Culture determines how groups understand rules and make meaning of their behavior, patterns, systems and experiences. These frameworks are called values, beliefs, attitudes and norms. These cognitive processes provide structure for our social patterns. The following video discusses values in more depth and highlights other related ideas such as symbols, and norms that govern our daily lives. Children are learning about these complex ideas in their interactions with adults and caregivers. Children are learning about these mental structures, what Piaget called schemas, in this case cultural schemas (Lally & Vlentine-French, 2017).
Values
The first, and perhaps most crucial, elements of culture we will discuss are its values and beliefs. Values are a culture’s standard for discerning what is good and just in society. Values are deeply embedded and critical for transmitting and teaching a culture’s beliefs. Beliefs are the tenets or convictions that people hold to be true. Individuals in a society have specific beliefs, but they also share collective values.
Values are qualities or beliefs that are viewed as desirable or important. Socializing agents in all Bronfenbrenners bio-ecological model influence the internalization of values. In the microsystem what message did your parents give you gender or beauty? Major global events in the macrosystem and chronosystem also affect values. For example, COVID- 19 pandemic in 2020 made people value security and reorganize their family and work lives (Bojanowska et al., 2021).
Values help shape a society by suggesting what is good and bad, beautiful and ugly, sought or avoided. Consider the value that the United States places upon youth. Children represent innocence and purity, while a youthful adult appearance signifies sexuality. Shaped by this value, individuals spend millions of dollars each year on cosmetic products and surgeries to look young and beautiful. The United States also has an individualistic culture, meaning people place a high value on individuality and independence. In contrast, many other cultures are collectivist, meaning the welfare of the group and group relationships are a primary value.
Living up to a culture’s values can be difficult. For parents in the U.S. we value children being independent but engage in helicopter parenting. It’s easy to value good health, but it’s hard to quit smoking. Marital monogamy is valued, but many spouses engage in infidelity. Cultural diversity and equal opportunities for all people are valued in the United States, yet the country’s highest political offices have been dominated by white men.
Values often suggest how people should behave, but they don’t accurately reflect how people do behave. Values portray an ideal culture, the standards society would like to embrace and live up to. But ideal culture differs from real culture, the way society actually is, based on what occurs and exists. In an ideal culture, there would be no traffic accidents, murders, poverty, or racial tension. But in real culture, police officers, lawmakers, educators, and social workers constantly strive to prevent or repair those accidents, crimes, and injustices. American teenagers are encouraged to value celibacy. However, the number of unplanned pregnancies among teens reveals that not only is the ideal hard to live up to, but the value alone is not enough to spare teenagers the potential consequences of having sex.
One way societies strive to put values into action is through rewards, sanctions, and punishments, see the section on theories that outline Skinner's work. When people observe the norms of society and uphold its values, they are often rewarded. A boy who helps an elderly woman board a bus may receive a smile and a “thank you.” A business manager who raises profit margins may receive a quarterly bonus. People sanction certain behaviors by giving their support, approval, or permission, or by instilling formal actions of disapproval and nonsupport. Sanctions are a form of social control, a way to encourage conformity to cultural norms. Sometimes people conform to norms in anticipation or expectation of positive sanctions: good grades, for instance, may mean praise from parents and teachers. From a criminal justice perspective, properly used social control is also inexpensive crime control. Utilizing social control approaches pushes most people to conform to societal rules, regardless of whether authority figures (such as law enforcement) are present.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): A Mangkong girl, caring for a younger sibling, stands outside a home. A norm in Laos have children playing a major role in helping to raise younger children. (CC BY-SA 3.0; BigBrotherMouse via Wikimedia)
When people go against a society’s values, they are punished. A boy who shoves an elderly woman aside to board the bus first may receive frowns or even a scolding from other passengers. A business manager who drives away customers will likely be fired. Breaking norms and rejecting values can lead to cultural sanctions such as earning a negative label—lazy, no-good bum—or to legal sanctions, such as traffic tickets, fines, or imprisonment.
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): In many parts of Africa and the Middle East, it is considered normal for men to hold hands in friendship. How would Americans react to these two soldiers? (CC BY 2.0; Geordie Mott via Wikimedia)
Values are not static; they vary across time and between groups as people evaluate, debate, and change collective societal beliefs. Values also vary from culture to culture. For example, cultures differ in their values about what kinds of physical closeness are appropriate in public. It’s rare to see two male friends or coworkers holding hands in the United States where that behavior often symbolizes romantic feelings. But in many nations, masculine physical intimacy is considered natural in public. This difference in cultural values came to light when people reacted to photos of former president George W. Bush holding hands with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia in 2005. A simple gesture, such as hand-holding, carries great symbolic differences across cultures.
Reflection
What is a value you have as an adult that was fostered in your childhood?
In what ways was that instilled in you by society. Can you link to the methods of socialization practices?
