Key Points

In sociology, culture is not about refined taste but refers to the entire way of life of a society's members, including shared understandings, values, and practices learned through social interaction.

An early anthropological definition by Edward Tylor states that culture is a 'complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society'.

Malinowski's definition expanded on Tylor's by explicitly including material aspects. He defined culture as comprising 'inherited artifacts, goods, technical process, ideas, habits and values'.

Culture has three main dimensions: Cognitive (how we learn and process information), Normative (rules of conduct like norms and laws), and Material (physical objects, tools, and technology).

The normative dimension includes norms, which are implicit social rules, and laws, which are explicit, formal rules defined by the government that apply to the entire society and carry formal sanctions.

Material culture includes tools, technology, and buildings. Culture lag occurs when the non-material aspects of culture, such as values and norms, fail to keep pace with rapid changes in material technology.

Ethnocentrism is the practice of evaluating other cultures using the standards of one's own culture, often with a sense of superiority. It views one's own culture as the norm.

Cosmopolitanism is the opposite of ethnocentrism. It is an outlook that values other cultures for their differences and promotes cultural exchange and borrowing to enrich one's own culture.

Cultural change is the transformation of cultural patterns over time. It can be caused by internal factors (like new inventions) or external ones (like contact with other cultures or colonization).

Socialisation is the process through which a helpless infant gradually becomes a self-aware, knowledgeable person, skilled in the ways of the culture into which they are born. It is a lifelong process.

Primary socialisation occurs in the early years, primarily within the family. Secondary socialisation takes place later in life through agencies like schools, peer groups, and the workplace.

The family is the most important agent of primary socialisation. The experiences of a child vary widely depending on whether they are in a nuclear or extended family and their family's social class.

Peer groups consist of friends of a similar age. They are an important socialising agency where children learn egalitarian relationships and test social rules away from adult supervision.

Schools are formal agencies of socialisation that teach a formal curriculum as well as a 'hidden curriculum' of values, norms, and social roles, such as conformity and competition.

The mass media, including print and electronic forms like television and the internet, are powerful socialising agents that shape attitudes and expose people to a wide range of information and experiences.

Subcultures are groups within a larger culture that have distinct styles, tastes, and ways of life. They provide members with a sense of group identity and can be identified by their speech, dress, and preferences.