The Elements of Culture

Symbols 

Anything that has been given representational meaning by the members of a cultural group. 

Examples: Gestures, a flag, a statue.

Language

A system of patterned sounds, often with corresponding written symbols, that the members of a society use to communicate their thoughts and feelings to one another.

Examples: Swahili, English.

Values

Cultural standards or judgments of what is right, good, or desirable.

Examples: Personal freedom, egalitarianism.

Norms

The rules of culture that tell the members of a culture how they are expected to behave in a given situation.

Examples: Not talking out loud during a play, wearing black clothes to a funeral.

Mores

Norms that carry a strong social sanction if violated because the members of a culture consider adherence to them essential to the well-being of the society.

Examples: The prohibition against having sex in public, the prohibition against destroying other people's property.

Folkways

Norms that carry only a weak social sanction if violated because the members of the society do not consider adherence to them essential to the well-being of the society.

Examples: Washing one's clothes, eating with your mouth closed.

Laws

Norms that the governing body of a society officially adopts to regulate behavior.

Examples: Speed limits, not having sex with someone against their will (rape).

Taboos

Norms so strongly held by the members of a society that to violate them is virtually inconceivable.

Examples: The prohibition against incest, the prohibition against cannibalism.

Technology

The body of knowledge that members of a society apply to their physical environment to meet their survival needs.

Examples: Using a digging stick to plant seeds, using a robot to paint a car.

Artifacts

The physical things that the members of a society make when they apply their technology to the physical environment.

Examples: A bed, a hammer, a bracelet, a house.