The influence of culture on behavior

Recognizing and analyzing the influence of culture on behavior is key to understanding why we act the way we do.. Although society plays an important role in our behavior, we are generally inclined to think that our actions have a purely biological origin.

However, Human behavior is not only mediated by genetic or biological factors, it is also mediated by social and cultural factors.. The latter are what give uniqueness to our actions, which is why people’s behavior is different from one country to another, even if the situations are the same.

In this article we will review, first and briefly, what culture is and what its characteristics are. Then, we will stop to carefully analyze how it influences our behaviors. Let’s dig deeper.

Culture influences our behaviors in different ways and at different levels.

What is culture?

We will hardly understand the influence of culture on behavior if we do not first define what culture is and what its characteristics are. Being clear about this concept is essential to chart the path that will lead us to understand how it affects us on a behavioral level.

According to the Encyclopedia Humanities, The word culture comes from Latin cultus which translates as ‘cultivate’, ’till’ or ‘care’. In this sense, Culture refers to the act of cultivating knowledge and education in a people. We could say that it is the cultivation of man in society.

In more formal terms, we can understand culture as a set of shared ideas, meanings and values ​​acquired by individuals in a society. On the other hand, Francisco Morales in his book Social psychology defines culture as what is transmitted or socially constructed, as the constellation of practices, competencies, ideas, schemes, symbols, values, norms, institutions, goals and rules.

Culture characteristics

Based on the previous definitions and an article published in Around, We maintain that the main characteristics of culture are the following:

It is assimilated or learned. From before we are born we are influenced by a culture. It is done, we are not born with the culture. It is not instinctive or biological.It is dynamic and progressive.It varies from one society to another.

Although it is different from one community to another, we can define certain components that they all have in common. As pointed out by the Encyclopedia Humanities, all cultures share:

Symbols that are recognizable by the entire community. A particular language. A way of being. Belief systems that give direction to people’s lives. Values ​​and norms that regulate behavior. Customs such as music, food… Celebrations collective.

The influence of culture on behavior

Culture impacts our behaviors in different ways. Its influence is not reduced to a single course of action; on the contrary, it appeals to different components that constitute it to activate certain behavioral patterns. Let’s look at some of them and how they affect us.

Culture and symbols

Human beings create a collective reality, a world overflowing with meanings, interpretations and senses. To do so, we take the elements of social life (gestures, postures, looks…) and turn them into symbols, as Morales states in his book. Social psychology.

The influence of culture on behavior occurs through the symbolic representations that we build and share as social beings.. These symbolic manifestations entail certain ways of acting. For example, when we see our country’s flag and hear our anthem, we assume certain patriotic postures or attitudes that affect the way we behave at that moment.

Words, gestures, images, objects are examples of symbols that can influence our behaviors. Many of these symbols are also paired with certain practices that lead us to reaffirm our own culture.

Culture and norms

The influence of culture on behavior is also observed through compliance with norms. The rules and expectations that permeate culture make people act in ways that validate the principles that govern our life in society.

Some rules are prohibitive, for example, in some countries or communities, women are prohibited from working. Other rules are prescriptive in nature, that is, they indicate what should be done in certain situations, for example, helping a person who has had an accident.

Regardless of the type of norm, they will always tell us, among other things, what to do and what not to do, with which we receive the influence of a culture that guides our ways of behaving.

Culture and values

In the book of Social psychology, which we have already mentioned on several occasions, a very useful definition of values ​​is included. It is understood that they are culturally defined models with which we evaluate what is desirable, serving us at the same time as a guide for adaptation in society.

So that, Values ​​facilitate the interaction between the individual and social reality, and this is stated in an article published in Childhood and Learning. Thanks to them, we can build a notion of the world that will guide our ways of experiencing what happens to us and the way we respond to the circumstances of daily life.

Through the values ​​of a society, Culture shapes the behavior of subjects, reinforcing what is important to it. Let’s take an example, if for a community the value of solidarity is fundamental, it will seek, through its laws or cultural activities, to encourage everyone to give important weight to this value in decision-making.

Let’s look at a closer and more obvious example. Nowadays, it seems that in many cultures consumption has become such a central value to life that individuals do not think about anything other than consuming. It is no secret to anyone that market objectives influence our behavior through advertising bombardment.. Consumer culture affects what we do and think.

The values ​​that predominate in a culture influence how we behave.

Culture and beliefs

The influence of culture on behavior also occurs through beliefs. Cognitive behavioral therapy has told us countless times that How we think greatly influences how we behave.. Our beliefs trigger experiences and actions.

Cultural beliefs are taken as true by all or most people. They are very specific and make references to very specific issues that are recognized by the members of a society. These beliefs make us make judgments that in one way or another influence our behavior.

Behavior, a reflection of culture

Our behavioral patterns not only have a cognitive or biological basis, but they also have a cultural foundation.. Culture shapes us, forms us, makes us subjects of a certain community or society.

The influence of culture on behavior is neither small nor trivial.. And although it sometimes goes unnoticed, it is always there, behind the curtain, predisposing us to act in certain ways that transmit it from one generation to another.

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