Final answer:
Culture comprises a society's learned beliefs, meanings, standards, customs, and a range of material and nonmaterial elements. It influences daily interactions, shapes individuals' worldviews, and maintains collective identities within a society. Sociologists analyze cultural norms by observing patterns and contexts of behaviors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The complex set of learned meanings, beliefs, standards, and customs shared by members of a society is referred to as culture. Culture encompasses the group's way of life, which includes not only everyday interactions but also pivotal aspects of group members' lives. It is a combination of material and nonmaterial elements, including laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life.
Culture also includes the shared and accumulated knowledge, technical knowledge, assumptions, and the means of communication such as language and symbols. It represents a dynamic system where shared symbols, meanings, and norms are the non-genetic information possessed by a society, shaping perceptions and practices of individuals within that society.
Understanding culture helps individuals navigate through social relationships, everyday practices, and maintain collective identities. Sociologists strive to understand cultures by examining the patterns and contexts in which certain behaviors are expected and studying the circumstances that create and enforce cultural norms.