Overview of Culture Part 1

Culture has three parts that form a whole:

• Behavior: Outward actions and responses that we can see and consequently label and/or stereotype.
• Values: Our concepts about the world, as established by our social environment and authorities.
• Beliefs: Our core ideas about the world which are predominantly formed by personal experience.

These parts of culture are like an artichoke:

• Petals: The outside appearance. Unless we’ve actually pulled apart the artichoke, this would be all we’d think an artichoke is.
• Fuzzy Choke: This is connected to the leaves as well as the heart.
• Heart: This is the core that drives behavior and is confirmed by personal experience.

These three parts are distinct yet form the whole.