Characteristics of Culture
1. Only human beings posses the culture, other animals do not posses it. Man has created the culture during the process of controlling himself, others and nature.
2. All the societies in the world have culture but each society has a different culture from one another. Indian culture – African culture – Western culture.
3. Culture is learned or acquired after birth and through life consciously or unconsciously through agents influencing directly or indirectly on individuals. It is not innate.
4. Culture is a social and not individual heritage of man. One has to learn the tradition, customs as the society in which he is living.
5. Culture is transmitted from one generation to another generation during the process of socialization and is disseminated among members of society.
6. Culture is adoptive – It must adjust itself to external forces of various kinds.
7. Culture is integrative – culture has general tendency towards consistency and integration so as to held society together.
8. Culture is idealistic – it stands for ideal norms of human behavior toward which persons are expected to strive.
9. Culture is shared – Learned behavior and products of learned behavior is nor exclusive property of a single individual or group but belong to all members of society and are shared by a large proportion of the.
10. Culture is gratifying. It satisfies the man’s bio-logical and socio-culture needs- foods, clothing, shelter and for various relationship with other individuals and group.
11. Culture is accumulating. It goes on increasing in size, act to the funds of his knowledge, regarding the science or literature in each generation. This knowledge is preserved in the form of books, films and pictures.
Culture is not static but dynamic culture is continuously changing. The commonly way of thinking, feeling, acting are continuously changing.e.g. observing untouchability, praying god for cure of diseases.