Sociology of Culture - The Elements of Culture

The Elements of Culture

1. Symbols: Anything that carries particular meaning recognized by people who share the same culture.

2. Language: A system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another.

3. Values: Culturally defined standards of desirability, goodness, beauty and many other things that serves as broad guidelines for social living.

4. Beliefs: Specific statements that people hold to be true.

5. Norms: Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behaviour of its members. The two types of norms are mores and folkways. Mores are norms that are widely observed and have a great moral significance. Folkways are norms for routine, casual interaction.

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