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UCSP - Aspects of Culture and Society III
UCSP - Aspects of Culture and Society III
Aspects of Culture
Culture is dynamic, flexible, and adaptive, may be shared and contested, and
transmitted through socialization and enculturation.
Aspects of Culture
We have learned that culture is dynamic, flexible, and adaptive, shared and contested in
various ways and situations, and learned and transmitted through socialization or enculturation.
There are five patterns of social interaction exchange, cooperation, competition, conflict, and
coercion.
Exchange
Exchange or social exchange is the expectation that whenever we do something good,
we will receive something good in return (Thompson and Hickey, 2005, p.129). It is the
most basic pattern of socialization.
Example: You help your mother wash the dishes so that she will let you come to your
friend's sleepover.
Handout in Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics
Cooperation
Cooperation is when people or groups of people work together to achieve a common
goal. Cooperation is considered to be essential for human survival because, without
cooperation, social life would be unmanageable (Thompson and Hickey, 2005, p.129).
Example: A husband and a wife should cooperate in raising their children. Without it,
their children will not grow up the way they want them to.
There are also negative social interactions that are necessary in order to develop and sharpen
behavior and culture.
Competition
Competition may be viewed as the opposite of cooperation. Instead of working together
towards a common goal, competing individuals or groups battle to achieve the target
that only one can have (Thompson and Hickey, 2005, p.129).
Example: You studied and practiced hard and eventually won. Even if you had lost, at
least you were still able got to enhance your spelling skills.
Conflict
Conflict arises when people disobey rules, control a person by force, or hurt other
people just to achieve their goals. However, conflict is not always considered bad. The
existence of a conflict can strengthens the unity within a group because it is threatened
by an external factor (Thompson and Hickey, 2005, p.129).
Example: You and your sibling fight over the TV almost every night, but when conflict
arises between you and your parents, you and your sibling team up.
Coercion
Coercion happens when there is a use of threat or force in persuading others. People
usually coerce other people when they cannot achieve their goals on their own.
Example: You force your brother to do your chores by threatening him that you will tell
your mother that he failed his exam.
Example: You and your sibling fight over little things almost every day. When you came to
school the next day, you saw your sibling being bullied by his classmates. You immediately
came to his aid, supported each other, and stopped the bullies. This scenario shows that even if
you and your sibling fight almost every day, you will still opt to unite in times of need.
Social interaction is a part of our everyday lives. Observe your activities for the day. You
will notice that in everything that you do, you get to interact with another person. Your
interaction varies from day to day. This shows how the patterns of social interaction are
integrated or connected with each other.
Tips
Social exchange as a pattern of social interaction is not always active. Sometimes, when
we do harm to others, we already anticipate that they will do something wrong to us in
return.
Competition is not always negative as well. There are also good games that push us to
do our best to win and, in the process, enhance our skills.
Conflict may result in hostility between the conflicting parties but may lead to unity and
cooperation among the members of the same group.
Our social interactions are integrated so it varies depending on the situation. We may be
friendly and cooperative towards one person today, but this might change when we feel
threatened.
Key points
Social interaction is the mutual influence of two or more people on each other’s
behavior.
There are five patterns of social
interaction: exchange, cooperation, competition, conflict, and coercion.
Exchange or social exchange is our expectation that whenever we do something
good, we will receive something good in return.
Cooperation is when people or groups of people work together to achieve a common
goal.
Competition is when individuals or groups battle to achieve the goal that only one can
have.