Sociology › Section C · Culture › Topic C.2
Elements of culture
Every culture is built from the same kinds of parts: values and beliefs about what matters, norms about how to behave, sanctions that keep people in line, and the symbols and language that carry it all. Learn the parts and you can take any culture apart, including your own.
In this topic
- Taking a culture apart
- Values and beliefs
- Ideal culture and real culture
- Norms: formal and informal
- Folkways, mores and taboos
- Sanctions and social control
- Worked example: the rules of a lunch queue
- Worked example: a breaching experiment
- Symbols and language
- Does language shape thought?
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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