What is Cultural Transmission?

Cultural transmission is the way a person learns about a new culture by engaging
and immersing themselves in the culture and people around them. Another term for
this is cultural learning. Cultural transmission refers to the way a person learns about
the social behaviors that make up a particular society.
Cultural transmission also refers to the process by which the concepts from one
culture are passed down from generation to generation. This valuable information can
also be passed cross-culturally. The cultural transmission process is constantly
occurring as people mingle with each other, picking up cultural cues from their
interactions, and it can also be applied to sub-cultures within a larger society. A
person can remain within a larger culture and choose to learn about a smaller sub-
population of people.
Three types of Cultural Transmission: ( provide ug example each)
 Vertical cultural transmission occurs when individuals learn from their parents.
 Oblique cultural transmission occurs when individuals learn from other (non-
parental) members of the older generation, such as teachers.
 Horizontal cultural transmission occurs when individuals learn from members of
the same generation.
For further reading: https://acerbialberto.com/IBM-cultevo/vertical-and-horizontal-
transmission.html

Social behaviors dictate what is expected of a person and how to interact with other
people. How people talk to each other, as well as the customs and traditions that are
important in a particular area, all result from social behaviors.

Enculturation is the process by which people receive information about their own
culture. The media is a popular way by which people learn about the culture around
them, and social media is increasingly becoming popular as well. The process of
enculturation results in intercultural competence, which is the main goal of cultural
transmission.
Intercultural competence is when a person can successfully communicate across
cultures in accordance with their beliefs and behaviors. The person is free from
stereotypes and prejudices, and understands what is important to different groups of
people. Intercultural competence produces a more cohesive, peaceful society overall.

For further reading: https://study.com/academy/lesson/cultural-transmission-

definition-theory.html

What is the importance of cultural transmission?

The importance of cultural transmission lies in intercultural competence, which is
when a person can successfully communicate across cultures in accordance to their
beliefs and behaviors. The person is free from stereotypes and prejudices, and
understands what is important to different groups of people.

Dilemma of Cultural Transmission:

The fundamental problem of the 21st century is that in the modern civilization "the
transmission of values is not stable." There is nothing, except for the natural sense of
justice and some legal traditions, which would exercise selective power on social
behavior. At a critical time in 1949 Albert Szent-Györgyi drew the attention to the
fact that "education is one of the most important activities of mankind." "Why do they
question this in the 21st century?" We might assume that the reason is basically the
"loss of values" which goes together with the successes reached through superficial
knowledge; as well as "the lack of the measure, the morality, the attitude to be
followed; the appreciation of the European and typically Hungarian cultural heritages;
and cultural transmission." Education science has an important role in the recreation
of culture. In the first half of the 20th century new pedagogical trends appeared and
evolved in Europe and the United States. Their comparative evaluation could be
helpful at the free choice of high standards.