60 Examples of Social Culture

John Spacey, updated on February 28, 2024

Social culture are the shared meanings, norms, identities, social structures and expectations that shape social interactions within a culture such as a society or community. Culture is inherently social but includes things such as art, philosophy, symbols and beliefs that don't always have much influence over social interactions. Social culture relates to elements of culture such as social status that greatly influence interpersonal processes and communication. The following are common examples of social culture.

Apologies	Attitudes toward authority
Body language	Celebrations
Ceremonies	Conversational norms
Customs	Dating customs
Dress codes	Emotional expression norms
Etiquette	Expressions of gratitude
Eye contact	Facial expressions
Fashion	Festivals
Formality & informality	Funeral practices
Gift giving	Greetings
Hairstyles	Holidays
Humor & wit	Hygiene norms
Ideals regarding behavior	Language
Marriage customs	Modesty norms
Norms	Pastimes
Personal freedoms	Personal responsibilities
Personal space	Political ideologies
Privacy expectations	Punctuality expectations
Religious practices	Respect for elders
Rites of passage	Saving face
Sayings & proverbs	Sense of beauty
Sense of comradery	Sense of hospitality
Sense of justice	Sense of place
Sense of reciprocity	Sense of trust
Shared values	Small talk
Social dining practices	Social expectations
Social identity	Social roles
Social status	Status symbols
Table manners	Taboo topics
Technology norms	Unspoken rules

Overview

Social culture are the elements of culture that shape social interactions such as norms, social structures and social status. This can be contrasted with cultural expressions and cultural beliefs such as art or values that aren't as directly social in nature.

Summary

Culture greatly influences social interaction and communication. For example, a culture where self-promotion is viewed as confidence and humility as weakness as opposed to a culture where modesty is a basic expectation whereby self-promotion is viewed as inappropriate or childish. The following are a few key examples of social culture.