Culture Cognitive System
Cognitive systems are ways that an individual organizes and understandssocial and natural environments. Cognitive systems develop from anindividual's interaction with his or her environment. Because culture is acombination of "abstract values, beliefs, and perceptions of the world thatlie behind people's behavior" (29), it can be defined as a cognitivesystem. Examples of how culture is a cognitive system can be seen in
Another reason why gender roles demonstratethat culture is a cognitive system is the fact that these roles change overtime. A good example of a subculture that is a cognitive system is theAmish in America. Subcultures also fit into this definition aswell. For instance, almost every society recognizes a difference between maleand females roles. These various groups illustrate that culture is learnedthrough a system of beliefs and perceptions that are passed from generationto generation. As society learns and develops, its perception may also change. Each of these groups function in differentsocieties in different ways. Examples of these kinds of groups can be seen socialclasses and ethnic groups. Social groups and how they operate also illustrate how culture is acognitive system. Haviland asserts that this most basic custom occursbecause of the obvious difference between men and women, such as womengiving birth and the differences between the male and female anatomy. This fact reinforces the notion thatculture is a cognitive system. (31)Interestingly, even though gender roles have diminished over time, genderdifferences were "far more extreme" in the late-nineteenth century Europeancultures than they are among what Haviland refers to as "food foragingpeoples" (32) of the Stone Age.
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