How do sociologists see culture? Culture is the connection between the personal and the structural, between how we are shaped by our society and how we are in turn shaping it. It is both the material...

How do sociologists see culture? Culture is the connection between the personal and the structural, between how we are shaped by our society and how we are in turn shaping it. It is both the material basis for social life and the ideas, beliefs, and values that guide social life. Most people think their culture is “normal,” and this belief can lead to culture shock when they are exposed to unfamiliar cultures and to ethnocentrism, which involves condemning other groups for being different. Even within a single culture, there are differences between groups that lead to the formation of subcultures (groups that are part of the larger culture but have distinct characteristics) and countercultures (subcultures are in opposition to the larger culture).