ASPECTS OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY III

(Patterned Social Interaction, Integrated and at Times Unstable,

Requires Language, and other Forms of Communication)

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 explain the different patterns of social interaction,
 identify aspects of culture and society,
 prove that culture is a patterned social interaction, integrated and unstable, and requires
language for social interaction, and
 raise questions toward a holistic appreciation of cultures and societies.

How are your interactions influenced by culture?

Aspects of Culture
Culture is dynamic, flexible, and adaptive, may be shared and contested, and
transmitted through socialization and enculturation.

Dynamic, Flexible, and Adaptive

Culture constantly changes and adapts to the current state of society. It continuously
restores itself whenever customs do not fit in the current situation anymore. It does not remain
stagnant.

Shared and Contested

Culture is learned and acquired through different interactions with people. Culture is a
shared learning experience. Because culture constantly changes, we get to share the learning
process with other people. However, culture is also contested in different ways and situations.
Because of diversity, culture is always subjected to debate and analysis.

Learned through Socialization or Enculturation

Socialization is an ongoing process of learning languages, behaviors, customs, values,
norms, and others to acquire a personal identity. It helps us learn the culture. Socialization also
teaches us how to interact with other people and helps us develop the behaviors that we think
are inborn or part of human nature.

Transmitted through Socialization or Enculturation

Culture can also be transmitted from one person to another and even from one society
to another. One example of this at the micro level is the transmission of an old family recipe
from one generation to the next. This can be done through both socialization and enculturation.

Aspects of Culture
We have learned that culture is dynamic, flexible, and adaptive, shared and contested in
various ways and situations, and learned and transmitted through socialization or enculturation.

Let us continue to identify some aspects of culture.

PATTERNED SOCIAL INTERACTION

Socialization helps us acquire both good and bad parts of our culture. How do we identify
the good and the bad?

There are five patterns of social interaction exchange, cooperation, competition, conflict, and
coercion.

Exchange
Exchange or social exchange is the expectation that whenever we do something good,
we will receive something good in return (Thompson and Hickey, 2005, p.129). It is the
most basic pattern of socialization.

Example: You help your mother wash the dishes so that she will let you come to your
friend's sleepover.
Handout in Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics
 Cooperation
Cooperation is when people or groups of people work together to achieve a common
goal. Cooperation is considered to be essential for human survival because, without
cooperation, social life would be unmanageable (Thompson and Hickey, 2005, p.129).

Example: A husband and a wife should cooperate in raising their children. Without it,
their children will not grow up the way they want them to.

There are also negative social interactions that are necessary in order to develop and sharpen
behavior and culture.

Competition
Competition may be viewed as the opposite of cooperation. Instead of working together
towards a common goal, competing individuals or groups battle to achieve the target
that only one can have (Thompson and Hickey, 2005, p.129).

Example: You studied and practiced hard and eventually won. Even if you had lost, at
least you were still able got to enhance your spelling skills.

Conflict
Conflict arises when people disobey rules, control a person by force, or hurt other
people just to achieve their goals. However, conflict is not always considered bad. The
existence of a conflict can strengthens the unity within a group because it is threatened
by an external factor (Thompson and Hickey, 2005, p.129).

Example: You and your sibling fight over the TV almost every night, but when conflict
arises between you and your parents, you and your sibling team up.

Coercion
Coercion happens when there is a use of threat or force in persuading others. People
usually coerce other people when they cannot achieve their goals on their own.

Example: You force your brother to do your chores by threatening him that you will tell
your mother that he failed his exam.

REQUIRES LANGUAGE FOR SOCIAL INTERACTION

In every interaction, language is the most important tool that is always used.
 Language is the transporter of a large part of our culture because some parts of our
culture are passed on through our mouths. There are no written records (Young, 1930).
 We can do social interaction through the use of language.
 Language is not only restricted to verbal language. It is also used in non-verbal
communication or body language during interaction. For example, our first interaction
with a friend is usually with a smile. This shows that language, whether verbal or non-
verbal, can help us learn and acquire culture.

INTEGRATED AND AT TIMES UNSTABLE

The patterns of social interaction are connected to each other and may change from time
to time. The type of our social interaction may change. A simple social exchange may lead to
cooperation. A small competition may result in a big conflict.

Example: You and your sibling fight over little things almost every day. When you came to
school the next day, you saw your sibling being bullied by his classmates. You immediately
came to his aid, supported each other, and stopped the bullies. This scenario shows that even if
you and your sibling fight almost every day, you will still opt to unite in times of need.

Social interaction is a part of our everyday lives. Observe your activities for the day. You
will notice that in everything that you do, you get to interact with another person. Your
interaction varies from day to day. This shows how the patterns of social interaction are
integrated or connected with each other.

Handout in Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

Try it!
Try staging a little competition among you and your friends. Observe everyone's
behavior while the game is ongoing. Also see if alliances will be formed along the way or the
initial competition will turn into cooperation or conflict.

What do you think?

How will culture prosper if language will cease to exist?

Tips
 Social exchange as a pattern of social interaction is not always active. Sometimes, when
we do harm to others, we already anticipate that they will do something wrong to us in
return.
 Competition is not always negative as well. There are also good games that push us to
do our best to win and, in the process, enhance our skills.
 Conflict may result in hostility between the conflicting parties but may lead to unity and
cooperation among the members of the same group.
 Our social interactions are integrated so it varies depending on the situation. We may be
friendly and cooperative towards one person today, but this might change when we feel
threatened.

Key points
 Social interaction is the mutual influence of two or more people on each other’s
behavior.
 There are five patterns of social
interaction: exchange, cooperation, competition, conflict, and coercion.
 Exchange or social exchange is our expectation that whenever we do something
good, we will receive something good in return.
 Cooperation is when people or groups of people work together to achieve a common
goal.
 Competition is when individuals or groups battle to achieve the goal that only one can
have.

Handout in Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics