Final answer:
Culture is a complex system comprising values, ideas, attitudes, and symbols that guide human behavior and is perpetually shaped by both collective and individual actions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The culture of a society is the set of values, ideas, attitudes, and symbols created to shape human behavior. This includes shared beliefs, norms, language, and practices that define how people think, express themselves, and interact with one another.
Culture is not a tangible entity but a concept that aids in understanding behavioral patterns that characterize groups of people. It is learned and perpetuated through both explicit teaching and implicit understanding and is subject to change based on the dynamic nature of human societies and individual agency.
Within culture, there are elements such as mass culture, minority cultures, and political culture, all contributing to a society's overall cultural landscape. Additionally, factors like beliefs, the stress hormone cortisol, countercultures, cultural lag, and political socialization play roles in how culture is experienced and evolves over time.