The existence of shared values, beliefs, and norms forms the pillar of personal development and sustenance. In other words, individual progress is not possible without it because it forms the foundation for learning, positive living, and acceptable behavior.
Culture plays a major role in defining a person’s identity because it dictates how they see themselves and the groups they are affiliated to. According to Côté & Levine (2014) , a person’s understanding of who they are develops from birth and is shaped by the attitudes, values, and beliefs of their culture.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Personalities are shaped by the culture that one is exposed to and that is why people born and brought up in the same culture share common personality traits. Beliefs, traditions, values, and customs of society are transmitted to members by modeling a culturally acceptable and unacceptable behavioral structure. Ma-Kellams (2019) notes that this is what leads to the variation of personalities among different cultures.
Culture has an intrinsic link to gender and as such, can be termed as its defining feature. Roles that have been socially constructed in many societies are determined by cultures and differ in demography and time ( Côté & Levine, 2014 ). It can, therefore, be said that gender has been modeled on social and cultural structures that are defined by power relations in terms of masculine and feminine roles.
How these things also influence culture
On the other hand, culture is also influenced by the elements mentioned above based on how they are adopted and interpreted by society. It is imperative to understand that even though some values and beliefs may be dictated by culture, people will always have the final decision in how they live and relate to each other ( Ma-Kellams, 2019 ). That is why, some cultures are considered to be better than others, based on how their relation to an individual’s development, identity, personality, and gender is modelled.
How culture is present in my daily life
In my everyday life, culture is still prevalent based on how gender is perceived in society. Even though we have equal opportunities for everyone, some jobs are still dominated by males. A good example is school bus drivers; a majority are men, with one or two females in a few cases. I think the old culture still dictates men are better at some jobs than women and that’s why we have these disparities in jobs.
One object from your home that represents part of my culture
At home, we have a coin-operated jukebox that used to belong to my great-great-grandfather. He used to own a diner and from what I hear, the music player attracted many customers during his time and made his diner very famous. I chose this item because it symbolizes the American culture in the 20 th century in terms of music, fashion, and technology. It allowed people from all over the country to listen to the same music, rock n roll as it also preserved our history. To me, the jukebox shows how far we have come and how important it is to embrace the classic era of American culture.
References
Côté, J. E., & Levine, C. G. (2014). Identity, formation, agency, and culture: A social psychological synthesis . East Sussex: Psychology Press.
Ma-Kellams, C. (2019). Cultural psychology: Cross-cultural and multicultural perspectives . Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
