HUMAN CULTURAL

VARIATION, SOCIAL
DIFFERENCES, AND
POLITICAL
IDENTITIES
Activity 1: Selfie / Kuha’rili
Direction: Group yourselves into 4 groups.
In the photo presented, give a critical insight on
how selfie can be read as an image of the society
by listing down 5 words that best describe the
photo and try to connect the words and compose a
3-5 sentence paragraph revolving around the
attributes of selfie (or selfieing).
Culture and Human
Cultural Variation
- Culture is what has been cultivated. It is the
product of many years of continuous history and
civilization of people.
- It is essentially what has grown from the minds
and creativity of a group of people that share a
common heritage.
- The cultural variation among individuals arises
because of the influences they have been
subjected to.
These influences are of two categories:

1. Those that act in the early stages of one’s

formation.

2. Those that arise later as a result of education,

reading, travel, and the like.
 Cultural Variation refers to the differences or
diversities in the ways of living of people.
- These diversities are brought about in the way
people meet respond to their biological and
psychological needs and the manner on how they
adapt to their environment.
- Geography, climate, social conditions and natural
resources can influence or bring about cultural
variation.
Dimensions of Culture
1. Aesthetic Dimension
– This includes language, literature, art,
poetry, music, dance, festivals, cuisine, etc.
The esthetic dimension gives color,
enrichment, and enjoyment to a people. It
may be shared with outsiders.
2. Moral Dimension
– This consists of the values, laws, and
ethical framework that underlie a culture.
The moral dimension usually stems from
the traditional religious roots of people,
and over the ages it could become
independent of its religious roots.
Society
refers to a group of people sharing their own culture.
It is a network of relationships between people. A society
may be a particular or distinct people.
It is a grouping of individuals that is characterized by
patterns of relationships between individuals having
distinct culture.
Society may also refer to organized or formalized
association of people whether it is religious, cultural,
scientific, political, civic clubs or other purposes.
Social Differences
It is all of the ways that people within a
single culture are set apart from each other.
Elements of social differences can include
ethnicity, lifestyle, religion, language, tastes
and preferences.
Social Change
It refers to changes in social structure, like
role or status of a person. It also refers to
modification or improvements made in a
certain living style.
Two important ways by which societies change:

1. By invention or discovery of new elements

or ideas within a society.

2. By diffusion or borrowing of cultural

elements, traits or patterns from other societies.
Theories of Social Change
1. Evolutionary Theory – This theory is
primarily characterized by cumulative change
and directed towards increased complexity and
adaptability. It is influenced by Charles
Darwin’s theory of biological evolution or
natural selection.
Theories of Social Change
2. Equilibrium Theory – This theory is
characterized by the concept that society is a
social systems having structure with many
parts. It is complex, integrated and mutually
interrelated. Each part is functionally
interdependent.
Theories of Social Change
3. Conflict Theory – This theory views
conflict as the basic cause of all social and
political change. The need is the primary
motive of action. Thus according to Karl Marx,
social classes are continually in conflict with
one another for economic reason.
Sources of Social Change
a. Natural Environment – Changes in the natural
environment are common. A drastic change or
occurrence brought about by natural influences can
cause people to make appropriate or practical
response to or within their society.
b. Population – The size, composition or
distribution of population can affect society and
culture.
Sources of Social Change
c. Conflict – Conflict is another source of change. It is
assumed that change is endemic to all social organizations.
d. Ideas – From a mere idea, change can happen. Ideas can
bring about the emergence of a new social order.
e. Collective Behavior – It refers to the social behavior that is
unplanned, temporary, emotional and somewhat unpredictable.
It refers to crowd behavior, mob, riots, panics and social
movements.
Sources of Social Change
f. Political Identities – identity is often thought of
as the expression of an individual’s belief system
and social affiliations. Political identity is almost
always associated with a group affiliation and
describes the ways in which being a member of a
particular group might express specific political
opinions and attitudes.
Political Identity
Political identity frequently refers to a specific
political party affiliation or partisan identity. For
many voters, belonging to a political party is not
simply a voting decision.
Identity politics are broadly defined, but they
typically involve an individual who bases his identity
on social categories and divisions. Example is a
feminist who always votes for female candidates
regardless of policies, or a black person who primarily
supports causes designed to empower the black
community.
Some Factors that can Affect Political Identity:
a. Race
b. Economic Status
c. Gender
d. Age
e. Religion
Identity politics are widely criticized because they
often involve the assumption that an entire group has
the same needs and interests.
e.g. The fact that Barack Obama won 95 percent of the
black vote in the 2008 presidential election has been
criticized from several different angles. The idea that
black voters supported Obama regardless of his politics is
largely unsubstantiated, as Democratic presidential
candidates have won the majority of black votes in
virtually every election.
The positive side of identity politics is that
they are often rational.
e.g., the assumption that a female politician
would support the interests of women is
statistically accurate.
Support for political causes that empower a
social community usually benefit the
individual.
e.g., the advancement of gay rights, which
could benefit an individual who identified with
that social division in a variety of ways.
When people as a collective entity come into
being through accepting common rules and
procedures, who will govern and how they
govern constitutes Political Identity.

Political identity is similar to collective

identity.
Significance of Studying
Culture, Society and
Politics
 It develops people’s awareness of cultural,
social and political dynamics and sensitivity
to cultural diversity.
 It provides understanding of how culture,
human agency, society and politics works.
 It engages people in examining the country’s
current human development goals.
 It allows people to recognize cultural
relativism and to overcome prejudices.
 It develops people’s social and cultural
competence to guide their interactions with
groups, communities, networks and
institutions.
Performance Task 2
What I See VS What I See Beyond
Visit a place and observe how people inside the place
conduct themselves individually and collectively. The
following questions serve as observation guide:
1. What sort of people go to places? What sort of things do
they buy/do?
2. What sort of interaction takes place between people at
different categories ( e.g. gender, age, socio economic
status, etc.)?
What I See VS What I See Beyond
Locale:
Group 1 : Mall
Group 2 : School
Group 3 : Fast food Restaurant
Group 4 : Park
Group 5 : Church