In the previous paragraphs, we have made frequent use of the terms culture and society . Often they are considered to carry similar meaning. Let us note at this point that they are not the same thing. A society is a group of people who occupy a particular territory and speak a common language not generally understood by neighbouring people.
A society may or may not be a single nation, but every society has its own culture, and it is culture that shapes human behaviour from society to society. Culture is the label for all the different features that vary from society to society. It is these different features of society whose influences psychologists want to examine in their studies of human behaviour. Thus, a group of people, who manage their livelihood through hunting and gathering in forests, would present a life characterised by certain features that will not be found in a society that lives mainly on agricultural produce or wage earnings.
Cultural Transmission We have seen earlier that as human beings we are both biological and socio-cultural creatures. As biological creatures, we have certain vital needs. Their fulfilment enhances our chances of surviving. In fulfilling these needs we use most of our acquired skills.
We also have a highly developed capacity to benefit from experiences of our own and those of others. No other creature has learning capacity to the same extent as we have. No other creature has created an organised system of learning, called education, and none in this universe wants to learn as much as we do. As a result, we display many forms of behaviour that are uniquely human, and creations of what we call culture.
The processes of enculturation and socialisation make us cultural beings. E NCULTURATION Enculturation refers to all learning that takes place without direct, deliberate teaching. We learn certain ideas, concepts, and values simply because of their availability in our cultural context. For example, what is “vegetable” and what is “weed” or what is “cereal” and what is “non-cereal” is defined by what is already there, previously labelled as