3. Beliefs about right and wrong.
as well as
4. Art, Music, Literature, Architecture (= High Culture)
(as Art as opposed to Architecture as Building)
For Parsons, culture is distinguished from
1. physical environment
and 2. individual personality.
Culture links elements of society together. Individuals can only meet in a culture which allows communication between them.. People interpret the physical world through symbols - words - that are part of their culture:
a social system consists of a plurality of individual actors inter-acting with each other in a situation which has at least a physical or an environmental aspect, actors ..... whose relation to their situation, including each other is defined and mediated in terms of a system of culturally standard and shared symbols.
Society is not possible without a shared culture. A shared culture is a functional pre-requisite.
Culture and socialisation.
Culture is passed on to children though socialisation in the family. Children learn status and roles through the family.
Culture is not passed on without modification,
Culture constrains and limits behaviour but can change through inter-action. If actions are not repeated in behaviour, culture can change.
The process of the influence of culture on social change is a slow one. Not everyone shares the same culture. According to Parsons, most members of a society share most aspects of their particular culture for the society to function and survive. Like Durkheim, Parsons saw culture as gradually evolving..
Parsons created the idea of pattern variables. Two can be distinguished.
Pattern Variable A
present in simple societies
relies on ascription
people are seen for who they are.
