Is Culture Descriptive or Prescriptive: An Interview Study

The present study investigated Iranian educated individuals’ beliefs about descriptive and prescriptive nature of culture. In doing so, 50 undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students of Islamic Azad University of Karaj were selected though convenience sampling. They were interviewed using semi-structured questions to explore their beliefs about culture. Qualitative analysis of the participants’ beliefs through grounded theory led to the categorization of individuals’ beliefs regarding the role of family and society as two major sources of description and prescription in shaping their culture. In other words, half of the participants believed in highlighting their parents’ and friends’ roles in shaping their culture and further developing their understandings of culture through interaction with them, which resulted in descriptive nature of their beliefs. On the other, 50 % of the educated individuals held the belief that culture is prescriptive and resistant to change when it is gained through family and society. Findings contributed to more understanding of culture and how it can be developed in order to help individual play an important role in the society by shaping their interactions with their peers as well as the society in psycholinguistic research.

Keywords:

Beliefs , Culture , Descriptive , Prescriptive