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The socially constructed and learned ways of behaving and believing that identify social groups. Culture can be described in terms of the following elements. It is learned, shared, patterned, mutually constructed, symbolic, arbitrary, and internalized.
Learned. The process of learning one’s culture is called “enculturation.” Culture is not merely passively absorbed, but rather taught and learned by agentive individuals with differing levels of power.
Shared. Members of a particular society have their culture in common.
Patterned. People in a given society live and think in distinctive and describable ways.
Mutually constructed. By means of constant and ongoing social interaction, individuals create, recreate, and change the nature of a particular culture.
Symbolic. Those within a particular culture possess a shared understanding of meaning.
Arbitrary. Culture is not based on natural laws but rather is created by human beings.
Internalized. Culture is habitual, taken for granted, and perceived as natural.
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