HOW WE ACT

NORMS
- Are rules and expectations by which a
society guides the behavior of its
members. Norms can change overtime, as
illustrated by norms regarding sexual
behavior. Norms may vary in terms of their
degree of importance.
TYPES OF NORMS:
 MORES- They are customary behavior patterns or
folkways which have taken on a moralistic value.
This includes respect for authority, marriages and
sex behavior patterns, religious rituals, and others
codes of human behavior.

 LAWS- Laws constitute the most formal and

important norms. Laws are the mores deemed so
vital to dominant interests that they become
translated into legal formalizations that even
nonmembers of society are required to obey.
 FOLKWAYS- These are behavior patterns of society
which are organized and repetitive. The key feature of
all folkways is that there is no strong feeling of right or
wrong attached to them. They are simply the way the
people usually do things.

 RITUAL- These are highly scripted ceremonies or

strips of interaction that follow a specific sequence
of actions.
The ff. are examples:
- ceremonies, graduation, baptism, funerals,
weddings, birthdays, holidays, thanksgiving,
Christmas.
- Everyday public rituals, greeting, kissing, answering
the telephones, birthday and cards
MATERIAL COMPONENT
- Human make objects, sometimes
for practical reasons and sometimes for
artistic ones. Material components of
culture refer to physical objects of culture
such as machines, equipment, tools,
books, clothing, etc
THE ORGANIZATION OF CULTURE
- While the culture of a group is an integrated
network of folkways, mores, systems of beliefs, and
institutional pattern.

 A CULTURAL TRAIT, either of a material or non-

material culture, represents a single element or a
combination of elements related to a specific
situation. Example of cultural traits are kissing the
hands of the elders after Sunday mass and at
Angelus. Clusters of culture traits are known as
culture complexes which, in turn, group together
to form a culture pattern.
 CULTURE IS TRANSMITTED THROUGH :
1. Enculturation- It is the process of learning culture
of one’s own group.
2. Acculturation. It is the process of learning some
new traits from another culture.
3. Assimilation. It is the term used for a process in
which an individual entirely loses any awareness
of his/her previous group identity and takes on
the culture and attitudes of another group.
IMPORTANCE ANDFUNCTIONS OF
CULTURE
Culture is what distinguishes human beings from
the lower animal forms making them unique. It is a
powerful force in the lives of all people and shapes
and guides people’s perceptions of reality.
1. Culture helps the individual fulfill his potential as
a human being.
2. Through the development of culture, man can
overcome his physical disadvantages and allows
him to provide himself with fire, clothing, food
and shelter.
3. Culture provides rules of proper conduct for
living in a society.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
According to Rosado(2003), is in essence
an approach to the question of the nature and
role of values in culture. Cultural relativism in
anthropology is a key methodological concept
which is universally accepted within the
discipline.
 According to Glazer(1996), is an
anthropological approach which posits that all
cultures are of equal value and need to be
studied in a neutral point of view. The basis of
cultural relativism is a scientific view of culture,
which also rejects value judgments on cultures.
Here is an illustration of cultural relativism:
 Practices considered immoral or taboo to
a certain group of people but are
accepted by other groups with a different
cultural orientation. “The central point in
cultural relativism is that in a particular
setting certain traits are right because
they work in that setting while other
traits are wrong because they clash
painfully with parts of the culture.” - Hunt
et., 1998