A cultural trait is a single identifiable material or non-material element within a

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, and is conceivable as an object in itself. Huxley, Julian S. 1955. "Guest Editorial: Evolution, Cultural and Biological." ''Yearbook of Anthropology'', 2–25. Similar traits can be grouped together as components, or subsystems of culture;https://www.heritage.nf.ca/nl-studies-2205/chapter-1-topic-1.pdf the terms sociofact and mentifact (or psychofact) were coined by biologist

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and Internationalism (politics), internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentiet ...

as two of three subsystems of culture—the third being ''artifacts''—to describe the way in which cultural traits take on a life of their own, spanning over generations. In other words, cultural traits can be categorized into three interrelated components: # Artifacts — the objects, material items, and technologies created by a culture, or simply, things people make. They provide basic necessities, recreation, entertainment, and most of the things that make life easier for people. Examples include clothing, food, and shelter. # Sociofacts — interpersonal interactions and

social structure In the social sciences, social structure is the aggregate of patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of individuals. Likewise, society is believed to be grouped into structurally rel ...

s; i.e., the structures and organizations of a culture that influence

social behaviour Social behavior is behavior among two or more organisms within the same species, it encompasses any behavior in which one member affects another. Social behavior can be seen as similar to an exchange of goods, with the expectation that when you ...

. This includes families, governments, education systems, religious groups, etc. # Mentifact (or psychofact) —

abstract concepts Abstract may refer to: *"Abstract", a 2017 episode of the animated television series '' Adventure Time'' * ''Abstract'' (album), 1962 album by Joe Harriott * Abstract algebra, sets with specific operations acting on their elements * Abstract of ...

, or "things in the head;" i.e., the shared ideas, values, and beliefs of a culture. This can include religion, language, and ideas. Moreover, sociofacts are considered by some to be mentifacts that have been shared through artifacts. This formulation has been related to

memetics Memetics is a theory of the evolution of culture based on Darwinian principles with the meme as the unit of culture. The term "meme" was coined by biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book '' The Selfish Gene'', to illustrate the principle that h ...

and the memetic concept of

. These concepts have been useful to

anthropologists An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

in refining the definition of ''culture''.

Development

These concepts have been useful to

in refining the definition of ''culture'', which Huxley views as contemplating artifacts, mentifacts, and sociofacts. For instance, Edward Tylor, the first academic anthropologist, included both artifacts and abstract concepts like kinship systems as elements of culture. Anthropologist Robert Aunger, however, explains that such an inclusive definition ends up encouraging poor anthropological practice because "it becomes difficult to distinguish what exactly is ''not'' part of culture." Aunger goes on to explain that, after the

cognitive revolution The cognitive revolution was an intellectual movement that began in the 1950s as an interdisciplinary study of the mind and its processes, from which emerged a new field known as cognitive science. The preexisting relevant fields were psychology, ...

in the

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

in the 1960s, there is "considerable agreement" among anthropologists that a mentifactual analysis, one that assumes that culture consists of "things in the head" (i.e. mentifacts), is the most appropriate way to define the concept of culture.

Sociofact

The idea of the ''sociofact'' was developed extensively by David Bidney in his 1967 textbook ''Theoretical Anthropology'', in which he used the term to refer to objects that consist of interactions between members of a

social group In the social sciences, a social group is defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties. F ...

. Bidney's 'sociofact' includes norms that "serve to regulate the conduct of the individual within society." The concept has since been used by other philosophers and social scientists in their analyses of varying kinds of social groups. For instance, in a discussion of the

semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

of the tune ' Taps',

semiotician Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is an ...

of music Charles Boilès claims that although it is a single piece of music, it can be seen as three distinct musical sociofacts: as a "last call" signal in taverns frequented by soldiers; as an "end of day" signal on military bases; and hence, symbolically, as a component of

military funeral A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...

s. The claim has been made that sociofactual analysis can play a decisive role for the performance of, and collaboration within, organizations.

References

{{Reflist Cultural anthropology Memetics Cultural concepts Semiotics

Development

Sociofact

See also

References