Question

How do you think culture shapes our view of acceptable and

unacceptable behaviors? Do you think there are certain cultures where a wider range of
behaviors are more acceptable than in other cultures, where there might be more strict
rules that govern behavior? (This second question is relevant to a discussion of "tight" and
"loose" cultures, see the reference below.)

Answer 1

Culture profoundly influences what behaviors are considered acceptable within a society. People learn cultural norms and values through both explicit instruction and implicit everyday interactions. Despite cultural diversity, there are common universal elements, yet their interpretations and manifestations can differ greatly among societies.

Step-by-step explanation:

How Culture Shapes Behavior

Culture significantly shapes our views of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Social norms, which are rules and expectations created and maintained within a culture, guide how we interact with each other. For instance, responding in detail when asked “Hi, how are you?” in certain cultures could violate the cultural norm of a brief greeting. The extent to which behaviors are seen as acceptable varies across different cultures, while some expecting strict adherence to traditional practices and others embracing more freedom and diversity in behavior and expression.

Learning and Expressing Cultural Values

From explicit orientations to implicit daily interactions, individuals learn the cultural norms both consciously and unconsciously. These teachings influence attitudes and behavior, and even seemingly trivial traditions, like seating arrangements in a cafeteria, can reveal underlying cultural values and expectations.

Diversity and Universal Aspects of Culture

Cultures differ widely around the world but also share certain universal elements such as family structures, though defining and functioning of these structures varies. Other universals include customs like funerals, weddings, and birth celebrations, yet each society may conduct these quite uniquely. These cultural practices, alongside language and shared beliefs, contribute to what we think and how we behave within our society.

Answer 2

Culture is called the set of social conventions that govern the daily life of a particular social group. Thus, they are the set of customs, beliefs, traditions, idiomatic expressions, etc., that prevail in a certain group of people.

Therefore, it is correct to affirm that culture determines the way in which each society distinguishes between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors: the correctness or incorrectness of each action is measured according to the idiosyncrasy of each society.

Thus, each society is different with respect to the way in which it considers each pattern of behavior: some do it more loosely, while others do it more strictly. A clear example is the distinction between the Latin nations and the Nordic nations, where the latter tend to be much stricter than the former.