Key terms

A Culture is the whole way of life of a society – norms, values, customs, beliefs and language. Varies according to place and time. E.g. roast guinea pigs are eaten in Ecuador whilst they are kept as pets in the UK.

A Value is a common idea or belief about what is desirable. They give us general guidelines for conduct. Vary cross-culturally(differ from one culture to another). E.g. wealth is valued in the UK whilst it isn’t in the Apache tribe in North America.

A Norm defines appropriate and expected behaviour in a particular context. Provide order and allow society to function smoothly. E.g. don’t talk loudly in a library. Norms are enforced by positive sanctions and negative sanctions. Positive sanctions = people rewarded for conforming to norms. Negative sanctions = people punished for deviating from norms. Norms and sanctions vary from place to time.