CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

CARMEN CAMPUS
CARMEN, CEBU

PRESENTED BY:

MS. KATHLEA JANE B. ORMOC

PRESENTED TO:

PROF. SERVANDO V. BERNANTE

Cultural values

Cultural values: Groups, societies, or cultures have values that are largely shared by
their members. The values identify those objects, conditions or characteristics that
members of the society consider important; that is, valuable. In the United States, for
example, values might include religion, extended family, children, education,
community, friendship, and collectivism.
The values of a society can often be identified by noting which people receive honor or
respect. Values are related to the norms of a culture, but they are more general and
abstract than norms. Norms are rules for behavior in specific situations, while values
identify what should be judged as good or bad. Flying the national flag on a holiday is a
norm, but it reflects the value of patriotism. They reflect the values of respect and
support of friends and family.
Members take part in a culture even if each member's personal values do not entirely
agree with some of the normative values sanctioned in the culture. This reflects an
individual's ability to synthesize and extract aspects valuable to them from the multiple
subcultures they belong to.

Think about your favorite family or religious celebration. Chances are that your traditions are
directly connected to the cultural values that your community has been passing down for
generations.

What Are Cultural Values?

 A hungry Hindu man will let himself starve rather than slaughter and eat a cow, despite
the fact that there are old cows roaming all over his village, blocking the streets for cars
to pass. To the average adult American man, who eats over 50 pounds of beef each
year, this seems illogical. If you have been hungry for months, then you should eat the
cow! There are old cows roaming all over India, no one else owns the cows, and you
know how to slaughter a cow! What's stopping the Hindu man from killing the cow?

Sacred Cows Blocking Traffic

The answer to that question is simple, if you understand his cultural values. The Hindus, who
make up over 80% of India's population, believe that cows are sacred and should not be
slaughtered. From the outside, a group's cultural values are often difficult to understand. For
members inside the group, cultural values are the core principles and ideals upon which the
entire community exists.

Values, Customs, and Culture

While the terms 'culture,' 'values,' and 'customs' are often used interchangeably, each is
actually a distinct piece of the bigger picture. A custom is a ritual or other tradition that is an
outward sign of the group's cultural values. The group's values aren't always obvious right away
- they run deep! Cultural values can be pieced together by observing the various customs that
the people have passed down for generations. Culture is defined as all of a group's guiding
values and outward signs and symbols taken together as one big whole.

 In our example, the cultural value that the Hindu man believes is to respect your
ancestors and your gods. One of the customs that acts as an outward sign of this value is
to allow cows to have a natural death, rather than slaughtering them. This custom,
taken with all of the other customs that his community practices, represents a larger
picture of Hindu culture.

Do Cultural Values Change?

 Culture adapts and evolves along with the group members' needs, wants, and
opportunities. Change can be the result of the group moving to a new geographic
location or simply be due to the passage of time. Technological advances have
commonly been the driving forces behind changes in daily practices, shifting the
framework inside which humans operate.

Historically, many cultural values changed in response to the Agricultural Revolution, when
human groups became sedentary farmers, and the Industrial Revolution, when we moved from
the farm to the city.