a045ab4e1d4467#
http://home.earthlink.net/~youngturck/Chapter8.htm
http://vcampus.uom.ac.mu/soci1101/223_ethnocentrism_and_cultural_relativi
sm.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenocentrism
https://www.reference.com/world-view/filipino-values-3e2b9531625d8ca1