Culture is the beliefs, behavior patterns, and traditions that distinguish a group of people. These traits set a culture apart from other groups and are inherited by individuals through socialization and imitation. In addition, each person’s environment and life experiences affect their own culture.
Anthropologists define culture as the whole system of learned behaviors and perceptions that characterize a human society. It is a set of values and habits, and it includes the symbols that express them. These include religion, language, clothing, art, architecture, and a wide range of social practices. It also involves a group’s history, customary behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs.
Because a person’s upbringing and environment determine their culture, it is difficult to generalize about all cultures. However, a number of persistent themes arise. Among them are Diversity and Change. Differences in people and groups of people within a culture are much greater than differences between different cultures. These differences are due to education, social standing, religious beliefs, personality, family structure, and even affection shown by a parent. They are also a result of the changing environment, the physical and biological forces that confront individuals.
Every culture exists in a natural habitat, and the environment exerts considerable influence on its development. For example, a culture may evolve to take advantage of new opportunities or to meet challenges. The Eskimo culture, for instance, developed to provide a means of survival in an environment with harsh weather and a short growing season. This culture provided the Eskimos with clothes made from fur, boats and harpoons to hunt sea mammals, and a special form of shelter called igloos.
Similarly, a culture evolves to respond to environmental or economic pressures. During the Cultural Revolution in China, Mao Zedong’s government attempted to eradicate individuality and replace it with a centralized state. While some aspects of the old culture survived, such as standardized clothing, the majority of a person’s behavior and beliefs was determined by the government.
While it is important to recognize and celebrate a culture’s diversity, it is equally necessary to embrace the benefits of change. People from all cultures have to be included in decision-making processes for programs and policies to be effective. Embracing diversity leads to a more creative workforce, improved communication and collaboration, better customer service, and higher levels of productivity.
For example, in the field of health care, it is important for practitioners to understand the cultural dimensions of a patient’s situation. This information allows a practitioner to anticipate problems and address them in an appropriate way. For instance, a patient’s cultural background might influence how they respond to pain medication. This knowledge can help the health care professional avoid misunderstandings and errors that could be harmful to the patient. For a more complete discussion of these issues, see the wjm series on medicine and culture. This article is part of that series. Each month, a new topic will be featured with an emphasis on a specific cultural context.