What Are Some Definitions Of Culture That Researchers Have Utilized?
Researchers have in the past utilized varied definitions of culture. Nevertheless, culture is complex to define because of its multifaceted nature. Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experiences, beliefs, and attitudes shared by particular members of a group (Arens, 2010). Culture also represents the cultivated behaviors acquired by people through social learning and conditioned processes. Culture equally refers to the way of life of people, and which is passed from one generation to another through communication (Kelty, 2010). As such, Kelty (2010) believes that culture is communication. Ratner (2008) defines culture as the constructed world. This means that culture is a man-made part of the environment. The environment mentioned in this case refers to the ideal habitat and social setting inhabited by people.
What Is A Definition Of Culture That Resonates With You And Why?
Culture is an artificial product definition that resonates with me. This is because culture is created by humans and is not necessarily an outgrowth of natural mechanisms (Ratner, 2008). I believe culture is changeable and humans have the potential to generate and recreate culture through creativity and innovation. Indeed, humans are capable of breaking down tasks into more fundamental components that can be fused together to produce a new identity. In this manner, culture can easily be transformed through physical and psychological means.
Why Should Psychologists Be Interested In Understanding Culture?
Psychologists should be interested in understanding culture because they aspire to establish creative ways of constructing, maintaining, and improving existing culture. The way of life of the people is consistently changing, and future reality must entail new behavioral mechanisms that generate and sustain different ways of life (Ratner, 2008). Indeed, psychologists are extremely interested in the consciousness, mentality, and subjectivity attributes of particular cultures because these characteristics are fundamental in maintaining varied ways of life. Hence, psychologists should be interested in understanding culture to envision how creativity fulfills a significant role in improving the cultural environment occupied by people.
References
Arens, K. (2010). The field of culture: The standards as a model for teaching culture. The Modern Language Journal, 94(2), 321-324
Kelty, C. (2010). Introduction: Culture in, culture out. Anthropological Quarterly, 83(1), 7-16.
Ratner, C. (2008). Cultural psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and indigenous psychology. New York: Nova Publishers.