UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS HAND OUT-1ST QUARTER | S.Y 2019-2020| 2ND SEMESTER
A. CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS
 POLITICAL SCIENCE- a social science
discipline that deals with systems of
government and analysis of political
activity or political behavior.
 ANTHROPOLOGY- study of various
aspects of humans (PARTICULARLY
CULTURE) within societies of past and
present
 SOCIOLOGY- study of social behaviors
including its origins, development,
organization, networks and institutions.
 POLITICAL
CHANGEChanges
occurring in the political aspect of a
society.
 CULTURAL CHANGE-Changes in the
habits and practices and attitudes of the
people
 SOCIAL CHANGE-Changes in the overall structures in the society.
o DISCOVERY- Gaining knowledge
on something that’s already
existing but previously unknown.
o INNOVATION-Invention related to
what has been discovered.
o DIFFUSION-The spread of either
material or non-material culture.
B. CULTURE AND SOCIETY
 SOCIETY- Refers to a group of people
sharing a common culture within a
defined territorial boundaries.
 CULTUREComplex whole which
includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals
and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as member of a society
BACKGROUNDo CULTURAL
reference to any culture or
subculture that an individual
identifies as his or her heritage or
background
Gender/Gender
Expression-social
constructs that refer to the
way individuals would want
to express themselves.
 Socio-economic
classeconomic and sociological
status combined as to
measure a person’s work
experience and of an
individual
or
family’s
economic
and
social
position.
 EthnicityState
of
belonging to a social group
that has common national
or cultural tradition.
 Religion- Cultural system
of behaviors and practices,
world views, sacred texts,
holy places, ethics, that
relates humanity to the
divine Supreme Being.
 Political Identity-Refers to
an individual’s one own
stance and belief in politics
and political systems.
 Nationality- refers to the
affiliation of an individual to
a state or a nation
OF
o CHARCTERISTICS
CULTURE
 It is learned
 Is socially transmitted
through language
 Is a social product
 Is
a
source
of
gratification
 Is adaptive

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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS HAND OUT-1ST QUARTER | S.Y 2019-2020| 2ND SEMESTER
Is the distinctive way of
life of a group of people
 Is material and nonmaterial
 Has
sanctions
and
controls
 Is stable yet dynamic
 Is an established pattern
of behavior
1. Dynamic, Flexible and AdaptiveCulture is fluid not static. It
changes all the time, every day, in
subtle
ways.
Through
communication, variety of ways
people express their cultural
systems exist.
-It is adaptive for it renews itself
continuously. New strategies, new
ways of doing things happen for man
can never be stopped in finding his
own ways.

2. Shared and Contested- We
share culture with other people in
our group, we act in a socially
appropriate ways and predict how
will others act and react.
HOWEVER CULTURE IS NEVER
HOMOGENOUS.
3. Culture is Learned
 SOCIALIZATION- life long
process of inheriting and
disseminating
norms,
customs,
values
and
ideologies providing an
individual necessary skills
and habits for participating
in the society.
 ENCULTURATIONprocess by which people
learn the requirements of
their surrounding culture
and acquire values and
behaviors appropriate or
necessary for that culture.
4. PATTERNED
SOCIAL
INTERACTIONS
 COOPERATION –occurs
when two or more people
or groups work together to
achieve a common goal.
 COMPETITIONgroups
and individuals oppose
each other to achieve a
goal that only one or few
can attain.
 EXCHANGE- occurs when
you do something in an
effort to receive a reward.
 CONFLICTdeliberate
attempt to control a person
by force, or to oppose
someone, or to harm
another person. Conflict
may begin as a competition.
 ACCOMODATIONis
defined as a state of
balance
between
cooperation and conflict is
the process of working out
a solution to a conflict.
5. CULTURE IS INTEGRATED AND
UNSTABLE
Culture
is
integrated.
Various parts of it work as one
and are interconnected to each
other. All aspects of culture are
related to each other. This
pertains to A HOLISTIC (WHOLE)
VIEW ON SOCIETY
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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS HAND OUT-1ST QUARTER | S.Y 2019-2020| 2ND SEMESTER

6. CULTURE IS TRANSMITTED
Through oral traditions or handwriting, culture can be passed on to
generations.
7. REQUIRES LANGUAGE AND
FORMS OF COMMUNICATION
Language is the ability to acquire and
use
complex
systems
of
communication. As culture is based
on symbols, language paves way for
effective exchange and contact
among people.
COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
o NORMS – guidelines people are
supposed to follow in their
relation with one another. are
cultural products which represents
individuals basic knowledge of
what others do and think that they
should do.
 Folkways
–
everyday
habits; customs, traditions
and conventions people
obey.
 Mores – Norms people
consider vital to their
wellbeing
and
most
cherished values. (Moral
values)
 Laws- is a system of rules
that are enforced through
social institutions to govern
behavior.
 Techniways- Methods in
which a group of people
use technological devices
for their survival.
o IDEAS, BELIEFS, VALUES –
 IDEAS
–
non-material
aspects of culture and
o
o
o
o
o
embody man’s conception
of his physical, social and
cultural world.
 BELIEFS – refers to a
person’s conviction
about a certain idea. state
of mind in which a person
thinks something to be the
case, with or without
empirical evidence to prove
that something is the case
with factual certainty.
 VALUES
–
abstract
concepts of what is
important and worthwhile.
denote the degree of
importance of something
(e.g
action,
tradition,
objects) with the aim of
determining which actions
are best to do or what way
is best to live.
MATERIAL CULTURE
refers to the concrete and tangible
objects produced and used by
man to satisfy his varied needs
and wants.
 ARTIFACTSsomething
made or given shape by
man, such as a tool or a
work of art that emanates
archaeological interest.
NON-MATERIAL CULTURE
Refers to the intangible parts of
culture like language, traditions,
beliefs and so on.
SYMBOLS
 Refers to an object, gesture,
sound, color or design that
represents
something
“other than itself.”
 a person or concept that
represents stands for or
suggests another idea.
Usually a visual image,
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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS HAND OUT-1ST QUARTER | S.Y 2019-2020| 2ND SEMESTER
belief, action or material
entity.
o ATTITUDE- is an expression of
favor or disfavor toward a person,
place, thing or event.
o KNOWLEDGEfamiliarity,
awareness or understanding of
something
such
as
facts,
information, description or skills
which
is
acquired
through
experience or education by
perceiving, discovering or learning.
o VIEWPOINTS IN CULTURE
 ETHNOCENTRISM
–
judging another culture
through
values
and
standards of one’s own
culture with high regard to
one’s own.
 CULTURAL RELATIVISMprinciple that an individual
person’s
beliefs
and
activities
should
be
understood by others in
terms of that individual’s
own culture.
 XENOCENTRISMpreference
of
outside
cultures rather than one’s
own.
 XENOPHOBIAextreme
fear of outside culture and
heavy preference of one’s
own.
 SUBCULTURE- category
of people who share
distinguishing
attributes,
beliefs, values or norms
that set them apart from
some significant manner
from the dominant culture.



COUNTERCULTUREa
group that strongly rejects
dominant societal values
and norms and seeks
alternative life styles.
CULTURE
SHOCKDisruption
with
an
unfamiliar or alien culture
CULTURAL LAG- Refers
to the gap between the
material and nonmaterial
culture. It can also be the
gap between the norm and
the backwardness of one to
cope up with this
C. HUMAN
BIOLOGICAL
AND
CULTURAL EVOLUTION
 BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
 CREATIONISM THEORY- a theological
concept about evolution, by which man is
created by a Supreme Being. Intelligent
Design movement appears to give
Creationism
Theory
a
scientific
explanation.
 DARWINIAN
THEORY
OF
EVOLUTION- A well-renowned theory
that explains the origin of man.
Developed by Charles Darwin in the late
18th century.
o HOMO- Latin term that is used to
refer to the name of the biological
genus of man.
o BIPEDALISM- ability of early
hominids, (primates) of being able
to walk using two feet.
 EARLY HOMINIDS- Set of ape-like
organisms which are believed to be the
ancestors of early humans.
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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS HAND OUT-1ST QUARTER | S.Y 2019-2020| 2ND SEMESTER


o AUSTROLOPHITECHUS/AUSTR
ALOPHITECINE- earliest species
of hominids found in Africa. Said
to be the ancestors of modern
humans
LATE HOMINIDS- Subsequent set of
hominids which are more closely related
to Modern humans.
o HOMO HABILIS- also known as
the “Handy Man”. Able to use his
hand for prehensile purposes and
one to start using tools.
o HOMO ERECTUS- known as the
“Upright man.” First hominid to
have an upright stance, as
contrast to its predecessors.
o HOMO
HEIDELBERGENSISBelieved to be the dominant
hominids to have roamed in
Europe and had much more areas
covered compared to Homo
Erectus.
o CRO-MAGNON/EARLY
MODERN HUMAN- Known as the
“transitionary” species between
the Late Hominids and the first
Homo Sapiens.
o HOMO SAPIENS- known as the
“Wise Man” one of the hominids
with huge brain and is much more
intelligent than earlier species.
The Homo Sapiens Sapiens are
the current sub-species of all of
the humans to date.
CULTURAL EVOLUTION
o PREHISTORYevents,
and
timeline of human history that is
not recorded for the lack of means

and concepts of documentation is
not yet present.
o HISTORY- period of man’s
timeline that is documented, and
thus supported to be true
according to existing evidences.
o PALEOLITHIC AGE- timeline of
man’s history where primitive
living is prevalent. Refers to the
“Old Stone Age” where mostly
people are Hunters-Gatherers and
basically nomadic. Rough stone
tools are widespread during this
time.
 NOMAD- a member of
community or people who
does not settle in places
permanently for they move
from one place or another.
 BANDS- small nomadic
families
that
is
nonhierarchal. Leadership is
based
on
strength,
intelligence
and
trustworthiness.
NEOLITHIC
PERIOD- following
o
period of man’s history after
Paleolithic. It is when polished and
better stone tools were used by
man. It is also the period where
Agricultural
Revolution
Occurred. Men learned to plant
and cultivate crops, and from
being
Hunters-Gatherers
to
Pastoral Nomads, Man now began
to settle in permanent houses for
the supply of food is constant.
Ownership and property development led
to creation of societal hierarchies.
AUGUST COMTE (Three Phases)
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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS HAND OUT-1ST QUARTER | S.Y 2019-2020| 2ND SEMESTER
when
o Theological-Phase
societies explain the world using
their beliefs and religion.
o Metaphysical-Phase
when
societies began to question
religion and faith as the sources of
knowledge.
o Positive- Societies now rely on
science and facts to explain the
world.
 KARL MARX (Historical Materialism)
o Primitive Communalism
o Slavery
o Feudalism
o Capitalism
o Communism
 GERHAR
LENSKI
(Technological
Development)
o Pre-Agrarian
 Hunting and Gathering
 Pastoral and Horticultural
o Agrarian
 Agricultural
 Feudalism
o Industrial
o Post-Industrial
D. BECOMING A MEMBER OF SOCIETY


ENCULTURATION is the process by which
people learn the requirements of their
surrounding culture and acquire values and
behaviors appropriate or necessary in that
culture
SOCIALIZATION is a term used by
sociologists, social psychologists,
anthropologists, political scientists, and
educationalists to refer to the lifelong
process of inheriting and disseminating
norms, customs, values and ideologies,
providing an individual with the skills and

habits necessary for participating within their
own society.
o LIFELONG PROCESS OF SOCIAL
INTERACTION THROUGH WHICH
PEOPLE ACQUIRE THEIR
IDENTITIES AND NECESSARY
SURVIVAL SKILLS IN A SOCIETY.
o IT IS CONSIDERED AS THE
CENTRAL PROCESS OF SOCIAL
LIFE, AND IS ALSO A PROCESS OF
MEMBER RECRUITMENT AND
REPLACEMENT.
o ENABLES THE PERSON TO
GRADUALLY BECOME A SELF –
AWARE AND KNOWLEDGEABLE
HUMAN BEING, AND LEARN THE
WAYS, VALUES, RULES, AND
CULTURE OF HIS / HER SOCIETY.
o GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE
CONTEXT OF HIS / HERS
RESPECTIVE SOCIETY, AND THE
SOCIAL GROUPS THAT HE / SHE
INTERACTS
o SOCIAL CONTEXT- PARTICULAR
CIRCUMSTANCES OF A SOCIETY
AND CONSIST OF ITS CULTURE,
LANGUAGE, AND THE SOCIAL
STRUCTURES THAT DEFINE
SOCIAL CLASS, ETHNICITY, AND
GENDER.
IDENTITY is the distinctive characteristic that
defines an individual or is shared by those
belonging to a particular group. Identity is
the conception, qualities, beliefs, and
expressions that make a person (self-identity)
or group (particular social category or social
group). Identity may be distinguished from
identification; identity is a label, whereas
identification refers to the classifying act itself.
Identity is thus best construed as being both
relational and contextual, while the act of
identification is best viewed as inherently
processual. That process can be creative or
destructive.
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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS HAND OUT-1ST QUARTER | S.Y 2019-2020| 2ND SEMESTER


IDENTITY FORMATION, also known as
individuation, is the development of the
distinct personality of an individual regarded
as a persisting entity (known as personal
continuity) in a particular stage of life in
which
individual
characteristics
are
possessed and by which a person is
recognized or known (such as the
establishment of a reputation).
STATUS can be determined in two ways.
o One can earn their social status
by their own achievements, which
is known as ACHIEVED STATUS.
o Alternatively, one can be placed in
the stratification system by their
inherited position, which is called
ASCRIBED STATUS.
 An EMBODIED STATUS is one that is
generated by physical characteristics
located within our physical selves (such
as beauty, physical disability, stature,
build).The status that is the most
important for an individual at a given time
is called master status.
 VALUE
denotes
the
degree
of
importance of something or action, with
the aim of determining what actions are
best to do or what way is best to live
(deontology), or to describe the
significance of different actions (axiology).
E. CONFIRMITY,
DEVIANCE
AND
SOCIAL CONTROL
o CONFORMITY -A change in
behavior or belief as a result of
real or imagined group pressure.
o Conformists are those who accept
both society's goals as well as the
ways to go about achieving those
goals. Conformists are like
innovators in that they both accept
o
o
o
o
society's goals, but conformists do
not use illegal means to achieve
them. This is generally because
conformists are middle-class
people with dependable jobs and
more educational resources, and
they don't have to resort to crime
to achieve financial stability.
COMPLIANCE. Publicly acting in
accord with social pressure while
privately disagreeing. This term
best describes the behavior of a
person who is motivated to gain
reward or avoid punishment. On
the level of compliance, many
experimenters see little difference
between animals and humans,
because all organisms respond to
rewards and punishments.
IDENTIFICATION. As with
compliance, we do not behave in
a particular way because such
behavior is intrinsically satisfying.
Rather, we adopt a particular
behavior because it puts us in a
satisfying relationship to the
person or persons with whom we
are identifying. We do come to
believe in the opinions and values
we adopt, though not very strongly.
We want to be like some particular
person.
EX: Want to be just like your
father.
INTERNALIZATION (or
acceptance). Both acting and
believing in accord with social
pressure. This is the most
permanent, deeply rooted
response to social influence.
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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS HAND OUT-1ST QUARTER | S.Y 2019-2020| 2ND SEMESTER
Internalization is motivated by a
desire to be right. If the person
who provides the influence is
perceived to be trustworthy and of
good judgment, we accept the
belief he or she advocates and we
integrate it into our belief system.

TYPES OF NORMS
o FOLKWAYS refer to behavior
patterns of society which are
organized and repetitive. The
expectations are relatively weak,
which means that they can be
violated without receiving serious
sanctions from the group.
Ex. Saying “po” and “opo”
o MORES pertain to the special
folkways which involve moral or
ethical values. It is more serious
because violation of this will result
to the degradation of person’s
pride or integrity.
o LAWS are written codes of
conduct designed and enforced by
the state to control and regulate
the behavior of its citizens.
o TECHNICWAYS refer to the
social adjustments of people to
technological changes.

DEVIANCE is behavior that violates the
norms of a particular society. A deviant
person is one who violates or opposes a
society's most valued norms.
o The ways in which a society
prevents deviance and punishes
deviants are known as SOCIAL
CONTROL. Police, prisons, and
mental hospitals are among the
official institutions responsible for

applying social control. Less
threatening forms of deviance are
controlled through the everyday
interactions of individuals.
TYPES OF DEVIANCE
o INNOVATION-Innovators are
those who accept the larger
society's goals, but who reject the
traditional and acceptable means
of achieving them. For example,
innovators may accept the cultural
goal of accumulating personal
wealth. But, because society is
structured in a way that prevents
many from achieving this goal,
innovators resort to using illegal or
otherwise unacceptable means,
such as selling drugs, gambling or
thieving. Innovators accept this
larger social goal of getting rich,
but reject the accepted ways to
achieve it.
o RITUALISM-Ritualists are the
opposite of innovators in that they
accept the means and behaviors
that support society's goals, but
they reject the larger goal itself.
These people work for years in
dull or monotonous jobs that leave
them feeling unfulfilled, but
believing they have no other
choice because this socially
sanctioned work ethic is a
commonly accepted means of
achieving wealth.
o RETREATISM-Retreatism refers
to the outright rejection of both the
larger society goals as well as the
mea ns of achieving them. Such
a person has essentially "dropped
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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS HAND OUT-1ST QUARTER | S.Y 2019-2020| 2ND SEMESTER
o
o
o
o
out" of society. Their behavior is
therefore consistent with goals
that are not valued in a social
context.
REBELLION-Rebellion takes
retreatism one step further.
Rebels reject both the socially
established goals and the means
of achieving them. While
retreatism is an individual leaning,
rebellion involves joining a larger
movement or counterculture
where rule-breaking is already
well established. Rebels join with
others to create a framework for
new goals in order to built a
different society.
TRANSNATIONAL FAMILIESAre new family model which can
be characterized by geographical
dispersion because of migration.
STATE- an organized political
community living under a single
system of government. Contains
the elements Territory, Population,
Government and Sovereignty.
DEMOCRATIZATION- transition
of early autocratic regimes to a
more
democratic
type
of
government.
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