Describe how we are all multicultural. A culture imposes rules and order on its members by providing the patterns that help them know the meaning of their behavior. People around the world have the same biological and psychological needs, but the ways in which they meet these needs are culturally determined. The location of the group, available resources, and traditions have a great influence on the foods eaten, grooming and clothing patterns, teaching and learning styles, and interactions of men and women and parents and children. Culture is learned, shared, adapted, and dynamic.
People learn their culture through enculturation.
Parents and other caretakers teach children the culture and the acceptable norms of behavior within it. Culture is not static. It is dynamic and continually adapted to serve the needs of the group. The dominant culture in the United States has been that of white, middle-class Protestants whose ancestors emigrated from Western Europe. Today, the dominant culture is primarily that of an urban professional and business population, college educated, and increasingly characterized in the younger age groups by double incomes.