Cultural determinism
Cultural Determinism is an idea from sociology (the study of how humans act in groups) and anthropology (the study of humans).
Cultural determinism is an idea that means the way you are raised controls the way you think and act.
Levels of Cultural Determinism
There are three levels of cultural determinism:
- Strong cultural determinism: everything about a person is controlled by the way they are raised.
- Middle-ground cultural determinism: much about a person is controlled by the way they are raised. Some other things can change the way a person thinks and acts. These things could be biology or history.
- Weak cultural determinism: Not a lot about a person is controlled by the way they are raised.
Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead’s book, Coming of Age in Samoa, is an example of cultural determinism. Margaret Mead is a cultural anthropologist under the Boasian way of thinking.
Nature versus Nurture
The opposite of cultural determinism is biological determinism. Biological determinism is an idea that the way you think and act is controlled by your body. A common saying is "Nature vs. Nurture." Cultural determinism would be the "Nurture," and biological determinism would be the "Nature."
References
- Mead, M. (1961). Coming of age in Samoa: A psychological study of primitive youth for Western civilization. New York: Morrow.
- Cultural determinism. Oxford Reference. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095652815.